Out in Print: ‘Gay Bar

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‘Gay Bar: Why We Went Out’

Out in Print

BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Gay Bar: Why We Went Out”

by Jeremy Atherton Lin ©2021, Little, Brown and Company $28.00 320 pages

The stool over by the window is all yours.

Might be because you’ve spent a lot of time there. It’s the right height, you can easily watch the door from there, and the bartender knows your favorites, so why not? As in the new book “Gay Bar,” by Jeremy Atherton Lin, it’s one of the best places to be.

Long before it was legal for him to go there, Jeremy Atherton Lin, like most teenage boys, imagined going to the bar — though in his case, Lin imagined what it was like in a gay bar. Ironically, he says, “I can’t remember my first.”

As someone with a foot in each of two continents, he does have favorites, places that are now closed, re-named or been moved. He’s danced in them, had sex in them, drunk and moved through gay bars with his “companion, the Famous Blue Raincoat,” and anonymously, and with friends-not-friends.

Some bars were carved out of a back room or basement, or a place that used to be something else, maybe another bar. They’re cavernous; or they’re small and packed with men dancing or doing drugs; or they’re thick with bachelorette parties and tourists, to the annoyance of the gay men who’ve claimed that bar. Those usurpers don’t know the legacy of feeling gay, but “[I]t goes pretty deep.” Some bars have opened just for the night. Others were raided once upon a time or will close before a month has passed. Overall, they’re an important part of being a gay man, pre-Stonewall, pre-AIDS, postepidemic and now. And yet, says Lin, “... there does remain something embarrassing about a gay bar.” Still, try to stop him from fondly remembering nights in the Castro or Los Angeles or London... Absolutely, you could be forgiven for wondering what you got yourself into while reading the first couple dozen pages of “Gay Bar.” Unabashedly, without preamble, author Jeremy Atherton Lin leaps right into a hazy description of a night out or two in a chapter that seems fragmented, like a broken strobe light. Clarity comes, but later, and it’s fragile.

Part of the haze might be due to the autobiographical nature of Lin’s story: There are bars in his tales, but the focus here is more going to bars, with the implied assumption that readers are familiar with those he mentions or others exactly like them. This, of course, may not be true; still, Lin’s sex-and-booze-filled tales of drag, dance and la dolce vita are compelling, woven with gay history, interesting then-andnow comparisons, and blisteringly explicit tales of being a young gay man.

And then again, while these stories take readers through the doors of a gay bar, once we’ve literarily entered, there are times when we’re abandoned, the music’s too loud, and we want to just go.

Like a song you don’t particularly like, though, that won’t last long. Really, the surreality of “Gay Bar” is not insurmountable; in fact, if you wait it out, you’ll be mostly glad you did. So look for it — and take a seat. : :

Dudley’s Place Helps Ensure Clients Have Access to Food

Clients Can Also Meet With a Nutritionist

By Dale Pierce

Food is essential, food is life. Dudley’s Place is always that many clients may not have the resources or funds to helping clients fill their pantries with the food voucher pro- access as part of their food budget.” gram, as well as linking them to community resources that Last year Dudley’s Place assisted over 600 clients gain may be available. In addition, clients of Dudley’s Place and additional resources to battle food insecurity. Alone, their Rosedale Health and Wellness can meet with a nutritionist, emergency food voucher program distributed over $65,000 Kim Kinnear, RD, who is on staff full time at the nonprofit. in vouchers to local grocery stores to help clients in need. Kim can help the clients manage dietary side effects of Clients are given as many resources as possible to assist medications, help them lose/gain weight, take clients on a them with their nutritional needs, from shopping plans, to “supermarket tour” and so much more. menu planning, nutritional information and much more.

In February of 2021 Dudley’s Place received a gener- The program does all it can to encompass assistance ous and amazing gift from three little girls in the Charlotte with education. area. Lola (5), Mila (7), and Tessa (8), used the benefit they Dale Pierce, Executive Director of Dudley’s Place said, received from their Girl Scout cookie sale to help brighten “Lola, Mila, and Tessa are such a blessing to the clients of the day of some of the clients at Dudley’s Place. “Scouting Dudley’s Place. Last year they made PRIDE bracelets for is not just teaching my girls life skills, they are also learn- our LGBT clients and donated them for us to distribute at ing the importance of how to give back”, says Annie Fu, Charlotte Pride. They said that they wanted everyone to feel the girl’s mom. The girls tackled their cookie sale this year special and accepted.” with enthusiasm and drive. Based on their sales they earned March is also National Nutrition Month. There are many “cookie credits” in the form of product. They told their things you can do to help yourself get on the right path to mom, Annie, who works at the Walgreen’s pharmacy on better overall health regarding nutrition. Move: even the the Rosedale Health and Wellness campus in Huntersville smallest of physical activity will help you better obtain your where Dudley’s Place is, that they wanted to give back. (L to R) Lola Fu (5), Tessa Fu (8) and Mila goals. Think of taking a walk each evening after dinner, or They wanted their extra cookies to be given to Dudley’s Fu (7) generously donated boxes of Girl try a Zumba class or anything that gets you moving. Inspire Place staff so that they could add a little “sweet surprise” to Scout Cookies to Dudley’s Place. yourself: many people say they get into a boring routine in the clients who could use a little something to smile about. menu planning. Try buying a new cookbook this month or Even Kim Kinnear (dietitian) said, “occasionally we all deserve a little treat, and looking online at a blog for new ideas. See a dietitian: they can help your menu what a great gift the girls gave our clients with these cookies. It is something plan, find creative solutions and offer guided advice to a better plan.