October 2018 by OutSmart Magazine

Inside GAYEST&GREATEST 2 0 1 8

R E A D E R S '

C H O I C E

A W A R D S Pg.51

YOU

BETO BELIEVE

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ROURKE TALKS LGBTQ RIGHTS AND MORE IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. Pg.94

Plus LUPE VALDEZ

ON HER HISTORIC CAMPAIGN Pg.98

HALLOWEEN MAGIC GETS A KINKY REBOOT Pg.132

JOHN ROSS PALMER

ON THE ART OF GIVING BACK Pg.118

Thank You,

OutSmart Readers!

I am deeply grateful and very proud to have been honored and recognized by you.

Now I need your help again! On November 6, Vote FOR Proposition A. It continues our successful, dedicated, pay-asyou-go fund for drainage and streets. Vote AGAINST Proposition B. It’s filled with mistakes that will force us to pay police officers less than firefighters and slash vital city services.

Remember: A is GOOD. B is BAD.

B B

VOTE AGAINST PROP Pol. adv. Sylvester Turner Campaign

IT’S BAD FOR HOUSTON

“Life isn’t fair, but your judge should be.” – JIM KOVACH POL. ADV. JIM KOVACH CAMPAIGN. IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE VOLUNTARY LIMITS OF THE JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN FAIRNESS ACT.

VOTE AGAINST PROP

IT’S BAD FOR HOUSTON

PHOTO BY ERIC SCHELL

“Pol. Adv. paid for by Jerry Simoneaux for Judge Campaign, Diane Mosier, Treasurer. 3315 Mercer St., Houston, Texas 77027. In compliance with the voluntary limits of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.”

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HOUSTON GLBT POLITICAL CAUCUS E L EC T I ON DAY

NOVEMBER 6th

Equality? Seek it! Discrimination? End it!

2018 General Election Ea r ly Vot i ng

Monday, OCtober 22, 2018 - friday, november 2, 2018 Visit www.harrisvotes.com for polling location information

We are proud to say these candidates are the most qualified and most ready to address the concerns of the GLBT community. Government officials such as many of the judicial offices on this ballot have a profound effect on our lives, whether it be determining who can adopt to whether a person can change his or her legal name to match the gender with which they identify. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC is proud to support these candidates! (You can take this card with you to the polls) Paid for by HGLBTPC, PAC (www.thecaucus.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Parker Sheffy, Treasurer.

9/28/18 8:25 AM

PHOTO BY ERIC SCHELL

State Representative, District 15 – Lorena Perez McGill State Representative, District 27 – Ron Reynolds State Representative, District 28 – Meghan Scroggins State Representative, District 29 – James Presley State Representative, District 85 – Jennifer Cantu State Representative, District 129 – Alexander Jonathon Karjeker State Representative, District 130 – Fred Infortunio State Representative, District 132 – Gina Calanni State Representative, District 134 – Allison Sawyer State Representative, District 135 – Jon E. Rosenthal State Representative, District 138 – Adam Milasincic State Representative, District 145 – Carol Alvarado State Representative, District 147 – Garnet Coleman State Representative, District 148 – Jessica Farrar

State Representative

State Senator, District 7 – David Romero State Senator, District 15 – John Whitmire

State Senator

Member, State Board of Edu., Dist. 7 – Elizabeth “Eliz” Markowitz

State Board of Education

Texas Railroad Commissioner - Roman McAllen

Texas Railroad Commissioner

Commissioner of Agriculture - Kim Olson

Commissioner of Agriculture

Attorney General - Justin Nelson Comptroller of Public Accounts Comptroller of Public Accounts - Joi Chevalier

Attorney General

Lieutenant Governor - Mike Collier

Lieutenant Governor

Governor - Lupe Valdez

Governor

U.S. Representative District 2 – Todd Litton U.S. Representative District 7 – Lizzie Pannill Fletcher U.S. Representative District 14 – Adrienne Bell U.S. Representative District 18 – Sheila Jackson-Lee U.S. Representative District 22 – Sri Preston Kulkarni U.S. Representative District 29 – Sylvia R. Garcia U.S. Representative District 36 – Dayna Steele

U.S. Representative

U.S. Senator – Beto O’Rourke

U.S. Senator

Family District Judge, 245th Judicial District – Tristan H. Longino Family District Judge, 247th Judicial District – Janice Berg Family District Judge, 248th Judicial District – Hilary Unger Family District Judge, 257th Judicial District – Sandra Peake Family District Judge, 280th Judicial District – Barbara J. Stalder Family District Judge, 308th Judicial District - Gloria Lopez Family District Judge, 309th Judicial District - Linda Marie Dunson Family District Judge, 310th Judicial District – Sonya Heath Family District Judge, 311th Judicial District – Germaine Tanner

Family District Judge

District Judge District Judge, 55th Judicial District – Latosha Lewis Payne District Judge, 113th Judicial District – Rabeea Collier District Judge, 157th Judicial District – Tanya Garrison District Judge, 180th Judicial District – DaSean Jones District Judge, 182nd Judicial District – Danilo “Danny” Lacayo District Judge, 184th Judicial District – Abigail Anastasio District Judge, 189th Judicial District – Scot “dolli” Dollinger District Judge, 190th Judicial District – Beau Miller District Judge, 208th Judicial District – Greg Glass District Judge, 209th Judicial District – Brian Warren District Judge, 230th Judicial District – Chris Morton District Judge, 232nd Judicial District – Joshua Seth Hill District Judge, 234th Judicial District – Lauren Reeder District Judge, 246th Judicial District – Angela Graves-Harrington District Judge, 263rd Judicial District – Amy Martin District Judge, 269th Judicial District – Cory Sepolio District Judge, 270th Judicial District- Dedra Davis District Judge, 281st Judicial District – Christine Weems District Judge, 295th Judicial District – Donna Roth

Court of Appeals Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 1 – Maria T. (Terri) Jackson Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 7 – Ramona Franklin Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 6 – Sarah Beth Landau Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 7 – Julie Countiss Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 8 – Richard Hightower Justice, 1st Court of Appeals District, Place 9 – Peter Kelly Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 3 – Jerry Zimmerer Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 4 – Charles Spain Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 5 – Frances Bourliot Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 6 – Meagan Hassan Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 8 – Margaret “Meg” Poissant

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2 – Steven Kirkland Justice, Supreme Court, Place 4 – R.K. Sandill Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6 – Kathy Cheng

Supreme Court

2018 General Election

Justice of the Peace Pct.3 Place.2 – Lucia Bates

Justice of the Peace

County Commissioner Pct.2 – Adrian Garcia County Commissioner Pct.4 – Penny Shaw

County Commissioner

County Judge – Lina Hidalgo

County Judge

County School Trustee, Position 3, At Large – Richard Cantu County School Trustee, Position 4, Pct 3 – Andrea Duhon County School Trustee, Position 6, Pct 1 – Danyahel Norris

County School Trustee

County Treasurer – Dylan Osborne

County Treasurer

County Clerk – Diane Trautman

County Clerk

District Clerk – Marilyn Burgess

District Clerk

Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.1 – Alex Salgado Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.3 – Erica Hughes Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.4 – Shannon Baldwin Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.5 – David M. Fletcher Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.6 – Kelley Andrews Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.7 – Andrew A. Wright Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.8 – Franklin Bynum Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.9 – Toria J. Finch Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.11 – Sedrick T. Walker II Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.13 – Raul Rodriguez Judge, County Criminal Court-at-Law No.15 – Tonya Jones Judge, County Probate Court-at-Law No.1 – Jerry Simoneaux Judge, County Probate Court-at-Law No.2 – Michael Newman Judge, County Probate Court-at-Law No.3 – Jason Cox Judge, County Probate Court-at-Law No.4 – James Horwitz Judge, County Civil Court-at-Law Crt No.1 – George Barn-stone Judge, County Civil Court-at-Law CrtNo.2 – Jim F. Kovach Judge, County Civil Court-at-Law CrtNo.3 – LaShawn A. Williams Judge, County Civil Court-at-Law CrtNo.4 – William “Bill” McLeod

County Court-at-Law

Family District Judge, 312th Judicial District – Clinton “Chip” Wells Family District Judge, 313th Judicial District – Natalia Oakes Family District Judge, 314th Judicial District – Michelle Moore Family District Judge, 315th Judicial District – Leah Shapiro

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OCT.2018 FEATURES VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 9

COVER STORY

118

114

132

Beto O’Rourke hopes to end Democrats’ 24-year drought in statewide elections

OUTSMART’s 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards

Former sheriff Lupe Valdez on her bid to become the first out lesbian to lead a U.S. state

TURNING TEXAS BLUE?

GAYEST & GREATEST

GUNNING FOR GOVERNOR

102

111

114

118

Lizzie Pannell Fletcher takes on congressman John Culberson in critical Houston House race

Kelli Lines makes her mark as one of Houston’s few trans real-estate agents

RuPaul’s Drag Race winner brings Werq the World Tour to Houston

John Ross Palmer aims to destroy the stereotype of the struggling artist

129

132

136

Houston chapter marks 40 years of serving familes and friends of LGBTQ people

Halloween Magic re-Boots itself

Rocky Horror Picture Show star hosts pre-Halloween screening in Houston

WAR FOR THE WEST

126

HIRSUTE HUMOR

Peter Bisuito brings his muscle-drag comedy act to Houston

BREAKING NEW GROUND

‘YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE A HOME AT PFLAG’

THE AGE OF AQUARIA

MAKING AMERICA KINKY AGAIN

138

140

142

Robert O’Hara brings female-themed production of The Wiz to TUTS

H-Town lovers: 14 years after they first met, Kyle Pierce and Daryl Shorter finally reunited—for good—in Houston

Change of venue: Lauren and Rebekah Malm didn’t let an antigay judge spoil their wedding party

THE WIZARD BEHIND THE CURTAIN

WEDDING GUIDE

8 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

WEDDING GUIDE

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HEIGHTS W 24th Street | $390s 3/3.5 - ±2,607 sf Shady Acres contemporary showplace | high-end finishes throughout Patrick Banks | 713.824.9054

sothebyshomes.com | 713.520.1981 Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

OCT.2018

DEPARTMENTS N E WS & C O M M E N T 16 34

› ›

›

NEWS & COMMUNITY LEFTOUT

Twenty ways Lyin’ Ted Cruz is worse than fire ants

MONEYSMART

Tips for LGBTQ Millennials

THE RARE REPORTER

Remembering Matthew Shepard

UNAPOLOGETICALLY TRANS

Runs, trans Texans, run!

TIMEOUT

OUTSMART ’s readers and recommendations

A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T 144

›

QUEER QUOTES

147

›

GROOVEOUT

148

›

READOUT

Ryan Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres and Nicki Minaj, RuPaul, Lucas Hedges, and Shameless Bebe Rexha, Anne-Marie, Janine, Bishop Briggs, Anna Burch, and more

Tinderbox and Whiskey When We’re Dry

OUT & ABOUT 160 SIGNOUT 149 OUTTHERE 158 BAR/CLUB GUIDE 162 SCENEOUT A DV E R T I S E R S I N D E X 154 Advertisers Index 156 Classifi ed Marketplace

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outsmart Media Company Publishers of Publishers of OutSmart OutSmartMagazine Magazine 3406 Audubon Place • Houston, TX 77006 713.520.7237$27/12 • 713.522.3275 subscriptions: Issues, $48/24 Fax Issues E-mail: letters@outsmartmagazine.com Subscriptions: $30/12 Issues, $58/24 Issues Website: www.OutSmartMagazine.com E-mail: letters@outsmartmagazine.com Website: www.OutSmartMagazine.com O u t Sm a rt is publishe d mont hl y. E s t imate d O utSmart is published monthly. Estimated readership in Houston readership in Houston and surrounding areas and surrounding areas is 60,000. OutSmart Media Company is 6 0,0 0 0. Out Smar t Media Company is not is not responsible for claims and practices of advertisers. responsible forviews claims and practices advertisers. The opinions and expressed herein doofnot necessarily reflect those of theand staff views or management of Out Smart. Inclusion The opinions expressed herein do not in OutSmart does not imply sexual orientation. ©2018 by necessarily reflect those of the staff or management OutSmart Media Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in or part Inclusion without permission of the publisher strictly ofwhole OutSmart. in OutSmart does notis imply prohibited. Unsolicited material is accepted. No manuscript sexual orientation. ©2013 by OutSmart Media returned without SASE. Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in

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Thanks OutSmart Readers for voting me a 2018 Gayest & Greatest Winner!

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E DITOR´S NOTE

OutSmartMagazine.com

ongressman Beto O’Rourke has generated more enthusiasm for his Senate campaign than any other Democratic candidate in Texas in recent memory. As such, we are thrilled to feature O’Rourke in this month’s cover story as he attempts to end his party’s 24-year losing streak in statewide races. Based on his interview with OUTSMART’s Ryan Leach, O’Rourke not only understands LGBTQ issues, but is prepared to fight for full equality. This stands in stark contrast to his opponent, GOP senator Ted Cruz, who is among the most antiLGBTQ members of Congress. But O’Rourke is not the only potentially history-making candidate featured in our final issue before early voting begins on October 22. To conclude our year-long “Out for Change” series, writer Marene Gustin chats with former Dallas sheriff Lupe Valdez, who is vying to become the nation’s first out lesbian governor. And writer Andrew Edmonson speaks with Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, who is taking on anti-LGBTQ congressman John Culberson in her bid to flip a

critical Houston-area district that’s been red for more than 50 years. Then there’s Dakota Carter, who is hoping to become the first openly LGBTQ elected official in Friendswood, but has come under attack over his sexual orientation, as writer Connor Behrens reports. Carter and Valdez are among 55 openly LGBTQ candidates in Texas this year, and more than 430 nationwide—both record highs. As I’ve said previously in this space, the 2018 midterms are shaping up to be the most important election of our lifetimes. If you care about the future of this country, get registered by October 9 and then vote as though your life depends on it. You can vote early at any polling location October 22–November 2, or at your precinct’s location on Election Day, November 6. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus candidate endorsements list can be found inside the front cover of this issue. In the meantime, if you need a diversion from all the politics, this October issue has plenty of options. Edmonson previews Halloween Magic’s hilarious Kinky Re-Boots production, while writer Gregg Shapiro chats

with RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Aquaria, who brings the show’s Werq the World Tour to Houston this month. Meanwhile, writer Don Maines previews Theatre Under the Stars’ production of The Wiz, as well as Peter Bisuito’s muscle-drag comedy show at the University of Houston. And last but certainly not least, don’t miss our profiles of selected 2018 Gayest & Greatest winners, as well as the full lists of this year’s Readers’ Choice honorees. Enjoy! —John Wright

Inside GAYEST&GREATEST 2 0 1 8

R E A D E R S '

C H O I C E

A W A R D S Pg.51

ON THE COVER

YOU

BETO BELIEVE

O’ROURKE TALKS LGBTQ RIGHTS AND MORE IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW. Pg.94

Plus LUPE VALDEZ

ON HER HISTORIC CAMPAIGN Pg.98

HALLOWEEN MAGIC GETS A KINKY REBOOT Pg.132

JOHN ROSS PALMER

ON THE ART OF GIVING BACK Pg.118

YOU BETO BELIEVE O’Rourke talks LGBTQ rights and more in an exclusive interview.

Pg.94

Photo by Christ Chávez

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N ews

Trans Girl’s Family Flees to Houston after Death Threats Maddie Rose, whose story made national news, to enroll in Spring ISD. By Kim Hogstrom

ntil recently, Maddie Kleeman Rose was a happy, popular 12-year-old attending elementary school in Achille, Oklahoma. Even as a young transgender girl, Maddie’s life was full of friends, a loving family, and supportive teachers. Then again, no one outside of her family knew she was trans. Why would they need to? As early as age two, Maddie was making her preferences clear. “She always wanted pink blankets, and ruffles for her room,” said Maddie’s mother, Brandy Kay Rose. “I knew it wasn’t typical, but being transgender never occurred to me. I didn’t even know what transgender was at that time. I thought she would probably grow up to be a very, very gay boy.” By the age of six, Maddie was insisting she was a girl to anyone who would listen. The family found a solution. Living in rural Sherman, Texas, at the time, they allowed her to present as a girl at home, but continue presenting as a boy at school. It worked—for a while. “We sought out a therapist to help us understand what was happening,” Maddie’s mom recalls. “The therapist spent time with us, and eventually suggested that Maddie was transgender. It was a learning experience, but it made sense. The therapist suggested that we let Maddie be who she says she is and accept her, so we did. From that moment on, we started her transition at school, too.” On her first day of fourth grade in Sherman, Maddie attended as a girl, and that’s when the trouble started. Other students remembered her as “Matthew,” and a

Capturing Hearts Twelve-year-old Maddie Rose’s story has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine.

stream of unrelenting bullying began. “The hostility got so bad that even Maddie’s siblings were involved, so eventually we decided to move to Achille and give Maddie a fresh start,” Rose recalls. “We had family there, most of whom had been supportive of Maddie’s transition. When she started in her new school in Achille, she was ‘Maddie’ and no one else.” Maddie was attending school without incident in her new town—until the day she was called from class to the principal’s office. “The administrators said they were going through Maddie’s files ‘to gather test scores from Texas,’” Rose said. “They found records that still documented her name as ‘Matthew,’ so they called her to the office and asked her about it. Maddie told them, but it horrified her. She was in tears and called me right away. That’s when the rumors took off.”

16 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Achille school administrators have said that Maddie “outed herself to other students,” but Rose isn’t so sure. “Maddie says that she did not tell anyone outside of the people in the office, and that makes sense to me,” Rose said. “I just can’t imagine us moving to Oklahoma for a fresh start for Maddie, and then she chooses to ignore the opportunity.” The hostility got worse in August. After Maddie entered seventh grade, an unofficial Facebook page dedicated to parents of Achille students appeared online. In a short time, the page was dripping with posts threatening the child. One man egged readers on, stating that it was “open hunting season on ‘them’ in Oklahoma,” and that there was “no bag limit.” Others baited students to teach “it” a lesson. The continued on page 93

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Aging with Pride The outside staircases of the Senior Houston Center will be covered in mesh bearing the colors of the LGBTQ Pride rainbow.

Montrose Center to Break Ground on Senior Housing Project Organization secures $13.8M in federal subsidies for 112-unit complex in Houston’s Third Ward. By Brandon Wolf

he Montrose Center says it will begin construction this month on the nation’s second-largest LGBTQ-affirming housing project for lowincome seniors. After securing $13.8 million in federal housing subsidies that will cover more than half the cost of the project, the Center plans to host a groundbreaking at 2222 Cleburne Street on October 30. With 112 independent-living units spread across two four-story buildings, the facility will be the first LGBTQ-affirming housing complex for low-income seniors in the Southwest. It is scheduled to open in the summer of 2020.

“We have been working on this project for five years, and it is very rewarding that we are able to put all the pieces together in order to serve seniors with a comprehensive program that includes housing,” said Montrose Center’s executive director Ann Robison. The facility is designed to alleviate the problem of housing discrimination against LGBTQ seniors, a demographic that is expected to triple in size to more than 7 million by 2030. According to the national nonprofit SAGE, 48 percent of older samesex couples have experienced housing discrimination, and one-third of LGBTQ seniors live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Many of them are

18 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

being priced out of LGBTQ-affirming neighborhoods. “Culturally competent housing options for our LGBTQ seniors is a problem in Houston, and a facility of this kind is long overdue,” said Brittany Burch, coordinator of the Montrose Center’s LIFE Counseling Program. “We are so grateful to all the community members who are contributing to make this happen.” In addition to federal subsidies, the center has raised more than $3 million from the community. And it will continue to raise money for the senior housing project through its “There’s No Place Like continued on page 90

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Friendswood Republican Accuses Gay Candidate of Promoting ‘LGBT Agenda’ Dakota Carter would be Houston suburb’s first out elected official. By Connor Behrens

n openly gay school-board candidate in Friendswood has come under attack over his sexual orientation. Dakota Carter is running for the Position 2 seat previously held by Matt Robinson, who stepped down to run as a Republican for the State Board of Education. In a public post on the Friendswood Republican Women Facebook page on August 29, Kathy Rogers encouraged people to look at the personal pages of Carter and his opponent, interim school-board member Denise Ruiz, before deciding which candidate to support. In a comment below Rogers’ post, Robinson alleged that Carter “wants to promote the LGBT agenda in our Friendswood schools.” Carter said Robinson’s comments represent one of several antigay attacks against him on social media and via direct messaging. He added that he has never spoken to any of the individuals behind the attacks. “The former person who held this position claims I have an LGBT agenda,” he said. “I don’t know what that is. I don’t have an agenda, except to take care of these kids. [But] the gay target on my back is something people have focused on.”

Riding the Rainbow Wave Dakota Carter, who’s running for school board in Friendswood, is one of 55 openly LGBTQ candidates in Texas, and more than 430 nationwide in 2018.

The 30-year-old Carter will face Ruiz, who was appointed to replace Robinson, in the November 6 election. Carter is one of a record 55 openly LGBTQ candidates in Texas this year, and he would be Friendswood’s first out elected official. Robinson, Ruiz, and an administrator of the Friendswood Republican Women Facebook page could not be reached for comment. In a subsequent post, Robinson compared Carter to his opponent in the State Board of Education race, Democrat Elizabeth Markowitz, who’s also openly gay. “He’s very similar to my opponent in the general election this November—wants to have the LGBT agenda taught and promoted in our public schools,” Robinson wrote of Carter. “I’ve spent the last 10 years helping to make Friend-

22 | | OCTOBER 2018 20 OCTOBER 2018 | | OutSmartMagazine.com OutSmartMagazine.com

swood ISD one of the best districts in Texas. Not to mention promoting a character-first, family-oriented school district.” In 2016, Carter became the first openly gay person to win his party’s nomination for State Board of Education. He was defeated in the general election by Republican Donna Bahorich. Carter said he’s always been open about his sexual orientation. “I live my life authentically,” Carter said. “Sometimes it would be more politically expedient to just put my head down and focus on a narrative and bullet points, but we have to recognize that our communities are diverse.” A first-generation college student from a small town in the Texas Panhandle, Carter served as student-body president at the

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continued from page 20

Having grown up with ADHD and a speech impediment, Carter said has a passion for helping youth. University of North Texas, where he earned “I just really have a special spot for making his bachelor’s degree before attending medisure that schools are equical school at Houston’s table and really taking care of UTHealth. He moved to all kids, no matter how they Friendswood last year and “I live my life learn.” works as a psychiatrist at authentically,” Carter, who is just a few the University of Texas weeks into his campaign, said Health Science Center at Carter said. he has been surprised by the Houston. Carter has co“Sometimes it would vitriol from some Friendsfounded two nonprofits, wood residents. including one that serves be more politically “In my previous race, my troubled LGBTQ youth. expedient to just put sexual orientation definitely Carter believes that came up,” he said. “It’s comthe upcoming election in my head down and ing up more in this recent Friendswood, a relatively focus on a narrative race. It seems to be the stickconservative and fastand bullet points, but ing point. If you can’t attack growing suburb, needs to focus on helping kids in the we have to recognize someone’s credentials or their knowledge, attack them on a school district rather than that our communities personal level.” his sexual orientation. Despite the comments “Education really matare diverse.” online, Carter has no plans to ters to me, and that’s why change his campaign strategy. I’m running,” he said. “I “I have planned to engage used to substitute-teach to pay for college, with the community and meet people, and that and I spent a lot of time in a first-grade classinvitation is still open to anybody,” he said. room. I found a love for kids that are strugIf elected, he will make increased safety at gling. I had a bunch of kids with anything schools a focal point—something that has been from attention deficit-hyperactivity disoron his mind since the Santa Fe shooting in der (ADHD) to autism and special needs.”

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May that killed 10 people and wounded more than a dozen others, Carter said. “Santa Fe is 15 minutes from here,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for a while now, and there are a lot of kids at risk for violence—for doing these tragic, horrible events. Prevention starts with training our counselors and teachers to recognize those kids and having interventions. I think that’s incredibly important.” This race is about representing everyone in a community, regardless of sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity, Carter said. “Every one of those people should have a voice,” he said. “We need to have a school board that’s engaged. Some people on the board have been on the board since I’ve been in 8th grade. I think new ideas and innovation are so vital.” He added that he’ll strive to run an authentic and honest campaign in the coming weeks, and that includes being transparent about his sexual orientation. “I would not be walking the walk if I was hiding who I was just to get into political office,” he said. “It’s taken a while to get to that level of comfort, but I refuse to be anybody but me.” Connor Behrens is a frequent contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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On August 19, Neon Boots hosted Daddy Don Dowden’s Dynamic Dog Days of Summer, benefitting PWA Holiday Charities. Pictured are Angela Mercy, Marcia Mink Anne Gill (Greg Davis), Dominic Cusano, Don Gill, and An’ Marie Gill.

On August 25, the Sharpstown Democrats hosted a Campaign Kickoff Cook-Off at Yes Prep Gulfton. Pictured are Sharpstown Democrats officers, political candidates, and supporters. On August 24, John Palmer Art Gallery hosted “Dark Matter: The Door Into Summer,” a Paula Hawkins Art Show. Pictured are John Palmer, Paula Hawkins, and Ryan Lindsay.

24 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

On August 25, the Independent Billiard League of Houston held its 2018 Awards Banquet at Ripcord. Pictured are Richard Chew, CB Benitez, Chris Rocha, Natalie Rocha, and Susan Cunningham.

On August 30 the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber hosted an August Happy Hour with the Lone Star Veterans Association LGBT Affinity Group. Pictured are Roy Alvarez, Jr., Tammi Wallace, Gary Wood, Christopher Ainsworth, Arman Lutz, Lois Terry, Xavier Montoya, Lane Lewis, and Kirt Dailey. On August 25, Neon Boots celebrated its fifth anniversary with an Illusions Show. Pictured are Darrin Winner, Cliff Kitten, Jim Daily, Fernando Garcia, Jim Gerhold, Debbie Storrs, Ron McLeroy, and Rodney Meyers.

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N ews

Photos by Dalton DeHart and Edgardo Aguilar

On September 15, the Transgender Unity Committeee hosted the 2018 Transgender Unity Banquet at the Doubletree Hilton at Houston Intercontinental Airport. Pictured are Maximo Corte, Nohemi Garza, Dylan Forbis, Amber Claussen, Robin Mack, Kristian Salinas, Alexis Melvin, Trudie Jackson, Joelle Nicole Salaterski, Shane Whalley, Dana Hinton, and Loren Turn.

On September 12, OutSmart sponsored OUT@TUTS night at the Hobby Center. Pictured are the cast of Oklahoma with the staff of Theatre Under the Stars. On September 16, psychotherapist Denise O’Doherty hosted an “Understanding Gender Diversity” workshop at Unity Houston. Pictured is Denise O’Doherty.

On September 5, the Bayou Blue Democrats held their September 2018 meeting at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Pictured are (back row, left to right) Aliza Geretz, Greg Fleischaker, Raj Salhotra and David Feldwisch; and (front row, left to right) Ingrid Bond, Rufi Natarajan, Sherri Cothrun, Lillie Schechter, and Jake Spencer.

26 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

On September 1, JR’s Houston hosted “Poles, Flags and Raising Funds: Oh My,” a fundraiser for a Pulse Memorial in Montrose. Pictured are Joshua Martinez, Tony Vacarro, Miguel Charrie, and Christopher Zuniga.

On September 8, Ripcord hosted the 2018 Puppy of Montrose contest. Pictured are Asteria Eos, An’ Marie Gill, Daddy Ryan, boy Princess, Pup Thoth, and Pup Trinity.

10/18

Calendar of Events Compiled by Marene Gustin

Out for Good Get that red outfit ready!

District Attorney Kim Ogg will be honored with the 2018 Community Vision Award. Emcee will be Deborah Duncan (pictured in triangle at far left).

T 2

his year’s Out for Good dinner and program benefitting The Montrose Center also celebrates the center’s ruby anniversary. That’s why you’re encouraged to wear ruby-red or black outfits to the gala. The 40-year-old center empowers the community, primarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their families, to enjoy healthier and more fulfilling lives. The center offers wellness programs, health services,

Body as a Work of Art

October 11 Out for Good MontroseCenter.org

Tues. Goo Goo Dolls

thru Jan 11, 2019 A It’s more than skin deep. thehealthmuseum.org

Bucky Miller: Two Raccoons

+ Hometown heroines. houstonhistoryalliance.org Origin Stories * Music & culture. musiqahouston.org Walk for Mental Health + Lace up those shoes. thehoustonwalk.org

28 OCTOBER 2018 OutSmartMagazine.com

thru March 31, 2019 Part of the Art on the Lawn series. camh.org

Thurs. Education Celebration

Sun. The Queen

Royal portraits. mfah.org

Mon.

Columbus Day

The Helen Mirren film. mfah.org Tudors to Windsors

TUTS’ fundraiser featuring Vanessa Williams. tuts.com The Book of Will * thru 21 A play about plays. mainstreettheater.com

Sat.

Houston Women

thru 21 The great detective returns to the stage. classicaltheatre.org

Fri.

Wed. The Return of Sherlock Holmes

20th anniversary tour. concerts1.livenation.com moonGARDEN A thru 7 Art installation in the park. discoverygreen.com

5 * thru 13 Hilarious senior hijinks. theatresuburbia.org Address A thru Dec 8 Exhibit by Richard Rezac. blafferartmuseum.org

the evening that begins at 6 p.m. with a reception at The Ballroom at Bayou Place and then moves on to a seated dinner and program. Because of the special anniversary, this year there will be an after-party to celebrate the big four-o. —Marene Gustin

Radio * Performing Arts A Art & Photography + Other Things V Save The Date

Mon.

Ripcord

and affordable meeting spaces among other things, and is building what will be the first LGBTQ-friendly affordable senior housing center in the Southwest. The annual Out for Good benefit is one of the largest moneymakers for the center; tickets start at $150 and go up to $1,250 for a table of 10. This year the event honors district attorney Kim Ogg with the 2018 Community Vision Award. TV personality Deborah Duncan emcees

A thru Jan 27

For ongoing events, visit outsmartmagazine.com

A thru 20 Two-woman exhibit featuring sculpture & paintings. mcclaingallery.com Each to the Other

Wed.

The Connoisseur’s Eye

fundraiser. legacyawards.org Bayou City Art Fest A & 14 Downtown art fest. artcolonyassociation.org

Bob Dylan & His Band * Live in concert! smartfinancialcentre.net

After Memphis: Crafted Postmodern

A thru Jan 13

A group exhibit. crafthouston.org

17 OutSmart’s Gayest & Greatest

The awards reception. outsmartmagazine.com

Art in the Cistern

thru Jan 13, 2019 Site-specific art by Carlos Cuz-Diez. buffalobayou.org

Shizen: On the Art of Looking at Nature thru 25 With Mexican artist

Agustin Estrada. vada.rice.edu agustinestrada.com

21 * thru Nov 2 A love story for the ages. houstongrandopera.org Into the Woods * thru Nov 4 A Sondheim classic. crightontheatre.org

An art exhibit by George Smith. artleaguehouston.org

Charming children’s theater. thegrand.com Human Landscapes

Alejandro Ziegler Tango Quartet

Tango! casaargentina.org

Performance by Core Dance. matchouston.org

A thru Jan 6, 2019 The best of Texas-made crafts. crafthouston.org

Walls Turned Sideways

thru Jan 6, 2019 Artists confront the justice system. camh.org

20 Sat.

Holiday Shopping Card Celebration

+ (See page 32.) ARTober Fest A & 21 Art festival in Galveston. thegrand.com Texas Renaissance Festival + thru Nov 25 texrenfest.com

24 Wed.

* thru Nov 4 And your little dog, too! tuts.com The Wiz

Sat.

Curious George * last day Kids will love it! mainstreettheater.com Evil Dead: The Musical * last day Limbs severed. obsidiantheater.org Boo Ball + Party benefits Ronald McDonald House. rmhhouston.org

Sun.

Halloween Hangover

Radical Faeries raise funds for the Montrose Center. (See page 32.) La bohème * thru Nov 11 The original Rent. houstongrandopera.org

31 Save the Dates Wed.

Tues.

Mon.

The Big Show A thru Nov 11 Lawndale’s annual art exhibit. lawndaleartcenter.org

Tues.

29 CraftTexas 2018

Tues.

Fri.

The creepy silent film. thegrand.com

* An opera. aperioamericas.org Nora’s Home Golf Classic + Help transplant patients. norashome.org Fathers & Flight + & 20 Dads & kids sleepover. lonestarflight.org Savage Winter

26 Phantom of the Opera

Fri.

Lambda NextGen

A thru Nov 3

Party and raise funds. gcam.org Going Platinum + ALH’s 70th-anniversary gala. artleaguehouston.org She Kills Monsters * thru 20 Dramatic comedy play. vada.rice.edu

+ Happy Hour! lambdanextgen.com To the Moon and Beyond + Fundraising lunch to benefit the NASA Mission Control Center. spacecenter.org

Journey to the Brightest Star

Thurs.

Tomás & the Library Lady

ness Month event. avda-tx.org A thru Nov 3 An art exhibit by Francesca Fuchs. artleaguehouston.org Something

Mon.

urs.

Sun.

The Flying Dutchman

An Evening of Remembrance, Caring, & Hope Domestic Violence Aware-

Thurs.

Body Archives * Urban Souls Dance Company performance. camh.org

GCAM History Hullabaloo

Mon.

Wed.

Fri.

Sun.

Sat.

Thurs. Out for Good + LGBTQ’s biggest dinner. (See opposite page, top.) Da Kink in My Hair * thru 14 Hair salon musical. ensemblehouston.com Evid Dead: The Musical * thru 27 Blood flies. obsidiantheater.org

thru Feb 3, 2019 Ceramics in the Rienzi Collection. mfah.org

13 PFLAG Houston 40th-Anniversary Celebration pflaghouston.org Legacy Awards Domestic violence

Tues.

Happy Halloween!

V V V

Christina Aguilera November 1 Lady Antebellum November 2 Willie Nelson November 25

smartfinancialcentre.com

More Calendar ➝ OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 29

10/18 Calendar of Events continued from previous page

The Book of Will & Curious George ‘Book’ thru 21 ‘George’ thru 27

Thru 21/27

–

Over at MST this month, you can see two great plays. The Book of Will will make you laugh and cry as it tells the tale of what happened to Shakespeare’s plays after his death. And the little ones will enjoy Curious George: The Golden Meatball, a musical based on the popular children’s books. mainstreettheater.com

Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol

7–Jan. 27

October 7, 2018—January 27, 2019 –

If you’re a royal watcher and love British history, you don’t want to miss this exhibit of royal portraits spanning 500 years of the British crown. The MFAH is the only U.S. venue to host this unprecedented exhibition, part of a major partnership with the National Portrait Gallery in London. Some 150 objects, most never before seen outside of England, include sculptures, photographs, and paintings, including Queen Elizabeth II (pictured), a 1985 portrait (acrylic and screenprint on canvas) by Andy Warhol. mfah.org

GLORIA

WINNER BEST BRUNCH

My Big Funny Peter October 13 –

FINALIST BEST MEXICAN

UH’s Alumni Association brings funnyman Peter Bisuito to town this month with his My Big Funny Peter Tour. It’s guaranteed this bear will have you howling. Show up at 5 p.m. for a meet-and-greet before the 7 p.m. performance, and you can also get a chance to meet Bisuito the next day at a fried-chicken brunch. All proceeds go to the HIV and Aging Coalition; Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History, Inc.; UH LGBTQ Student Scholarship Fund; and the Student Emergency Fund. houstonalumni.com

2018 Coming Out Weekend October 13 & 14 –

13 & 14

OutReach United presents a rainbow and unicorn party all weekend long. Come on out to Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon to do a little boot scootin’ and help raise money for Out for Education, The Montrose Center, M.E.N. Incorporated, the Dalton DeHart Photographic Foundation, and Loud, Inc. Miss Conception will there to entertain, and there will be a silent auction and a live auction. All for $35, and that includes two drink tickets! outreachunited.org CALENDAR continued on page 32 30 | OCTOBER | OutSmartMagazine.com 30 OCTOBER 2018 2018 OutSmartMagazine.com

10/18 Calendar of Events continued from page 30

Holiday Shopping Card Celebration October 20

–

Kick off the holiday shopping frenzy at Highland Village for the third annual Shopping Card Celebration, Saturday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. There will be costumed characters, live music, and a fireworks display. Here’s how it works: you buy a shopping card for $75 and receive a 20-percent discount on all your purchases at 600 stores in Houston. Proceeds from the card benefit the American Cancer Society in Houston. holidayshoppingcard.org

Halloween Magic Presents Kinky Re-Boots October 20

–

Halloween Magic roars back to the stage to present Kinky Re-Boots, Making America Kinky Again, a hilarious, wildly irreverent new production. Mixing risqué Montrose humor with Broadway show tunes, this will delight and entertain. The fun starts at 8 p.m. at Resurrection MCC. Proceeds benefit Lazarus House, Legacy Community Health, The Montrose Center, Omega House, The Oral History Project, Pet Patrol, and Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church. (See page 132.) halloweenmagic.org

ALLEY

Halloween Hangover October 28 –

Too much fun? Join the Radical Faeries from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Montrose Center to raise funds for the center’s Senior Housing Campaign. The suggested door donation is just $10, and the afternoon includes female impersonators, live singers, a silent auction, and tarot card readings. And hangover cures! facebook.com/HouAreaRadFae/

OCT. 5 – OCT. 28

Nov. 1

November 1 –

ActOUT

Thursday, Oct.18 ALLEYTHEATRE.ORG

And Coming Up: Council on Recovery Fall Luncheon

Official Airline of Alley Theatre

32 | OCTOBER | OutSmartMagazine.com 32 OCTOBER 2018 2018 OutSmartMagazine.com

So many struggle with recovery, and if you do, or know someone who does, the place to go is Houston’s Council on Recovery. The annual fundrasier is their Fall Luncheon, and this year it’s coming up on Nov. 1 at the Hilton Americas downtown. The guest speaker will be Alice Cooper, who has been open about his struggle with booze and drugs. His wake-up call was when a doctor told him that if he didn’t stop drinking, “in two weeks I’d be playing with my friends Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix up in heaven.” He’s been sober for more than 35 years now, and is well known for his support of other musicians struggling with addiction. email: specialevents@councilonrecovery.org ■

Patrick Summers, Artistic & Music Director Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

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By Susan Bankston

Cruz from Hell Twenty ways ‘Lyin’ Ted’ is worse than fire ants.

‹

t’s election time, and I’m gonna holler “Go Vote!” for lots of good reasons—the most significant one being Ted Cruz. The first time I realized that Ted Cruz is just a shiver looking for a spine to run up was when I saw him demonstrate how much he needs automatic weapons. There’s a YouTube video of him gleefully wrapping raw bacon around the barrel of a machine gun, firing the gun a few awfully chilling times, and then eating that bacon right off the machine-gun barrel. He doesn’t even put it on a plate. Have mercy on my soul, Lord, he keeps smiling and making yum sounds. It would have been less disturbing if he had eaten his own boogers. You can look that up on YouTube and see it for yourself, but I wouldn’t advise it. Honey, that prank registers $14.58 on the ten-bucks-worthof-crazy meter. Recently, Ted whined that the teevee newspeople talk about “Beto’s hair and his teeth.” This is a crushing blow to Cruz, who used to walk the coed dorm hallways in a paisley silk robe, fancying himself the romantic lead in a Frank Capra movie. Ted Cruz truly believes he is a hunka-hunka burnin’ love, so Beto’s looks and charisma are a bit like a pin prick in an overblown balloon. And speaking of pricks . . . Cruz got outed as the Zodiac Killer because he overloaded the Senate’s creepy-container. If you’re from around here, you know fire ants. They are so named because if they bite you, two days later you have a canker on your leg the size of Beaumont, and it burns like fire. I have heard that the burn will stop if you dance nekkid in church while the Rotary Club watches. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but . . . oh hell, it’s not true. You’ll thank me one day for telling you that. I certainly wish I had known a few months ago. Fire ants spread faster than a six-legged jackrabbit and have even been known to bite cute little puppies, grandmothers, and Rainbow Brite. Fire ants are a malicious bunch. I’m pretty sure that in their spare time they are enriching uranium and invading orphanages. But no matter what, they are not as con-

COLLAGE - BLASE DISTEFANO

Real Biters Both are malicious and both are contemptible, but which one is more so—a fire ant or Ted Cruz?

temptible as Ted Cruz. In fact, here are Twenty Ways That Fire Ants Are Better Than Ted Cruz. • Fire ants seem perfectly happy even if they haven’t taken away everybody’s healthcare. • When fire ants read Green Eggs and Ham to the Senate, they first review the Cliff’s Notes the night before so that they generally understand the moral underpinnings of this epic adventure book. • If you call a fire ant’s dad a Kennedy assassin, and then call his wife ugly, a fire ant will bite you hard. If you come back later, he will bite you hard again. • In any sense-of-humor contest between Ted Cruz and fire ants, fire ants win bigly. • Same deal with sexy. • Fire ants embrace communal ownership of the means of production and reject the inherent oppression of the capitalistic patriarchy. Well, at least we think. • Fire-ant bites go away after a few weeks. • Fire ants just bite you. They won’t bite you and then call you a heathen for scratching. • Somewhere, someplace, there is a fire ant

34 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

that’s not a sumbitch. • You’ve never seen a fire ant earn a Pants on Fire rating. • If I step on, and painfully hurt, some fire ants, I feel a little bit bad about it. • Fire ants never killed seven people in the Bay Area in the 1970s and left clues using Zodiac signs. I’m not saying that Ted Cruz did either, but there’s not one shred of evidence that he didn’t. • Fire ants have a skeleton. Ted Cruz lacks a spine. • Fire ants do not have a television commercial trying to sell bacon-cooking machine guns. Okay, so Ted Cruz doesn’t either, but he wants one. • Fire ants work for the common good of the colony, even to the point of holding on to each other to form a kind of “ant raft” to escape a flood. Ted is the flood. • Fire ants were brought to the U.S. accidentally, but lordy, Ted Cruz was brought here intentionally. • Pictures of fire ants trying to look sexy don’t make me gag. continued on page 40

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By Grace S. Yung, CFP

Tips for LGBTQ Millennials The younger generation faces new challenges in retirement planning.

f you’re part of the Millennial generation— born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s—planning for retirement may not be near the top of your list of priorities. But for several reasons, it probably should be. Millennials face a number of financial challenges that differ from their parents’ generation. And if you’re an LGBTQ Millennial, you are likely to encounter additional obstacles. For instance, if something happened to you or your partner, would the survivor be able to go on financially? In this situation, unless you have your home and other assets properly titled, there’s a chance that “blood relatives” could be first in line to inherit them. In the past, most workers could count on defined-benefit pension plans from their employers. These plans paid out a set amount of income every month, and employers were responsible for ensuring that the money flowed to retired workers. But this isn’t so today. Most companies, both large and small, have done away with defined-benefit pension plans. They have been replaced by the 401(k), which leaves the success of the investments—and the future retirement-income stream—solely up to the participant. Moreover, given the rise in entrepreneurship in the Millennial generation, it could be that you’ve started your own business or work as a freelancer in the “gig” economy, and you have no retirement plan in place at all. Today’s younger generation is also saddled with student-loan debt that averages around$37,000. Because of this, many young professionals are starting out in the red. Without a good strategy in place, it can take years or even decades to pay off student-loan debt and get back to square one. Another big difference between Millennials and past generations is the possibility of “living

too long.” Although that might sound strange, people are living much longer now than they did in the past, so it is imperative that your money last as long as you do. Otherwise, you run the risk of depleting your savings. In addition, if you and your partner have tied the knot, there are various tax and financial strategies that you could take advantage of now—strategies that you will be thankful for in the future. Given that same-sex couples can legally marry in all 50 U.S. states, it is now possible for LGBTQ spouses to plan ahead together, versus planning as two “single” individuals. Programs like Social Security’s spousal and survivor benefits can oftentimes be worked into your overall financial plan. If you don’t know which of these benefits you are eligible for, you could be leaving money on the table. It is also estimated that the Millennial generation stands to inherit a record amount of wealth. According to U.S. News, more than 75 million Millennials could take over an estimated $30 trillion in wealth from their Baby Boomer parents. This is further reinforced by AARP statistics showing that people who are over age 50 today hold roughly 80 percent of the household wealth in America.

36 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Even though this would appear to be good news—at least from a financial standpoint—the reality is that if you don’t have the right plan in place, you could end up handing over a sizeable chunk of your inheritance to Uncle Sam. When it comes to planning for your financial future, it is never too early to get started. Even if you don’t feel like you have a lot to contribute to a savings or investment plan at this moment, just knowing where the gaps lie can be an excellent start. Your choice of a financial advisor will have a lot to do with the success of your overall plan, so it is imperative to work with a professional who is well-versed in the financial needs of your generation, and who is up-to-date on legislation and potential challenges—particularly those affecting the LGBTQ community. Grace S. Yung, CFP, is a certified financial planner practitioner with experience in helping domestic partners plan their finances since 1994. She is a principal at Midtown Financial LLC in Houston and was recognized as a “FiveStar Wealth Manager” in the September 2017 issue of Texas Monthly. Yung can be reached at grace.yung@lpl.com.

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The Rare Reporter

By David Webb

Remembering Matthew Shepard Twenty years after his death, hate crimes are on the rise.

yoming is a magnificent state with vast areas of unspoiled plains framed by stunning, brilliantly colored mountain ranges. In high altitudes, summers can be chilly in the evenings and winters see temperatures drop to bitterly frigid levels. Away from the highways, the back country is dark and void of human activity at night. That seems like a terrifyingly lonesome place for an injured young man to die, but that’s effectively what happened to 21-year-old Matthew Shepard 20 years ago this month. A cyclist found him the next day outside of Laramie, tied to one of the split-rail fences that stretch endlessly along pastures across the state. After hours of exposure, near death, and with his face covered in a mask of blood stained by tears, Shepard looked like a “scarecrow,” according to his rescuer. Shepard died in a coma from brain injuries on October 12, 1998, after six days on life support. The openly gay University of Wyoming student became the face of LGBTQ hate-crime prevention following his horrific murder by the two men he met in a bar and befriended. The City of Laramie and the University of Wyoming are commemorating the anniversary of Shepard’s death with a series of events that began in September. The observance will include a performance of “Considering Matthew Shepard” by the Grammy-winning choral group Conspirare at Laramie High School Theater on October 6—the anniversary of the day Shepard was found barely alive. In announcing the plans, Laramie mayor Andi Summerville said the international attention drawn to Laramie in the wake of Shepard’s death “rocked this community, absolutely to its fundamental core.” During the prosecutions of the two men on murder charges, the world learned that the killers pretended to be gay in order to rob Shepard. After enticing him to leave the bar with them, they pistol-whipped him, stole his cash and credit cards, and left him to die.

As Southern Poverty Law Center president Richard Cohen notes, Shepard’s death focused national attention on the reality of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. His organization is the preeminent chronicler of hate crimes and hate groups in the U.S. “Just as the murder of Emmett Till awakened America to the reality of racial violence, so the murder of Matthew Shepard awakened our country to the reality of violence against the LGBTQ community,” Cohen says. Emmett Till was the black youth who was mutilated and tossed in a river in Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly insulting a white woman. Like Till (whose death sparked outrage among blacks and sympathetic whites and precipitated the Montgomery bus boycott), Shepard’s death inspired a revolution in attitudes toward anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence. Similarly, Shepard posthumously became an icon, and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2009. Byrd was the black man who was killed by three white supremacists in

38 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Jasper, Texas, also in 1998. The 20th anniversary of Shepard’s death comes amidst a marked increase in reported hate crimes across the country over the last few years. When the FBI releases its statistics for 2017, another increase in hate crimes is expected, according to organizations researching and analyzing the activity. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, predicts that the new FBI report will reveal disturbing news about a resurgence of violence in the nation’s biggest cities, including Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. “Our investigation found that hate-crime totals for the 10 largest cities rose for four straight years to the highest level in a decade,” according to criminologist Brian Levin, who supervised the Center’s May 2018 report. The Center also identified the most common hate-crime categories in its analysis as antiblack, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Latino. The Southern Poverty Law Center is also seeing an increase in the number of active ➝

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white-supremacist groups. Experts agree that there appears to be a correlation between President Trump’s bombastic rhetoric belittling minorities before and after his election and the growth of hate propaganda and violence. A spike in hate crimes, especially targeting Muslims, was seen about the time of the 2016 election and thought to be inspired by Trump’s campaign. It is unlikely that anything or anyone can deter Trump from his daily routine of invective meant to satisfy his archconservative base. After all, in the wake of Shepard’s death, protesters from the hate group at Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas picketed his funeral with signs reading “Matt in Hell” and “God Hates Fags.” While the commemoration of Shepard’s horrific death will not soften the hearts of hateful Americans, maybe it will kindle another movement to help drown out the voices of Trump and his supporters. Ultimately, it will probably require either voting Trump out of office or impeaching him to reverse the destructive path that the nation seems to be following—all the more reason to make a commitment to voting in every election so that your voice will be heard.

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David Webb is a veteran Texas journalist with four decades of experience in the mainstream and alternative media.

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40 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

• You won’t find fire ants up Donald Trump’s butt. • Both aspire to take over the world, but at least fire ants have some class about it. • You can call an exterminator to get rid of fire ants any time, but the chance to get rid of Ted Cruz only comes around every six years. Be sure to vote early, so if there’s any problem you will have time to call your local Democratic Party for help. It’s a long ballot, but do not get tired and skip any races. Sometimes the small local races affect your daily life more than the big ones. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus has an excellent endorsement page at thecaucus.org/ endorsements. To make your life simpler, think about this: unless a Republican stands up and loudly denounces the politics of Donald Trump, that means they support him and are proud to stand with him as leader of their party. So screw ’em, and vote a straight Democratic ticket. Happy Halloween, guys!

Susan Bankston lives in Richmond, Texas, where she writes about her hairdresser at The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc., at juanitajean.com.

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| 41

UNAPOLOGETICALLY TRANS

By Monica Roberts

Run, Trans Texans, Run! With three candidates on the ballot in November, this is only the beginning.

‹

s an advocate for 20 years, I have long recognized the need for transgender people to run for office—including well before the infamous 2017 Texas legislative session. Painful experiences as a trans person, along with watching as we have been repeatedly cut out of legislation despite our best lobbying efforts, have shaped this viewpoint. The historic wins of state delegate Danica Roem in Virginia, and Minneapolis city council members Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham, have been a catalyst for other trans people to get off the sidelines and toss their hats in the political ring—with mixed success. Texas GOP lawmakers’ failed attempts to pass the unjust, anti-trans Senate Bill 6 bill only added a sense of urgency to the need for trans Texans to have a direct say in how we are governed. Even though Phyllis Frye is a municipal judge in Houston and Jess Herbst served as mayor of New Hope, Texas, we have never had an out trans person elected to public office in the Lone Star State. Frye was appointed by former mayor Annise Parker in 2010. Herbst didn’t come out until she transitioned shortly after she became mayor, making her the first trans elected official in Texas. She lost her bid to be re-elected as mayor of New Hope in May. When the 2018 political cycle began, more than 50 TBLGQ people were running for public office in the Lone Star State. Eight trans candidates were part of this historic surge in Texas, running for everything from city councils to the U.S. Congress. The March primaries thinned them out a bit. Dylan Forbis lost his bid to capture the Demo-

Trans-formative Moment Danielle Skidmore (clockwise from top right), Jessica Cohen, and Finnigan Jones are the three transgender Texans on the ballot in November.

cratic nomination for the Texas House District 29 seat in Pearland. This loss was made even more painful by the fact that James Pressly, who defeated Forbis, ended his campaign against incumbent Republican Ed Thompson in August, leaving no Democrat on the November ballot. While Jenifer Rene Pool made history in 2016 by becoming the first trans Texan to win a Democratic primary, it was not to be in 2018. Pool lost her bid for the Democratic nomination in the Texas House District 138 race won

42 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

by Adam Milasincic, who will challenge GOP incumbent Dwayne Bohac in that west-side Houston district. Vanessa Edwards Foster captured an impressive 17 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race for the Democratic nomination in the 27th Congressional District race, but fell 898 votes shy of making the May runoff, which was was eventually won by Eric Holguin. But we trans Texans have still made some history this year. Finnigan Jones, who is running ➝

Unapologetically trans continued from page 42

all my sons

Voted BEST MOVERS

u of h

Contact

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for the Texas House District 94 seat in Arlington, became the first trans-masculine Texan to win a Democratic primary, and the first trans Texan to win a legislative one. Jones cleared the first hurdle toward becoming the first trans person elected to the Texas Legislature, but he faces an uphill climb against incumbent Rep. Tony Tinderholt, who is a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus. Meanwhile in our state capital, we have two trans candidates running for Austin City Council in November: Jessica Cohen in District 3 and Danielle Skidmore in District 9. Austin has an interesting dynamic in that the majority of sitting City Council members are women. Both Cohen and Skidmore are challenging incumbent council members—Sabino “Pio” Renteria in District 3 and Kathie Tovo in District 9. Cohen is one of five candidates vying to unseat Renteria, while Skidmore is one of three challenging Tovo, who also serves as Austin’s mayor pro tem. While Cohen is considered a longshot to make history, Skidmore recently picked up a major endorsement from Equality Texas’ Texas Equity PAC. It also didn’t hurt Skidmore that in the lottery to determine ballot position, she drew the number-two spot right under Tovo. Cohen, on the other hand, is in the fifth ballot position in the District 3 race. In any case, I’m rooting for both Cohen and Skidmore to make Texas electoral history with wins in November. I also want that to happen for Jones. It would be deliciously nice for him to defeat an enemy of the Texas trans community. The deadline to register to vote is October 9, with early voting starting on October 22 and running through November 3. If you aren’t registered, you need to bust a move and make it happen. Then you need to vote as if your humanity and human rights are on the ballot—because, frankly, if you’re a trans Texan, they are. GOP state lawmakers have already signaled their intent to pass an anti-trans bill similar to SB 6 in the 2019 session. No matter what happens November 6, Texas trans folks need to continue to run for office at all levels of government, because we need to be the legislative chefs creating laws instead of always being on the menu. Sooner or later, we’ll start winning more of these races than we lose. When we trans folks start serving as elected officials, it will benefit not only our community, but society as a whole. So run, Texas trans people, run! Monica Roberts, a native Houstonian, is the founding editor of the GLAAD award-winning blog TransGriot. Her ongoing mission is to educate people on the lives of transgender people and fight for everyone’s human rights.

| OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com 44 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

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One of the greatest things about our annual Gayest & Greatest Awards issue is that it gives us an opportunity to tell the remarkable stories of everyday LGBTQ individuals, allies, and organizations. Although winners may not make headlines throughout the year, they frequently represent the very

fabric of this community, and we hope you enjoy reading about some of them in the following pages. Thank you to all of our readers, advertisers, and sponsors—as well as to everyone who voted—for making our 22nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards possible.

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OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 51

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ouston’s Most Divine Drag Queen, Alexye’us Paris, made her first appearance on Halloween 1997 when friends coaxed Demarcus Hardin to enter a costume contest at a gay bar in his hometown of San Angelo. “I looked like a boy in a wig, but I was good enough to win $400. I was so good that the bar owner asked me to come back and perform once a week. I was a preacher’s kid and didn’t know anything about making my hair or doing my makeup, so I had to pay somebody. For six months, I paid attention to every detail, and I learned how to do them myself.” In San Angelo, Hardin says, he learned at the sparkling stiletto-clad feet of veteran female impersonators Teairra Mykelz and Chyna Blue, both of whom began their careers in San Angelo. Mykelz and Blue followed their stars to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, enjoying fame in dragdom before returning to their fans at home. Sixteen years ago, when Paris decided to “make a change and move to a bigger city,” she picked Houston for her home base as a full-time professional female impersonator. “I do a lot of ‘old school’ drag: Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin. I leave Beyoncé and what we call ‘radio music’—younger artists who are on the radio—to other girls. My favorite number is Gladys Knight’s ‘End of the Road.’ My most requested is ‘I Will Survive’ by Gladys Knight.” Paris performed at various Montrose clubs that have since closed before landing the prestigious post as director of entertainment at Hamburger Mary’s, where she’s able to book top talents by employing the digits she gathered while traveling across Texas and the rest of the country as Miss Gay Texas USofA at Large 2013 and Miss Gay Houston USofA 2015. “She was a great titleholder for both of those titles,” says Houston drag guru Craig Henderson. Most recently, Paris won the title of Miss Gay Barbie USofA and placed as third runner-up at Miss Gay Texas USofA in August, when she surprised audiences with a hip-hop dance to a Paula Abdul medley. “I am half black and half Hispanic,” says Paris, whose status as a pageant queen doesn’t come with a platform or agenda. “I am a quiet person and usually do not have much to say, unless I am asked something specifically.” —Don Maines

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FAVORITE LOCAL (NON-DRAG) MALE ENTERTAINER Mykey Whitney Finalists: Marty Adamson, Ty Frazier

FAVORITE LOCAL BAND Dirty Disco Finalists: Doomstress, Houston Pride Band, Space Kiddettes

FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOW OFF YOUR LEATHER Houston Eagle Finalists: Numbers Nightclub, RIPCORD

FAVORITE PLACE TO WATCH MALE DANCERS Tony’s Corner Pocket Finalists: Houston Eagle, JR’s Bar & Grill

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G & G’18  PEOPLE BEST FEMALE LGBTQ BUSINESS PERSON Caryn Craig Finalists: Sandra Bubbert, Julie Mabry, Jill Maxwell, Jenni Tran-Weaver, Tammi Wallace

BEST MALE LGBTQ BUSINESS PERSON Mark DeLange Finalists: John Donato, George Konar, Lane Lewis, Gerard O’Brien

FAVORITE FEMALE (COMMERCIAL) RADIO PERSONALITY Sarah Pepper Finalists: Lynn Beckwith, Christi Brooks, Roula Christie, Lauren Kelly

FAVORITE MALE (COMMERCIAL) RADIO PERSONALITY Kevin “Special K” England Finalists: Jason Cage, Al Farb

 Favorite

FAVORITE FEMALE (COMMUNITY) RADIO PERSONALITY Khaliah Guillory

FEMALE (COMMUNITY) TV PERSONALITY

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The Hostess with the Mostest

hen a phone call comes from this year’s Gayest & Greatest Favorite Female (Community) TV Personality, her voice sounds familiar, but I can’t quite put a name to it. From a carpool line where she’s picking up her teenage son from school, she says, “I’ll give you three guesses: Halle Berry, Oprah Winfrey, or Deborah Duncan.” Of course it’s Deborah Duncan, the playful star of Great Day Houston on KHOU-TV, and our faithful ally since before she even knew there was an LGBTQ community. As a teenager at John Marshall High School in San Antonio, Duncan “knew there was something different” about a friend named Rusty, but she didn’t articulate his otherness as gay until the day some classmates ran to tell her that Rusty was getting beaten up. “Since I was the only black kid in class, I guess they thought I could fight. Rusty was always so kind and sweet. I said, ‘Are you friggin’ kidding me?’” Duncan ran and stopped the fight. “Fastforward 15 years later, I was doing television in Dallas,” Duncan says, “and we featured the Turtle Creek Chorale,” which is primarily a gay men’s chorus. “They said, ‘Someone wants to say thank you,’” recalls Duncan, revealing that it was Rusty, who told her, “You saved my life.” Duncan later faced death herself when she was working in New York City and a brain

Longtime LGBTQ ally Deborah Duncan to emcee Montrose Center gala. aneurysm burst. “People prayed for me, and I got to hear all the nice things they say at your funeral, but without dying. It was a big wakeup call for me. God pointed me in the right direction, and I said, ‘Okay, I get it.’ For me, it comes down to what Martin Luther King Jr. said: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’” Duncan counts OUTSMART readers as important members of the LGBTQ community— and just as we are everywhere, so is she. “I’m at an event almost any day,” she says. This month she plans to be at The Ballroom at Bayou Place to emcee the Montrose Center’s festive 2018 Out for Good Dinner on October 11. A graduate of the University of Texas, Duncan was selected as the honorary grand marshal for the 2015 Houston LGBT Pride Celebration. “That was a fun one,” she says, explaining that Houston’s 2015 Pride parade was held the day after the U.S. Supreme Court blessed same-sex marriage in a 5-4 ruling. For more on Duncan, visit www.khou.com/greatday. —Don Maines

56 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

FAVORITE MALE (COMMUNITY) RADIO PERSONALITY Jack Valinski Finalists: JD Doyle, Bryan Hlavinka

FAVORITE FEMALE COMMUNITY HERO Fran Watson Finalists: Julie Mabry, Toni Mascione, Melanie Pang

FAVORITE MALE COMMUNITY HERO Don Gill Finalists: Jacques Bourgeois, Angelina DM Trailz, Robert Vasquez

FAVORITE TRANS COMMUNITY HERO Monica Roberts Finalists: Alexis Melvin, Atlantis Narcisse, Lou Weaver

FAVORITE FEMALE COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHER Yvonne Tran Finalist: Blu Velvet Photography

FAVORITE MALE COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHER Dalton DeHart Finalists: Eric Edward Schell, Steven Tilotta

FAVORITE FEMALE LOCAL POLITICIAN Kim Ogg Finalists: Ellen Cohen, Sylvia Garcia

FAVORITE MALE LOCAL POLITICIAN Sylvester Turner Finalists: Garnet Coleman, Robert Gallegos, Mike Laster

FAVORITE FEMALE TV PERSONALITY Deborah Duncan FAVORITE MALE TV PERSONALITY Frank Billingsley Finalists: Ryan Korsgard, Derrick Shore ➝

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G & G’18  PEOPLE

Anchoring in H-Town Talk-show tycoon Ernie Manouse unexpectedly made Houston home.

 Favorite

MALE (COMMUNITY) TV PERSONALITY

hen Ernie Manouse moved to Space City in 1996 to take a job with Houston Public Media, producing and hosting WeekNight Edition on channel 8, he thought maybe he’d stay here for two years. “I kept all my moving boxes,” he says. “I still have them.” That was 22 years and many TV shows ago. The New York native has hosted everything from talk shows to political debates. He’s also known for hosting the U.S. Military Ball and the Cattle Baron’s Ball, and he has served on the boards of the Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Stages Repertory Theatre, and the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. Manouse is 48, although his Wikipedia entry lists him as 49. “But I’m claiming 47,” says the affable host. “That’s what I was last year, and I liked it.” His partner is local actor Walt Zipprian of The Catastrophic Theatre, where he’s often the foil to Tamarie Cooper on stage. Manouse and Zipprian enjoy going out to different places, but they typically wind up back at Champ Burger. Manouse is such a fan of the old-school burger shack that he named one of his cats Champ. The other is Scout (presumably not a food reference). Although he rides his bike occasion-

ally, he readily admits that his favorite pastime is watching TV. He was such a fan of PBS’s Downton Abby that he hosted a local after-show called Manor of Speaking. The thirty-minute chat fest featured local guests who talked about the British program’s weekly plot developments—sort of a fancy Talking Dead, if you will. The show aired on 150 PBS stations across the country. Over the years, Manouse has interviewed countless celebrities, but his favorite was singer and actress Patti LuPone. “You’d think she’d be a real diva,” he recalls with a laugh. “But she was the absolute nicest guest I’ve ever had.” And if you want to know who the worst guest was, well, you’ll have to take Manouse out for a drink. He’s working on a new program that he’ll debut in the spring, but right now you can catch him on Cover to Cover. It’s a companion show to PBS’s The Great American Read, which is an

58 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

eight-part program celebrating the power of reading. “It’s like a book club,” Manouse says. “My kind of book club, with no assigned reading!” Guests include the likes of meteorologist Frank Billingsley, Andrea White, Pierce Bush, and Christina Wells. “Everybody knows Christina from America’s Got Talent,” Manouse says. “But did you know she reads these real trashy romance novels? Hundreds of them.” As for Manouse’s favorite book, he’ll tell you it is A Christmas Carol. “It’s a wonderful story of redemption and compassion,” he explains. “And I think there’s a little Ebenezer in us all.” Manouse has ten regional Emmy Awards, but he’s hoping for at least one more, maybe for Cover to Cover. “I think ‘Eleven-Emmy Ernie’ has a nice ring to it,” he says. —Marene Gustin

FAVORITE MALE (COMMUNITY) TV PERSONALITY Ernie Manouse FAVORITE LGBTQ EDUCATOR/TEACHER Charles Swan Finalists: Joan Valladares, Clayton Younkin

G & G’18  PETS

BEST LGBTQ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT Randy Rainbow Finalists: The Fab Femme, JD Doyle, MyGayHouston, Pride Portraits

FAVORITE LOCAL LGBTQ BLOGGER Monica Roberts FAVORITE NATIONAL LGBTQ BLOGGER/ VLOGGER Rich Lux

Finalists: Doggie Daycare of River Oaks, You Lucky Dog Pet Resort – Houston ERIC EDWARD SCHELL

Finalist: The Fab Femme

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LEADING FEMALE ENTERTAINER FUNDRAISER Lady Shamu Finalists: An’ Marie Gill, Angela Mercy

LEADING MALE ENTERTAINER FUNDRAISER Domenic Cusano Finalists: Sebastian Gutierrez, Craig Sanford, Angelina DM Trailz

LEADING FEMALE FUNDRAISER Melissa Flories Finalists: Felicia Gulihur, Sarah Tompkins Gutierrez, Chris Valk, Sallie Woodell, Carol Wyatt

LEADING MALE FUNDRAISER Don Gill Finalists: Nick Alvarado, Jacques Bourgeois, Sebastian Gutierrez, Gary Wood

MOST PROMINENT FEMALE LGBTQ ACTIVIST Fran Watson Finalists: Alexis Melvin, Melanie Pang, Monica Roberts

MOST PROMINENT MALE LGBTQ ACTIVIST Ray Hill

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Finalists: Christie Cornelius, Hilary Granson

BEST MALE VETERINARIAN Richard Clive

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Finalists: Tyler M. Kosich, John A. Shelby

BEST PET EMERGENCY CARE CENTER Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists

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Finalists: Sunset Animal Hospital, Urban Animal Veterinary Hospital

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BEST PET GROOMING SERVICE Aussie Pet Mobile River Oaks Finalists: Molly’s Mutt House, PetSmart

BEST PET WALKING AND PET SITTING SERVICE Leigh Anne Marshall

VOTED ONE OF THE BEST Dr. Barrios •WINNER 2015 Dr. Barrios BestOctavio Aesthetic Physician Best Physican 2005-2018 Skin Renaissance • WINNER 2005-15 Skin Renaissance Best Skin Care Center Best Skin Care Center 2005-2018

Finalists: Brennan Blankenship, Heartstringshtx (Denise Manquero)

Finalists: Jacques Bourgeois, Brad Pritchett, Eric Edward Schell, Ashton Woods

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Finalists: Crimson Jordan, Monica Roberts, Lou Weaver

MOST VALUABLE FEMALE VOLUNTEER Donna Junker Finalists: Julie Mabry, Lo Roberts, Ana Sanchez, Fran Watson, Sallie Woodell

MOST VALUABLE MALE VOLUNTEER Domenic Cusano Finalists: Jacques Bourgeois, Jeremy Fain, Don Gill, Brad Pritchett, Robert Vasquez

BEST PLACE TO ADOPT A PET Friends For Life Finalists: BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions, Citizens for Animal Protection, Houston SPCA

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OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 59

G & G’18  REAL ESTATE

Personal Lending Mortgage agent and father of two Cody Grizzoffi specializes in building relationships.

 Best 

EVIN THAYER

MORTGAGE COMPANY

ody Grizzoffi was in banking management when he met a mortgage agent at a luncheon one day. After they got to talking about the business, Grizzoffi decided that it was time for a career change. That was almost 15 years ago. Now, Grizzoffi is a branch manager with InterLinc Mortgage Services LLC, which has been one of the fastest-growing mortgage companies in the Southwest since 2004. “I really enjoy being able to help people at a major point in their lives,” he says. “I don’t think of people as clients, because many of them have turned into longtime friends.” So why choose a mortgage firm over a bank or a broker when buying a home, or refinancing one? “It’s usually cheaper, but it’s really about that personal relationship,” Grizzoffi explains. “We’ll find the loan that’s right for you, and one

with some of the lowest mortgage rates available in the country.” He specializes in helping all types of buyers, from builders and investors to fi rst-time home buyers. “I had a couple in their 60s,” he says, “who just bought their first home.” But more and more, he adds, he’s seeing younger Millennials buying homes. And he says that the Houston and surrounding markets aren’t slowing down anytime soon. “That’s good news for the economy,” he says. “Maybe not so good for commuters.” Which he is. Grizzoffi and his husband, David (pictured kneeling), who is in risk management, own a home in the suburbs. He says they moved out of the city a few years ago, for their children. They have a 10-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. “I would love to be back in the city—just pick

60 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

this house and yard up and move it,” he says, “but realistically, we couldn’t afford anything like this inside the loop.” The family has no pets and few hobbies. Grizzoffi says the kids come first, and it’s mostly about homework, games, and exercising. But they do like to take the whole family back to Montrose for a meal at Hamburger Mary’s because, he says, “the kids love a good drag show!” As far as the community goes, he is a member of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, and the entire family participates in the annual AIDS Walk Houston. “We include the kids in it because we want them to learn to give back,” he says. When choosing a lender, Grizzoffi has this advice: “It’s about your own comfort level. Pick someone who has the knowledge and a personality that clicks with you.” —Marene Gustin

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BEST FEMALE REAL-ESTATE AGENT Karen Derr (tie) Debbie Levine (tie) Finalists: Terre Coffman, Lynette Lew, Bitsy Schwartz

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BEST MALE REAL-ESTATE AGENT Jeremy Fain Finalists: Brooks Ballard, Mike Copenhaver, Ashton Martini, Anthony Matthews, Thomas Phillips, Luke Volz, Andy Weber

BEST HOME BUILDER ROC Homes Finalist: Thomas O’Neill Homes

BEST HOME REMODELING COMPANY Luria Construction Finalists: Construction & Design Inc., Heels 2 Hammers LLC, New Slate Properties, Noble Contractor Solutions LLC

BEST MORTGAGE COMPANY Interlinc Mortgage Services (Cody Grizzoffi) Finalists: Fairway Mortgage, Republic State Mortgage, Wells Fargo Mortgage

BEST TITLE COMPANY Chicago Title Innerloop (Noel Phillips) Finalists: First American Title, Stewart Title Houston

FAVORITE RENTAL COMMUNITY Elan Memorial Park Finalists: Elan Heights, Skyhouse Houston ➝ OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 61

G & G’18  TRAVEL & VACATION

Queer Sailing Aquafest embarks on its 18th annual LGBTQ Halloween cruise.

 Best 

LGBT CRUISE or TOUR COMPANY (tie)

om Baker—with his partner, Marc Garcia, by his side—helps LGBTQ travelers see the world with a family of LGBTQ travelers by their side. Baker is the founder of Aquafest, which began 17 years ago with a Halloween cruise out of Galveston. It’s no wonder Baker ended up in the travel industry. His grandparents, who played a big part in raising him, loved to travel and took Baker on many “incredible journeys,” he says. In 1984, after graduating from college, he went to work for a travel company in Los Angeles called Ask Mr. Foster Travel. Fast-forward ten years, and Baker moved to Houston to start Aquafest, which he owns and operates with two business partners. The three also own Aquafest’s parent company, CruiseCenter.com, which sells vacations to non-LGBTQ travelers as well. Aquafest is a private group-tour operator and special-event company founded in 2001 “to meet the needs of LGBT travelers wanting an alternative to higher-priced charter companies,” Baker says. The company began with a group of 100

people—mostly from Galveston and Houston— on a Halloween cruise aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas. Within three years, the Halloween cruise was an annual event sailing out of New Orleans with 350 passengers and well-known LGBTQ performers. “The goal from day one was to create affordable and entertaining travel for our target audience, and make it a friendly environment where all guests are called our ‘Family at Sea,’” Baker says. This year, Aquafest will return to its roots for the Halloween cruise, sailing from Galveston with performers including Billy Gilman, Miss Conception, and Amy and Freddy. Baker is proud of creating a trip within a trip, with non-stop LGBTQ activities, entertainment, gatherings, shoreside excursions, and late-night theme parties. “It is amazing fun,” he says. And it must be, with ships boasting 50 percent or more repeaters onboard. Guests, of course, can take advantage of all of the ship’s regular programming as well. “So they have the best of all worlds at sea,” Baker says. Aquafest utilizes a team of volunteers who

62 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

serve as onboard staff, and Garcia handles marketing and helps manage the trips that can now accommodate up to 500 people. Their goal is to serve the entire LGBTQ community. “We want inclusion and not exclusion,” he says, adding that the events also break down barriers with the non-LGBTQ travelers on the ship. “We have had huge numbers of guests thank us for allowing [them to get] a better understanding of who we are. While this might sound patronizing, it is making strides in tearing down walls between different but similar human beings,” he says. Aquafest also supports a number of charitable LGBTQ organizations in Houston and beyond. And it now offers overseas cruises “without the fanfare of Halloween, but still an exciting opportunity for LGBT travelers to see the world [while being comfortable in the company] of like-minded travelers,” Baker says. Aquafest also organizes land tours to destinations including India, Southeast Asia, Peru, the Amazon, and Africa. “Aquafest is here to continue building our ‘Family at Sea’ and elsewhere,” Baker says. —Jenny Block

BEST AIRLINE Southwest Airlines Finalists: American Airlines, United Airlines

Thank you

readers for making

BEST HONEYMOON DESTINATION Casa Azur, Costa Rica Finalists: Las Vegas, Paris, Puerto Vallarta

BEST LGBT CRUISE OR TOUR COMPANY Aquafest Cruises, Concierge Travel (tie) Finalist: Olivia Cruises

BEST LGBT TRAVEL DESTINATION New York City Finalists: Provincetown, Puerto Vallarta

the BEST Art Gallery of 2018! ACADIAN BAKERY BAKER TO THE STARS Best Bakery – Winner Best Wedding Cake Bakery – Winner Best Dessert – Runner – up Best Hamburger – Runner - up Best Female LGBTQ Business Person – Runner - up

BEST LOCAL HOTEL Le Méridien Houston Finalists: Hotel ZaZa, Marriott Marquis Houston, Sam Houston Hotel

BEST LOCAL LGBT TRAVEL AGENCY Concierge Travel Finalist: Aquafest Cruises

G & G’18  AUTO

BEST AUTO BODY SHOP Master Car Care Finalist: Ryan Automotive

BEST AUTO MECHANIC Beckwith’s Car Care Finalists: Master Car Care & Collision, RMS Auto Care, Tech Auto Maintenance

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BEST CAR WASH/AUTO DETAILING Mister Car Wash & Express Lube

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Finalists: Aqua Hand Wash & Car Detail, Carriage Glass & Detail Co.

BEST DOMESTIC AUTO DEALERSHIP Planet Lincoln Finalists: Beck & Masten Buick GMC South, Central Houston Cadillac, Knapp Chevrolet

BEST IMPORT AUTO DEALERSHIP Audi Central Houston Finalists: Central Houston Land Rover, Momentum Mini, Sterling McCall Lexus, Subaru of Clear Lake

BEST LOCAL TRANSPORTATION Uber Finalists: Lyft, Metro ➝

A Collection of Poetry Written by Sandra Jean Bubbert

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OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 63

G & G’18  DINING OUT

BEST 24-HOUR RESTAURANT House of Pies Finalists: Katz’s Deli, Midtown Bar & Grill, Spanish Flowers

BEST BAKERY Acadian Bakery Finalists: Common Bond Cafe & Bakery, Dessert Gallery, El Bolillo Bakery

BEST BARBECUE The Pit Room Finalists: Brookstreet BBQ, Goode Company, Hungry Farmer Bar-B-Q, Pinkerton’s Barbecue

ALEX ROSA

n search of savory drunk-food after a long night of bar-hopping? Look no further than Taqueria Adrian, an LGBTQ-friendly taco truck in the heart of Houston’s Montrose gayborhood. Voted Best Food Truck in OUTSMART’s 2018 Gayest & Greatest Awards, Taqueria Adrian is situated in a parking lot adjacent to the Eagle Houston bar. The truck is operated by a progressive Mexican-American family that has served queer Houstonians every weekend for nearly two years. Working the grill from dusk until the earlymorning hours is José Cano—who sizzles the chicken, beef, and vegetables. His grandson, José Vallejo, constructs tacos, tortas, and quesadillas, and presents them in paper baskets so they can be eaten fresh. Taking orders is Cano’s wife, Irene Dominguez, an LGBTQ ally who is the friendly face of Taqueria Adrian. “The best part about working in Montrose is the people,” Dominguez says. “All of our customers are extremely friendly, and I enjoy getting to know a lot of them on personal levels.” Around 10 p.m., when business is slow, Dominguez has time to chat with her customers until their food is ready. She knows many of the truck’s regulars by name, and has even connected with some of them on social media. “I have gotten close with several of the people who eat here,” Dominguez says. “I am not only here to feed them, but I also hear them out when they need to confide in someone. For some customers, I have become a second mother for them to talk to.” Taqueria Adrian is busiest from 1 a.m. to 3:30

 Best  FOOD TRUCK

Food and Family Taqueria Adrian serves up authentic Mexican, with a side of motherly love, to Montrose bar patrons.

a.m. Dominguez says she doesn’t keep track of how many customers the truck serves nightly, but when the Eagle closes, the line extends through the parking lot onto Hyde Park Street. Quesadillas—corn tortillas stuffed with Monterey jack cheese, grilled onions, pico de gallo, and one’s choice of meat—are Tacqueria Adrian’s best seller. “People seem to really enjoy our food,” Dominguez laughs. “I’m sure they need it after being out late at the bars.” Named after one of Dominguez’s grandsons,

Taqueria Adrian debuted in front of the Eagle in January 2017. Dominguez’s friend, a supervisor at the Eagle, wanted to take a chance on her authentic Mexican food truck and allowed it to park in the lot outside of his establishment. “We’ve never stationed ourselves anywhere else because we like it in Montrose so much,” Dominguez says. “We love to be around the people here, and we love what we’re doing.” To place an advance order at Taqueria Adrian, call Dominguez at 281-806-4169. – Lourdes Zavaleta

BEST BRITISH The Black Labrador

BEST CHINESE Ambassador Chinese Restaurant

Finalists: Queen Vic, The Red Lion Pub

Finalists: Auntie Chang’s Dumpling House, Kam’s

BEST BRUNCH Glorias (tie) Hamburger Mary’s (tie)

BEST CUBAN El Meson Finalist: Cafe Piquet

Finalist: Hugo’s

BEST CAFE Barnaby’s Cafe

BEST DELI Katz’s Deli

Finalists: Brasil, Nectar

Finalists: Carter & Cooley, Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen

BEST CAJUN BB’s Tex-Orleans

BEST DESSERT Dessert Gallery

Finalist: Ragin’ Cajun Restaurant

Finalists: Acadian Bakers, The Chocolate Bar, Rita’s Italian Ice-Heights

BEST BREAKFAST Baby Barnaby’s

BEST CENTRAL/ SOUTH AMERICAN Gloria’s Latin Cuisine

BEST FOOD TRUCK Taqueria Adrian

Finalists: Lankford’s Grocery & Market, Snooze, Urban Eats

Finalists: América’s, Andes Café

Finalists: Bernie’s Burger Bus, Big Judy’s, Rita’s Italian Ice-Heights

64 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

BEST FRENCH Emmaline

No Drama ...Just Results

Finalist: La Table

BEST GREEK Niko Niko’s Finalists: Helen Greek Food & Wine, Theo’s

BEST HAMBURGER Hamburger Mary’s Finalists: Acadian Bakers, Barnaby’s Cafe, Lankford’s Grocery & Market

BEST PLACE TO CELEBRATE Hamburger Mary’s Finalists: La Table, Rainbow Lodge

BEST HOT DOG Good Dog Houston - Montrose Finalist: JCI Grill

BEST INDIAN Pondicheri

BEST BUDGET-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT Raising Cane’s - Montrose Finalists: Barnaby’s, Jenni’s Noodle House, Tacos A Go-Go, Torchy’s Tacos

Finalists: Khyber, Kiran’s

BEST RESTAURANT FOR ELEGANT DINING Brennan’s of Houston

BEST ITALIAN Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino (tie) Riva’s (tie)

Finalists: B&B Butchers, La Table, Starfish

Finalist: Carrabba’s

BEST RESTAURANT FOR OUTDOOR DINING Cedar Creek Finalists: Backstreet Café, Brenner’s on the Bayou

BEST JAPANESE Uchi Finalists: JINYA Ramen, Nippon Japanese Restaurant

BEST SEAFOOD Danton’s Finalists: Pappadeaux, Starfish, Truluck’s

BEST LUNCH SPOT Jenni’s Noodle House Finalists: Barnaby’s Cafe, Raising Cane’s-Montrose, Urban Eats, Velvet Taco

BEST MEDITERRANEAN Fadi’s Finalists: Aladdin, DiMassi’s

BEST STEAK HOUSE Steak 48 Finalists: B&B Butchers, Morton’s Steak House, Pappas Steak House

TOP PRODUCER 2001-2017

BEST STEAK NIGHT AT A BAR Free Grillin’ at George (Thursday nights) Finalists: Guava Lamp, Neon Boots, Pearl Bar

BEST MEXICAN Teotihuacan Mexican Cafe Finalists: La Mexicana, La Tapatia

BEST SUSHI Uchi Finalists: Oishii, Osaka

BEST MIDDLE EASTERN Fadi’s (Tie) Mary’z Lebanese Cuisine (Tie) Finalists: Aladdin, Bijan Persian Grill

BEST THAI Nidda Thai Finalists: Nit Noi, Thai Spice

BEST VEGETARIAN/VEGAN Hobbit Cafe Finalists: BellaGreen, JuiceLand

BEST VIETNAMESE Mai’s Finalists: Kim Son, Pho Saigon Voted BEST FEMALE REAL ESTATE AGENT 6 years in a row. Outsmart Readers’ Choice 2013-2018

BEST NEW RESTAURANT Emmaline Finalists: Dream Tacos TX, Gus’ World Famous Chicken

BEST PIZZA Pizzeria Solario Finalists: Bollo, Romano’s, Star Pizza

BEST PLACE FOR A ROMANTIC DATE Spindletop at the Hyatt Finalists: Brennan’s of Houston, Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino, Tony’s

FRIENDLIEST RESTAURANT STAFF Urban Eats Finalists: Gloria’s, Jenni’s Noodle House, Riva’s ➝ OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 65

G & G’18  COMMUNITY



Favorite

LGBTQ SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

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Krewe of Olympus among nation’s largest LGBTQ Mardi Gras groups.

he Krewe of Olympus, which originated in New Orleans, is part social group and part charitable organization. “The original founders in 1970 decided to create a gay Mardi Gras Krewe that would present a ball that was much more fun and had more outstanding costumes,” says Bill Jones-Walters, co-founder of the Houstonbased Krewe of Olympus-Texas, Inc. He and his partner, Ben Jones-Walters, have been mainstays with the Houston organization since they created it in 1991. The New Orleans Krewe of Olympus, one of the largest predominantly gay Mardi Gras organizations in the United States, is preparing to celebrate its 49th ball. The principal goals of the Krewe are to promote theatrical and educational events that continue Mardi Gras traditions, and raise money for community charities. This year, the beneficiaries of the Texas Krewe’s generosity

BEST HOUSTON CORPORATE LGBTQ DIVERSITY GROUP Chevron Finalists: AIG, Amegy Bank, BASF, Comcast, Shell, Wells Fargo

BEST LOCAL LGBTQ WEBSITE OutSmart Magazine Finalists: Houston LGBT History, My Gay Houston

BEST NATIONAL LGBTQ WEBSITE JD Doyle Archives (HoustonLGBTHistory.org)

BEST POLITICAL ADVOCACY GROUP Human Rights Campaign Finalists: Black Lives Matter, Equality Texas, Houston GLBT Political Caucus, LGBTQ Victory Fund

are the Montrose Center, Texas United Charities, and PWA Holiday Charities. “We are so extremely honored, and thank the OUTSMART voters,” Ben says. “I think they selected us because the Krewe does its best to bring something valuable, fun, and entertaining to the Houston community.” Over the years, costumes at the ball have become a favorite tradition among members. The balls have themes and gender-nonspecific kings and queens. This year, the theme will be Cocktail Culture, and you never know how that will be interpreted. Ben says one of his favorite things about the Krewe is “the overwhelming

joy of creating fantastic costumes for others to present at the ball.” On October 14, the Krewe will host the Bitchy Witchy Brunch at the Montrose Center. The group also has a First Friday Happy Hour each month, and the Jones-Walterses said anyone who wants to get involved should visit their website, KreweOfOlympus.org, or email krewe@kreweofolympus.org. “While we are a predominantly gay organization, we are open to anyone who wants to be part of who and what we are,” Bill says. “People can also attend our events throughout the year and get to know us.” —Ryan Leach

FAVORITE HIV/AIDS SUPPORT ORGANIZATION Legacy Community Health

FAVORITE LGBTQ SOCIAL ORGANIZATION Krewe of Olympus

Finalists: AIDS Foundation Houston, Bering Support Network, The Montrose Center, PWA Holiday Charities

FAVORITE LGBTQ BENEFIT EVENT OF THE YEAR Bunnies on the Bayou Finalists: ERSICSS Coronation, Houston Leather Pride, Krewe of Olympus Ball, Mint Julep, Pride Houston Parade & Festival

FAVORITE LGBTQ PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATION Winner to be announced at Gayest & Greatest reception on October 17 Finalists: Bunnies on the Bayou, Dalton DeHart Photographic Foundation, ERSICSS, Krewe of Olympus, Out for Education

66 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Finalists: Bunnies on the Bayou, ERSICSS, Executive & Professional Association of Houston (EPAH), HATCH, Houston Gaymers

FAVORITE LGBTQ SPORTS CLUB Montrose Softball League Association Finalists: Houston Hurricanes, Houston Tennis Club, Lone Star Volleyball

FAVORITE LOCAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY University of Houston Finalists: Houston Community College, Rice University, Texas Southern University

FAVORITE LOCAL LGBTQ COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION Krewe Of Olympus Finalists: Bunnies on the Bayou, ERSICSS, Executive and Professional Association of Houston (EPAH), HATCH

FAVORITE NATIONAL LGBTQ ORGANIZATION Human Rights Campaign Finalists: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), LGBTQ Victory Fund

FAVORITE PLACE TO TAKE YOUR OUT-OF-TOWN VISITORS Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Finalists: Discovery Green, The Galleria, Hamburger Mary’s, The Menil Collection

FAVORITE PLACE TO WORSHIP Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church Finalists: Bering Memorial UMC, Congregation Or Ami, Living Mosaic Montrose Church, Montrose Grace Place, Unity Church

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FAVORITE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM Houston Astros Finalists: Houston Dash, Houston Dynamo, Houston Rockets, Houston SaberCats Rugby, Houston Texans

LOCAL BUSINESS MOST SUPPORTIVE OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY Hamburger Mary’s Finalists: Crocker Bar, Jenni’s Noodle House, JR’s Bar & Grill, Silver Eagle Distributors LP

NATIONAL BUSINESS MOST SUPPORTIVE OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY Target Finalists: Anheuser-Busch, Starbucks, Wells Fargo ➝ OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 67

G & G’18  HEALTH & BEAUTY

Stronger with Age At 58, fitness guru Shana Ross shows no signs of letting up.

hana Ross may be 58, but she certainly doesn’t look it. That’s because she practices what she preaches: exercise and a healthy diet, along with a positive outlook on life. But that wasn’t always the case. “I grew up in East Texas, where if your food wasn’t fried and your potatoes weren’t mashed with whole milk and butter and covered in cream gravy, then bless your heart, your mother didn’t know how to cook,” she recalls. Even though she had always been active in sports as a kid, as she aged she knew she had to change her lifestyle if she wanted to stay in shape. So she got serious about it. In 1997, she served as executive director of the nonprofit wellness center Body Positive, for people with HIV/AIDS. Two years later, she received her certification in personal fitness training before opening her own studio, Shana Ross Fitness, in 2007.

 Best 

FEMALE PERSONAL TRAINER

“I wanted to work with people with chronic illnesses and menopausal women—the kind of people who were intimidated by the gym scene where people were more interested in showing off their latest athletic wear than in getting healthy,” she says. Center co-owner and trainer Mary Beth Reuter is also Ross’s life partner. They were married in 2013, “although we’ve been together for 31 years,” Ross says. The couple lives in The Heights with their two dogs, just seven blocks from the fitness center. In September 2011, the couple began training a group of women to climb Africa’s 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro. One of those women had been diagnosed for a second time with ovarian cancer. “We made it,” Ross says of the six-day trek. “We made it to the top.” The woman with cancer, longtime friend and client Becky Pope, died a year-and-a-half later. “But she died knowing she had made it to the top that day,” Ross says. You can read more about this amazing journey at WeChooseToClimb.com. Ross and Reuter are active hikers who are now training another group of friends for an April hike through Big Bend. “I want to keep being active for as long as I can,” she says. “And it all starts with being healthy and strong. It makes anything possible.” —Marene Gustin

BEST CHIROPRACTOR Matt Arnold

BEST FEMALE DENTIST Cynthia Corral

BEST MALE HAIR STYLIST Joel Quiñones

Finalist: Fernando Franco, Sherman Yeager

Finalists: Carol Price, Dianna Wilde

Finalists: Reza Nouri, Anthony Skoogie, Christian Vanya

BEST MALE DENTIST Bruce Smith

BEST FEMALE MASSAGE THERAPIST The Amazing Rose

Finalists: Sam Carrell, Marcus De Guzman, Cory Logan, Randy Mitchmore

Finalist: Danielle Sampey

BEST COSMETIC SKIN CARE CENTER The Skin Renewal Center Finalists: Fernando Franco, Nuveau Plastic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics, Skin Renaissance

BEST COSMETIC SURGEON Forrest S. Roth Finalists: Cara Downey, Angela Sturm

BEST DAY SPA Alira Boutique Spa & Salon Finalist: Vida & Health Day Spa

BEST FEMAL AESTHETIC PHYSICIAN Angela Sturm

BEST FEMALE EYE DOCTOR Michelle Hung (tie) Christine Tyler (tie) Finalist: Juliet Farmer

BEST MALE EYE DOCTOR Scott Sawyer (tie) Stewart Zuckerbrod (tie) Finalists: Paul Lovero, Charlie Nguyen

BEST MALE AESTHETIC PHYSICIAN Patrick McNamara

BEST FEMALE HAIR STYLIST Celina Gonzalez

Finalists: Herb De Souza, Russell Kridel

Finalist: Patty Gooch

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BEST MALE MASSAGE THERAPIST Ryan Fugate Finalists: John Aaron Villareal, Tom Zeppelin

BEST PSYCHIATRIST Daniel Garza Finalist: Barry Gritz

BEST MALE MENTAL-HEALTH THERAPIST/ PSYCHOLOGIST Denis “Woodja” Flanigan BEST FEMALE MENTAL-HEALTH THERAPIST Denise O’Doherty Finalist: Blythe Twosisters

BEST MALE PERSONAL TRAINER Dwayne Cookson

BEST TATTOO PARLOR Electric Chair

Finalists: David Muniz, Michael Shallis

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BEST FERTILITY CLINIC Aspire Fertility Finalist: Houston Fertility Institute

BEST MALE MENTAL-HEALTH THERAPIST Ty David Lerman Finalists: Tony Aucoin, Robert Snellgrove

BEST FEMALE PHYSICIAN M. Sandra Scurria

BEST URGENT- OR EMERGENCY-CARE CENTER SignatureCare Emergency Center

Finalists: Julia Kovacs, Jennifer Meyers

BEST MALE PHYSICIAN Gordon Crofoot Finalists: Octavio Barrios, Donnie Harvey, Shannon Schrader

BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST Roy Rivera Jr. BEST FEMALE PERSONAL TRAINER Shana Ross

BEST GYM/PLACE TO WORK OUT Skyline CrossFit Finalists: Club Houston, FIT Athletic Club, Vortex Gym

Finalists: Elite Care 24-Hour Emergency, MedSpring Urgent Care, River Oaks Emergency Room–A Village Emergency Center

BEST PHARMACY Avita Pharmacy Finalists: Kroger Montrose, Legacy Community Health, Southside Pharmacy, Walgreens

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G & G’18  LEGAL & FINANCIAL BEST BANK/ CREDIT UNION Wells Fargo Finalists: Amegy Bank, Chase Bank, East West Bank

BEST FEMALE ACCOUNTANT/ BOOKKEEPER Kathy Hubbard BEST MALE ACCOUNTANT/ BOOKKEEPER Gary Gritz Finalists: Greg Ault, Merlin Cavallin, Donald Simon

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Finance and Philanthropy

MALE FINANCIAL PLANNER/ ADVISOR

Mass Mutual’s Bryan Cotton balances personalized planning and LGBTQ advocacy.

t was a quick career climb for Bryan Cotton, who has been assisting executives, entrepreneurs, and homeowners with real estate and financial planning for over two decades. Two years ago, Cotton decided he wanted to pivot from real estate and take on new challenges. He was approached by Mass Mutual Greater Houston to join their firm, and he seized the opportunity to introduce the leadership team to the LGBTQ community. He steadily worked to help build diversity and outreach for Mass Mutual by sponsoring activities with the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the Montrose Center, and the LGBTQ Victory Fund. A Houston native, Cotton began his career in real estate at Re/Max, then moved to Perry Homes before launching Bryan Cotton Properties. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston. “I’m like a financial therapist,” Cotton says. “I take great care to get to know everything about my clients’ finances. Every client is different, and the most common complaint from clients is that they should have started financial planning earlier.”

According to a 2017 survey, 57 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, and 36 percent have none at all. Among Millennials, the “no savings at all” figure jumps to 46 percent. Besides being a multi-talented professional, Cotton is active in Houston, serving on the National Campaign Board of Directors for the Victory Fund and supporting the Montrose Center. He recently stepped down from the board of Out for Education (formerly the PFLAG/HATCH Youth Scholarship Foundation), a nonprofit that provides scholarships for LGBTQ students. Regardless of your age, and no matter how you define financial success, most people won’t get there without a solid plan. Cotton is available to help strategize for retirement, college, and business growth—or customize a financial blueprint for anything life has to offer. When you meet Cotton, you’ll most likely hear him say, “I enter into a long-term relationship with my clients, as I’m in the business of making 30-year promises.” So, the next time you start crunching your personal finances, consider calling Cotton to help stretch their longevity. —Marene Gustin

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BEST FEMALE ATTORNEY Deborah Lawson Finalists: Phyllis Frye, Fran Watson

BEST MALE ATTORNEY Raed Gonzalez, John Nechman (tie) Finalists: Mitchell Katine, Dwane Todd

BEST FEMALE FINANCIAL PLANNER/ ADVISOR Grace Yung Finalists: Felicia Gulihur, Britt Kornmann

BEST MALE FINANCIAL PLANNER/ADVISOR Bryan K. Cotton Finalists: Richard Dixon, Shane Theriot ➝

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G & G’18  HOUSE & HOME

Change Agent

 Best 

MALE INSURANCE AGENT

Longtime activist Lane Lewis smoothly transitions from politics to insurance.

ou may not know 50-year-old Lane Lewis as a Farmers Insurance agent, but chances are you’ve heard his name plenty. “I tended bar at the gay bars in Montrose early on,” Lewis recalls. “I’ve also been a teacher—I have a master’s degree in education—and a social worker. I started the first residential treatment center for homeless LGBTQ youth in the early ’90s.” One of the kids he helped get off the streets was later adopted by former mayor Annise Parker and her wife, Kathy Hubbard. “I pulled together the complainants and lawyers for Lawrence v. Texas,” Lewis says. That landmark Supreme Court case, which struck down sodomy laws nationwide on June 26, 2003, stemmed from the arrest and conviction of two gay Harris County men in 1998. But that’s not all. Lane has also served as an adviser to the City’s Health Department, and he was an appointee of Houston mayors Bob Lanier, Lee Brown, and Bill White. He served as an adviser to the Houston Police Department for over two decades on the Police Advi-

sory Committee, the Citizen Review Committee, the Administrative Discipline Committee, and the Police Academy. Oh, and in his spare time he ran for City Council twice. Although he lost those races, he was elected chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party and held that post from 2011 to 2017—during which time he helped turn the county blue. And now he sells insurance. “Having my own insurance agency gives me flexibility for more time with my family and friends,” says Lewis, who is single. “And I chose Farmers because I’ve always had their insurance, and I respect the company’s views on sexual orientation.” In his spare time, he enjoys his two dogs, two nephews and a grandniece, as well as travel and yoga. And then there are his video games. “When I was 21, I started having anxiety attacks,” Lewis says. “The doctor asked what I did to relieve stress, and I said I worked. So he suggested I play video games. He said that when you play you have to concentrate on the game or else your avatar winds up dead

72 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

and then it’s game over. You can’t think about anything else.” Having had an Atari as a kid, Lewis thought he’d follow his doctor’s advice by going out and buying two games. He has considerably more than that now, and he no longer has anxiety attacks. There’s actually quite a bit of research showing that playing video games can reduce stress, ease physical pain, and improve memory and coordination. “I highly recommend it,” Lewis says. “And it’s a great way for me to bond with my nephews.” —Marene Gustin

BEST ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FIRM Morningside Architects BEST FEMALE INSURANCE AGENT Felicia Gulihur Finalists: Candace Dolan, Pam Ellis

BEST MALE INSURANCE AGENT Lane Lewis Finalists: Jeremy Henry, Patrick Torma

BEST FLORIST David Brown Flowers Finalists: Fannin Flowers, H-E-B Blooms

BEST FURNITURE STORE Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Finalists: Cantoni, IKEA Houston Home Furnishings, MAH-Modern Amish of Houston

BEST FURNITURE STORE ON A BUDGET IKEA Finalists: Alabama Furniture, Gallery Furniture

BEST GARDENING/NURSERY SUPPLY Joshua’s Native Plants & Garden Antiques Finalists: Another Place in Time, Fountains and Statuary, Wabash Feed & Garden Store

BEST HOME SECURITY COMPANY Fortress Shield Security Finalist: Xfinity

BEST INTERIOR DESIGNER Brad Brandt

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Morningside Architects BEST LANDSCAPING COMPANY Windswept Landscape Studios Finalists: Another Place in Time, McDugald-Steele

BEST MOVERS All My Sons Moving & Storage Houston Finalists: 3 Men Movers, Max Movers

BEST PEST CONTROL COMPANY Andy’s All Star Pest Control

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G & G’18  DRINKS & SPIRITS

 Best 

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FEMALE BARTENDER

Calling the Shots Bartender Sarah Tompkins Gutierrez thrives in male-dominated profession.

ehind the counter six nights a week at JR’s Bar & Grill is Sarah Tompkins Gutierrez, an openly bisexual woman who has set a precedent for many of queer Houston’s up-andcoming female bartenders. “I work in a male-dominated industry,” Tompkins Gutierrez says. “Back in the day, women who worked at gay bars got picked on. I’d like to think that our male counterparts now perceive us differently, because of my hard work and thick skin.” Tompkins Gutierrez, 47, began working in mixology seven years ago. Her first bartending gig was at EJ’s (since renamed La Grange), where she became its first female manager. Since 2011, she has held administrative positions at several bars in Houston’s gayborhood— one of only a few women to do so. “I’ve been so successful because I’m a hardass,” Tompkins Gutierrez says. “When you’re a female in bartending, you need to have a certain attitude or you’re gonna go home crying.” Born in Maryland,Tompkins Gutierrez grew

up all over the U.S. as a military brat, relocating with her family about once a year. Her family frequently spent time in Houston, her father’s hometown. Tompkins Gutierrez lived in Qatar from 1997 to 2002, working in oil and gas. When she returned to the States, she found a sense of belonging in Houston’s LGBTQ community, and has resided in the city ever since. After working at EJ’s for a year-and-a-half, she worked in management at F Bar, Ripcord, and now holds the title of director of promotions and special events at JR’s Bar & Grill. At JR’s, Tompkins Gutierrez is famous for her cantaloupe shot, a potent drink comprised of vodka and melon liqueur. She recommends that everyone who visits her at JR’s try it at least once. “Bartending is just like cooking with liquid,” Tompkins Gutierrez says. “My cantaloupe shot tastes just like a freshly squeezed cantaloupe. Even people who don’t like the fruit say they like my shot.” An average day for Tompkins Gutierrez begins at 9:30 a.m., when she does promotional work

74 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

at JR’s until the bar gets busy. She stays on the clock anywhere between 12 and 17 hours, closing the establishment as a bartender at night. “I’ve been told to take more time off, but I’m an overachiever,” she admits. “That all has to do with being raised in a military environment.” On her off days, Tompkins Gutierrez unwinds at home by gardening, cooking, playing with her dogs, and binge-watching TV shows. “I may be outgoing at work, but I’m really a homebody,” she says. “In this industry, when you work as much as most bartenders do, sometimes you just want things to be quiet.” Tompkins Gutierrez says that her favorite part about bartending is the people she meets, and her customers seem to appreciate her just as much. She has won OUTSMART’s Gayest & Greatest Best Female Bartender four years in a row. “I’m still surprised every time I win,” Tompkins Gutierrez says. “Winning a Readers’ Choice Award is flattering. I was up against a bunch of other really cool girls who are amazing bartenders themselves.” —Lourdes Zavaleta

CLUB OR RESTAURANT WITH BEST HAPPY HOUR Houston Eagle Finalists: George Country Sports Bar, JR’s Bar & Grill

CLUB OR RESTAURANT WITH BEST MARGARITA JR’s Bar & Grill Finalists: Guava Lamp, Hamburger Mary’s, Houston Eagle

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FAVORITE BRAND OF LIQUOR Tito’s Handmade Vodka Finalists: Deep Eddy Vodka, Dripping Springs Vodka

FAVORITE FEMALE BARTENDER Sarah Tompkins Gutierrez Finalists: Kristina Prats, LaReyna Reyes

FAVORITE MALE BARTENDER Colton Gaul Finalists: Austin Abernathy, Boris Greene, Bryan Wade

FAVORITE WINE BAR Boheme Finalists: 13 Celsius, La Carafe ➝ OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 75

G & G’18  ARTS

Dancing with Souls

 Best 

COMMUNITY DANCE COMPANY

Urban Souls Dance Company gives LGBTQ performers a safe space.

arrison Guy thinks it’s “kinda cool” that Urban Souls Dance Company, a group he founded in 2004, has been voted this year’s Best Community Dance Company. It’s been two years since the dancers performed a specifically LGBTQ show, Between Two Worlds: A Hymn for Black Gay Men on Race, Religion, & Rites of Passage, but obviously it made a lasting impression with OUTSMART readers. Guy also sees the award as recognition for years of training, developing, and birthing many of Houston’s black gay male teachers, dancers, and choreographers. Meanwhile, Guy says, “I am involved with an array of people, from arts to activism to the LGBTQ community, so I forget how they sometimes intersect.” In addition to serving as co-chair of mayor Sylvester Turner’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, Guy works in finance at the University of

Houston and teaches a moderndance class on Fridays at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Montrose. Urban Souls hosts an open class at 3 p.m. Sundays at the Houston Metropolitan Dance Center, 2808 Caroline Street. The cost is $10 for nonmembers. “One of the things that we are most proud of is that dancers are able to come and express themselves, unfi ltered,” Guy says. “We never ask them to be more masculine or to appear to be anything other than themselves. To that end, we even served as a safe space for someone who entered the company as a black gay man but left the company as a trans woman. She lists Urban Souls as one of her many support systems during that transition.” Urban Souls’ next public performance is Body Archives: Bone Deep Memories at 6:30 p.m. October 18 at the Contemporary Arts Museum, 5216 Montrose Boulevard. Admission is free for the one-hour presentation.

76 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Guy grew up in La Marque, where he began performing “mostly in church.” At La Marque High School, where he graduated in 1995, Guy says, “I was in choir, theater, band, anything to do with performing. I still play the trumpet and the tuba.” Guy studied for three years at Prairie View A&M University, but left before his senior year when he auditioned for and was accepted into a summer program at the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York City. “I stayed a little longer, so I was there about two years,” he says, explaining that the size of the Big Apple didn’t faze him. “Wherever I go, I kinda function as if it’s a small town. I build my own community. I create a small network of the people I do things with.” Each spring, Urban Souls presents a fundraising gala called “Dancing with the Houston Stars,” in which local celebrities and professional achievers trade in their career soles for dancing shoes and a fun night of healthy competition modeled after TV’s Dancing with the Stars. For more, visit UrbanSouls.org. —Don Maines

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BEST LOCAL EQUITY THEATER COMPANY Stages Repertory Theatre Finalist: Main Street Theater

BEST PERFORMING ARTS COMPANY Society for the Performing Arts Finalists: Catastrophic Theatre, Houston Ballet

FAVORITE HOUSTON MUSEUM Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) Finalists: Contemporary Arts Museum, Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT History, The Menil Collection, Museum of Natural Science

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ea Bogle needed a part-time job 35 years ago, long before cell phones were even invented. The job she got was with a pager company. Remember pagers? Bogle liked the job, and when she lost it (due to what she describes as a #MeToo moment) she decided she liked the business but not the boss. Her solution: to be her own boss. Premier Wireless was born to provide wireless communication for businesses, schools, and governments. As it celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, the mobile-phone company has grown to include stores in both Houston and Dallas. “I came out when I was 29,” says the 56-year-old Bogle. “It was very hard, and I didn’t realize for a long time that I was only out to an inner circle of friends and not in my business. I’ve got a lot of clients that are rural and some conservative government agencies, so I was hiding what I was in business.” What really changed all that for Bogle was the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “I learned how important it is to support each other,” she says. “And now I’m certified as an ‘LGBT Business Enterprise.’ I’m certifiably gay!” Bogle says it’s important for her now to

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do business with and support like-minded businesses. “I do cheat with Chik-fi l-A. I mean, it’s just giving them a $1.92 for their diet ice tea— and they did feed all those people down in Orlando,” she says, referring to the company’s response to the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Bogle says work is her primary activity, although she does like to travel, golf, and meditate. She has two grown daughters, a very fat cat, and a little poodle named Cookie that she describes as the light of her life. Currently single, she wouldn’t mind finding someone

who could match her energy level and who wants to be active in the community. Among her volunteer interests is the Dalton DeHart Photographic Foundation. She sits on the board of the nonprofit archive that chronicles Houston’s LGBTQ community through a massive database of photos. “I’ve known Dalton forever,” she says. “Who doesn’t? So when he asked me to be on the board, of course I said yes. Being able to preserve our history and capture those important moments through his lens is crucial for our community.” —Marene Gustin

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andra Bubbert knows from experience that making a great cake is, well, no piece of cake. Bubbert, whose Acadian Bakery was voted Best Bakery and Best Wedding Cake Bakery, has been satisfying the sweet tooths of generations of Houstonians, as well as an enviable list of politicians and celebrities, via her custom-made confections. She credits her grandmother for showing her the tricks of the trade and gifting her with several recipes, such as those for the bakery’s popular icebox cookies and creole kisses, which she still uses to this day. “My grandma taught me that baking is a complicated process. Which is why I love that line in Father of the Bride when Steve Martin complains about the cost of the wedding cake and says, ‘It’s just flour and water!’ [Laughs] Of course, it’s not—it takes a lot of heart as well.” A self-described foodie, Bubbert owned several establishments, including a tearoom, before taking a friend up on his offer to sell her

the bakery. The Acadian Bakers is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary, and she has been at the helm for 35 of those years. According to Bubbert, Houstonians’ tastes haven’t much changed in the last four decades. She cites her grandfather’s adage: people will always drink whiskey and eat sugar. “I decided to satisfy the latter habit,” she says. Bubbert made a name for herself in Houston early on by designing exquisite nuptial confections—a process that often requires catering to the tastes of not just the gay and straight couples that come to her, but also the members of their extended families who have very specific opinions about the wedding cake. In one case, Bubbert’s ultimate solution was a very large cake with many layers, each chosen by different relatives. “The 90-year-old grandfather insisted that they cut through all the layers until they got to his layer of brownie chocolate mousse on the very, very bottom,” Bubbert recalls. “He tasted it, gave me a big ol’

84 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

wink, and said, ‘Mine’s the best.’” Although Bubbert has baked for dozens of famous folks, including Elizabeth Taylor, Hillary Clinton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was country-music legend Reba McEntire whose genuine sweetness most touched Bubbert. “I will never forget how she walked up to me and said, ‘Look at that big ol’ purty cake!’ And I said, ‘You talk just like you sing!’” “I know, they’ve told me that before,’ McEntire replied. “She was just one of the nicest people,” Bubbert says. Bubbert looks forward to providing sugar fi xes for H-town residents for years to come, and she is also expanding her boxed-lunch options to include bread, soups, and salads that are made in-house. Surprisingly, Bubbert claims she rarely treats herself. “Well, I actually don’t eat a lot of sweets myself. But if I have something, my favorite is my memaw’s icebox cookies.” You can’t go wrong with Grandma. —Joanna O’Leary ➝

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our SPRY seniors share, and what they have Home” campaign, co-chaired by former mayor gone through to establish Houston’s queer Annise Parker and State representative Garcommunity as one of the best in the nation,” net Coleman (D-Houston). said Kennedy Loftin, the The City of Houston Montrose Center’s developkicked in $2.5 million in Tax ment director. “They deserve Increment Reinvestment With 112 independent- a place to call home.” Zone (TIRZ) funds for the The facility will be about facility, and the Midtown living units spread a mile-and-a-half east of Redevelopment Authority across two four-story the Montrose Center, in donated the 2.87-acre lot Houston’s historic Third valued at $3.26 million. buildings, the facility Ward neighborhood. The The final major will be the first outside staircases of the two fundraising hurdle was LGBTQ-affirming buildings will be covered in cleared in September, when mesh bearing the colors of the Center secured a letter of housing complex for the LGBTQ Pride rainbow. commitment for federal lowlow-income seniors Additional features will income housing tax credits, following a three-year in the Southwest. It is include a primary-care clinic, a group dining area, process in partnership with scheduled to open in meeting and game rooms, the City. The project scored a fitness center, dog park, highest out of all applicants the summer of 2020. vegetable garden, and outdoor for the housing credits in recreational spaces. Region 6, and the subsidies Two Metro bus lines would not have been possible have stops across the street from the north without the local contributions. end of the facility, and MetroRail’s planned In addition to one- and two-bedroom University Line would include a station on the apartments, the facility will house the complex’s west side. Montrose Center’s growing Seniors Preparing “It will be so nice to actually have a place for Rainbow Years (SPRY) Program. large enough for the needs of our seniors,” said “I am continually moved by the history that

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Fred Reninger, manager of the Montrose Center’s SPRY Montrose Diner. “The new home for SPRY will be bigger, all in one place, and will include hiring more staff so that we can serve more people. Transportation is such a struggle for our seniors, and having more than 100 seniors on site will be incredible.” The Center will begin accepting applications three months before the facility opens. Applicants must be 62 years of age or older, and rates will be on a sliding scale that caps rent at no more than 30 percent of residents’ income. Pioneering gay activist Ray Hill, a senior who has struggled to afford housing in recent years, says he is looking forward to moving into the facility when the doors open. “The whole concept of senior citizens having a safe place to live is a very good idea,” Hill said. “It’s a nice thing to live with one’s peers.” What: Groundbreaking for the Montrose Center’s housing complex for seniors When: 10:30 a.m. on October 30 Where: 2222 Cleburne St. Brandon Wolf is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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tionwide help still coming in. “It was such an amazing blessing,” Rose said of the campaign. “We have family in Housworst of the posts suggested physical violence ton, but it has never been a financial possibility involving genital mutilation. The controversy to move there until now. Houston has so many prompted the school district to cancel classes more resources for Maddie, and it is so welcomfor two days. ing. It will be life-changing for all of us.” When Maddie got wind of the threats, The Rose family found a house in Spring, things changed dramatically. She was terrified and their goal is to move in by early October. and started sleeping in her What Maddie doesn’t know yet is that she has parents’ room. already amassed many friends “There was a window in and fans in Space City. Maddie’s bedroom, and she A representative from the was afraid someone would Montrose Center’s HATCH crawl through it and get her Youth program, which provides in the middle of the night,” a safe space for LGBTQ youth, Rose said. “She was absolutely said the group is looking forpetrified. We knew we had to ward to getting to know Maddie move again, but we could not and introducing her to other afford it. We just did not know members. what to do. We needed to save “I am so happy that Housour daughter, but how?” ton has HATCH,” Rose said. “I Brandy and Cory Rose Maddie’s story caught always worry that Maddie feels the attention of the national media, includalone, and thanks to HATCH, she will know ing Time magazine, ABC News, the New York she’s not.” Times, and the Washington Post. The support of so many caring people from A woman in Oklahoma City saw the covaround the country has helped make Maddie’s erage and called Rose to ask her permission terror subside as the family prepares for the to launch a GoFundMe campaign to help the move. “She still doesn’t sleep in her own room— family move out of the state. Rose agreed, and she sleeps in the living room now—but all the the goal was set at $15,000. At the time of this kindness we have received has made a differwriting, donations stood at $54,000 with naence in Maddie’s level of fear,” Rose said. “Now

News

continued from page 16

S ERVING THE LGBTQ C OMMUNITY WITH S AME S EX V ISA P ETITIONS , R ESIDENCY , N ATURALIZATION , B USINESS V ISAS , I NVESTOR V ISAS , T EMPORARY W ORKER V ISAS , R EPRESENTATION BEFORE THE I MMIGRATION C OURTS , A PPEALS TO THE B OARD OF I MMIGRATION A PPEALS C IRCUIT AND S UPREME C OURT OF THE U.S.

she knows she is supported, and that has really made a difference.” As the move to Houston approached, Maddie made a decision regarding her attendance at yet another school: she decided to enter her new situation as a fully out trans girl. No secrets this time. Rose and her daughter also decided to meet with Spring Independent School District administrators and counselors in advance of their arrival. They were delighted with the warm reception they received—a stark contrast from the situation in Oklahoma. Sylvia Wood, a spokeswoman for Spring ISD, said the district prohibits discrimination based on gender. “This includes transgender, or students who do not conform to stereotypical notions of gender identity,” Wood said. Denise Zimmermann, Spring ISD’s director of Mental Health and Related Services, added that the district also has “a very effective anti-bullying policy.” “We look at students as individuals, as the people they are, and often handle them on a case-by-case basis,” Zimmermann said. “We are very respectful, and work hard to provide an environment to nurture each student, no matter what.” Kim Hogstrom is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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TURNING

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Beto O’Rourke hopes to end Democrats’ 24-year drought in statewide elections.

By Ryan M. Leach Photo by Christ Chávez

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 95

Turning Texas Blue? continued from previous page

n a clear evening a few days before Labor Day weekend, a long line stretched around the block outside the Warehouse Live nightclub in Houston’s EaDo neighborhood. As people in the young, energetic crowd waited to go through security, it may have appeared as though the club was hosting some major musical act. But on this night, the headliner was a politician: Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke of El Paso, who is challenging Republican Ted Cruz for his U.S. Senate seat on November 6. Inside the club, the 45-year-old O’Rourke spoke enthusiastically for 60 minutes about his vision for Texas and his underdog campaign to unseat the incumbent. O’Rourke had no notes or teleprompter, but his infectious energy swelled the crowd’s interest into excitement as he spoke. Around the room, people seemed to be whispering amongst themselves: “This guy is the real deal.” Indeed, there is something special about O’Rourke. Even those who have become cynical about politicians in the era of Trump will admit it. O’Rourke has an “it” factor unlike

any other Democratic candidate in the party’s decades-long statewide electoral drought. Based on recent polls, which put O’Rourke in a dead heat with Cruz, he may also have the best chance of any recent candidate to end that drought. O’Rourke is objectively handsome—and also athletic enough to skateboard around a Whataburger parking lot, as was evident in a viral campaign video. He introduced his wife, Amy Hoover Sanders, with a reverence reminiscent of president Barack Obama introducing first lady Michelle Obama. Dressed comfortably in jeans, with her hair pulled back, Sanders eventually sat down on the bare stage, legs crossed, to listen to her husband explain his positions on education, criminal justice, and healthcare. After all, she will be voting, too. Beto and LGBTQ Equality When it comes to LGBTQ equality, it is easy to spot a candidate who has been trained in the talking points. Even the most underwhelming of Democrats can limp their way unscathed through responses to LGBTQ-related questions. However, in an exclusive interview with OutSmart, O’Rourke seems to demonstrate a deeper knowledge.

96 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

“When I was on the El Paso City Council, I began to understand how much more we have to do to make sure that everyone is treated equally under the law,” O’Rourke says. “I remember in 2008 listening to a constituent who was a City employee who shared with me that although they were in a committed relationship, they couldn’t get healthcare benefits [like straight] married couples could. We passe d a City ordinance that changed that, but it became a very contentious and controversial issue.” In fact, El Paso’s decision to add benefits for domestic partners led to a referendum seeking to overturn them, as well as an effort to recall three City officials. This scenario may sound familiar to LGBTQ Houstonians, who saw a nondiscrimination ordinance repealed by voters in 2015. Same-sex benefits for our City employees are also being challenged in a Harris County court after the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear the Pidgeon v. Turner City employeebenefits case. And it is in the courts where the outcome of the Cruz-O’Rourke race could have the biggest impact when it comes to LGBTQ rights. For example, President Trump recently nominated anti-LGBTQ judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of justice Anthony Kennedy, who had frequently been the swing vote in favor of gay rights. “[Kavanaugh] could very well play a role in overturning marriage equality and is not someone I could support.” O’Rourke says. In their first debate in Dallas on September 21, O’Rourke criticized Cruz for supporting anti-LGBTQ judicial nominees, including Texas’ Jeff Mateer, who once said he believes transgender children are part of “Satan’s plan.” “We have volunteers, staff, and key team members that are part of the LGBTQIA community,” O’Rourke tells OutSmart. “But I also have many close friends and family who helped raise me that are a part of the community, and they have been able to share their perspective with me about what it is like to live in Texas when you’re not treated fairly.” O’Rourke supports the federal Equality Act, which would ban LGBTQ discrimination nationwide. He has also expressed opposition to Trump’s proposed ban on transgender troops, as well as Texas’ anti-LGBTQ adoption law and the state’s failed anti-transgender bathroom bill. “I give credit to people like my friend Wade Williams and an uncle of mine who early in my life helped me to understand that maybe we could do big things if we only have the confidence and the strength to do it,” O’Rourke says. “I learned that you don’t always have to accept the norms that are laid down for you. Every Texan should have the opportunity to experience the joy of owning and being accepted for exactly who they are.”

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LGBTQ Leaders Weigh In Not surprisingly, O’Rourke has picked up endorsements from local, state, and national LGBTQ groups, including the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Equality Texas, and the Human Rights Campaign. “Since Beto first ran for Congress, he has been a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, often times leading the charge on fighting back against LGBTQ+ discrimination.” says Mike Webb, president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. In fact, O’Rourke maintains a perfect rating of 100 on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard, while Cruz receives the lowest possible score of zero. “Senator Ted Cruz’s extreme right-wing stances on LGBTQ+ issues are dangerous to the community, and we have to do everything we can to fight back hard,” Webb adds. “Cruz has argued for states to ignore the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality, and has argued to discriminate against our trans children by forcing them to use separate bathrooms from their peers or in opposition of their gender identity. It is vital for us to remind Texans that this type of rhetoric encourages violence against the LGBTQ+ community.”

“BY ELECTING BETO O’ROURKE AND DEFEATING THE ANTI-EQUALITY TED CRUZ, WE CAN NOT ONLY PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ON

Pride and Prejudice Congressman Beto O’Rourke posed for the Pride Portraits campaign earlier this year, clockwise from top left, while Senator Ted Cruz spoke at the antiLGBTQ Values Voter Summit during his presidential campaign in 2016. O’Rourke also swamps Cruz when it comes to “the cool factor,” as was evident in a viral campaign video showing the Democrat skateboarding through a Whataburger parking lot. And O’Rourke’s campaign is offering plenty of LGBTQ Pride swag, shown at left.

THIS ADMINISTRATION’S HATE-FUELED AGENDA, BUT SEND A MESSAGE THAT THE DAYS OF ATTACKING LGBTQ PEOPLE FOR POLITICAL GAIN ARE OVER.” —Chad Griffin, Human Rights Campaign Equality Texas board chair Steve Rudner notes that during his initial campaign for Senate in 2012, Cruz attacked one of his GOP primary opponents, former Dallas mayor Tom Leppert, for appearing in that city’s Pride parade. “Ted Cruz has worked hard to deprive the LGBTQ community of its rights and dignity,” Rudner says.” He supports laws allowing people to discriminate against members of the community on the basis of their religious viewpoints.” In announcing his group’s endorsement of O’Rourke in April, HRC president Chad Griffin said his presence in the Senate would be

crucial to pushing back against Trump’s antiLGBTQ policies. “By electing Beto O’Rourke and defeating the anti-equality Ted Cruz, we can not only pull the emergency brake on this administration’s hate-fueled agenda, but send a message that the days of attacking LGBTQ people for political gain are over,” Griffin said. Despite his anti-LGBTQ record, Cruz still enjoys support from some gay Republicans.

“O’Rourke certainly talks friendly to what is now referred to as ‘LGBTQ,’” says Marco Roberts, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Houston. “Cruz, on the other hand, surprised many with his open expressed support for ‘gay rights’ at the [Republican National Convention in 2016]. The difference is that O’Rourke, like almost all Democrats, sees the solution to all problems only through the expansion of the state into our everyday lives. Cruz, like most young and libertarian-leaning Republicans, sees the solutions through the rollback of government and the expansion of the right of individuals to make their own choices with their lives and their own property.” Cruz’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story. continued on page 109

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 97

“I wouldn’t have left a really neat job if I didn’t think I could win this. I could still be sheriff and win re-election.” —Lupe Valdez

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Gunning for Governor Former sheriff Lupe Valdez on her bid to become the first out lesbian to lead a U.S. state. By Marene Gustin

ook out, Austin: there may soon be a new sheriff in town. In fact, Guadalupe “Lupe” Valdez is counting on it, as the longtime former Dallas County sheriff faces off against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in Texas’ gubernatorial race on November 6. Valdez won the Democratic nomination in the May runoff against Houston’s Andrew White, the son of former governor Mark White, making her the first Latina and the first lesbian to win a major-party nomination for governor in the Lone Star State. “Texas is the first state in the nation to nominate a lesbian for governor, and if young people and the Latinx community and LGBTQ people get out to vote, we’ll be the first state to elect a lesbian governor as well,” says former Houston mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which has endorsed Valdez and lists her among its “gamechanger” candidates in 2018. But Valdez faces an uphill battle. No Democrat has won the state’s highest elected office in nearly 30 years, and Abbott was sitting on a $40 million war chest when the race began. In July, Abbott had roughly $29 million in the bank, compared to Valdez’s $222,000. But she is undaunted. “This election will not be bought,” Valdez says adamantly during an exclusive interview with OutSmart. “What is that $40 million getting the average Texan?” In a Time magazine profile in May, Valdez emphasized that Texas is not a red state, but rather a non-voting state. “The hardest part,” she says, “is getting

our message out. Once they get it, they get on board.” And she’s been trying to get her message out the old-fashioned way, traveling around the state in a custom-painted pickup truck, shaking as many hands and talking to as many Texans as possible. She does have some key factors working in her favor, including backlash against the current presidential administration (“Thank you very much, Trump,” she says), as well as fellow Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is polling well against GOP senator Ted Cruz. With straight-ticket voting still allowed in Texas, O’Rourke’s popularity could be a tide that raises all Democratic boats this November. As to why O’Rourke has been getting the lion’s share of media attention, Valdez points out that he started running more than a year before she did. “Plus, he started with $1 million from his congressional war chest,” she says. “But in our polling, I do better than he does among Hispanics and drop-off voters.” (A drop-off voter is one who typically votes only in presidential elections, and turning them out for the midterms could be crucial this year.) Valdez’s top issues are a progressive wish list: LGBTQ rights, healthcare, gun violence, civil rights, immigration, and water. But she’ll tell you her first priority is public education. “There were doors opened for me that would have never been opened without my education,” Valdez says. “Education is what gives you a fighting chance. Public education is the equalizer. And a child born in the Rio Grande Valley should have the same opportunity as

one born in Houston.” The daughter of migrant farm workers who was born in the poorest zip code in San Antonio, Valdez walked dirt roads to catch the bus and ride it across town to get to a decent school. She was the youngest of eight children, and her family struggled. But they lived by the motto “educar para elevar,” or “educate to elevate.” “My mother said education was the way out,” Valdez recalls. “And she insisted that the youngest two children go to school.” Her older brother earned a doctoral degree, and she worked two jobs to put herself through Southern Nazarene University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business. After obtaining a master’s degree in criminology from the University of Texas-Arlington, she became a captain in the U.S. Army before working as a jailer and an investigator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Homeland Security. She retired from federal law enforcement in 2004 to run for sheriff in Dallas County. “I talked to so many people about that first run, and they all said it would be an uphill battle, and that the first thing to put out should not be that I was a lesbian,” she says. She stuck to her message that the Dallas County jail system was broken (having failed state and federal inspections) and left it to her opponent to out her as gay—which he did. “But the majority of Texans are not what is considered the ‘Texas’ brand,” she explains. “They are more tolerant and more interested in getting things done.” She was confident she would win, but was surprised when the early vote showed her losing. ➝

Editor’s Note: This article is part of “Out for Change in 2018,” a monthly series on LGBTQ candidates in Texas, who were the subject of our January issue. For more, visit tinyurl.com/outforchange2018. OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 99

Gunning for Governor continued from previous page

“I

‹

almost gave up hope,” Valdez recalls. “And then I heard people screaming from the other room.” She had beaten her Republican opponent by some 18,000 votes. Valdez went on to win re-election in 2008, 2012, and 2016 by even larger margins. During her time as sheriff, she met Dr. Lindsay Browning, a chiropractor and owner of Urban Hippie Chiropractic, at the RoundUp Saloon, Dallas’ iconic gay country-andwestern dance club. They hit it off, partly due to their shared love for dachshunds. They each had one, and when they got together, they decided to add a third dog, a Red Heeler. When Valdez was considering running for governor, the couple discussed the campaign at length. “We talked about how Lindsay would be alone a lot,” Valdez says. “But she understood; I told her this was bigger than both of us.” As for marriage, she says they have talked about it but there just hasn’t been time. “Maybe when I’m 90,” she laughs. Valdez’s keen sense of humor was on full display in a viral video in 2016, when Browning surprised her with a birthday present, a red Tesla, as she finished an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “This was not paid for out of county funds,” Valdez yelled toward the camera as she and Browning took off in the new car. “You can’t take yourself too seriously,” Valdez says. “You have to laugh and hug a little every day.” This attitude has undoubtedly served her well during a few stumbles on the campaign trail. At a debate before the runoff, White called out Valdez for cooperating with ICE when she was sheriff, a charge she denied while admitting she had been faced with an imperfect choice: follow federal detention orders or lose funding. Then in May, the Houston Chronicle reported that Valdez owed $12,000 in overdue property taxes on multiple properties in two counties. Her campaign spokesman, Juan Bautista Dominguez, said she was paying off the 2017 bills in monthly installments, and blamed Abbott’s failed leadership for unpredictable and burdensome property taxes. Property-tax reform is another one of her key issues. By the end of June, her taxes had been paid in full. As for Abbott, the incumbent has been a staunch opponent of LGBTQ rights and has vigorously defended the state’s ban on samesex marriage as both attorney general and governor. Last year, after the Texas Legislature failed to pass an anti-transgender bathroom bill, Abbott called a special session so lawmakers could further consider the measure. Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas, says of Abbott’s tenure, “I would have to label it a

Remarkable Ride Valdez, who’s been traveling the state in a custompainted pickup, is the daughter of migrant farm workers. She says her mother (l) taught her that “education was the way out.”

failure.” Equality Texas’ Texas Equity PAC has endorsed Valdez. “[Lieutenant governor Dan] Patrick is the ringleader of extreme anti-LGBTQ measures,” Smith says. “There have been times when Abbott could have stood against him, and he didn’t. He failed as a leader to sit him down and put a stop to the bathroom-bill nonsense and just focus on more important issues, like school finance or property taxes. I would love to see Lupe Valdez be elected governor and represent all 28 million Texans.” Mayor Parker, meanwhile, says the record number of LGBTQ Texans running for office this year “signals a change in our state politics.” “While bigoted state legislators in Austin continue to divide the state and target our

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community, Texans are voting for LGBTQ candidates because we are authentic, valuesdriven leaders who deliver on promises,” Parker says. “Lupe symbolizes the positive vision voters are hungry for—and their growing disenchantment with the divisive politics governor Abbott cynically champions for his own political gain. If Lupe pulls off a victory come November, we’ll know LGBTQ candidates can win statewide office anywhere.” But even if she pulls off the upset, could Valdez make a real difference in Austin with a Legislature that continues to be dominated by Republicans? She thinks so. “In Dallas, we couldn’t get people to decide where to go for lunch,” she says. “But when people get hungry, they compromise.” Valdez believes that Democrats will gain seats in the House and Senate in November, changing the dynamics in the State capitol. “And if not, there is the veto power,” she says. At 71, Valdez could go home to Dallas, her partner, and her three dogs if she loses the race, and retire in comfort. But she’s not even contemplating that. “I wouldn’t have left a really neat job if I didn’t think I could win this,” she says. “I could still be sheriff and win re-election. Why would I have plans for failure?” For more on Valdez’s campaign, visit LupeValdez.com. Marene Gustin is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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War for the West Lizzie Pannill Fletcher takes on congressman John Culberson in critical Houston House race. By Andrew Edmonson

018 is the year of the woman in American politics. Two hundred fifty-seven female candidates are running for the House and Senate in the general election, 197 of them Democrats. This follows the largest number of primary-race victories by female candidates in the nation’s history. One closely watched race is playing out in Texas’ 7th Congressional District, which stretches from West University Place through Gulfton to the Energy Corridor on Houston’s west side. After five decades of Republican dominance, Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher is taking on 17-year GOP incumbent John Culberson in a race that has emerged as a dead heat, according to polls. For Democrats, flipping District 7 is crucial to the party’s larger goal of recapturing a House majority. George Will, conservative columnist of the Washington Post, has called Fletcher’s strategy “a Democratic template for victory in 2020,” observing “a Fletcher victory in the 7th Congressional District could be an early tremor of a political earthquake.” The Atlantic has called the race “the future of Texas politics,” noting, “As the state undergoes a demographic transformation with the political shifts to match, the question for some political analysts has become not if Texas will turn blue, but when. So it has with the Seventh.” Fletcher is a political thoroughbred. Having never

before run for office, the 43-year-old Houston attorney burst forth in March from a pack of seven talented candidates, winning the most votes in the primary before defeating Laura Moser in a runoff. In its endorsement, the Houston Chronicle editorial board lauded Fletcher’s “deep understanding of complex public-policy matters.” It also noted that her “intelligent and level-headed pragmatism will appeal to the moderate voters of this district, whose support Democrats will need if they’re serious about defeating Culberson.” In a heated spring runoff with progressive activist Laura Moser, Fletcher scored a commanding victory. She has racked up a slew of endorsements, from former vice president Joe Biden and the Houston GLBT Political Caucus to Emily’s List and the Human Rights Campaign. The national Democratic Party has sent its stars to Texas to campaign for her, including senator Cory Booker, Paul Begala, and congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Fletcher has proven to be an impressive fundraiser, hauling in more than $1 million in the second quarter of 2018 and besting Culberson by $200,000. Overall, she had raised more than $2 million as of July. She has built a campaign staff of seven full-time employees that is being led by campaign manager Erin Mincberg, daughter of former Harris County Democratic Party chair ➝

‹ Shaking Things Up A win for Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher in Texas’ 7th Congressional District would be the “early trembling of a political earthquake,” according to Washington Post columnist George Will. OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 103

women care about,” Rottinghaus says. “The district has historically been one that elects continued from previous page moderates—especially the parts of the district David Mincberg. She is a seasoned campaign where Fletcher did well in the primary. Presiprofessional with extensive experience in dent Trump is not well-liked by many RepubliCalifornia, where she served as finance direccans in the district, and his unpopularity may tor for then attorney general Kamala Harris drag down the Republican ticket statewide for four years. and especially in the 7th District.” Rottinghaus adds that Fletcher’s biggest hurdle will be turnout among core Democratic groups, “especially younger voters, those new to the district, and Latinos. The western portion of the district is newer and more transient, making mobilization and turnout more challenging,” he says. Born in Houston, Fletcher grew up in Afton Oaks and attended the prestigious St. John’s School. Her mother had a library-science degree, but ended up taking over the family’s building-materials business. Fletcher’s Fifty-Year Flip father was an attorney. Republicans have controlled the 7th Congressional District, “When I was growing up, which covers a chunk of Harris County, for the last five decades. my dad used to tell me that I would be a lawyer beFletcher took to the airwaves early in Sepcause I was the only one who could argue with tember, placing a six-figure TV ad buy to air him and win,” she recalls with a laugh. a commercial stressing that she would bring She comes from a family of high achieva bipartisan approach and a sunny, can-do ers. Her sister is acclaimed writer Katherine optimism to the challenge of moving past the Center, who released her latest book, How to political gridlock wracking Washington. The Walk Away, during the same week in May that Democratic Congressional Campaign ComFletcher won the runoff. mittee is also investing $2 million in support While in high school, Fletcher joined a of Fletcher in a six-week broadcast and cable group called Young Adults for Reproductive buy that began in September. Republicans are pushing back ferociously, with vice president Mike Pence and House speaker Paul Ryan travelling to Houston to raise money for Culberson. The GOP started attack ads against Fletcher in mid-September. “Culberson’s decision to launch negative ads against Lizzie means they are worried they will lose,” observes veteran lesbian politico Sue Lovell, whom Fletcher considers a mentor. “The only time you really run negative ads is when you feel like you are behind. That’s especially true if you are an incumbent.” Brandon Rottinghaus, a political-science professor at the University of Houston, says college-educated working women will be the swing vote that decides the race. “Women, especially those with college educations and who work, will be the key swing vote that will decide this election,” observes the University of Houston Political Science professor. “Fletcher being female will help, but she GOP Congressman John Culberson still needs to connect her gender to issues

War for the West

‹

104 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Rights. During the 1992 Republican National Convention, she volunteered for clinic defense at Planned Parenthood health centers in the face of demonstrations by the anti-choice group Operation Rescue. “It was really formative for me,” she recalls. “There were so many people who were passionate about protecting the right to choose and [making sure] that other people had a voice. I saw how much you could do when you stood up for your values.” She attended Kenyon College, majoring in history and graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She then worked for four years at the Alley Theatre, where she experienced the havoc when Tropical Storm Allison devastated the theater in 2001, destroying its Neuhaus Arena Stage and scene shop. “The building had a long renovation,” she observes. “I learned a lot about crisis management.” Also during those years at the Alley, she co-founded Planned Parenthood’s Young Leaders to develop the organization’s next generation of patrons and supporters. She won a fellowship to attend William and Mary Law School in Virginia, where she served as editor-in-chief of the law review. She began her law career at Houston’s blue-chip firm Vinson & Elkins, and went on to join Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing, where she became the firm’s first female partner and met her husband, Scott. Her opponent, Culberson, is a tea-party Republican who has voted with Trump 98 percent of the time. Culberson supports the president’s plan to build a border wall between Texas and Mexico. He has received ratings of zero on congressional scorecards of the Human Rights Campaign, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. He has worked zealously to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), calling it “disastrous” and voting multiple times to repeal it. (Curiously, his campaign website makes no mention at all of healthcare, nor of his antipathy toward Obamacare.) By contrast, Fletcher is quick to point out that if the ACA is repealed, 339,000 residents in District 7 could lose health insurance due to pre-existing conditions such as cancer and diabetes. “Healthcare is head-and-shoulders above everything else,” she says of the key issues in her campaign. “When you talk to people, everybody agrees that there’s room to improve the ACA,” she notes. “It was a compromise. There’s been a concerted effort by the GOP to make sure that it fails. They’ve cut the budget for advertising the ACA, and cut the ability to do open enrollment by shutting down the websites on Sunday.” To strengthen the ACA, she has called for increasing and fully funding subsidies that reduce co-pays and lower deductibles for working families. She also wants to lower the cost continued on page 146

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Turning Texas Blue? continued from page 97

Going Viral One day after speaking to OutSmart, O’Rourke delivered an eloquent response to a question regarding NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem. In a four-minute clip that went viral, a young man who disagreed with the protests asked O’Rourke at a campaign event if he thinks kneeling during the anthem is disrespectful. “My short answer is no, I don’t think it is disrespectful.” O’Rourke responded. He then proceeded to acknowledge people on both sides of the issue and give a short master class on civil rights, peaceful protest, and its vital role in the shaping of America. Again, O’Rourke had no script. As of this writing, the video had been viewed approximately 44 million times, and it catapulted the Texas race to the forefront of the American political debate. His response that day may ultimately be looked upon as the defining moment in O’Rourke’s campaign, but only time will tell. Even before the video, O’Rourke was breaking fundraising records. As of August, he had raised around $23 million from small donations—all without corporate help. His campaign prides itself on the motto “No PACs, just people.” Cruz had raised roughly the same amount, but with assistance from large donors and PACs. However, Cruz was lagging in cashon-hand. “Beto is nibbling at the edges of the metro area—the suburbs and exurbs—to peel away [the moderate] Republican or non-voters,” says political scientist Robert Stein, director at Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement. “What is important is the social-networks campaign we cannot see from traditional ads, campaign stumping, and mailings. Social networks address Millennials and younger voters who are hard to reach through traditional media and who are not likely to vote, but might be mobilized by Beto and this style of campaigning. It’s a long shot, but it may be the only option to move infrequent Democratic voters to the polls.” One of the key issues driving those infrequent voters could be access to healthcare. Cruz has made it his mission to dismantle Obamacare. He supported Trump’s tax overhaul, which increased the debt by a trillion dollars and undermined the Affordable Care Act by removing the individual mandate. “I am going to work to ensure that every one of us can live our lives to their fullest po-

tential, and that we are well enough to do that,” O’Rourke says. “We are the least-insured state in the country. People get arrested on purpose because jail is the only place where they can get medical care and treatment.” The Harris County jail system is the number-one healthcare provider in the state—an alarming fact unknown to most voters. The day after the Warehouse Live event, O’Rourke toured a Harris County jail facility to bring attention to the issues of healthcare and criminal justice. He told the Houston Chronicle that the solutions are better access to outpatient care, expanding Medicaid (something Texas Republicans in power have refused to do), and introducing Medicare into the healthcare insurance exchanges to drive down premiums. “We have got to invest in universal, guaranteed, high-quality healthcare,” O’Rourke tells OutSmart. “We could be providing access to PeP and PrEP with even the most modest expense,” he adds, referring to the HIV treatment and prevention drugs.

“SENATOR TED CRUZ’S EXTREME RIGHT-WING STANCES ON LGBTQ+ ISSUES ARE DANGEROUS TO THE COMMUNITY, AND WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO FIGHT BACK HARD.” —Mike Webb, Houston GLBT Political Caucus

Contrasting Styles Cruz and O’Rourke clearly have differences when it comes to the issues. However, an even starker contrast emerges when you observe how they campaign. “We have gone to every single one of Texas’ 254 counties,” O’Rourke says. “Some we are visiting many times over—places where you might not find an officeholder who is a Demo-

crat because they’ve been written off or taken for granted. This campaign isn’t just about Harris and Fort Bend counties. It is about Taylor, Tom Green, Lubbock, and Amarillo. Nacogdoches. Every county. Every Texan.” O’Rourke’s campaign approach rarely involves mentioning Cruz directly or in the pejorative. He prefers the more formal title “junior senator” when referring to Cruz. Rather, O’Rourke’s focus is talking about issues and finding common ground where he can. Cruz, on the other hand, has adopted a more negative approach in hopes of taking the wind out of O’Rourke’s sails. After O’Rourke’s comments about the anthem protests went viral, a slow trickle of negative attacks against him began. The Houston Chronicle reported detailed information about O’Rourke’s 1996 drunk-driving arrest. The charge was dismissed, but O’Rourke leans into the topic while admitting he made a huge mistake. During a subsequent appearance on Ellen, O’Rourke pointed out that because of his white-male privilege, the mistake hasn’t defined his life— an opportunity that he argues is not extended to many black and brown Americans. As for Cruz, Rice’s Stein notes that the incumbent has never been well liked by fellow Republicans in Washington. GOP senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina joked in 2016: “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.” Former president George W. Bush was more succinct: “I just don’t like the guy.” Trump, who lost to Cruz in the Texas GOP primary in 2016, nicknamed the senator “Lyin’ Ted.” Cruz has now enlisted Trump to campaign for him during the home stretch of the midterms, despite Trump’s personal attack on Cruz’s wife, Heidi, and his false claim that Cruz’s father played a role in the assassination of JFK. “He cannot count on being reelected [simply] because he is a well-known and liked incumbent,” Stein says of Cruz. “He has to use the threat of dethroning Republican majorities and the president to rally his base of Republican supporters. Hence, his invitation to Trump to come to Texas to campaign for him, where Trump is more popular among Republicans than is the senator.” Ryan Leach is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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Breaking New Ground Kelli Lines makes her mark as one of Houston’s few trans real-estate agents. By Lourdes Zavaleta Photo by Dalton DeHart

‹ Pride and Humility Kelli Lines says that transitioning helped her realize the privilege that she has. “I have been blessed to have access to opportunities that not all trans people have,” she says.

hree years ago, after Kelli Lines came out to her wife as a transgender woman, their marriage began to fall

apart. Lines, who had been a stay-at-home parent for 12 years, says her wife was supportive initially, but then decided to cut her off financially when they divorced. “I had to reinvent myself on the fly,” says Lines. “I hadn’t worried about my finances in so long. After I lost my wife’s support, I had to figure out how to make a living again.”

Lines, who lived with her family in Spring, worked in accounting and natural-gas trading prior to taking time off to care for her daughter, Shannon, who’s now 13. She had no desire to re-enter those professions, so she went to work as a real-estate broker. “I was always interested in real estate,” Lines says. “When my ex got to be more established in her career, one of our hobbies was to look at open houses. I became knowledgeable about the property markets in Spring, The Woodlands, and Galveston.”

Today, at 53, Lines is one of the few openly trans real-estate agents in the Houston area, and her status could represent a breakthrough for others who want to go into the field. Jeff Berger is the founder and CEO of the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP), a nonprofit that launched in 2007 to create a directory of LGBTQ real-estate agents. Berger said only five of the group’s 2,000 LGBTQ members are trans. Jamie Zapata, a real-estate agent ➝

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 111

Breaking new ground continued from previous page

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at Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper Realtors in San Antonio, is Texas’ only other trans member of NAGLREP. Zapata, who began working in real estate about one year ago, says she chose her field in part to break down professional stereotypes. “Trans women are typically known to work as beauty professionals, doing makeup, hair, and drag,” Zapata says.“There is nothing wrong with those professions, but society has confined many of us to them.” Zapata admits that she has faced some difficulties as an openly trans real-estate agent, but says her positive experiences have outweighed the negative ones. For example, Zapata participated last year in Son Sus Niños También, a back-to-school event that encourages and empowers trans students. “The best part about being a trans [agent] is knowing that I have inspired others,” Zapata says. “My position has brought awareness to my community. People now know that trans folks can have the Jamie Zapata same career opportunities as everyone else.” Berger says the real-estate profession, which tends to be somewhat conservative, is “in need of more LGBTQ workers.” He believes it is important for LGBTQ buyers and sellers to work with supportive brokers because housing discrimination against same-sex couples and trans people still exists. The Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act) prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, or other housing-related transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability. However, the law does not explicitly protect people against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Only 17 states have laws prohibiting housing discrimination against LGBTQ people, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Three other states prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, but not on gender identity. Thirty states, including Texas, have no LGBTQ protections in housing. Lines, who is with NB Elite Realty, says she does not hide the fact that she is trans, but she is not out to all of her coworkers and clients because she does not believe her gender identity should be at the forefront of her work. “My job is to close deals, and that’s how I approach real estate,” Lines says. “I don’t

| OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com 112 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

want to be known as ‘the transgender agent’; I want to be known as an agent who happens to be trans.” Lines graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in the early ’80s. She worked for Enron until she was laid off when the company collapsed in 2001. When her ex-wife gave birth to Shannon, Lines decided to stay home and care for their daughter. Lines said she struggled with her gender identity before and during the marriage. “I wanted the freedom to fully explore my gender,” Lines says. “My wife knew I dressed in feminine clothing, and she was okay with it to a point, but then she started putting restrictions on it. If I wanted to present female, I had to go three towns over to protect her image.” Lines received mixed reactions from other family members when she came out. Her mother fully supported her, but her father, who was absent most of her life, asked her to never contact him again. Lines also has three sons from a previous marriage. When she came out, one of them told her that he did not want to see her again, while the other two were supportive. Lines says her daughter, Shannon, knew that she was questioning her gender identity long before anyone else. When she was 8, Shannon began to notice that Lines kept feminine wigs in her office. “I couldn’t keep my daughter out of what was going on with me visually,” Lines says. “One day I was doing computer work in my office and she asked if she could comb one of my wigs. I told her, ‘Sometimes I wear those,’ and she responded with, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’” “Shannon has been the most supportive person in my life,” Lines adds. “When you let somebody into your world, it makes you closer.” Lines now lives in the Heights and attends a weekly support group for trans women. She says that transitioning helped her recognize the privilege that she has. The unemployment rate among trans folks is three times higher than the nation’s official unemployment rate, with trans people of color experiencing even higher rates of unemployment. “I have been blessed to have access to opportunities that not all trans people have,” Lines says. “Once I get back on my feet, I plan on giving back to the trans community.” Lourdes Zavaleta is a staff writer for OutSmart magazine.

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THE AGE of

AQUARIA ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ winner brings Werq the World Tour to Houston. By Gregg Shapiro

punky and sassy and bursting with talent, Brooklyn-based Aquaria snatched the crown from the other RuPaul’s Drag Race queens to be named Season 10’s winner. The Emmy Award-winning competition grows in popularity with each season, and that’s a good thing for young champ Aquaria, as it means more people (at least half a million) have gotten to see what she is capable of doing. Currently on the road with fellow Drag Racers for their Werq the World Tour, Aquaria was kind enough to speak with OUTSMART and answer a few questions. Werq the World visits Houston’s Wortham Theater Center on October 13. Gregg Shapiro: Aquaria, I’d like to begin by asking you what your preferred pronouns are. Aquaria: She, her, I guess. How did you come up with Aquaria as your stage name? I emerged from out of the sea. [Laughs] Kidding—it comes from my Zodiac sign, Aquarius. What was involved in arriving at your look as Aquaria? I’m often seen as somewhere between Madonna and Lady Gaga, and maybe I am. When I think on it, I’ve loved fashion for as long as I can remember. I would probably count Thierry Mugler, Michele Lamy, and of course Madonna among my top influencers. You know who else I would count? Raja. Watching Raja on Season 3 was really cool for me. I really loved the way she stomped down the runway in her own unique, high-fashion way. One of your most distinctive traits is your sense of humor. Were you always funny,

You are welcome. I feel like everyone thinks I’m a real bitch, but I do think I’m funny. I said it on the show, and it’s very true—my humor comes from a very confused place in my brain.

helped me to win was knowing what’s come before me—whether that’s drag, fashion, or politics—and just really reinterpreting it all. I may be 22, but I know things. People love to underestimate me, and I love to prove what I can do. My favorite challenge on the show was the Last Ball on Earth challenge, because it was fun to surprise people with my full-on runway looks.

How important do you think humor is in your work? Isn’t humor a big part of everyone’s work? I mean, you gotta laugh when you think of all the shit going down in Washington and the rotten, clown-ass pig sitting in the Oval Office. [Laughs]

What did it mean to you to be crowned the champion of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10? I still haven’t had a chance to soak in the fact that I won. I mean, I know I did, but I have been booked with shows all over the world since the win, which is amazing and wonderful. But I haven’t had more than five minutes to myself yet.

Agreed! Perhaps the best example of your sense of humor was your portrayal of Melania Trump on The Snatch Game competition on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The truth is I’ve been doing Melania in my act even before she was first lady, and it was way better to laugh at her back when she was just a gold-digging bitch living in her tower. Shit’s gotten real these days, and I don’t see as much humor in having a complacent person standing beside a crazy man. People of the world are crying out for help, and we have these two awful dirtbags heading the government. But my job is to put a happy spin on reality, so I guess I’ll be doing Melania for a while more.

You received early support in your drag career from Susanne Bartsch. Have you seen the documentary Susanne Bartsch: On Top? I haven’t seen it yet, but I can’t wait. Susanne Bartsch is a living, breathing work of art. She is brilliant—a legend and an inspiration.

or was this something that developed over time? Thank you for saying that.

In what ways would you say your background and training in dance and fashion worked in your favor on RuPaul’s Drag Race? A large part of drag is about doing research, honoring fashion icons throughout history, and carrying on their legacy. I think what

114 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Do you feel like your differences with Bebe Rexha and Travis Scott have been reconciled? Please don’t get me started! I’m trying to focus on the positive these days. One thing I learned from what went down is the need for our LGBFAGT community to support queer artists. There are so many talented people who don’t have large budgets or lots of connections to make their visions happen. Even gay media is guilty ➝

“I mean, you gotta laugh when you think of all the shit going down in Washington and the rotten, clownass pig sitting in the Oval Office.” —Aquaria

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 115

Eye Goggles, early–mid 20th century. Papua New Guinea, New Guinea Island, possibly Lower Sepik River region. Coconut shell, paint, and plant fiber. The Menil Collection, Houston. Photo: Paul Hester.

THE AGE OF AQUARIA

continued from page114

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of spotlighting mainstream artists when our focus should really be on raising up queer artists and giving them a platform for their voices to be heard. Well said. What can you tell the readers about what you will be doing on the Werq the World Tour? I’m excited to spend time with Asia, Kameron, Eureka, and the rest of the cast. They really are the most talented group of queens I’ve ever seen, and the show is sick, sick, sick. What advice would you give to queens who are thinking about auditioning for upcoming seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race? Don’t follow anyone’s footsteps. Make your own. Everyone knows how tight Sharon Needles and I are, and I’ll tell you, even though she’s been along with me for most of the ride, she has never told me how I should look or act. She’s shared suggestions on things, but more about life rather than how to put on an eyelash. The point is, no two queens are alike, and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. Do your thing the best way you know how. What: RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour When: 9 p.m. on October 13 Where: Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater, 501 Texas Avenue Tickets: Tickets.houstonfirsttheaters.com Gregg Shapiro is a regular contributor to OUTSMART magazine.

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The Great Escapist John Ross Palmer aims to destroy the stereotype of the struggling artist. By Ryan M. Leach Photo by Dalton DeHart

ohn Ross Palmer is busily rearranging his gallery while his husband, Ryan Lindsay, and I admire his latest work. “You can let the art speak for itself when you’re dead,” Palmer says. “When you’re a living artist, you have to do more!” A native Houstonian, Palmer doesn’t take for granted the success he’s built during his 20-year professional career. The 44-year-old has no formal training and started with only the small amount of cash his mother gave him as he ventured into adulthood. “My mom gave me $500, and she told me I could use it to enroll in community college or buy a sofa. I bought a sofa with it, because I had nothing!” Palmer says. The artist’s speech is peppered with exclamations. It brings a sense of excitement to whatever the subject may be: his art, his career, or even the omelet Lindsay prepared for us that morning. The 40-year-old Lindsay complements Palmer well. His calming demeanor and warm South Carolina accent balances Palmer’s enthusiasm. The couple has been married for 10

years, but “together for 16 years as of tomorrow,” Lindsay reminds Palmer. Lindsay, an accomplished attorney, left his law practice to become a business partner with his husband in 2009. It was good timing for their Heights gallery, which they also call home, because that’s when Palmer was formulating the Escapist Mentorship Program, now approaching its 10th year. The Escapist Program The Escapist program was founded as a way to help a small group of motivated local creatives destroy the stereotype of the struggling artist. It’s the mission of Palmer’s art movement: escapism. The program has mentored 37 artists from around the globe. The current class of four includes Nabarupa Bhattacharjee, who also serves as the official photographer for Palmer as part of her study. She lives in The Chrysalis, a gallery and studio space for those accepted into the program. From 2013 to 2014, Palmer and Lindsay constructed the space adjacent to their home, in furtherance of the escapist mission. Every artist mentored by Palmer benefits from the program free of charge. They have access to Palmer, Lindsay, and their working space 24 hours a day. Lindsay serves as executive director of Art Launch, the nonprofit that ➝

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➝

“You can let the art speak for itself when you’re dead. When you’re a living artist, you have to do more.” —John Ross Palmer

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 119

THE GREAT ESCAPIST continued from page 118

supports the program. Palmer gives guidance on everything from art technique to how to build and maintain a client list. It’s not just an art program; it’s akin to a mini-master’s degree in the art business. His Chosen Family Palmer recalls the night of his first show on February 19, 1998, at JR’s Bar & Grill, where he worked as a dancer (he was Mr. Gay Houston 1999). “I had 10 paintings for that show,” Palmer says. “I loaded the last painting into my truck bed, and the canvas was thin so the wind kept catching it. I thought, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter if it blows out because it is the only abstract I have.’ When I got it to the bar, it was the first painting I sold.” The show came about through his connections at JR’s. Palmer credits his friend, Jim McDermaid, and bar owner Charles Armstrong with creating a chosen family for him that helped support his early career. Palmer also counted on his co-workers to help him sell his art at local festivals. It was this support, specifically from the LGBTQ community, that created the environment in which Palmer found his voice. That’s why Palmer feels it is vitally important to pay that kindness forward ➝

The Art of Giving Back John Ross Palmer, right, and his husband, Ryan Lindsay, have mentored 37 artists from around the globe through their Escapist program.

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Joseph “Little Joe” Burke

1/24/1964 – 8/16/2018

oe passed away on August 16, 2018 from complications of a second cancer battle. Joe was born on January 24, 1964 in Gallipolis, OH. The family lived in Ohio, Kentucky and Florida before settling in Texas City, Texas. Joe worked at numerous bars in the 80’s and managed the Brazos River Bottom in the mid-80’s. He played on the local softball league and competed in the gay rodeo. Joe’s caring nature led him to be an EMT. In 1996 he began working for Brown & Root as a corporate medic. Then he worked overseas with Halliburton in Bosnia, Algeria and Djibouti, Africa as an accountant.

Joe married his partner of 6 years, Juston Wayne Quinn, on July 21, 2018 at the Skyspace at Rice University. Joe is predeceased by his father, Herbert Burke. He is survived by his mother, Patricia Burke, his brother, Mike Stout of Ohio, sisters Terri Elkins, Patti Harvey and Chasity Patterson, and by many nieces, nephews and grandnephews and a grandniece. Services were held in the home of friends. The Celebrant Scott Bodenheimer, who had also officiated at his wedding, presided. Friends and family shared stories of the many eras of Joe’s full and festive life. His smile, laugh and cooking are sorely missed by many. Rest in peace, Little Joe.

www.gofundme.com/joe-vs-cancer-20 120 | OCTOBER | OCTOBER 2018 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com | OutSmartMagazine.com

The GreaT escapisT continued from previous page

in the Escapist Mentorship Program. And you can hear this philosophy trickle down to former escapists when they talk about the program. “The program was a huge catalyst for building confidence and stretching my perceptions and beliefs about what I could do artistically as a self-supporting artist,” says Ryan Fugate, who completed the program in 2010. “It challenged my comfort zones and self-limiting boundaries. A few simple but profound principles that I took away: perseverance, always show up, and don’t paint over older paintings.” While the program is not geared specifically toward the LGBTQ community, many escapists over the last decade have identified as queer, including Fugate, Edgar Medina, Sonya Cuellar, Zak Vasquez, William H. Miller, Lan Norwood, Hugo Perez, and Stephanie Gonzalez. “Everything is better when there is a sense of community,” says Gonzalez, a Mexican artist who was also named Escapist of the Year in 2015. “Sure, there is competition within the art world, but you get what you put out there and it’s important to put out those vibes of support and encouragement.” Outside the Box As much as escapism may be about ending the stereotype of the struggling artist, it is also

“When you come visit us in our gallery, we want you to have a VIP experience.” —Ryan Lindsay

about developing community support for artists over the long term. It’s a natural evolution, given Palmer’s own career path. However, traditionalists in the art community find Palmer’s approach unorthodox compared to other galleries.“When you come visit us in our gallery, we want you to have a VIP experience,” Lindsay explains. “We have

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champagne, Sinatra playing, and little touches that make it special. That’s what you have to do. We get some criticism for that from the art establishment because we don’t have a silent room with a little cheese plate. We are here to sell art, so that’s what we do. We sell the art.” On the day I visited, the main gallery was showcasing a gigantic tetraptych painted in Palmer’s signature abstract style. On an opposing wall, the name of an overseas client who had visited the gallery the night before was spelled out in ceramic tiles made by Palmer, who works in various media. “Come here, I want to show you this!” Palmer says, pulling me over to a tablecloth embroidered with his initials. Although it was clearly evident, Palmer enthusiastically pointed out, “I’m doing embroidery now!” His joy is infectious, and he is constantly thinking and creating. During our interview, he took several photographs of me. When I later received one of the photos via text message, I thought, “Wow, I just got a free John Ross Palmer original.” For more, visit JohnPalmerArt.com. Ryan Leach is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 123

Hirsute Humor Peter Bisuito brings his muscle-drag comedy act to Houston. By Don Maines

eter Bisuito fans could see “Bearilyn Monroe,” “Les MiserBear,” or perhaps even “Beardonna” when the furry comic brings his My Big Funny Peter muscle-drag act to Houston this month. “You know what, sweetie, that’s my theatrics coming out,” says the beefcake bear in a recent phone interview from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Liza Minnelli plus Planet of the Apes equals me. I gotta tell you, I am a songand-dance man from way back.” Bisuito’s eye-popping costume reveals often punctuate his funny observations about the general mischief that fills the days of our queer lives. For example, he admits, “I thought I would make an excellent psychologist because I’m gay, and I’m really good at telling people what’s wrong with them.” Four LGBTQ charities will benefit from Bisuito’s appearances, which start with a meetand-greet at 5 p.m. on October 13 at the University of Houston Alumni Center. That will be followed by Bisuito’s standup show at 7 p.m. at the same venue on UH’s central campus. The next day at noon, fans can enjoy visiting with the comedian over a fried-chicken brunch at Eagle Houston. ➝

124 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

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“Liza Minnelli plus Planet of the Apes equals me. I gotta tell you, I am a song-and-dance man from way back.” —Peter Bisuito

efore night falls, Bisuito hopes to take a dip in the Texas-shaped “lazy river” attraction he’s heard about on the sixth floor of the downtown Marriott Marquis Houston hotel. “I would love to go swimming in that rooftop pool,” he confides. “We want to take him out running around on Saturday night,” says Tony Fernandez, president of the Houston Bears, which teamed with the UH LGBT Alumni Association to host Bisuito. The alumni group’s president, Kevin Hamby, says proceeds will go to the LGBTQ Student Academic Scholarship Fund, the LGBTQ Student Emergency Fund, the HIV & Aging Coalition, and the Museum of GLBT History, Inc. Hamby became a “Big Funny Peter” fan from watching the comic’s videos. “I follow him on Facebook. He’s hilarious. The best jokes are always about yourself and the world you live in. If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?” Hamby says. Fernandez caught Bisuito’s show at a nightclub on the East Coast. “We actually hung out with him at a pool party, too. His act is hilarious. He did Tina Turner as a nun, in full beard and everything, with backup singers as nuns. He gives a full performance.” In many respects, Bisuito admits, he’s “a

late bloomer.” The native of Rochester, New York, didn’t come out until his 30s; he was 42 when he started doing stand-up six years ago. “I always had these dreams of becoming an entertainer, but my dad’s idea was for me to go to college and get a ‘college’ job,” he says. “I had job after job after job after job, and it’s not that I was unhappy, but I knew this is what I really wanted to do. I finally had an epiphany—that I don’t have to please my dad. The second half of my life, I want to make people laugh. I gave up my job, my [video production and photography] business, my income. I put myself on food stamps; it was the best decision I ever made.” Three years ago, Bisuito and his husband, Mark, “a computer geek,” moved from Rochester to South Florida, which opened up massive job opportunities for Bisuito. “I can’t tell you how it catapulted my career; I have performed in front of straight people, gays, bears, senior citizens. Miami is the Hollywood of the East Coast; you never know who you are going to meet here.” Bisuito’s Houston show will mark his return to stand-up after spending the summer shooting a TV show which he describes as “a gay Laverne & Shirley.” “I started with the concept of two middleaged gay men,” he explains. “We got an entire

126 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

group of people together, and filming it and producing it was an absolutely fantastic experience. But it’s still not quite to my liking—I want to add more ‘funny.’ Stay tuned in the weeks to come, because we are going to reshoot the pilot. The first time, we shot in a friend’s home; the second time, we are renting a professional soundstage and filming it in front of a studio audience. The revival of Will & Grace kind of brought back the old three-camera, one set approach, which went away for a long time. So this is the perfect time.” Bisuito hopes he’s still on track to fulfill his dream of becoming famous “before I die,” he says. “For so long, I was closeted, repressed, and introverted. I didn’t feel complete. Now, I’m just f--kin’ fabulous.” Fans can follow the comedian on Twitter @mybigfunnypeter. What: My Big Funny Peter When: 5 p.m. on October 13 Where: UH Alumni Center, 3204 Cullen Blvd. Tickets: TinyURL.com/MyBigFunnyPeter Don Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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‘You’ll Always Have a Home at PFLAG’ Houston chapter marks 40 years of serving families, friends of LGBTQ people. By Brandon Wolf

‹ Grand Mama Bear Anella Harrison, shown at the National Gay March on Washington in 1970, was among the founders of the Houston PFLAG chapter.

The Early Years The group formed by Harrison and the other mother was originally called FAFOG (Families and Friends of Gays). Its first year became a blur of media attention, with Harrison and others appearing widely on TV, radio, and in local newspapers. In 1979, Harrison traveled to Washington DC for the National Gay March on Washington. The day before the march, she met with dozens of people from similar groups across the country. From their meeting emerged a national network, which evolved into the federation called PFLAG. “Unlike the more internal support groups in the gay community, this one dances on the fringe—pulling in the hurt, the bewildered, the disillusioned parents and friends who want to understand and accept their gay sons or daughters or longtime friends,” the Montrose Voice newspaper reported in 1984. At the time, president Freda Jerrell said the group’s monthly meetings drew an average of 30 people. Jerrell and her husband, Frank, were deeply committed to the cause, joining

RMCC and visiting Montrose bars with their ever-growing circle of gay and lesbian friends. In 1985, the group’s visibility had increased to the point that Jerrell was named grand marshal of Houston’s Pride parade. By 1995, co-president Gail Rickey reported that the organization had 250 paid members, ➝

‹

n a rainy October night in 1978, Annella Harrison of Houston met with another mother of a gay child, because “the anguish, grief, and disappointment had become unbearable,” Harrison said later. A career nurse and counselor, Harrison had no problem with her son Patrick McIlvain’s sexual orientation, but she was deeply concerned about the hatred that was directed at him daily. In June 1978, Harrison had spoken publicly about her concerns during a Houston City Council meeting. By October, she was ready to take things a step further and organize against what she saw as unfair treatment. Harrison, now deceased, and the other mother whose identity is unknown, discussed the discrimination facing their children, and explored ways to help. Their conversation gave birth to what would become the Houston chapter of PFLAG (formerly Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays). On October 17, PFLAG Houston will mark its 40th anniversary with a celebration at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church. “Coming out was always the most important part of the gay movement,” says pioneering LGBTQ activist Ray Hill. “PFLAG has made it easier for people to come out to their parents. The organization has provided proof that accepting parents do exist, and it has helped parents become accepting after their children come out.” Longtime Houston LGBTQ activist Deborah Bell says when she finally came out to her mother, she turned to PFLAG for help. “I did not come out until my 30s, and it was several years after that before I came out to my family of origin,” Bell says. “PFLAG is an excellent resource for anyone, wherever they are in that process.”

Signs of the Times PFLAG Houston has conducted multiple billboard campaigns, as shown on the Triangle cover at left, but some of the signs were vandalized. The group also organized a trip to Washington in 1996 that was featured on the cover of OutSmart.

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or est Realt Voted B14–2018 20 Readers’ t OutSmar ds 2013–2018 war Choice A

at conferences, festivals, and all sorts of gatherings,” says current co-president Rosemary continued from previous page Cloud. and an average attendance of 125 at monthly The group is also active in “lobby days” meetings. The group’s newsletter was distribwhen the Texas Legislature is in session. uted to a mailing list of 700. During the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance A year earlier, PFLAG Houston sponfight in 2015, PFLAG members canvassed and sored its first “Healing the Hurt” conferphone-banked in support of the ordinance. ence, designed to train Currently, the educators, counselors, group has about and law-enforcement 100 dues-paying officials about issues members. While facing the LGBTQ their general community. PFLAG monthly meeting Houston also premiered at St. Paul’s United the film Always My Kid, Methodist Church a groundbreaking famdraws an average of ily guide to accepting a 40 people, additiongay or lesbian child or al meetings are held sibling. The film was in three satellite produced in cooplocations—Clear eration with HoustonLake, Katy, and based Triangle Films. Montrose—with a In 1996, the organifourth in Pearland zation organized a bus in the planning trip to Washington DC stages. Modern Family to lobby in support of PFLAG HousCurrent PFLAG Houston co-chair Aaron Richie (l) and the Employment Nonhis wife Erika (r) are the parents of a transgender ton leaders say the Discrimination Act. teen, Landon (c). Aaron Richie says PFLAG’s largest group is deeply current sharing group is one for families dealing with concerned about That successful trip was featured on the cover of trans issues.“The second I read it, I said to myself, ‘I am LGBTQ youth, going to do this. It’s fate. I am going to do this piece.’” OutSmart and also gave especially homeless rise to the documentary teens, and works film Claiming America’s Promise. with Harris County to make facilities more PFLAG Houston twice financed local LGBTQ-friendly. The organization is also billboard campaigns, although some of the proud of its involvement in Out for Educasigns were defaced. The group also placed tion—a scholarship foundation that grew out ads on Metro buses and produced PSA videos of PFLAG Houston’s initial gift of $1,000 in about hate speech that some local TV stations 1996. In the past two decades, over $1.8 milrefused to air. lion has been awarded to LGBTQ students. PFLAG Houston’s T-shirts bear the slogan An Evolving Mission “You’ll Always Have a Home at PFLAG.” By 2005, participation in PFLAG Houston had Over the last 40 years, 14 PFLAG members begun to decline, according to then-president have served as grand marshals in the annual Jim Null. In 2009, president Deb Smith said Houston Pride parade, and the group has in an OutSmart story that membership had twice been honored as Organizational Grand fallen to 100, and the group’s annual budget Marshal. Cloud says Pride parade spectators had dropped from $12,000 to $4,000. often reach over the barrier to hug her and say, Faced with possible extinction, PFLAG “I wish my parents were like you.” Houston responded with a practical solution: And a parent can never be too old to care: forward-thinking members reinvented the one long-time PFLAG Houston member and organization. former Pride grand marshal, Blake Weisser, A new focus was placed on transgender remains a tireless advocate at age 99. She will individuals and their families. Children as turn 100 next May. young as 5 and 7 were coming out as trans, and PFLAG Houston added a sharing group What: PFLAG Houston 40th-Anniversary specifically for families dealing with genderCelebration identity issues. When: 7–10 p.m. on October 13 “It’s the biggest sharing group we have Where: RMCC, 2025 W. 11th St. now,” says current co-president Aaron More info: pflaghouston.org Ritchie, the father of a 15-year-old trans son. PFLAG has also placed a renewed emSpecial appreciation is extended to JD Doyle phasis on serving communities of color and and his website, HoustonLGBTHistory.org, reaching out to bisexual and gender-expansive for assistance with this article. individuals. Brandon Wolf is a regular contributor “We do a lot of ‘tabling’—setting up tables to OutSmart magazine.

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MAKING AMERICA

Kinky AGAIN

Halloween Magic re-Boots itself. By Andrew Edmonson Photos by Daltob DeHart It’s the year of reboots. ABC is rebooting the classic sitcom Bewitched under the direction of Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, featuring Samantha and Darren as an interracial couple. CBS is giving Murphy Brown a reboot, and several of the original cast, including star Candice Bergen, have signed on for the first 13 episodes. Twenty-five years after its premiere, Linda Bloodworth Thompson will reimagine the gay cult-classic Designing Women. And October 20–21 in Houston, Halloween Magic roars back to the stage with its own unique reboot: Kinky Re-Boots/Making America Kinky Again, a hilarious, wildly irreverent new production that is a breathless mashup of situation-comedy favorites from the 1980s forward. ➝

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Hallowed Queen Gilbert Joseph Perezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drag persona, Venezuela, is one of Halloween Magicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular performers, and he has served as co-chair of the event multiple times. Perez is shown with Roberto Araujo.

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Making America Kinky Again continued from previous page

“A

‹

ll in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, and Maude are all being considered for reboots this year,” says Gary Rod, Halloween Magic’s co-writer. “Everything old is new again, right? So in crafting this year’s script for Halloween Magic, we decided to capitalize on old favorites rumored to be rebooted, focusing specifically on Designing Women, Roseanne, and Golden Girls. “The show opens on Halloween night at the White House,” Rod adds. “It’s a costume party! While a terrible storm is raging outside, Melania’s absence makes way for Ivana to come in and take over hosting for the evening. “The guests from Designing Women and Golden Girls, to name a few, prove to be a mixed bag of ‘nuts’ causing hilarious confrontations with The Real Housewives of the White House: Melania, Ivana, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders,” Rod adds. “Everywhere you turn, the situation is continuously fraught with confrontation.” For almost three decades, Halloween Magic has presented wicked satires that irreverently skewer pop culture and politics, raising over $1 million for Houston HIV/AIDS service organizations in the process. This year’s performance will benefit seven entities: Lazarus House, Legacy Community Health, Montrose Center, Omega House, The Oral History Project, Pet Patrol, and Resurrection MCCR. Halloween Magic began as a series of dinner parties in private homes in the early 1990s, at the height of the AIDS crisis. The event was the brainchild of longtime lesbian activist and Pet Patrol founder Tori Williams, and it initially benefited the AIDS Interfaith Council. “Gilbert Perez called one day and said that he wanted to host a party, but he wanted it to be a play. We thought it was a great idea,” Williams recalls. “Several years later, we stopped doing the dinner parties, and Gilbert kept the name and continued to produce the play which, at that point, benefited several organizations.” The first Halloween Magic performance, The Roxie Horror Beauty Shop, debuted in 1991 at the Majestic Metro Theater in downtown Houston. It was a madcap amalgam of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Steel Magnolias, and Little Shop of Horrors. In 1992, the production shifted to the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on West Gray, presenting the premiere of Hair Wars, a Roxie Horror sequel inspired in part by Star Wars. As the popularity of the production grew and a new venue was required, the event moved to the Edwin Hornberger Conference Center in 1993, where the Halloween Magic Players unveiled The Sound of Montrose, a madcap send-up of the famous Rogers & Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. The Hornberger was where the company hit its stride, drawing a devoted and burgeon-

Family Feud Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Lydia Meadows), center, breaks up a brawl between Ivana Trump (Darin Glen Fimple), left, and Melania Trump (Joel Brandt Quinones), right, in this year’s Halloween Magic production.

ing audience for such satires as The Phantom of Montrose (1994), A Streetcar Named Montrose (1996), and How to Succeed in Montrose Without Really Trying (1997). While the ribald productions provided welcome comic relief from the ongoing devastation of the AIDS crisis, they also played a critical role in buoying community-based service organizations. “For most grassroots HIV organizations like Pet Patrol, fundraising was a huge challenge, especially in the early years of the AIDS epidemic,” recalls Williams. “Because we were ineligible for long-term stable funding from federal, state, or more formal sources, groups like Halloween Magic were the only thing that kept us going. Funding from Halloween Magic was like pure gold.” In the three decades since its inception, Gilbert Perez has remained a driving force behind Halloween Magic. He’s served as cochair of the event numerous times, and is one of the production’s most popular performers. His interpretation of the spicy Cuban spitfire Venezuela María Concepción de Los Angeles Valdez Vallejo Gonzalez is a Halloween Magic staple. When he makes his grand entrance in an outfit so flamboyant that it would make a telenovela heroine blush, he consistently brings down the house. Many of the original writers, cast, and crew who have appeared in the productions and volunteered behind the scenes for two decades will reunite for the 2018 installment of Halloween Magic. The script for the production is written by Gary Rod, John Tucker, Craig Stephens, and Stewart Zuckerbrod. New to the team is director Ann C. James, who has helmed over 100 theatrical productions during a career that has taken her from the Bayou City to Sudan and China, where she was featured in

134 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

the top-grossing Chinese film Wolf Warrior 2. Co-chairs for the event are PC Douglas, Gilbert Joseph Perez, and Ken Yancey. The honorary chair for the event is Houston police chief Art Acevedo. As in years past, the production will incorporate dance interludes with pop-music favorites, including “Masquerade” from Phantom of the Opera, Abba’s megahit “Take a Chance on Me,” and the Nancy Sinatra classic “These Boots Are Made for Walking.” In creating the script for Halloween Magic, one of the challenges that the writers face is the much faster pace of the 24-hour news cycle, especially in the age of Trump and Twitter—a pace that was unimaginable in the 1990s. Although the script for the show was technically finished at the end of August, “we focus on leaving plot and characters free and open enough to incorporate up-to-date news events as the show date approaches,” Rod says. “We still strive to be cutting-edge, offthe-wall and an equal-opportunity offender,” he adds. “So stop yelling at your TV. Join Halloween Magic, and get a whole new perspective on today’s situation—one that is guaranteed to make you laugh. Bigly!” What: Halloween Magic presents Kinky Re-Boots When: 7:30 p.m. on October 20; 4 p.m. on October 21 Where: Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, 2025 West 11th Street Tickets: HalloweenMagic.org Andrew Edmonson has written about the arts for the Houston Chronicle, OutSmart, the Houston Voice, and Houston Ballet News.

See it today! mfah.org/royals

µ˙ The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston This exhibition is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Major Corporate Sponsor: Generous Support provided by M.D. Anderson Foundation; Baker McKenzie; CHRISTIE’S; Carol and Mike Linn; and De Beers Jewellers. Official Promotional Partner:

Terence Donovan, Diana, Princess of Wales, 1990, bromide print, the National Portrait Gallery, London, given by the photographer’s widow, Diana Donovan, 1998, NPG P716 (11). Photograph Terence Donovan © Terence Donovan Archive

Oh, the Horror! Rocky Horror Picture Show star hosts pre-Halloween screening in Houston. By Don Maines

136 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

‹

arry Bostwick thinks he knows the first question he’ll be asked at The Rocky Horror Picture Show screening party on October 20 at the Wortham Center. “People always ask, ‘Did you know it would be such a hit?’” says the actor, who starred as bespectacled Brad Majors in the 1975 cult favorite. The answer is simple, he says. “No, how could we?” Anyone predicting boffo box office for the film would have been wrong, Bostwick explains. Set in a spooky mansion that’s presided over by a “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” in glam lingerie and heels, the movie was “not too successful” in its initial run. “Really, it was the geniuses at [20th Century Fox] who get the credit for developing its fan base at midnight

‘Picture’ Perfect Barry Bostwick, shown at left as Brad Major in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, says the film has become “a lighthouse for inclusion, socially and sexually.”

screenings,” Bostwick says. “Cult movies were just starting to catch on past the underground scene in New York City.” At the Houston screening party, audience members are encouraged to dance “The Time Warp,” shout “Hot Patootie!” during the movie, and dress as Rocky Horror characters, with Bostwick judging the winner of the event’s costume contest. Bostwick will also dish on behind-the-scenes stories of his career and the making of the film during his onstage question-and-answer talk-back feature. “This will be unique because I’m there by myself,” rather than appearing with one or more of the movie’s principals. “Last year, we did three or four of these around Halloween. It’s overwhelming. You leave your little house in Los Angeles and go to an event where you’re treated like a rock star.” A limited number of VIP tickets are available, which include a post-show meet-andgreet with Bostwick. The year after the movie’s release, Bostwick won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical as the title character in The Robber Bridegroom on Broadway. His other notable roles include Danny Zuko in the original Broadway production of Grease, the mayor on TV’s Spin City (1996– 2002), and the father of our country in the TV miniseries George Washington. The Rocky Horror phenomenon began as a London stage musical, The Rocky Horror Show, with Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. It won the prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical of 1973, before premiering in Los Angeles the next year. “It was the show in L.A.,” says Bostwick, who saw the stage production with Susan Sarandon, who would be cast opposite him as Janet in the movie. “It was weird and wonderful and different entertainment.” In the next 40 years, seeing Rocky Horror would become a rite of passage, including the 2016 live TV adaptation on FOX that starred transgender actress Laverne Cox. “I don’t want to give a movie too much [credit] for social change, but if it did anything, it brought a new tone and discussion, certainly to smaller cities around the world. It became a lighthouse for inclusion, socially and sexually. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun. It’s a party. It’s a fairy tale. Even though it’s dressed up in David Bowie-esque fashion, it’s Hansel and Gretel.” What: Rocky Horror Picture Show Screening Party, presented by Society for the Performing Arts When: 7:30 p.m. on October 20 Where: Cullen Theatre, Wortham Center, 500 Texas Ave. Tickets: spahouston.org or 713.632.8113 Don Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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The Wizard Behind the Curtain Robert O’Hara brings female-themed production of ‘The Wiz’ to TUTS. By Don Maines

‹

penly gay thespian Robert O’Hara promises a “contemporary” feel for this month’s production of The Wiz at Theatre Under The Stars, sparked by the casting of several women who will play male characters in this 1975 musical based on The Wizard of Oz. The Cowardly Lion, for example, is played by a female “because the female lion is the hunter and the gatherer,” O’Hara explains. “For a lioness to have no courage, it takes your imagination to a different place.” That place is today, he says. “Our Dorothy lives right now. She is a teenage girl in the age of Beyoncé, Trump, and the Internet, where social media tells you everything that’s wrong with you.” The Wizard, too, is a female in O’Hara’s mounting, which runs October 23–November 4 at the Hobby Center. “Since the actor playing the Wizard is usually double-cast as Uncle Henry, I’m calling her Aunt Henrietta,” he says. “That means that Dorothy will be raised by two women. We’re not saying they are two lesbians. We call them her two aunts. We just let the audience take it on face value.” Dorothy, of course, is Dorothy Gale, whom movie fans associate with Judy Garland, but in this retelling of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s novel, she’s an African-American girl. The show’s original Broadway production won seven Tony

Queering Oz? Director Robert O’Hara (above) says Dorothy, played by Salome B. Smith (inset), is raised by two women in his production of The Wiz, but they’re not necessarily lesbians. “We just let the audience take it on face value,” he says.

Awards, including Best Musical, in 1975. O’Hara was still a child. “When I saw the movie The Wizard of Oz, I identified with Dorothy because she was lost.

138 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

She wanted to run away to a place where she could be who she was, where she could find herself. My first experience with The Wiz was watching the film, and I identified with the

Scarecrow because he was played by Michael Jackson, one of my idols in childhood.” The poorly received 1978 movie version of The Wiz starred Diana Ross, with the character of Dorothy rewritten as a shy young schoolteacher in Harlem. In addition to Jackson, the film featured Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor, and Lena Horne. O’Hara played the Scarecrow in a high school production of The Wiz in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he felt “other.” “I was always different, and I was treated as different. My mother was one of 11 brothers and sisters, so I had this huge extended family. I was one of the first grandkids, so I had uncles who were teenagers. They called me ‘faggot’ and treated me abominably because that’s what teenage boys do when you’re different. They told me to ‘toughen up.’ To them, my otherness was a sign of weakness. The way I chose to fight back was verbally. I disappeared into books and into school and into language,” he recalls. After high school, O’Hara fled to Tufts University in Boston. “One of the reasons I went there was to be far away from Cincinnati and the middle of America. I wanted coastal space, either coast, so my parents would be far enough away they would have to give me fair warning before visiting; they couldn’t come in an hour. I didn’t know I was gay, but the environment at college allowed me to come out. College was a place I could believe in things that my parents hadn’t told me about; and I realized that I was ‘enough.’” O’Hara adds, “Dorothy is immediately ‘other’ because she has no parents; she is an orphan. She is being raised by two aunts in Kansas, not in a big city. We don’t see any of her friends. She is a young girl who feels trapped. On her journey to Oz, she meets a bunch of ‘other’-looking people. I have always thought it was a little strange that she would only imagine three men, and that she would have to kill a woman. Nobody could ever explain, ‘Why is that?’” A professor in college told O’Hara, “I think you’re a playwright,” he recalls. “Even in high school, I had written plays, but I had never thought of theater as a career; it was an extracurricular activity up to that point. There would always be music in my plays. I love listening to the music in The Wiz; it connects me to my youth and my sense of liberation.” As a playwright, O’Hara has been honored with Lambda Literary Awards in the LGBT Drama category for penning scripts (including Bootycandy and Barbecue) that shed light on being African-American and gay. What: The Wiz When: October 23–November 4 Where: Hobby Center, 800 Bagby St. Tickets: TUTS.com Don Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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WEDDING GUIDE

H-Town Lovers Fourteen years after they first met, Kyle Pierce and Daryl Shorter finally reunited—for good—in Houston.

Broadway Romance Kyle Pierce and Daryl Shorter, who proposed to each other after seeing a show in New York City, held their wedding at Houston’s Hobby Center for the Performing Arts so they could have a Broadway-style celebration with a full choir.

140 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

By Marene Gustin

yle Pierce and Daryl Shorter first met at Rascals Bar & Grill in Houston one Saturday night in 2001. When the DJ started playing house music, the two Chicago natives hit the dance floor and were soon gravitating toward each other. “When I saw his moves, I knew he was from a place where house music was dearly loved,” Pierce recalls. “He was extremely attractive and magnetic. We danced with each other like we had been dancing together all our lives.” They danced until 2 a.m. without speaking a word. Then they exchanged phone numbers as they exited the club, which led to a few dates. But Shorter, now 41, was finishing his training at Baylor College of Medicine and was about to move to Ohio. Since they didn’t know each other well, they decided the timing was not ideal, and parted as friends. Over the next eight years, they kept tabs on each other through mutual friends. When Shorter moved back to Houston, he had a boyfriend and Pierce was ending a long-term relationship. So again, the stars were not aligned. Finally, six years later, they ran into each other on Tinder. When they got together a few days later, they discovered that their years apart had done very little to dampen their initial attraction and mutual respect for each other. But that first dinner date at Café Mezza almost didn’t happen, because Pierce was 30 minutes late. “But he called ahead of time, apologized profusely, and practically begged me to stay at the restaurant,” Shorter says. “How could I not? He was treating.” “I found our conversation amazing,” recalls Pierce, a 43-year-old feedstocks trader. “Even though 14 years had passed, it felt like a continuation rather than a new beginning.” Shorter says Pierce is “smart and funny and a great conversationalist. But what made me want to be with him was that it was all so effortless,” he says. Pierce says he knew after about a year of dating that Shorter was “the one.” It was while attending a friend’s wedding, which was his first gay wedding, that Pierce’s feelings for Shorter crystallized. “That moment became my inspiration,” he says. Pierce decided to propose to Shorter during a trip to New York City. After the Broadway show Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, they joined a group of friends (who were also Pierce’s co-conspirators) at a restaurant overlooking Times Square. After Pierce said a few words about how his life had changed because of Shorter, he got down on one knee while his friends held up four signs that formed the four-word sentence “Will you marry me?” Unbeknownst to Pierce, Shorter already knew about this proposal scheme due to an

errant text message, and had purchased a ring for Pierce as well. So when Pierce proposed, Shorter pulled out his ring and said, “Yes, but only if you’ll marry me back.” As they were hugging, Shorter whispered into Pierce’s ear, “You’ll never be able to get one past me for the rest of your life!” “We learned a lot about each other while planning our very elaborate wedding,” Pierce says. “It was the most stressful thing we had faced during our relationship. “Not only did it take a year to plan our wedding, we did it while dealing with new jobs and adjusting to living together,” Shorter adds. The grooms chose the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston as their wedding venue. “We loved the fact that it is a unique, rare, and beautiful place to have a wedding,” Pierce says. It also allowed them to have a Broadway-themed celebration with a full choir. They were married on the stage by their good friend Charlie Sanchez on May 27, 2018, surrounded by a large wedding party that actively participated. Some read original poems, one recited an excerpt from the Supreme Court’s Obergefell marriage-equality decision, and a “grooms-maid” did a call-and-response speech that got the audience into the ceremony. “One of the best moments for me during our wedding was when we danced with our mothers to Patti Labelle’s ‘You Are My Friend,’” Pierce says. “Anyone who knows me knows that my relationship with my dad, a Baptist minister, was certainly complicated by my coming out,” Shorter says. “During the reception, my father prayed over the food and blessed our union. People actually couldn’t believe it, including myself. It was a prime example of how we as LGBTQ+ folk have a journey, as do our friends and family. Where we start out may not be where we end up. This wouldn’t have been possible had I not come out, lived my truth, and kept the door open with my parents for the possibility of change in that relationship.” The legendary Tommie Ross opened the wedding reception with a performance, and the Urban Souls Dance Company provided entertainment. For their honeymoon, the grooms went on a safari in South Africa, where they toured Cape Town, Kruger National Park (where they saw all of the “Big Five” game animals), as well as Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mauritius. The newlyweds now live in Houston. To watch video from their ceremony, visit TinyURL.com/PierceShorterWedding. Henry V. Thiel is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine. He loves weddings.

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WEDDING GUIDE

Affirming Opinion After being turned away at the courthouse in Bellville, Rebekah (l) and Lauren Malm traveled to Brenham, where a justice of the peace told them, “The passion I see in your eyes shows that love is not a matter of gender.”

Change of Venue Lauren and Rebekah Malm didn’t let an antigay judge spoil their wedding party. By Henry Thiel

hen Lauren Malm called the municipal courthouse in her hometown of Bellville to schedule her marriage ceremony, the clerk asked her what date and time she had in mind. After making the reservation, the clerk asked for the couple’s names. When Malm responded that she would be marrying Rebekah Moreno, there was a long pause.

“Oh, is this a same-sex wedding?” the clerk asked. “Yes, ma’am, it is,” Malm responded proudly. After another long pause, the clerk placed Malm on hold for several minutes. When she returned to the line, she informed Malm that the judge would be out of town that week. “Wait a minute,” Malm said. “Just a moment ago, you told me that [the judge] could

142 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

marry us. Now that we have given you our names and you realized that we were a samesex couple, you are telling me he is now going to be out of town?” “Well, ma’am, I guess I didn’t see that he was going to be out of town because I didn’t have it written on my calendar,” the clerk said. Malm quickly ended the call. “I thought gay marriage was the law of the

land,” she says. “I guess it isn’t in small-town Texas.” Instead of Bellville, the couple went to the courthouse in Rebekah’s hometown of Brenham and found someone who was willing to marry them, Washington County Judge John Brieden. With just a few friends and family members as witnesses, they tied the knot on March 7, 2017. Rebekah read her vows first. Lauren kept her composure until it was her turn, but then she started crying. “When I looked into Rebekah’s beautiful eyes, I just lost it. I’ve looked forward to this day my whole life,” Lauren says. “I couldn’t believe this was really happening—that Rebekah was going to be my wife forever and ever, and that our relationship was legal.” After the ceremony, the judge turned to them and said, “The passion I see in your eyes shows that love is not a matter of gender.” “That meant a lot to us,” Lauren says, “especially after the first judge turned us down. “Even though I wasn’t able to give her the huge wedding with the fancy dress and all that, she knows in her heart that no amount of money will ever change the way I feel about her,” she adds. Thanks to their economical wedding, the couple was able to take a honeymoon cruise to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cancun. “Looking back, we wouldn’t change a thing,”

Lauren says. “Love is forever if it’s pure, and life’s too short. Love who you love without shame, despite their race or gender. As long as they make you happy, that’s all that matters.” Lauren Malm, 29, is originally from Texas City and works for Igloo Warehouse. Rebekah Malm, 28, is originally from Brenham and works as a medical assistant. They met in June 2015 on the dating app Plenty of Fish. After five days of chatting online, Lauren told Rebekah that she was not going to keep talking to her unless they could meet in person. Rebekah finally said yes when Malm agreed to meet her at Dave & Busters, where they talked nonstop for hours. At closing time, Lauren walked Rebekah to her car. Remembering Rebekah’s desire to take things slowly, Lauren didn’t kiss her goodbye. Rebekah got in her car, said “Talk to you later,” and closed the door in Lauren’s face. A dark cloud of self-doubt washed over Lauren, and the voices in her head screamed, “She doesn’t like me! She is never going to talk to me again!” Luckily, those voices were quieted when Rebekah called her later that evening and made plans to attend Houston’s Pride celebration the next weekend. They had a great time at Pride and shared their first kiss. After Rebekah (who was driving) got a little tipsy, she gave Lauren her credit card and told her to find them a room.

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A week later, Rebekah asked Lauren to come over and spend the night. So Lauren drove an hour and 45 minutes to Rebekah’s mother’s home, where she was living at the time. The next week, after Rebekah’s brother had bailed on a planned road trip to Colorado to visit old friends, she invited Lauren to go with her instead. “Of course, I said yes. I just couldn’t get enough of her,” Lauren says. “Her smile made me melt.” They officially began dating on July 1, 2015. “I asked her to marry me at her friend’s home, two months later,” Lauren recalls. “I got down on one knee and said, ‘Rebekah Silvia Moreno, I want nothing more than to be able to call you mine forever. No one has ever treated me so well, so please, will you marry me?’” “Did you ask my mom?” Rebekah responded. “Ugh, yes, I sure did,” Lauren said, “and she told me no.” Rebekah looked at her and said, “Well, I’m going to marry you anyway, but thank you for trying. I love you.” “Like I always say,” Rebekah emphasizes, “any marriage can work if you want it to, but you have to actually be willing to fight for it.” The brides now live in Bellville, where they are preparing to start a family. Henry V. Thiel is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine. He loves weddings.

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OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 143

Ellen DeGeneres and Nicki Minaj

▼

( The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 9/4/18)

Nicki Minaj: I’ve always been in a relationship . . . since I was 15 years old. This is the first time that I’m single, and I’m happier, more free. I used to feel like I have to have a man . . . and I want every woman out here to know, you absolutely don’t. Ellen: Amen, sister. I want women to know also—you don’t need a man.

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▼

SOMETHING

Shameless

(Showtime, 9/9/18)

Re: Ian Gallagher is in jail for . . . well, basically for being the “Gay Jesus” (you really should see the show to appreciate this latest turn of events). His sister Fiona visits him in prison. Fiona (Emmy Rossum): Listen, if I bail you out, are you gonna show up for your trial? Ian (Cameron Monaghan, pictured): I have no idea where Shim’s gonna take me, Fiona. Who? Shim. What the hell is a shim? I mean, we have no idea if God’s a he or she, do we?

Queer Quotes

▼

Ryan Murphy

Compiled by Blase DiStefano

(70th Annual Emmy Awards, 9.17.18, NBC)

Openly gay screenwriter/director/producer Ryan Murphy’s acceptance speech for The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’s Emmy win for Outstanding Limited Series:

The Assassination of Gianni Versace is about a lot of things. It’s about homophobia, internalized and externalized. It’s about a country that allows hatred to grow unfettered and unchecked. One out of the every four LGBTQ people in this country will be the victim of a hate crime. We dedicate this award to them. We dedicate this award to awareness, to stricter hate-crime laws. And mostly, this is for the memory of Jeff and David and Gianni and for all of those taken too soon. Thank you very much.

▼ RuPaul

(70th Annual Emmy Awards, 9.17.18, NBC)

Wow. Thank you so much. Thank you to the Academy. This is so lovely. We are so happy to present this show. On behalf of the 140 drag queens we have released into the wild, I’d like to thank Dick Richards for introducing me to Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey . . . and all of the dreamers out there. Listen, if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an Amen up in here? Now let the music play.

▼

Lucas Hedges (Vulture, 9/5/18, Kyle Buchanan)

Hedges knows that since he’s starring in Boy Erased, people will ask him about his own sexuality. “I owe it to this part to speak as honestly as possible,” he says. “In the early stages of my life, some of the people I was most infatuated with were my closest male friends. That was the case through high school, and I think I was always aware that while for the most part I was attracted to women, I existed on a spectrum.” He remembers a sixth-grade health teacher describing sexuality as a broad range where many people may fall in some difficult-to-define space between straight and gay. “I felt ashamed that I wasn’t 100 percent, because it was clear that one side of sexuality presents issues, and the other doesn’t as much,” he says. “I recognize myself as existing on that spectrum: not totally straight, but also not gay and not necessarily bisexual.”

‹

MURPHY & RUPAUL - PAUL DRINKWATER/NBC; HEDGES (BOTH PHOTOS) - FOCUS FEATURES; MONAGHAN SCREEN GRAB/SHOWTIME; DEGENERES - SCREEN GRAB

RuPaul’s acceptance speech for RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Emmy win for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program:

On a Spectrum Is Lucas Hedges part of the LGBTQ family? INSET : Jared (Hedges, r) and Xavier (Theodore Pellerin) share an intimate moment in Focus Features’ Boy Erased. OutSmartMagazine.com

OCTOBER 2018

| 145

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War for the West continued from page 104

of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to lower costs. And she is a fierce defender of maintaining protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. On LGBTQ rights, Fletcher has committed to fighting for passage of the Equality Act, which would add federal nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, and public accommodations. She has also committed to passing the Safe Schools Improvement Act to combat bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students. Meanwhile, with the race entering its final stages, Culberson’s campaign has been dogged with questions of ethical improprieties. On August 8, New York Republican Chris Collins was indicted for insider trading of an Australian biotech stock. Culberson sold his shares of the same stock 10 days before the crisis came to a head, thus avoiding significant financial losses. Culberson contends that he discovered the stock through reading, but Fletcher has asserted that he has not adequately answered questions about what information he received from Collins about the stock. At the end of August, it was revealed that Culberson had spent $50,000 in campaign funds on books, collectibles, and Civil War memorabilia. He defended the purchases, justifying them as small gifts for campaign donors and volunteers. He said he bought the books to do research on global warming—a curious position for a legislator who in the past has questioned the validity of man-made climate change. Fletcher has attacked Culberson on these two issues, which dovetail with a larger political narrative of a GOP culture of corruption that is playing out nationally. She has asserted that Culberson “is exactly what is wrong with Washington.” According to Rottinghaus, the ethical questions bedeviling Culberson are having an impact. “Scandals hurt incumbents more when they are recent, financial in nature, especially related to potential corruption, and when the matter is investigated by Congress,” he observes. “All of these factors apply and will hurt Culberson in the general.” On October 15, the two candidates will face off in person at the University of Houston in a debate that will be televised by KTRK/ Channel 13. “Flooding mitigation and healthcare are the two biggest issues,” Rottinghaus says. “Whoever wins on those issues by being perceived to be more credible and effective will win this race.” Andrew Edmonson won the Award of Special Merit from the Texas Chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

G roove O ut

By Gregg Shapiro

Q-Music: Debs of the Season Bebe Rexha, Anne-Marie, Janine, Bishop Briggs, and more.

lbum titles are important, people! If you are releasing your first album, it’s probably a bad idea to call it, say, The Best Album Ever! Got it? Bebe Rexha definitely went out on a limb calling her full-length debut Expectations (WB). That’s a nice way of saying it’s a disappointment. To be fair, Rexha had a lot of pressure on her. Collaborating with Pete Wentz (as a member of Black Cards) and getting songwriting credits for hits recorded

by Eminem and Rihanna (“The Monster”) and Selena Gomez are no guarantee that you will be able to have similar success. When one of the most memorable songs is “Meant to Be,” an unlikely hit collaboration with Florida Georgia Line, then you know something’s up. “I’m a Mess” shouldn’t be confused with the superior Murmurs song of the same name (and it won’t be). With the exception of “Don’t Get Any Closer” and “Pillow,” the generic urban pop that Rexha and her multiple producers and co-songwriters (don’t look now, tired Lauren Christy is back) are peddling lacks any distinguishing factors. Anne-Marie, whose background includes stints in West End theater productions, fares

somewhat better than Bebe Rexha on her debut album Speak Your Mind (WB). Like the even more talented Jess Glynne, Anne-Marie provided vocals on a Clean Bandit hit single (“Rockabye”). Cheating boyfriends/bad relationships dominate on Speak Your Mind, but Anne-Marie rises to the occasion of songs such as “Trigger,” “Machine,” “Then,” and “Perfect” (in which she declares “I love who I want to love, cuz this love is gender free”). New Zealander Janine makes her full-length album debut

with 99 (Atlantic). She narrowly avoids falling into some of the same musical traps as Rexha, especially on “Don’t Love Me,” “Numb,” and “Too Late” (where she really shows off her vocal power). However, the true standout is “Hold On,” on which she

sets her sights on the dance floor. Bebe Rexha, Anne-Marie, and Janine could learn a thing or two from Bishop Briggs about making an outstanding debut record. Briggs’ Church of Scars (Teleport/Island) is a wonderful combination of powerful vocals, strong songs, and quality production. To her credit, Briggs, who has a belt on par with Florence Welch, has managed to avoid including a single clunker among the 10 tracks on the album. This,

of course, makes singling out favorites difficult, but it’s safe to say that “River,” “White Flag,” “Tempt My Trouble,” “Hallowed Ground,” “Wild Horses,” “The Fire,” and “Water” definitely deserve to be heard. [Editor’s note : Bishop Briggs performs on October 6 in Houston at House of Blues, and October 5 and 12 in Austin at Austin City Limits Music Festival.] Caroline Rose, who recently released a fantastic second album, has definitely made it more challenging for other female singer/ songwriters (especially those releasing their debuts) to make their mark. Fortunately for Anna Burch, whose debut album is titled Quit the Curse (Polyvinyl), she successfully skirts the issue. Striking a balance between respectful retro pop

(“Tea-Soaked Letter,” “Belle Isle,” “What I Want”) and ’90s homage that would make Liz Phair proud (“Asking 4 a Friend,” “Yeah You Know,” and the title number). Far and away one of the most intriguing debuts of 2018, I Need to Start a Garden (Mama Bird) by Hayley Heynderickx is the kind of album that will stick with you long after it has stopped spinning. If for no other reason than the song “The Bug Collective,” you simply have to hear this artist. Taking freak-folk to a level that even Joanna Newsom might not have

anticipated, Heynderickx songs such as “Oom Sha La La,” “Jo,” “Show You a Body,” and “Worth It” will grow on you if you give them a chance. Gregg Shapiro is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 147

R ead O ut

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

‘Tinderbox’

The untold story of the Up Stairs Lounge fire and the rise of gay liberation.

‹

ou’ll never forget that one night. The drinks were cold, the weather was warm, and you were out to have fun with friends you loved and those you hadn’t yet met. You’ll never forget the music, the lights, or the name of the bar—and if you did, as in the new book Tinderbox by Robert W. Fieseler, there was probably a reason. Sunday afternoon, June 24, 1973, started like every other Sunday at the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Bar manager Buddy Rasmussen opened the place for its weekly beer bash, where patrons could enjoy drink specials all afternoon. Buddy had come with his “lover,” Adam, and as the regulars filtered in, the music started, the drinks flowed, and the Up Stairs Lounge filled with gay men, a few allies, and good times. That the Up Stairs Lounge even existed is remarkable: just a few years after Stonewall, gay men were still openly persecuted, legally and otherwise. It was unlawful in many places, for

148 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

ryan lEItner

Whiskey When We’re Dry John Larison Reading Whiskey When We’re Dry is like opening dozens of little gifts at Christmas: each time a surprise occurs, it’s a delight. Author John Larison does that over and over again, gifting readers with a great opening, exceptional characters, and plenty to unwrap. • Set in the years following the Civil War, in an unnamed state, this book offers both high adventure and guazy romance. • For a few years, Jessilyn did what she could to help her father run things. But after he fell in with the wrong crowd and had gotten addled in a fight, he was never the same. But still, he schooled Jessilyn on sharpshooting for protection, and he talked of marrying her off. Then, six days after he left on a solitary ride, Jessilyn found her father’s bones. Not knowing what to do, she asked if a nearby Mormon family might take her in, and she was denied. • That was when Jessilyn went into the old wooden box her father had left behind. She found some of his outgrown clothes that fit her fine—and she became Jesse. • Larison’s gender-bending tale is rather un-PC, so beware as you read this sweeping epic that offers plenty of mini-shocks throughout. —Terri Schlichenmeyer

Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation • by Robert W. Fieseler • 2018 • Liveright (books.wwnorton.com) • 343 pages • $26.95

Author Robert W. Fieseler

instance, for a man to dance with another man. In some states, gay sex had been punishable by life in prison. But there was the Up Stairs Lounge, quietly advertising with a canopy out front to welcome the public—everyone, that is, except hustlers. Early that evening, witnesses remembered a fight over forbidden hustling, and two men were kicked out. Though no one will ever know for sure, it’s believed that one of them walked down the street, purchased a container of lighter fluid, returned to the bar, and dumped the can’s contents onto the wooden steps of the hundred-year-old building. Then he dropped a flame on the steps and walked away. Within seconds, says Fieseler, “No one was going into the Up Stairs Lounge—nor was anyone coming out.” And if that doesn’t chill

you, there’s a lot more about Tinderbox that will, starting with what immediately follows those words: page after page of stomach-twisting details of death by fire and the horror of publicly burning alive. Author Robert W. Fieseler shares the details, and they are indeed wretched. That’s only part of the shock of this book. It continues with the controversy within religious organizations, gayfriendly and otherwise, and details the birthing pains of activism that seem as painful to read as they must’ve been in life. As he’s telling the story, Fieseler continues to remind readers that officials seemed not to care about solving this crime, despite that there were survivors to mourn the 32 who died in the fire. And then there were the families who rejected their sons, even in death. Through all this, Fieseler asks—and answers—why we know so little about this tale. His answers are multitudinous, compassionate, important in a historical context, and emotional. He concludes that “With the last bodies laid to rest, the story faded from minds.” But Tinderbox makes this tragedy one that you won’t likely forget. Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was three years old, and she lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books.

O ut There

Photos by Dalton DeHart & Edgardo Aguilar

The Woodlands Pride Town Green Park - September 8

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 149

O ut There

Photos by Dalton DeHart & Edgardo Aguilar

Bunnies in Heat - Bunnies on the Bayou Crocker Bar - September 8

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CANVAS PRINTS | COLOR POSTERS | GREETING CARDS| MUCH MORE 150窶ポ窶グCTOBER 2018窶ポ窶グutSmartMagazine.com

O ut There

Photos by Dalton DeHart & Edgardo Aguilar

Victory Institute Reception - The LGBTQ Victory Fund Home of Richard Holt and Mark McMasters - September 7

OUT@TUTS Featuring “Oklahoma!” - OutSmart Magazine The Hobby Center - September 12

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 151

WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO COME CELEBRATE WITH US! WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REMINISCE, ENJOY DELICIOUS FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP AND LEARN MORE ABOUT PFLAG HOUSTON. ATTENDEES ARE ENCOURAGED TO SHARE A STORY OR RECOUNT AN AMUSING INCIDENT. MARK YOUR CALENDAR, AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2018 7:00 - 10:00 pm RESURRECTION METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH 2015 West 11th. Street, Houston, TX 77008 Honorary Co-Chairs The Honorable Annise Parker & Kathy Hubbard

Host Committee Gail Barnett Rosemary Cloud Ron & MaryJo Dupre Sara Fernandez Brenda Godsey

Patrick McIlvain Michael Migura Mike Ongoco Pat & Gail Rickey Irv & Jane Smith

Event Sponsors Council Member Robert Gallegos OutSmart Magazine Resurrection MCC

O ut There

Photos by Dalton DeHart & Edgardo Aguilar

Transgender Unity Banquet - Transgender Unity Committee Doubletree by Hilton at IAH - September 15

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 153

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Elan Heights

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920 Westcott................................... 713/861-6900 Le Méridien Downtown Houston

CARPET AND FLOORING

Carpet World

Usacarpetworld.com.................... 281/998-3200

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1121 Walker......................................713/222-7777 L’Emerson Corporate Lodging

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Bering United Methodist

230 Westcott, Ste 210...................713/784-3030

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Dexter’s Five Star Service/Bob Samora

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........................................................... 832/252-1961

Archway Gallery

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Lilly Roddy Astrology

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Bering Connect

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.......................................TheDianaFoundation.org EPAH

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Houston Community College ............................................................. hccs.edu

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Planet Lincoln

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Acadian Bakers

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3897 Southwest Frwy ……….713/552-9400 Eye To Eye

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Montrose Eye Care/ Dr. Paul Lovero

Deep Eddy Vodka

520 Waugh Dr.................................713/352-0974

Dripping Springs

4317 Montrose, Ste. 2....................713/529-3937

..............................................deepeddyvodka.com ................................... drippingspringsvodka.com

Spectacles on Montrose

HEALTH CARE/PHARMACIES

Avita Pharmacy

HAIR/NAIL/MAKE-UP SALONS

AvitaPharmacy.com...................... 713/489-4362

1318 Telephone Rd................. EastEndBarber.net

LegacyCommunityHealth.org/services/pharmacy/

East End Barber

Green Apple Salon

719 W. Gray St.............................. 713/5212-0500 NU-Cuts Hair Salon

515 Westheimer............................ 713/524-7858 Q the salon/Joel Quiñones

qthesalon.com............................... 713/807-0000

Legacy Pharmacy

HEALTH-PHYSICAL THERAPY

Crom Rehabilitation/Dr. Roy Rivera

Cromrehab.com..............................713/868-2766

HEALTH CARE–PHYSICIANS

Octavio Barrios, MD

HAIR RESTORATION

Robotic Hair Restoration Services

RoboticHairSolutions.com........... 832/644-9170

HEALTH CARE–COUNSELING/THERAPY

507 West Gray.................................713/942-7546 7106 Spencer Highway................. 281/542-9400 Gordon Crofoot, MD/Crofoot MD

3701 Kirby, Ste.1230...................... 713/526-0005 Abel Flores, MD/Crofoot MD

D. “Woodja” Flanigan, MS, LPA

3701 Kirby, Ste.1230.................... 713/526-0005

Jeffrey Myles/JM Professional Services

6565 West Loop South, Ste 300... 281/661-5901

Denise O’Doherty, LPC, LMFT, LCDC, RN

3701 Kirby, Ste.1230...................... 713/526-0005

2600 SW Fwy, Ste 409.................. 713/589-9804 ........................................................... 713/447-2164 3131 Eastside St., Ste. 435...........713/524-9525 Dr. Barry F. Gritz, MD

230 Westcott, Ste 210................... 713/869-7400 Dr. Daniel Garza, MD

M. Sandra Scurria, MD

Derek Smith, AGPCNP-BC/Crofoot MD

HEALTH CARE-PLASTIC SURGEONS

Timeless Plastic Surgery

3131 Eastside St, Ste 4...............15281/610-8190

TimelessPlasticSurgery.com.........281/242-8463

The Montrose Center

West Ave Plastic Surgery /Forrest Roth, MD

Robert Snellgrove, LMSW-ACP

154 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Cory Logan, DDS

...............................LegacyCommunityHealth.org

George Country Sports Bar

611 Hyde Park........................HoustonEagle.com

Bayou City Smiles/ Cynthia Corral, DDS

3200 S.W. Freeway, Ste 1800....... 713/402-6400

401 Branard.................................... 713/529-0037

Houston Eagle

Bayou City Smiles/Marcus de Guzman, DDS

Avenue360.org................................713/426-0027

catastrophictheatre.com...............713/521-4533 617 Fairview ...................................713/528-8102

Samuel A. Carrell, DDS/Bruce W. Smith, DDS

FINANCIAL PLANNING/BANKS

AXA Advisors, LLC

MyGayHouston.com

Beckwith’s Car Care

1919 FM 1960, Bypass Rd. E.,Humble281/540-2000

530 Waugh Dr................................ 713/942-8598

Grace Yung/Midtown Financial

.......................................................HPDCareer.com

Deborah Lawson

Pearl Bar

........................................................... 281/391-6137

Katine & Nechman LLP

Lawsonlegal.net.............................. 713/478-2618

2313 Edwards St., Ste 150............ 713/518-1411

Diana Foundation

.......................................................... thecaucus.org

1834 Southmore.............................713/808-1001

Miller Outdoor Theatre

...............................................713-526-1017, ext.20

Gonzalez Olivieri LLC

gonzalezolivierillc.com..................713/481-3040

2313 Edwards St., Ste. 150............. 713/518-1411

2025 W 11th..................................... 713/861-9149

AIR CONDITIONING/HEATING

Newport Air

Main Street Theater

MillerOutdoorTheatre.com...........281/373-3386

Jim Benton of Houston Catering

Gary Gritz, CPA

1006 Missouri................................713/529-4364

Visitlakecharles.org/greattimes.... .800/456-7952

David Alcorta Catering

The Village of River Oaks

ACCOUNTANTS/BOOKKEEPERS/ CPAS

Allstardental.com.......................... 936/689-2252

Lake Charles

808 Pacific....................................... 713/521-2519

mainstreettheater.com................. 713/524-6706

davidalcorta.net............................. 832/439-0224

HEALTH CARE–DENTISTS

All Star Dental

JR’s/Santa Fe

Capitol Beverage

......................................................... 713/788-1586

www.vilageoftheheights.com..... 713/802-9700 www.villageofriveroaks.com..........13/952-7600

Island ETC Theatre

2317 Mechanic St. Galveston…...409/762-3556

4617 Montrose, Ste C206.............. 713/522-7014 Christine Wysong

230 Westcott, Ste 210..................713/869-7400

WestAvePlasticSurgery.com.......713/559-9300

HEALTH CARE–SERVICES

Avenue 360

Avenue360.org................................713/426-0027

Complete Male Solutions

........................................................... 281-519-7826 Harris County Public Health

Publichealth.harriscountytx.gov.713/439-6293 Legacy Community Health

LegacyCommunityHealth.org .... 832/548 5000 Ryan White Planning Council

RWPCHouston.org.........................713/572-3784 St. Hope Foundation

offeringhope.org............................713/778-1300 UT Hearts

...........................................................713/486-2736

PET SERVICES& SUPPLIES

Rene Ibarra Camiba/Karen Derr Realty

Last Wishes

Karenderr.com ...............................713/446-8331

Midtown Veterinary Hospital

NBEliteRealty.com ...................... 281/972-6000

Molly’s Mutthouse

karenderr.com ...............................713/875-7050

www.lastwishes.com ....................713/452-0474 MidtownVetHospital.com............ 713-528-4900 3407 Montrose...............................832/581-2453 3410 N. Shepherd ........................ 713/426-6888 2755 Vossdale.................................281/501-9062 Spay-Neuter Assistance Program

Snapus.org. .....................................713/862-3863 West Alabama Animal Clinic

Kelli Lines/NB Elite Realty

Martha Turner Properties

Marthaturner.com ......................... 713/520-1981 Ashton Martini/Martha Turner Properties .................................................... 832/878-7686 Jason Nguyen/Nan Properties

2200 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 1475 ... 713/703-0217

2030 W. Alabama...........................713/528-0818

Thomas Phillips/KW Memorial

Wave Solutions

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Wade Knight / Martha Turner

t.phillips@kw.com ....................... 832/305-7848

www.ednotme.com...................... 833/886-3878

Dalton DeHart Photography

Wadeknight.com........................... 713/582-0264

HEALTH CARE–SKIN CARE

Yvonne Feece Photography

...........................................................713/942-6857

Heights Dermatology/Alpesh Desai, MD

2120 Ashland ................................. 713/864-2650

DaltonDehart.com.........................713/622-2202

yvonnefeece.com ..........................832/876-1053

Skin Renaissance Laser/Octavio Barrios, MD

507 West Gray ................................713/942-7546

HEALTH CARE-RESEARCH STUDIES

PHOTOGRAPHY

5900 Richmond Ave ......................713/789-6901

PLUMBING

U of H / Project Pride

uhcore@central.uh.edu ............... 713/743-7477 UT Health Substance Abuse Study

...........................................................713/486-2635

HEALTH CARE-WEIGHT LOSS CLINICS

Dr. B-Fit/ Octavio Barrios, MD

517 West Gray ................................713/942-7546

9889 Westheimer ...........................cantoni.com

Ellen Cohen

Garnet Coleman

HOME REMODELING/RENOVATIONS

LuriaConstruction.com............... 713/828-2155 New Slate Properties/Tim Kirby

.......................................................... 713/557-1785

HOME REMODELING/PAINTING

Luria Construction

LuriaConstruction.com................. 713/828-2155

INSURANCE AGENCIES/AGENTS

Jeffrey Bules/Insurance Associates Group

Insuranceassociatesgroup.com…713/523-9400 Lane Lewis/Farmers Insurance

2200 North Loop W, Ste 136 ...... 713/688-8669

Jerry Simoneaux for Judge Campaign

...................................................jerryforjudge.com Mayor Sylvester Turner

.................................... www.sylvesterturner.com

POOLS & POOL SERVICES

Venture Pools

........................................................... 713/447-9201

Acadian Bakers

604 W.Alabama .............................713/520-1484

Auntie Chang’s Dumpling House

2621 S. Shepherd, #290 ...............713/524-8410

3215 Westheimer ........................... 713/522-1934

readingbyLA.com ..........................832/856-2188

2616 Louisiana ...............................832/360-1710

REAL ESTATE-COMMERCIAL

2409 Grant ......................................713/677-0674

Gloria’s Latin Cuisine

Readings by LA

Presidium/Westpark Houston Investors LP

PresidiumRE.com ........................ 713/955-3773

Hamburger Mary’s

Jenni’s Noodle House

1700 W Loop S, Ste 255 ..............713/299-4981

2802 White Oak ...........................832/987-4827

LIQUOR STORES

REAL ESTATE–REALTORS

1117 Missouri St............................. 713/529-3450

ichoosejared.com ......................... 832/570-5726

3414 Washington Ave ........feasturbaneats.com

REAL ESTATE - INVESTORS

Shenice Brown/EXP Realty

Chicago Title –Inner Loop

First American Title/Michael Caballero

Interlinc Mortgage/Cody Grizzoffi

Keith Russell/Republic State Mortgage

Jared Anthony/NextHome Realty Center Tim Anthony/Anthony Upton Properties

Ryan Fugate, RMT

AnthonyUptonProperties.com ... 713/528-0050

Joel Leal, RMT

309 Gray .......................................... 713/522-7474

.......................................................... 713/397-8808

MOVERS

All My Sons Moving & Storage

AllMySons.com/Houston..…..…281/612-7973

PEST CONTROL SERVIC

Andy’s All Star Pest Control

........................................................... 713/732-7742

Harmony Strings String Quartet

Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino

PSYCHIC READERS

502 W. 18th St ................................713/862-7444

RyanMassageWorks.com .............713/269-7926

Darker Side DJs & Karaoke

...........................................................832/419-0165

3815 Garrott St, Ste 202 B ............ 832/541-1103

MASSAGE THERAPISTS

WEDDING SERVICES - SERVICES Bradley David Entertainment

Free Grillin’/Chef Michele

1201-F Westheimer ........................ 713/528-1201

LANDSCAPING/GARDENING

Specsonline.com..........................713/526-8787

yvonnefeece.com ..........................832/876-1053

DessertGallery.com.......................713-522-9999

PRINTING/COPY CENTERS

Copy.com

520 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 100 ....... 713/623-8384

Spec’s

DaltonDehart.com.........................713/622-2202

Yvonne Feece-Tran Photography

....................................www.harmonystrings.com

4310 Westheimer Rd .....................713/629-7444 Joshua’s Native Plants & Antiques

6250 Westpark, Ste 324..............832/799-1449

Dessert Gallery

2520 Montrose Blvd ......................713/528-4976

Tenenbaum Jewelers

WEDDING SERVICES/FLORAL

Rexberry Luxury Events

DarkerSidedjs.com ...................... 281/542-3555

4611 Montrose Blvd...................... 713/807-8889

3700 Buffalo Speedway................713/418-7000

Silverlust

2811 Eastman ................................ 713/802-2860

Danton’s Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen

1338-C Westheimer .................... 713/520-5440

2221 S. Voss Rd ............................... .713/789-221

davidalcorta.net ............................ 832/439-0224 Jim Benton of Houston Catering

204 Marshall St. #5 .......................713/487-6076

616 Westheimer Rd ........ katzsnevercloses.com

Select Jewelers

JEWELERS

WEDDING SERVICES - CATERERS David Alcorta Catering

Bollo Woodfired Pizza

2202 A West Alabama...................713/677-0391

REAL ESTATE–MORTGAGE/TITLE

BradBrandtDesigns.com ..............281/216-7849

Dessert Gallery

Dalton DeHart Photography

...........................................................281/819-0055

Brad Brandt Designs

David Alcorta Catering

Andy Weber/John Daugherty Realtors

3111 S. Shepherd............................713/523-7600 602 E. 20th St. ...............................713/862-3344 2027 Post Oak Blvd .......................713/621-4200 3773 Richmond ..............................713/714-8258

INTERIOR DESIGNERS

WEDDING SERVICES - BAKERS Acadian Bakers

WEDDING SERVICES-PHOTOGRAPHERS

Mike Laster

districtj@houstontx.gov ...............832.393.3015

Luria Construction

Calvin Upton/Anthony Upton Properties

RESTAURANTS/COFFEE/WINE BARS

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

Lake Charles

Visitlakecharles.org/greattimes . 800/456-7952

AnthonyUptonProperties.com ... 713/528-0050 520 Post Oak.................................. 713/724-4306

Frazier’s Concrete

4091 Westheimer........................ 832/3976-5130

Bobby Sullivan/United Realty

Jim Kovach for Judge Campaign

.................................................kovachforjudge.org

23200 Hwy ......................................979/921-2906

Tom Schwenk/Tom’s Galveston Real Estate

VJ Tramonte/Joe Tramonte Realty

GarnetColeman.com .....................713/520-5355

11804 Hempstead Rd ....................713/957-3672

Red & Co. Real Estate

1802 Broadway/Galveston .......... 409/765-9837

Fountains and Statuary

Lafayette Travel

LafayetteTravel.com ..................... 800/346-1958

DessertGallery.com.......................713-522-9999

unitedrealtyadvisors.com ........... 713/482-9889

districtc@houstontx.gov ............. 832/393.3004

Concierge Travel, Inc

4920 Mimosa ...................................713/661-2117

Ronda Ross/Nan Properties

5023 Washington.......................... 713/868-7226

Tomsgalvestonrealestate.com .....713-857-2309

POLITICIANS

Aquafestcruises.com ....................800/592-9058

davidalcorta.net ............................ 832/439-0224

Village Plumbing & Appliance

5403 Kirby ..........................713/224-DRIP(3747)

TRAVEL/TRAVEL AGENCIES

Aquafest

Vinod Ramani/Urban Living Realtors

redunlocked.com .......................... 832/654-3293

1424 Montrose ............................... 713-942-2277

8181 Southwest Fwy ..........click2houston.com

604 W. Alabama.............................713/520-1484

U-Plumb-It Plumbing Supply

Nicksplumbing.com ......................713/597-8624

TELEVISION

KPRC 2

Danny Pleason/Martha Turner

2200 Post Oak Blvd., Ste.1475 ..... 713/557-1936

coda

355 W 19th ......................................713/864-4411

Lynette Lew/Better Homes and Gardens

LynetteLew.com.............................713/582-2202

Nick’s Plumbing & Sewer Services

HOME FURNISHINGS/ACCESSORIES

Cantoni

Debbie Levine/Greenwood King Properties

Dannypleason.com .......................832/661-1502

Houston Camera Exchange

12220 Murphy ............................... 281/575-8500

Karen Derr/Karen Derr Realty

Vitality IV Studio

2034-A West Gray., Ste. 125 ....... 713/861-4868

TELEPHONES/CELL/WIRELESS

Premier Wireless

Brooks Ballard/Engel & Volkers

David Bowers/The House Company/Galveston

David@DavidBowers.com .........409/763-2800 Mike Copenhaver Remax Metro

mikecopenhaver@remax.net .... 713/528-4963 Thomas Eureste/Nan Properties

2200 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 1475 ..832/866-3206

Jeremy Fain/Greenwood King Properties

...........................................................713/677-4337

Why would you buy a cake from someone who doesn’t want to sell you one?

Katz’s Deli

Niko Niko’s

Phoenicia Specialty Foods

1001 Austin St ................................ 832/360-2222 Raising Cane’s

1902 Westheimer .......................... 713/528-9020 Rita’s of Houston Heights Riva’s Italian Restaurant Urban Eats

RETAIL CENTER/SHOPPING CENTERS

Highland Village

4055 Westheimer .... shophighlandvillage.com

SPECIALTY RETAIL

Pure for Men

..................................................... pureformen.com

TATTOO PARLORS

Electric Chair

8722 Richmond ............................. 713/780-3500

OUTSMART can help you find equalityminded businesses that appreciate you and provide vital community support.

Thank You for supporting our advertisers! For advertising and subscription information, call 713/520-7237.

OutSmartMagazine.com |

Want to have your business listed here?

OCTOBER 2018

| 155

OutSmart Marketplace EMPLOYMENT

ACCOMMODATIONS Fully Furnished Corporate Apartments

Successful candidates must be organized, self-motivated, energetic, outgoing, creative and goal-oriented. Previous experience in advertising and marketing sales preferred. Salary+Commission, health benefits program included. See the O UT S MART website for more details.

CHURCHES

SUN. 10:00 AM: Worship Service WED. 7:00 PM: Bible Study 401 Branard : Houston, 77006

GALVESTON PROPERTIES 1015 9th • $279,500 Ultimate vacation rental 2/1with one bedroom apt & efficiency space. 2.5 blocks to the beach

309 17th • $175,900 Duplex-fixer upper. East End Historical 1417 24th • $419,500 Victorian 3/2.5 with dramatic double gallery and wrap-around porch.

David Bowers

david@davidbowers.com 409-763-2800

Email resume to: Employment @

COMPUTER SERVICES

OutSmartMagazine.com Attn: Greg Jeu, Publisher.

Plain Talk

Real help.

SERVICES

3111 Ave R • $340,000 3/2.5/garage apt. Circa 1928 Craftsman-style 3 blocks to the beach

Advertising Sales Executives

www.LEmerson.net

FOR SALE

HEALTH PRODUCTS ALL MALE HOT flirty GAY HOOKUPS! Call FREE! 281-404-6622 or 800-777-8000 Guyspyvoice.com • 18+

FOR LEASE Gary Joseph Owner

PC Home ech

In-Home In-Home Computer Computer Services Services 832.496.9246 www.pchometech.com

CLEANING SERVICES

DEXTER’S F I V E S TA R S E RV I C E Doing the chores you hate to do

Andy’s All-stAr

Pest Control

sales@poggescbd.com

FOR LEASE

1116 West 24th Street Uniquely remodeled interior. 3 bedroom, 1 & 1/2 bath. Huge yard. Includes all updated appliances (washer/dryer). Call Candi (713) 688-6001

HOME & OFFICE CLEANING DESIGNATED DRIVER SERVICE

HOUSE & PET

832.252.1961

Andy

for a free quote Andy Sassie – Owner

TPCL# 13558

PSYCHIC/TAROT READER

BILL O’ ROURKE

Ta r o t Re a d i n g s beginners classes

Tom Zeppelin, LMT

FOR LEASE

Raising Caneʼs Apply online at

Call

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Has parking in front and back of building. Beautiful location Commercial Building Lease Only Call Joy (713) 688-6001

RaisingCanesJobs.com

This is Termite Swarming Season Call us to Protect your Investment

832.541.3166

River Oaks 1219 South Shepherd

Now Hiring

Readers’ Choice Winner Best Massage Therapist

OR JUST ASK!

EMPLOYMENT

1902 Westheimer Rd

MASSAGE & BODYWORK

Now in Richmond, TX

SITTING

BOB SAMORA

800-294-7460

www.poggescbd.com

713-732-7742 Complete Pest Control Service 6 Month Warranty - on Standard Pest Control

156 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

713.542.0426

ZeppelinMassage.com Adam Skidmore L.M.T. PAIN RELIEF & RELAXATION CERTIFIED IN:

Medical Massage, Structural Integration, Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release

936.443.1975 | adamskidmore108@yahoo.com

MARKETPLACE ADVERTISING RATES

Oct. 15 for the Nov. Issue. For rates/information call 713/520-7237 ext. 10.

SignOut continued from page 160

security and career. For some of you, this is the time to look at making some advances in your career, or possibly start your own business. For those of you who are older, you may be looking toward retirement or cutting back your hours to better suit your current lifestyle. You’re paying a lot more attention to your boundaries and not responding to everyone just because they ask. In the latter half of the month, it is good to invest your time in business or social organizations to help promote your career or retirement expectations. With Venus retrograde through December, you may hear from friends from the past. It will be a good time to reminisce. AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18). This has been a crazy end-of-theyear time for you! Last summer, Mars (planet of action) was retrograde in your sign. You may have wanted to act, but felt that your timing was off. Now that Mars is direct, you are ready to act on your impulses and focus more on you. However, Venus (planet of commitment) goes retrograde and delays our plans and choices until the end of the year. This is a good time to be working on a

plan, doing research, or taking special classes to enhance your résumé. This is normally a busy and active time when you step up your responsibilities and social obligations. Be careful to avoid overcommiting yourself through the end of the year. PISCES (February 19–March 20). Finances, security, and real intimacy are important topics for you this month. This is a very good time for you to review your investments, your salary options, and any debt that may be hanging over your head. By the middle of the month, you are feeling lighter and less burdened. The middle of the month is a much better time for a vacation, teaching or taking a class, going to law school, or just stepping away from your normal routines and demands. Even though Venus, our planet of commitment, is retrograde, you are beginning to notice that there are new career and social opportunities opening up for you. The door opens on November 8, but you may want to wait to make a final decision until December, when commitments will work out better. Get ready—you’re going to have a busy holiday time! For more astro-insight, log on to lillyroddy.com.

IDEAL FOR SUMMER INTERNS When business or pleasure brings you to Houston for a month or more, why not make L’Emerson your address?

• All the amenities of home. • Ideally situated in the Montrose-Midtown area. • Much more affordable than a downtown hotel room. Tom Fricke, Proprietor

210 Emerson Street • Houston, Texas 77006 www.LEmerson.net OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 157 161

LEmersonad_May15.indd 1

Right now is the perfect opportunity TO BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE TO BE COMPASSIONATE TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS

4/15/15 2:28 PM

Thank you again to my OutSmart readers for voting me Best Astrologer for all of these years.”

TO SHOW GRATITUDE TO THOSE YOU LOVE AND TRULY APPRECIATE Voted BEST ASTROLOGER by OutSmart Readers

LILLY RODDY A S T R O LO G E R Personal astrological sessions

Voted Houstons best massage therapist,

Relationship readings - personal /business

2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018!

Presentations & lectures to organizations

–outsmart magazine

CONSULTATIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY GIFT CERTIFICATES • CREDIT CARDS

713.529.5842

lillycath@aol.com • www.lillyroddy.com

OutSmartMagazine.com | OCTOBER 2018 | 157 LillyRoddy_Nov14.indd 1

10/21/14 11:29 AM

Bar & Club Guide HOUSTON ALIBI: Located right next to Hamburger Mary’s, this dance club was voted “Favorite Club for Dancing,” “Best Club after 2AM,” and “Best Martini” by our readers. It’s party central for Montrose with late-night dancing until 4am Friday and Saturday weekly. Mary always goes to Alibi to party after her shows! 2409 Grant St., 713.522.2867, alibihouston.com BARCODE Houston’s newest bar with happy hours from 11am to 8pm daily, this new neighborhood watering hole is a great place to see drag shows and strippers Tuesdays—Saturdays and Karaoke Sundays & Mondays. 817 Fairview St. 713.526.2625 • barcodehouston.net

ALL HOUSTON TEXANS AWAY GAMES!

SPORTS BAR

CHEER THE TEXANS & ENJOY AMAZING FOOD Free Grillin’ w/ Chef Michele Free 10/21 & 11/4 on the Patio

617 Fairview • Houston, Texas • 713.528.8102 HOURS: Mon-Sat 7am–2am • Sunday 12pm–2am Houston’s most iconic and largest LGBTQ dance club NO COVER BEFORE 10:30pm

2401 San Jacinto • Houston, TX • RichsNightclub.com

158 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

BLUR Multi-level dance club featuring an upstairs lounge and balconies. Ladies enjoy Wet and Wild Wed., 18-year-olds welcome Thurs., Latin night on Sun. Happy hour 8–10pm; free cover before 11pm. 710 Pacific St. • blurbar.com. CLUB CRYSTAL Find many of Inergy’s former staff and décor at this two-room Latin/hip-hop club. Sunday evening drag shows rule the roost. 6680 Southwest Frwy, next to Colorado 713.278.2582 • crystaltheclub.com. CROCKER BAR This comfortably remodeled Montrose nightspot also offers karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays and extended happy-hour prices throughout the week. 2312 Crocker • 713.529.3355.

HAMBURGER MARY’S Since 1972, Mary has served up amazing food and stellar shows*! With the best drag talent in the city, it’s been voted “Best Drag Show Bar,” “Most Supportive of the LGBTQ Community,” “Best Hamburger,” “Best Brunch,” “Friendliest Staff,” and “Best Place to Celebrate” by our readers. Be sure to try the famous Mac & Cheese Balls, or grab a leg glass (as seen on RuPaul’s Drag Race)! *Reservations recommended for shows. 2409 Grant St., 713.677.0674, hamburgermarys.com EAGLE Part of the Eagle worldwide family, it’s the definitive home to the man’s man. Leather, Bear or Jock, you’ll find them here. Voted “Best Community Bar,” “Best Men’s Bar,” “Best Place to Show Your Leather,” “Best Happy Hour,” and “Best Place to Buy Erotic Playthings” by our readers. Eagle has multiple levels and patios, along with DJs and male dancers—and it’s the place to watch sports. Noon–2am every day, 611 Hyde Park Blvd., 713.523.BIRD houstoneagle.com JR’S BAR & GRILL This Montrose standard offers drag and strip shows throughout the week, karaoke Thurs. and Sun., plus pool tables and male dancers. 808 Pacific St. • 713.521.2519 jrsbarandgrill.com. MICHAEL’S OUTPOST Jerry Atwood, Clay Howell, Neil Massey, Steve Wheaton, and Roger Woest take turns at the keys at this comfortable neighborhood piano bar. 1419 Richmond Ave. • 713.520.8446.

GEORGE Regulars rule at this comfortable neighborhood sports bar. Sports Saturdays and Sundays start at 3pm with dart and pool tournaments. 617 Fairview • 713.528.8102.

NEON BOOTS DANCEHALL & SALOON Houston’s only LGBTQ country dancehall opens Wednesday–Sunday. Wednesday features Steak Night and Bingo. Free dance classes on Thursdays and Karaoke. 11410 Hempstead Hwy 713.677.0828 • neonbootsclub.com.

GUAVA LAMP This trendy and friendly video and cruise bar gets busy during happy hour and stays busy ‘til closing. Karaoke on Wed. and Sun. 570 Waugh Dr. • 713.524.3359 guavalamphouston.com.

PEARL BAR This LGBT-friendly lounge in the Washington corridor features daily highlights like open mic night, steak night, and drink specials. 4216 Washington • pearlhouston.com.

Best Steak Night at a Bar Winner

BEHIND

Pop-up Cooking Events, Catering & Private Chef

the BAR

GUAVA LAMP Tuesday Nights GEORGE SPORTS BAR Thursday Nights CHEF MICHELE 832.419.0165

The Eagle Sunday Funday, Mon—Wed

Where is your favorite place to drink when not on-duty? I don’t drink – I spend that time bicycling. What are you best known for? My beard?

/chefmichelefree

JR’s Bar & Grill

CHARLES GARIBAY

What is your favorite shot to make? To drink? Lemon Drops or Blue Balls.

freegrillin/

Grindr, Scruff or other customer that thinks app you see most often? they are sober. Neither, prefer to meet in person. If you weren’t a bartender…what career Biggest tip from would you choose? one customer? Air pilot. $500 on an 8-party tab! Do you have Who are the hardest any pets? customers to please? Myself. The obviously tipsy (smiling emoji)

A Taste of New Orleans in Montrose

TONY’S

C OR N P OC K E E

RUDYARD’S The eclectic British pub is known for its craft beers as well as for the burgers. Most weekends you’ll find up-and-coming local bands rocking the house. 2010 Waugh Dr. • 713.521.0521 • rudyardspub.com. SOUTH BEACH Closed for remodeling. TONY’S CORNER POCKET This comfortable club has one of the friendliest bar staffs in town. Amateur dance contest each Thurs., Fri., & Sat. at 11pm. Opens daily at noon. 817 W. Dallas • 713.571.7870 tonyscornerpocketbar.com. VIVIANA’S Happening weekend-only gay dance club with Latin DJs, singers, talent shows & Sunday strippers. 4624 Dacoma • 713.681.4104. BEAUMONT RUMORS BEAUMONT Grand Opening on Labor Day Weekend in the old Orleans Street Pub location. Drag shows with Dessie Love-Blake, Lady Shamu, Kara Dion and more. 650 Orleans •713.539.5183 rumorsbeaumont.com BRYAN/ COLLEGE STATION HALO VIDEO BAR The only LGBT dance club in Bryan/College station, this sleek spot is open Thurs.–Sat. smack in the middle of Aggieland. 121 North

PA R T Y -

804-808 Pacific St. | 713.521.2519 jrshouston.com | Twitter @jrshouston

RICH’S HOUSTON Houston’s most iconic and largest LGBT dance club, with multiple levels featuring a video/show bar and a private VIP lounge. No cover before 10:30 p.m. 2401 San Jacinto • 281.846.6685 richsnightclub.com. THE RIPCORD This multi-roomed leather bar boasts a busy patio, especially on the weekends. The Forge shop located inside the club. Saturday nights with DJ Tad Dvorak 715 Fairview Ave • 713.521.2792.

- A LWAYS A

Main • 979.823.6174 • halobcs.com. GALVESTON 23RD ST. STATION The bar features daily drink specials and the weekend is filled with pulsing music hot dancers, drag shows, and a Sunday Tea Dance. 1706 23rd St. • 409.621.1808. Tonys_Corner_BG_Mar16.indd 1

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ROBERT’S LAFITTE The Island institution features a private patio with swimming pool. On Sat. and Sun. nights, the Ladies of Lafitte show takes the stage. 2501 Avenue Q (at 25th) • 409.765.9092. RUMORS BEACH BAR Drink specials every night and daily day drinking specials starting at Noon. Great drag shows Friday – Sunday and karaoke Sunday – Thursday at 8p. Sunday Drag Bingo. 3102 Seawall Blvd. • 409.497.4617 rumorsbeachbar.com SPRING RANCH HILL SALOON With its two pool tables, 52-inch plasma televisions, and large dance floor, this popular northside spot also offers DJs Thursday–Saturday. 247041 I-45N Suite 103 • 281.298.9035 • ranchhill.com. THE ROOM BAR AND LOUNGE This bar and video lounge has a laid-back atmosphere including daily drink specials, karaoke, free pool, drag shows, and live DJs several nights a week. 4915 FM 2920 • 281.907.6866 • roombarspring.com.

BAR NONE! OUTSMART’s Bar Guide is the best place to advertise your bar! OutSmartMagazine.com |

OCTOBER 2018

| 159

S IGN O UT

By Lilly Roddy

Venus Is in the Forefront . . . so should you start a new partnership?

he most significant item for this month is Venus (our planet of desire, sugar, relationships, and jealousy) going stationary retrograde on October 5. Venus has been in the retrograde state since the end of September. With Venus retrograde, we are looking back at relationships, reviewing our investments, focusing on our appearance, and questioning what really makes us satisfied at the deepest level. Starting new partnerships during a Venus retrograde is strongly discouraged. Venus will be direct on December 15. • Good days for this month are the 15th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 27th, and 29th. Days with more tension are the 2nd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 19th, 23rd, and 31st. ARIES (March 21–April 19). Relationships and career decisions are what’s on the menu for October. You are trying to create a better balance in your life between the demands of work and your relationship needs. This is an excellent month to create some time to renew those emotional and intimate boundaries with your partner. If there are problems in your partnerships, they will come to the surface so that you can confront them and generate resolutions. In the latter part of the month, you are paying more attention to your finances and ruminating about whether some of your friendships are worth it. TAURUS (April 20–May 20). Taureans are extraenergized this entire month. You may feel very impatient with your current career or with your bosses. With your ruler, Venus, going retrograde until mid-December, it’s better to think your actions through before you let your anger make a decision for you. You do need to change, and you do need to reinvent yourself, but January would be a better time for that. Exercising, working out, or working in your garden can be healthy ways to release some of the tension. Relationship demands and expectations also share the spotlight for this month. Your partnership may need some real TLC over the next couple of months. This applies to business as well as romantic relationships. If you are single, an old relationship partner may want to make contact. Watch your spending this month! GEMINI (May 21–June 21). As the month begins, you are in a creative and playful time. This is a very good time to be with your children, to be selfindulgent, and to explore new ways to keep that mentally active part of you entertained. By midmonth, you are ready to get back into your normal routines. Relationships with coworkers may be trying during October. You have lots of ideas about ways to resolve this tension, but they may not be willing to listen. You are still a bit confused about your career

direction, but that will be more fully resolved in 2019. Focus some of this energy on your personal health and diet regimen. CANCER (June 22–July 22). In October, you are really focused on your home, roots, and family. You may want to have more family and social gatherings in your home this month. You may also want to do some redecorating, or potentially relocate. You mainly just want a warm and comfortable nest to come home to. In relationships, you’re looking to clarify the boundaries and expectations that you have with each other. You’re looking for a common goal that you both can work toward. In the latter half of the month, you’re looking to be more playful and not take yourself (or life) so seriously. Keep working on your finances and getting that part of your life in order. You have two good months to work on that, so you may be able to clear up your problems by then. LEO (July 23–August 22). You are looking to make some major changes in your career sector. Since the beginning of 2018 you have been in a period where you’re bored with your current career choice. Although you are feeling the urge to look for alternative interests or a new career direction this month, it may be best to wait until January 2019 before you take action on your plans. In the latter part of the month, you will want to spend more time at home and with your family. You may be also looking at moving or doing some home improvement. And finally, your partnership needs some attention right now! Be spontaneous and make your partner feel special with a surprise. VIRGO (August 23–September 22). Finances, budgets, and considering new options for resources are all activating your life this month. You are feeling some financial restrictions, and are working on ways to free yourself from that. You are open to new ideas and ways to market your talents or services. You are able to communicate more easily and get your message across more quickly. This is a good month for classes, travel, or putting on a workshop yourself. You are in a more creative time, and you’re feeling the pressure to do something with that! This is an excellent month to get back on your workout and diet regimen since you have gotten off of your routines during the last couple of the months. LIBRA (September 23–October 23). Happy Birthday to the Librans—born in the sign of peace, harmony, relationships, and diplomacy! This is your personal yearly cycle where you have time to review the events from last year and to consider new

160 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

goals and directions for your upcoming year. With your ruling planet, Venus, retrograde until midDecember, this time of assessment will be longer than usual. This is a very good time for confronting and resolving issues from the past, especially issues surrounding relationship breakups. You continue to work on stabilizing your career and creating a more consistent income. Your home may need some work, or you may be considering relocating. In the latter half of the month, you focus more on your finances and freeing yourself from debt. SCORPIO (October 24–November 21). As this month begins, you are in a time of rest and retreat. You are responding more sensitively to your environment and to the people in it. You will want to choose your company wisely, especially in the beginning of the month. By the middle of the month, you are much more present and ready to take action. There is some drama going on with the family, but you will do your best to avoid and detach from as much of that as you can. Exercise or working in your garden can help relieve some of this tension. If you don’t find a healthy outlet for that tension, you may become accident-prone or lose your temper over unimportant things. With Venus retrograde in Scorpio, you are reminiscing about your childhood and your relationship with family members. Enjoy those memories! SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21). You are feeling more open and social, and that will only increase as we get into November. Business organizations, community groups, and friends are an important part of your life this month. You can count on those people to provide you with support in your business, personal marketing, taking on a community project, or going on a great trip out of town. You are also paying a lot more attention to your financial picture and getting that part of your life more organized. You may feel the financial crunch in early October, but that should ease up in the latter half of the month. You are more direct in your communications, especially with people that you work with or provide a service for. Watch your temper, especially around the 10th. Your home is providing a real spiritual retreat for you this year. Make sure you take some time for yourself. CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19). This is an especially busy month focusing on long-term continued on page 157

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Photos by Dalton DeHart and Edgardo Aguilar

On August 18, JR’s Houston hosted the 2018 Girl of Montrose contest, benefitting PWA Holiday Charities. Pictured are An’ Marie Gill, Mother of Montrose 2018; Clayton Hensley, Boy of Montrose 2018; Asteria Eos, Girl of Montrose 2018; Daddy Ryan, Daddy of Montrose 2018; and Pup Nuke, Pup of Montrose 2017.

On August 21, the Executive & Professional Association of Houston hosted a dinner meeting and election of officers. Pictured are Kennedy Loftin, Jack Berger, Brent Braveman, Leslie Bonnie, Denise O’Doherty, Glenn Dickson, Marcus de Guzman, Michele Laprade, John Coulter, and Jim Jamelka.

On August 28, Lambda NextGen hosted its monthly Happy Hour at Roka Akor. Pictured are Alan Prewitt, Ryan MacMillan, Nick Lovitt, Sam Waters, Jessica Alvarez, and Meg Schaloff.

On August 28, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s LGBTQ Advisory Board hosted an Appreciation Reception at Art League Houston. Pictured are Jacques Bourgeois, Ian L. Haddock, Mayor Turner, and Kaleb Elijah.

On September 6, the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association hosted its September meeting with David Cay Johnston’s presentation, “What Do We Do Now?” at Churrascos. Pictured are David Cay Johnston, Barbara Radnofsky, Dennis Johnson, and Steven Duble.

On September 16, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) hosted a Stop Kavanaugh Call to Action Event at the Montrose Center. Pictured are Dinesh Singhal, Rev. Susan Quinn Bryan, Rebecca Robertson, Linda Morales, Poppy Northcutt, Nancy Friedman, Diomarvellous Nsofor, and Daniel Cohen.

On September 7, the Victory Fund hosted a Victory Institute Reception at the home of Richard Holt and David McMasters. Pictured are Sean Meloy, Seth Schermer, Ellisot Imse, Annise Parker, Aaron Samuleck, Andre Adeyemi, Mark McMasters and Richard Holt.

On September 8, The Woodlands Pride hosted its inaugural LGBTQ celebration at Town Green Park. Pictured are Jason Rocha, Debbie Steele, Sean Herbold, Ryan Elkins, Teresa Carpenter, and Bill Yauch.

On September 8, the Queer Queens of Qomedy hosted a benefit for the Montrose Center at Neon Boots. Pictured are Vickie Shaw, Crist Guzman, Debbie Storrs, Poppy Champlin, and Sandra Valls.

On September 12, the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber hosted Brewing Up Business at Houston Media Source. Pictured are Roger Palomino, Jason Rocha, Tammi Wallace, Gary Wood, Kashmire Terry, Corey Allen, Deborah Lawson, and Roy Alvarez Jr.

On September 12, OUTSMART sponsored OUT@TUTS featuring Oklahoma! at the Hobby Center. Pictured are Regina Blake DuBois, Matthew Janak, Harper Watters, Natalie Varnum, and Kevin Pope.

On September 12, OutReach United hosted a Coming Out Party Art Unveiling Brunch with Jan Golden at the home of Gary Wood and Bryant Johnson-Wood. Pictured are (front row) Sallie Wyatt-Woodell and Bob Briddick; and (second row) Micheal Reeves, Gary Wood, Bryant JohnsonWood, Charles Caliva, Tim Stokes, Carol WyattWoodell, and Kim Gustavsson.

162 | OCTOBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com

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