RFD Issue 44 Fall 1985

Managing Editor: Ron Lambe BBB-PPP: Michael Mason Art Director: Light (PRODUCTION)

In many ways this has been a difficult issue to come together. There have been delays with material coming in late, heavy demands on my time away from here, and budget problems. Mone-the-less, it has come together as it always does.

I only hope at this point in the production that we can get it out on time.

The last issue was prepared on time, but the printer took about four weeks to get it back to us. Sometimes it seems that no matter what one does, events >;111 find a way to derail our best thought-out plans. So, I try to become more detached to the process and just roll with the punches.

In spite of a few "holes", I believe we have an interesting mix for you in this issue. I always feel that each issue is special and unique - like any mother would. The intergenerational sex issue continues in the Letters section. I feel it is important to continue the dialogue, but I’d like to see fewer sweeping generalities and more tolerance. It would also be helpful to develop some definitions of what a child is; what abuse is; what sexual contact is.

We also have a very challenging feature dealing with political and social con­ sciousness issues in the gay community. So, in many ways, this is a very po­ litical issue throughout.

There has been a staff switch in that Kenneth Hale-Wehmann will be moving from 'rticles to Book Reviews. The response to the call for book reviewers has been wonderful; however, we still need reviewers for the more technical books, such as building, carpentry, plumbing, and gardening. We got plenty of responses for fiction and the like. We still have an opening in the Profiles Department.

And while I’m at it, we always need photographs and drawings. "isewhere (last page) you'll find a pitch for the Running Water Gathering Build­ ing Fund. This Erection Endeavor is something I have yearned for over many years ("he said with tongue in cheek"). We spent this year's gathering income fixing the dirveway, so we are making some headway with improvements and devel­ opment here. A meeting house will really open things up for more use and activ­ ity. (I know, some think I have enough activity; well, I'm doing some things while I wait for others). At any rate, this is a real need, and if anyone out there would care to help with a donation or skills, please write Michael Hampton as listed in that article.

Speaking of help and needs, I have found that one of the most magical ways to manifest things needed is to articulate the need. So, while it goes a bit against my grain, I have gotten better about stating my needs. We apparently raised the journal's rates none-too-soon. The cash flow has dwindled to a trickle, and at this point in production I'm not certain how I will be able to pay the printer for this issue. I only finished paying off the last issue's printing bill at the end of August which is about six weeks behind schedule.

That puts this issue just that much further behind in payment. The short-fall isn't really all that great; if each subscriber would send in just $1, I'd catch up. If each subscriber sent in $2, I'd catch up and get my copier fixed.

If each subscriber sent in an extra $5 I could do all of that and get a computer (with a printer). Think about it. Donations have been less lately over previ­ ous years; sign of the times? Anyway, here is an opportunity for real help.

Personally, I remain active with my environmental work locally. Although some­ what overextended, I enjoy doing the little bit I can to keep a nuclear dump out of the area and help keep a toxic waste incinerator up to standard. Not much else is new. My dog and I are another year older and wondering where this year went. I have gone through another season not knowing where the broccoli is. If Richard andMichael had not planted the onions and tomatoes, I guess there would not have been a garden at all. The biggest loss is not putting my hands in the dirt regularly. I did get the roof painted (at long last).

Rocky and Peter have found a place about 20 miles north of Asheville. Peter is still teaching at UNCA and Rocky quit his produce job to get the place in shape.

As the trees begin their autumanal blush and we prepare for the fall gathering, we say goodbye to another summer. I hope there are plenty of wonderful colorful leaves falling all around you so you can roll in them. May the Great Pumpkin smile upon you, and remember to give Thanks when that time comes. We'll lave another issue for you at Santa-time.

RUNNING WATER: MASSACHUSETTS: Light Ed Schreiber Ron Lambe Willie Lewis Michael Mason

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DEPARTMENT EDITORS: Announcements: Sundance, CA Articles: Kenneth Hale-Wehmann, MA Book Reviews: Kenneth Hale-Wehmann Bros. Behind Bars: Len Richardson, OR Contact Letters: Gary Wilson, MN Country Kitchen: Mikel Maxwell, IL Fey Arts: Franklin Abbott, GA Fiction: Randy Conner, TX Gardening: Scott Tuzzolino, DC Gatherings, Sundance, CA Health: Jerry Stamps, AR Homesteading: Kim Grittner, WI Poetry: Franklin Abbott, GA Politics: Stuart Norman, CA Profiles: (open) Spirituality: Gerry Kamp, NY

RFD is a reader-written journal for gay men which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. Articles often explore the building of a sense of community, radical faerie consciousness, the caring for the environment, as well as sharing gay men's experiences.

Editorship responsibility is shared between the Department Editors and the Managing Editor. The business and general production is centered at Running Water 1n western North Carolina. Features are often pre­ pared in various places by different groups.

RFD is published quarterly on the equinoxes and solstices at Running Water, Rt. 1 Box 127-E, Bakersville, NC 28795. Tel: (704) 688-2447.

ISSN I0149-709X USPS #073-010-00 Non-profit tax exempt status under #23-7199134 as a function of Gay Community Social Services, Seattle, Washington.

MEMBER: CCLM (Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines) COSMEP (The International Assoc. of Independent Publishers) GLPA (Gay/Lesbian Press Assoc.)

INDEXED by Alternative Press Index P0 Box 33109 Baltimore, MD 71?1B MICROFILMED by Alternai /e Media ?0 Sox r *7 Anson'a Now Yor*. NY 10023

FUTURE FEATURES: *45

Winter 85/86

'.'e are tenatively planning on put­ ting together some material on AIDS and Wholism. We want to empahsize the natural non-AMA approaches to this condition. *46

Spring 1986

Really Fabulous Dish

GET I.T.

This feature will be done at Short “ountain Sanctuary in central Tenn. and will explore the fine art of dishing.

AT HOME

M7

Friendships

INTELLIGENT INTERVIEW S

The Atlanta folks are planning of preparing this feature on the dif­ ferent kinds of friendships men are making in the gay community.

EROTIC EXCLUSIVES

We welcome groups to prepare feature sections in RFD. It is a wonderful way for groups to be creative around an issue of concern or sometimes just their own locality. Write for details.

FILTHY FICTION FUNNY FEATURES SEX & SPORTS ROCK & ROLL

CORRECTIONS:

Plus: TOM OF FINLAND & LOTS OF GORGEOUS NAKED MEN DANNY BASK ISSUE #93

ENTERING OUR SECOND DECADE OF DECADENCE! IN TOUCH FOR MEN was the first mass-market magazine to publish male nudes for a male audience, and today we re still the leader. Each issue is a party, a great­ looking package of fun, entertainment and exciting men. Every month we bring you the best in erotic art and photography plus a generous helping of thought-provoking articles and anecdotes So get I T now at these special prices If you haven t seen I T lately, you haven t seen I T at all.

Send cash, check or money order to:

D

IN TOUCH SUBSCRIPTIONS 7216 Varna ave N orth H ollyw ood, ca. 91605 (213) 764-2288 I enclose $ in cash, check, money o rd er for my IN TOUCH FOR MEN subscription. Please send me: sample copy S3.95 Q 6 mos $17 75 □

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Name ______________ Address _____________ City/State ________ A ll postage fees are in c lu d e d F o re ig n subscribers note To re c e iv e yo u r m agazine in a sealed e n ve lo p e first class mad add tb e fo llo w in g tor postage o th e rw is e it is sent in an unsealed e n ve lo p e by surfa ce m ail We cann ot be res p o n s ib le for c ustom s inspe ction s Canada 4 M exico

Summer 1986

Add J l 50 per issue tor airm a il A il oth e r c o u n trie s add 43 25 per issue

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want to apologize to Glenn of Trees (again) for misreading his ooem title in last issue. The title and first line should have read: "I Have A Tubful 1 of Memories", not a "treefull".

We also misspelled the artist's name in the Poetry section. Oros' last name should be: D'Matt, not "D. Matt". Our apologies, Oros.

In the photo essay by Raphael, the title should have read: A Pretty Toy is Like a Melody; not a pretty "Box". But is works anyway.

-

W

FALL ’8 5

Vo I.12,NQ 1

RIGHT-WING FASCISTS DESCEND A COUNTRY JOURNAL FOR GAY MEN EVERYWHERE John Alexander....... .........56 David Allen.......... .........21 .........44 Antier...............

Blue Jay............. ........ 55 John Bush............ .........38 .........32 Otto R. Castillo.....

Adam Christiansen.... .........42 Louise Coggins....... ........ 15 Charles T. Creekmur...

24,55,56,57 Daniel............... ........ 15 ........ 44 C. K. DePugeris......

9atrick Dowers....... ........ 1« Steven Finch......... ........ 45 John Fitzgerald...... ........ 40 ..... 55,56 Tom Foxwel1.......... ........ 41 Paulo Freire.........

Lenora Fulani........ ........ 35 Phyl1is Goldberg..... ........ 37 Kim Grittner......... ........ 14 Patrick Gutieriz..... ........ 26 Michael Hampton...... ........ 68 Annie Head........... ........ 18 Jim Hennegan......... ..... 16,17 Vera Hill............ ........ 31 Harriet Hoffman......

31,33.35.4C Eveline Horrell...... ........ 55 Scott Humphries...... ........ 45 Jada Joyous.......... ........ 46 Phi 1ip Kuepper....... ........ 16 David Kwasigroh......

44,45,47,50 John Landry.......... ........ 46 Ray Latham........... ........ 22 ........ 46 D. S. Lawson.........

Willie Lewis......... ........ 29 Light............. 40, 52, Front Cover Mark McNease......... ........ 50 Brik Miller.......... ........ 52 ........ 44 Raeburn Miller.......

Dan Mrazek........... ........ I9 ........ 44 K. J. Myers.......... ..... 53,54 ctuart Norman........

1es Parker........... ......... 1 ~at Parker........... ........ 28 Kenneth Pobo......... ........ 45 Dwain Rasmussen...... ........ 21 D. Rich.............. ........ 51 Len Richardson....... ........ 2?

Kevin Robinson....... ..... 12,13 Rogers............... ........ 20 Freda Rosen.......... ........ 33 Raphael Sabatini..... .Back Cover Brian Salchert....... ........ 47 "d Schreiber......... ........ 29 V. Starr............. ........ 47 Fred Smith........... ........ 46 David Sunseri........ ........ 47 Cl 1ie Lee Taylor..... ..... 12,43 Meg Umans............ ........ 56 Dan Ward.......... Inside 3ack Cover ........ 4R Tarrus Wind..........

IS S U E

Contributors ANNOUNCEMENTS

Front Cover "The World is My Oyster" '^signed by Light '"’articipation in this journal does oot necessarily indicate any parti­ cular sexual orientation.

©

NS 4 4

♦Contents

.7-11 Setter Things to Come - Dan Mrazek..................... 19 An Eminent Erection - Michael Hampton.................. 68 Handle With Care - D. Rich........................... ..51 Leisure and Recreation - Annie Head.................... 18 CAom tone (Hakim) - Charles T. Creekmur................57 LmbAacing th e E x ile (Fortunato) - Blue Jay.............55 hin m A ' 4 S HocuekeepeA'A C y clop ed ia (Lupton) - Creekmur.55 Gay and GAay (Berger) - Meg Umans...................... 56 KindAed Spi.Ai.ti, (Ed. by Elliot) - C T Creekmur.........57 ^attcAni 0^ The Vance (Mackenzie) - C T Creekmur.......56 ?uieX Fixe (Vacha) - Meg Umans......................... 65 Samuei R. Vetany (Evoy) - C T Creekmur................. 57 Son otf th e Hate Muae (Young) - John Alexander.......... 56 UpA<i>ing6 (The Mother Earth News) - Eveline Horrell.... 55 ’ ’h a t a VAag (Dickens) - Tom Foxwell.................... 56 ncnt. ninj-mnn*oc Vo0(iwo'l^ 9 (Spense & Griffiths) - Tom Foxwell........... 55 RRjS^ B,TjINDBAIg Abusing the term 'Child Abuse' - RayLatham.............. 22 How to Leave the Planet - Dwain Rasmussen.............. 21 Judge Me Not - David Allen............................. 21 Stastistics on Rape - Len Richardson................... 22 CONTACT LETTERS ................................................ 58-66 FEATURE ''Gays Facing Fascism"............. ..................27-41 "IDSgate - Phyllis Goldberg....................... .....37 The Apolitical Intellectuals - Otto Castillo........... ’’ 2 John Bush...............................................38 The First National Conference on Blacks S Gays - Rosen..39 John Fitzgerald.........................................40 Lenora Fulani...........................................35 A Great Year For Cominq Out - Vera Hill................ 31 Introduction - Ed Schreiber & Willie Lewis............!.28 The Practice of Freedom - Paulo Freire................. 41 p .Where Will You Be? - Pat Parker........................ 28 •ill w Dimple the Dragon - Philip Kuepper..................... 16 The Dreampond - Zarrus Wind............................ 48 Infidelity - Charles T. Creekmur....................... 24 Pastels - Mark McNease................................. 50 Black A White Men Together Conference - 0 LTaylor...... 43 Short Mountain Spring ‘85 - Les Parker.................. 1 Tenth Southeastern Conference - Ollie Lee Taylor....... 12 jjEALTU you Have Crabs! - Rogers............................... 20 Meadows and Wildflowers - Kim Grittner................. 14 ___ "here Should We Live? - Daniel........................ 15 LETTERS...... ^ ^ POETRY Autumn - Scott Humphries............................... 45 The Barn Was Cold - Brian Salchert..................... 47 Camera Obscura - V. Starr.............................. 47 Chipmunk Crucifixion - Antler...........................44 Confessional - Raeburn Miller.......................... 44 Gathering the Leavings - StevenFinch....................45 I Don't Need a Greek Statue - John Landry.............. 46 In Tears - Fred Smith.................................. 46 Jesus - C K DeRugeris..................

44 Jonas the Builder - K J Myers.......................... 44 Loves Me, Loves Me, Loves Me - D S Lawson.............. 46 *!o One Lives Here - David Sunseri........... ...........47 Somber Apples - Kenneth Pobo........................... 45 POLITICS faSCj$m 0n the March - Stuart Norman................... 54 The Politics and Test of AIDS - Stuart Norman.......... 53 ’.'ar Resister's League Update - Grik Miller............. 52

Dear

r fp ,

T love, jo an d o w n -to -ea rth s t o r i e s .

7 l i k e th e p e r s o n a ls .

7 do f e e l fr u s t r a t e d , though, t ' a t we a ll. a r e -so ;(a/i from ea ch o t h e r . A lio , I f,eet </lu s tr a te d t h a t J do n ot see mono ! appealn g in teams o f peAmanent l i v ­ ing t o g e t h e r type arrangem e n t s . Com­ munal liv in g w ith some tape. of. manu­ fa c tu r in g in clu d in g gardening and a ■lace fo r o ld e r gays .seems so e lu s iv e to u s. At the s ix -d a g couAse near K ingston, W , 7 com m itted mgs e l f to '■e the. sp a ce in which a communal liv in g r e tir e m e n t home fo r gags would show up. I t ' s been f i v e gea rs I ’ ve been ta lk in g a b o u t i t , and 7 have on ly $500 c o l l e c t e d so f a r .

The name of th e p la c e would be Common S p i r i t .

Can you sp rea d th e word? Hope, t o heaA ■tom l o t s o f p e o p le and r e c e i v e con ­ tr ib u tio n s , t o o .

B e s t w ish es and l o v e , Karl Volk • 45 W h ittie r B lv d ., P ou g h keep sie, W

Thank you fo r bein g what you a r e . rh ere has never been a p u b lic a t io n ’ have rea d which so i n s p ir e d me to A i t e a com plim entarif l e t t e r to the e d i t o r . S u re ly the m a te r ia l g r a t i ­ f i c a t i o n o f ex ten siv e, a d v e r t is in g w hich most ra g s r e c e iv e ., you must be the b e n e fa c t o r o f much s p i r i t u a l ;r a t i f i c a t i o n , b rin g in g so much l o v ­ ing com m unication to cou n try minded gay s. V e fi n i t e l y a m in o rity w ith in a m in o r ity . Of co u rse most o f the r e a d e r s would w elcom e a d v e r tis in g th a t p e r t a in e d to t h e i r l i f e s t y l e s .

I t would h e lp f i n a n c i a l l y to k e e p a good th in g g o in g . I find mt/self c o n tin o u s ly retu rn in g to the pages r e -r e a d in g th e in form ative, and nciold s b a red e n d le s s su pply of c r e a ­ t i v i t y and k in d red s p i r i t s day a f t e r lay and evert w eeks a f t e r i t has f l o a t e d in to mu mailbox. ru s t over a near ago I rea d my f i r s t <s s u e . 7 co u ld n ot b e li e v e i t - an a r t i c l e concerning proper ch ain saw '■sage, vege ta r inn co o k in g , g a rd en ­ ing, a l t o f t h is c e n te r in g around men lov in g men! In a cou n try l i f e ­ sty le!

Ju s t when 7 had l e t mti su b ­

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s c r i p t i o n la p s e on s e v e r a l gag rags ' eca u se a l t the pages seemed to r e ­ v o lv e around a l i f e s t y l e b a sed on f he fast, la n e c u lt u r e .

In the c i t i e s *he.g f e e l th a t lth ey } a r e s u r e ty th e u ltim a te in bein g gay, t e l l i n g you a l t t h e r i g h t c l o t h e s and sw im saits t o wear - who needs them ! A naked m ale body ly in g back by a l a z y stream a p p ea ls to my l i f e s t y l e w ith h is dog by h is sid e, in s t e a d o f t h e p ro p er c o c k ta il.

ta k e advan tage o f t h a t c h i l d ' s n a iv ety , v u l n e r a b i l it y , and in n o ce n ce. To t a k e c a r e o f an a d u lt ' s se x u a l n eeds i s an unfa-ir r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a c h i l d .

Maybe even h is s p e c i a l f r ie n d slo w ly ru bbin g h is s o r e back w h ile under th e sun su rrou nded by tow erin g t r e e s . A sm alt jug o f homemade summer stra w ­ b e rr y wine to fit th e mood o f a h o t time, to r e la x in th e h e a t o f a sum­ mer a fte r n o o n . The summer sk y as l i m i t l e s s as t h e i r a f f e c t i o n fo r each o t h e r and t h e i r p le a s u r e s o f c a r e s s ­ in g , two stro n g naked men in union muXh th em selv es and t h e i r en v ir o n ­ ment. The sw eet s m e lls o f th e flo w ­ erin g h o n ey su ck le com bined wit.h t h e manly o d ors of two men cau g h t up in pass-ton. The groan in g o f e c ta s y w h ile two men a r e p h y s i c a ll y u n ite d , one p e n e tr a tin g th e most, s e n s i t i v e p a r t o f h is l o v e r ’s b o d y . . . .

Mark H eila n d . M issou ri • * I

A cou n try b o y ’ s dream,

I am one who has been g r e a t l y hu rt by an in c e stu o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p , ’then T was 27, l i f e brou ght me t o th e r u e s tio n "am 7 happu w ith my s e x u a l i ­ ty?" My w hole bein g answ ered empha­ t i c a l l y "no!" Then came th e u n r a v e l­ in g o f t h i s m ystery. My am nesia b ro k e and m em ories o f se x u a l a b u se s u r fa c e d .

To my amazement, what r a g e and pain 7 taasn't a b l e to d e a l w ith as a young boy was s t i l l t h e r e , w a itin g to be d e a l t w ith . H ealin g , th en , becam e my prim ary g o a l .

I t has been a d i f f i c u l t p r o c e s s , f o r 7 found t h e m isuse o f my body co n n ected to ev e ry a r e a o f my l i f e , p a s t and p r e s e n t . V ears o f woAfetng throu gh t h i s s t u f f ca u ses me. t o w r ite you now, t o s a y t h a t n o t a l l se x u a l e x p e r ie n c e i s good f o r u s. Hot a l l i s m utual. Even -tn a lo v in g s i t u ­ a t io n , sex can be damaging.

I t i s t r u e , we a l l have out b o u n d aries, our s e l f h o o d i s p r e c io u s , and we guard our b ein g s from harm ful in flu e n c e s .

We do t h i s i n s t i n c t i v e l y a s a d u l t s .

A c h i l d how ever, i s not n e c e s s a r i lu a b l e to do t h i s . A c h i l d i s depen den t upon a d u lts fo r p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e i r bein g in t h is w o rld . The a d u lt i s c l e a r l y in a p la c e o f power, fo r good o r bad.

In a l l h on estu , i t en rag es me. to even d is c u s s w hether o r not i t is a t r i a lit to be se x u a l w ith c h ild r e n . We a r e r e s p o n s ib le and must c o n s id e r th e n eeds o f c h ild r e n . C h ild ren may need many th in g s from u s, bu t how dare, we assume i t is our p e n is . And, so i t mat/ happen th a t a c h i l d becom es sex u ­ a l? a a t t r a c t e d to an a d u lt .

In no ■iay d o es t h is g ra n t p erm issio n to

I t may be p o s s i b l e to have a mutual se x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith a c h i l d ; t h i s I do n o t know. What I do know is that thousands o f c h ild r e n have been d r a m a t ic a lly h u rt by c r o s s -g e n ­ e r a t i o n a l s e x . Ves, even in lo v in g s itu a tio n s .

Vear E d ito r s , 7 must s a y , in ev e r y new is s u e o f RFV t h e r e a r e more and more fa g g o ts w ritin g in g l o r i f i n g t h e un iform use of l e a t h e r , both in and o u t o f bed.

S u re ly t h i s o p en ly em bracing a p r a c ­ t i c e t h a t i s c o ld - b lo o d e d murder (Cows don’t gtve up the-tA h id e s v o l ­ u n t a r ily , you know) i s n o t a f a i r i e th in g to do! In f a c t , i t ’s dow nright u n en lig h ten ed , r e a c t io n a r y , bad karma and a b u s iv e o f h e l p l e s s a n im a ls.

A lso , s i n c e l e a t h e r i s bu tch o r macho by w earin g l e a t h e r one i s i d e n t ify in g w ith o n e ’ s o p p r e s s o r (b u t c h - s t r a ig h t v io le n c e ) . T h is, a g a in , Is not. f a i ­ r ie !

I t i s , how ever, a sig n o f s e l f h a tr e d .

(Why e l s e would a fa g g o t c h o o s e to l o o k l i k e a cop?) I t a ls o condones t h e f a l s e n o tio n t h a t men may k i l l o r u s e /a b u s e anim als f o r s h e e r v a n ity and m onetary p le a s u r e .

T h is , a g a in , i s not f a i r i e bu t th e o p p o s it e Are th e r e a d e r s o f RFV so h y p o c r i t ic a l as t o c a l l th em se lv e s " en lig h ten ed " a s th e y o ft e n do and th en not sp e a k o u t a t su ch u n en lig h ten ed fa s h io n t r e n d s . Wake up boys! S top buying dead cows and be f r e e !

P eace, Mark V. Holmes, P enn sylvan ia > _____ V ear RFV, I am n o t renew ing my s u b s c r ip t io n to RFV b e ca u se o f what I view as a s e r i ­ ous dichotom y o f your s t a n c e on e q u a li t y , s p e c i f i c a l l y reg a rd in g th e su p p o rt o f V.A.M.B.L.A. 7 t'-in k i t i s im p o s s ib le f o r an adultt to have a n o n - e x p lo it iv e r e l a t i o n s h ip w ith a boy. Someone under 16 ■'ears j u s t d oes n ot have t h e e x p e r i ­ en c e s , t h e j o b s , th e money, th e a b i l i t y to be s e l f-su p p o rtiv e, l i k e an a d u lt . The a d u lt p u lls a l l th e s t r in g s .

(A fter a l l , i f th e b o y ’s 'ad inhere can he go?)

I f boys want sex w ith men, l e t them m astu rb ate o r fin d o t h e r b o y s . But ' i t ' s n o t f o i s t depen den ce on them *hnough a r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith grown, In depen den t men.

•/ours t r u ly , Ian C lea v e, Vancouver, Br •

Dear PFD, 7u i t fin is h e d leading issue “43. 1 am g la d to se e th e begin ning o < some dialogue on the m an/bat lo v e /s e x is s u e . I t is such a h ig h ly em otion al is s u e th a t i t becomes d i f f i c u l t fo r :>ic to d e v e lo p a d e a l p e r s p e c t iv e on it. You see, 1 am in p riso n in W ashington S ta te fo r ten r e a r s on a ch a rg e o f 'In d e c en t L i b e r t i e s ' .

There a r e some c a s e s o f man/boy lo v e .

I m y self had a 3 6 -y ea r o ld lo v e r when 7 teas 14, and 7 uxii s e x u a lly a c t i v e w ith o ld e r met: from t h e age c f 10. Sut 1 have s t i l l a l o t o f a m b iv a len t lo v e /a n g e r a b o u t some o f my very e a r l y e x p e r ie n c e s and alw ays darned m y self f o r bein g a prom iscuousc h ild - s e d u c e r o f men. 7 ex p o sed my­ se lf, and fo n d le d t h r e e young boys in a p a rk . I a>oi i n th e aviong. C h ild ­ ren a r e p o w er le ss in th is c u ltu r e and c a n ’ t sa y "no" to a d u lt s , any more than women have been a b l e t o .

C hildren sh o u ld be a llo w e d f r e e ex ­ p r e s s io n o f t h e i r s e x u a li t y but w ith t h o s e t h e i r own age. Slot b eca u se o f some a r b i t r a r y agism , but b e c a u se in t h is c u ltu r e o n ly among th o s e o f eq u a l power can lo v e be " fr e e " .

Is t h i s n ot why so many men a r e lo v in g men and women, women?

Love, '!i c h a e i M ile, W ashington •

Though V v e been a s p o r a d ic r e a d e r o f RFD f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , t h i s i s th e f i r s t tim e I ' v e been moved to a d d res s a l e t t e r to your jo u r n a l. 7 su p p ose I ' d n ev er had s u f f i c i e n t r e a s o n b e f o r e . Now I hav e. 7 found i t in a l e t t e r w r lt ie n by Tom Hudson in your Sprin g 1985 i s s u e . .

N otice that. Hr. Hudson condemns " a r­ ran ged c h i l d m arriag es" among th e s o c i e t i e s o f th e In dian su b c o n tin e n t and, In t h e n ex t p a ra g rap h , p o n t i f i c a l l y d ecla im s t h a t he ju d g es " . . . a co n sen su a l age o f 18 fo r se x In th e U.S. to be a mark o f our e n lig h t e n ­ ment. . . " W hile I ' v e g o t to co n ced e t h a t a r ­ ran ged m a rria g e s, no m atter what th e a g e, a r e o b j e c t i o n a b l e , 1 wonder how In h e l l “r . Hudson can r a i l a g a in s t com pu lsory s e x u a l perfo rm a n ce In one b r ea th and e x a l t com pu lsory s e x u a l c o n tin e n c e In th e n ex t.

The K insey s t u d ie s e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t th e p eak o f male sexual, fu n c tio n o c ­ cu rs a t th e age o f 15 o r 16 y e a r s .

Hr. Hudson, on t h e o t h e r hand, i n ­ s p i r e d by "The G reat W hile L ig h t uf tr u t h ," seem s to th in k t h a t ev ery boy below th e age o f 18 sh o u ld sup-

pie ss his sexual drives.

He a s k s : "Should a 4 0 -y ea r o ld man be p e r m itte d to fu ck and fo n d le an 8 -y ea r o ld boil? 1 th in k n o t." He cla im s t h a t such a man " . . . h a s p e r ­ v e r t e d th e m ating im pu lse t o ex ten d i t to s e x le s s p a r tn e r s , to b i o l o g i c ­ a l l y un prepared b o d ie s ."

L e i' s turn t h a t q u e s tio n on i t s head.

Should an 8-y ea r o ld boy be prevent­ ed from cu d d lin g and fo n d lin g and (anatomy p er m ittin g ) fu ckin g a 40year o ld man? In s p i t e o f Hr. Hud­ so n 's b e l i e f t h a t an 8 -y ea r o ld boy i s " . . . a s e x le s s c h i l d [who cannot] c o n se n t to a d u lt sex o r mating w ith ­ o u t having b i o l o g i c a l l y eq u ip p ed bod ­ i e s U-tc) or m echanism s," i l has been w e ll e s t a b li s h e d -- by r e p u t a b le and r e s p o n s i b le c l i n i c i a n s - - t h a t t h e c a p a c it y fo r p l e a s u r a b le se x u a l s tim u la tio n , even unto orgasm , i s p r e s e n t from in fa n c y .

I f t h a t same 8 -y ea r o ld sh o iild wish to be su cked o f f and can fin d a 40y ea r o ld man w illin g to do him t h a t s e r v i c e , sh o u ld th e o v e r t or i m p l l c i l u se o f v i o l e n t f o r c e - - i . e . , th e long arm o f John Law -- be made to p re v en t it?

An American c i t i z e n s h o u ld n ’ t have to be "p erm itted " to do a n y th in g .

Is t h a t 8 -y ea r o ld boy an American c it iz e n ? Does he have a rig h t, to l i f e , l i b e r t y , and th e p u r s u it o f h ap p in ess? Or i s he t h e "property" o f h is p a r e n ts , h is community, and th e Great. N ation S t a t e o f Amerika? ...

I t ' s th e c o n te n tio n o f many NAIH3LA members t h a t in d iv id u a l r i g h t s a re i n a l i e n a b l e ; i f anybody can l a y cla im to a r i g h t - - l i b e freedom o f speech - - then ev ery b o d y must be co n ­ ced ed t h e same r i g h t . I f t h a t 8 - ''ear o ld boy can be d en ie d th e rig h t, o f s e x u a l autonomy, then n eith er, you, nor 1, nor Hr. Hudson can c o n s id e r o u r s e lv e s s a f e in t h e e x p r e s s io n o f our a m s e x u a lit y .

As lon g a s t h e r e ' s no o b j e c t i v e l y v e r i f i a b l e in ju r y t o be d e r iv e d from h is v o lu n ta ry p a r t i c i p a t i o n in s e x u a l a c t i v i t y w ith h is 4 0 -y ea r o ld fr ie n d , t h a t y ou n g ster sh o u ld be f r e e t o t a k e h is agin g p a rtn e r by t h e hand and p u ll him in to t h e bedroom w hat­ ev e r game he. c h o o s e s . . . And, th e a d u lt sh o u ld be f r e e to go w ith him i f he w ish e s.

But Hr. Hudson c a n 't seem t o im agine how any grown man would e l e c t to a c ­ company an 8 -y ea r o ld boy to b ed . He a s k s : "What k in d o f man loants to fu ck or su ck o f f c h ild r e n who d o n 't even have p u b ic , underarm or f a c i a l h a ir? " W ell, o b v io u s ly i t ' s n o t someone w ith a body h a ir f e t i s h . P rim a rily , i t ' s t h e kin d o f man who t i k e s th e boy in q u e s tio n ; why e l s e w ould he be doing it? . . .

G e n e r a lly , i t ’s th e kin d o f man b l e s s e d w ith a g r e a t d e a l o f p a t i e n c e . . .an d

p o s s i b l y h e 's th e s o r t o f in d iv id u a l w ith whom boys can t a l k : a t t e n t i v e and n on -ju dgem en tal.

Almost alw ays h e ' l l be someone, w ith whom c h ild r e n a n d /o r a d o le s c e n t s f e e l c o m fo r ta b le , th e kin d o f man t h a t k id s want to be w ith . . . . O ften enough, lofien boys le a r n a b o u t su ch a man's se x u a l i n t e r e s t s , t h e y ' l l s e e k him o u t . ...

What Hr. Hudson seem s t o have, f o r g o t ­ ten i s t h a t th e a g e o f co n se n t is s u e in v o lv e s th e en actm en t o f law s. T hese law s are. d es ig n ed to pun ish p e o p le who become in v o lv e d in s e x u a l r e l a ­ t io n s h ip s in w hich one o f th e p a r t i ­ c ip a n ts i s below some a r b i t r a r y ag e o f co n se n t.

In o r d e r to e n fo r c e t h e s e law s, a g en ts o f t h e governm ent a r e empowered to v i o l a t e th e p a r t i c i p a n t s ’ r i g h t s to p r iv a c y and p r o p e r ty . Such a g en ts may i n t e r c e p t a p e r s o n ’ s m a ll, bug h is te le p h o n e , c o n f is c a t e h is boohs and p a p e r s .

I f he r e s is t s , th ey may use p h y s ic a l fo r c e to r e s t r a i n him, b e a t him s e n s e l e s s , or even k i l l him.

In h is " en lig h tm en t," Hr. Hudson has a p p a r e n tly l o s t tra c k o f the f a c t th a t a g e - o f- c o n s e n t taws a r e meant to be e n fo r c e d bt/ men w ith guns.

The w illin g n e s s o f th e p a r t ic ip a n t s in th es e r e l a t i o n s h i p s , th e a b sen ce o f in ju r y o r abu se in t h e i r con du ct, even the b e n e fi t s m utually d e r iv e d th er efro m , a re a,tt i r r e l e v a n t to such taw s. Only th e d is c r e p a n c y in a g es m a tte rs.

As lon g as an in d iv id u a l a d h ere s to th e n o n -a g g ressio n p r i n c i p l e , re nounejng fra u d and th e i n i t i a t i o n o f v i o l e n t f o r c e e x c e p t in d e fe n s e o f h is p erso n and p r o p e r ly , he canrot. v io la te , th e r ig h t s o f o t h e r s .

A person who u ses n e it h e r t r i c k e r y nor v io le n c e to in du ce a n o th er to p a r t i c i p a t e in a s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p ias done no harm, and sh o u ld not be s u b j e c t to p o l i c e harassm en t.

Hr. Hudson sh o u ld b e made aware o f th e fact, t h a t he has no r i g h t to im­ p o s e h is p erson al, cod e o f s e l f - a b n e ­ g a tio n on anyone e l s e .

Any e f f o r t to do so would be repugn an t to th e p r i n c ip l e s o f in d iv id u a l r ig h t s and an i n t o l e r a b l e i n s u l t to f r e e men everywhere. r i s cla im to "The G reat W hite L ight o f S p i r i t " n o tw ith sta n d in g , Ur. Hud­ son seems to be nothing more than a " lig and a p u n iia n . His argum ents a r e i r r a t i o n a l , h is language e x e c r a ' l e and h is m otiv es t y r a n n ic a l. 1 fin d m y self in w h o leh ea rte d a g r e e ­ ment w ith h is c lo s in g s e n te n c e o n ly : "T hat's th e way i t has been through th e a g es ."

P r ec is ely .

The Dark Ages.

L a isse z -n o u s f a i r e !

Adam S e le n e , New J e r s e y •

Vear RFV, Ray Latham, in h is a r t i c l e "Age o f Concert/ Lam" w hich a p p e a le d in the Spaing 1985 iA-iue of, RFV, s t a t e d a caAe. fo r a d u lts bein g a llo w ed to have se x u a l r e l a t i o n s w ith c h ild r e n under th e age o f Aexual co n se n t (which d i f f e r s from at a t e to s t a t e } .

Hr. Latham s t a t e d 'h a t age o f co n ­ sen t lau 14 sh o u ld be a b o li s h e d so t h a t a man co u ld ta k e a boy, who iA liv in g th e faA t l i f e on th e s t r e e t , in to h is home, thus m eeting t h e boy'A em o tio n a l and p h y s ic a l n e e d s . He coucheA thiA argument in the. s t a t e ­ ment t h a t AclfleAA lo v e , w hich t h e 4 Aont o f man presu m ably p o s s e s s e s , iA th e " in A tin c t to p r o t e c t from haAm." Hr. Latham ex ten d s thiA sta tem en t by m ain tain in g t h a t sex between a man and thiA ty p e o f boy iA an o u t­ growth o f th e s e l f l e s s lo v e r e l a t i o n A(Up betw een t h e boy and th e man.

I t I a my c o n ten tio n t h a t thiA " love" iA not AelfteAA but i s in s te a d s e l f ­ is h .

I t i s tru e t h a t k id s need touch to d e v e lo p both p h y s ic a lt y and emot i o n a l l it . "ut m illio n s o f (althou gh not a l l } jxiren ts a re a b le to touch theiA c h ild r e n in lo v in g ways w ith ­ o u t bein g se x u a l w ith them. I t i s my o p in io n th a t sex between a c h i l d and a man f u l f i l l s th e p s y c h o lo g i­ c a l needs o f th e a d u lt, but le a v e s th e c h i l d caught in a ch ea p , sh a llo w and haAmful l i f e s t y l e . Many k id s who l i v e on th e stA eet. have le a r n e d by h u s tlin g o r from an in ce stu o u s a d u lt r e l a t i v e , th a t th ey can g e t a c c e p ta n c e , a t t e n t i o n , and "love" from otheAA by having sex w ith them .

Say, f o r exam ple, t h a t a man to o k a boy who ioas l iv in g a s a hustteA in t o h is home. A ccording t o Hr. Latham the man co u ld th en fe e d and h o m e the boy and engage in a " qu alltu " em o tio n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith th e boy (including sexual relationsj. Some would co n str u e t h i s as a p o s i t i v e in flu e n c e on th e boy. However, i f , as i s o ft e n th e c a s e , t h i s boy has le a r n e d to g ain a c c e p t a n c e / a f f e c t i o n v ia se x w ith ev e ry o n e, then t h i s co n ­ t a c t w ith t h e man i s u n h ea lth y .

The t r u e ly s e l f l e s s th in g f o r a man to do in t h i s s i t u a t i o n would b e to p ro v id e a <sa^e enotAonmen-t and not t o engage in sex w ith th e c h i ld .

This would te a c h th e boy t h a t h is s e l f - d e s t r u c t i v e p a tte r n o f g ain in g a f f e c t i o n via his body is not neces­ sary. In s h o r t , th e man would te a c h th e boy t h a t he i s d es erv in g o f a t ­ te n tio n and c a r e ju s t beca u se he i s a special human, not because he. puts out. A selfish man would g e t h is r o c k s o f f w ith th e c h i ld , f u l f i l l i n g h is own p s y c h o lo g ic a l and em o tio n a l n eed s, and p e r p e tu a tin g th e ch eap l i f e s t y l e o f buying a f f e c t i o n v ia sex t h a t so many o f our youths un­ fo r t u n a t e ly l e a d .

I have one th in g to say to members o f th e North American Man Boy Love A ssoc.

(VAMBLA). I f t h e r e a r e no a d u lts in your l i f e who you have rom an tic r e ­

©"

l a t i o n s w ith , and you a r e c o n s ta n tly having rom an ces/ sex ( c a l l e d s e l f l e s s love, by Latham) w ith boys, I th in k t h a t you have some s e r io u s lo o k in g to do a t how you a r e m eeting your n eed s.

Vou m eet your needs a t th e expen se o f c h ild r e n . Vou a r e not i d e a l i z e d s a v ­ i o r s o f wayward boys as you c la im .

S e l f d e c e p tio n and d e lu s io n a r e won­ d e r fu l th in g s , a r e n ' t th ey .

The secon d f a l l a c y t h a t Latham f o r ­ wards in h is a r t i c l e i s t h a t c h ild r e n a r e th e em o tio n a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l eq u a ls o f a d u lts and thus can make a d u lt d e c i s i o n s . I th in k t h a t Hr. Latham i s o p era tin g w ith u n r e a l i s t i c assu m ptions a b o u t th e c o g n it iv e and em o tio n a l q u a l i t i e s o f c h ild r e n . Hr. Latham adm onishes us n ot to "run down th e judgeme.nt. o f t h e youth when t h e i r b o d ie s a r e c o n c e r n e d ." Latham c i t e s f he c a s e o f a 1 2 -y ear o ld co lu m n ist fo r th e NAHBLA B u lle t in to su p p o sed ly d em on strate t h e a b i l i t y o f c h ild r e n -to a c t in mature w ays. Latham s t a t e d t h a t t h i s boy 's w r itin g i s , "compre'len sive, w e ll r e s e a r c h e d , (anrf) s c h o l ­ ar y ..."

F i r s t , a lth o u g h I have n ever re a d th e A/AHBLA B u lle t in , I can c e r ­ t a in ly s t a t e t h a t I have n ev er met a 12-year o ld who was s c h o l a r l y , who knew how to r e s e a r c h , o r to th o rou g h ­ ly lo o k a t a l l s i d e s o f an argum ent.

Secon d, i f a c h i l d d oes e x i s t who i s so mature a t an e a r l y a g e, he would be the. e x c e p tio n r a t h e r than t h e r u l e .

Furtherm ore "p seu d o m a tu rlty ” i s common in c h ild r e n who have been s e x u a lly a b ­ u sed . Suzanne S g r o i, a n oted e x p e r t on t h e e f f e c t s o f , and tre a tm en t o f c h i l d se x u a l a b u se e x p la in s pseudoma­ t u r it y and i t s n e g a tiv e e f f e c t on c h ild r e n as f o l l o w s : " . . . r o l e co n ­ fu sio n [04 a r e s u l t o f th e c h i ld se rv in g as a s e x u a l p a r tn e r w ith an a d u lt] o ft e n le a d s to t h e c h i l d ' s forem ature assu m ption of an adult-tike role... As s e x u a lly v ic t im iz e d c h ild r e n assume more a d u lt r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , t h e gay w idens e v e r fu r t h e r betw een them and t h e i r p e e r s . Once i d e n t i f i e d by p e e r s , t h e i s o l a t i o n u s u a lly b e ­ comes perm anent. The v ic tim s a r e l e f t w ith no a p p r o p r ia t e s o c i a l o u t­ l e t s and a r e t h e r e f o r e a lo n e and more v u ln e r a b le than e v e r ." (Handbook of Clinical Intervention in Child Sexual A b u s e , Lexington Books, 1982).

S o, i t seem s that, i t i s n o t alw ays d e s i r a b l e f o r a c h i l d t o seem so ma­ tu r e a t su ch an e a r l y a g e . In any ev e n t, one c a n ' t h e lp wonder w hether a c h i ld , l i k e t h e boy Latham c i t e s , i s m ature enough to make up h is own mind, or w h eth er, v ia p re v io u s c h i ld a d u lt s e x u a l c o n t a c t , t h e boy i s sim ­ p ly pseudom ature and i s o l a t e d from pee,\s. A dults who s e e k c h ild r e n as se x u a l mates seem t o be in th e same b o a t; th e y to o seem u n ab le to r e l a t e em o tio n a lly and p h y s i c a ll y to p e o p le o f t h e i r own a g e . I wonder how many members o f NAM8LA were s e x u a lly abu sed a s c h ild r e n ?

Hi. Latham maintal.nS t h a t c h ild r e n a r e a b l e to make i n t e l l i g e n t d e c is io n s r e ­ g ardin g t h e i r b o d i e s . To fin d th e d em ise o f Hr. Latham' s a s s e r t i o n t h a t c h ild r e n and te e n s make w ise d e c is io n s

a bo u t t h e i r b o d ie s one o n ly needs to lo o k a t t h e a la rm in g ly h igh r a t e o f te e n a g e p reg n acy . Unplanned te e n pregnancy i s p r o o f t h a t c h ild r e n and teen-i do n ot p lan and a c t in w e ll th o u g h t o u t ways when i t comes to t h e i r bodleA and t h e i r s e x u a li t y .

Other exam ples o f c h ild r e n not making w ise d e c is io n s a b o u t th e-ir b o d ie s i n ­ clu d e c h ild r e n running ou t in to t r a f ­ f i c , and c h ild r e n , as th e y a r e a p t to do, goin g o u t s id e in t h e w in te rtim e w ith no warm c l o t h e s on.

Hr. Latham c a l l s a d u lts who m u ld s e t a g e o f c o n se n t law s " b ig o t s ." B ig o ­ t r y d en o te s d is c r im in a tio n a g a in s t c h i ld r e n , who he th in k s a r e mature enough to make thiA own d e c is io n s when i t eomes to s e x . The f a c t i s , though, t h a t c h ild r e n do n ot have th e em o tio n a l in d ep en d en ce and c o g n it iv e develojornent t o make w e ll th ou g h t o u t. o b j e c t i v e d e c is io n s re g a r d in g t h e i r b e h a v io r (in clu d in g s e x u a l b e h a v i o r } .

Lim its can b e , and o ft e n a r e , forms o f l o v e , c a r in g , and a f f e c t i o n . We, a4 a d u lt s , do n o t want c h ild r e n t o be h u rt, so we s e t L im its on t h e i r b e ­ h a v io r .

C o ers io n , r a p e , and f o r c e need n ot be p r e s e n t in a s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e ­ tween an a d u lt and a c h i l d t o make t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p harm ful to t h e c h i ld .

C h ild ren have n e it h e r t h e em o tio n a l nor t h e c o g n it iv e developm en t needed to make l a r g e d e c i s io n s . A d u lt-c h ild se x i s s e l f i s h , n ot s e l f l e s s s e x .

Real s e l f l e s s n e s s c o n s i s t s o f m eeting a c h i l d ' s m a t e r ia l, em o tio n a l, and p h y s ic a l n eeds w ith o u t g e t t in g anything i n r e tu r n (in clu d in g 4ex/). One o f t h e m ost v a lu a b le le s s o n s t h a t an a d u lt can te a c h a c h i l d i s t h a t t h e c h i l d i s w orthy o f c a r in g , a t t e n t io n , and f e e l i n g s o f s e lf - w o r t h sim p ly b e ­ ca u se s / h e i s a s p e c i a l p erso n (n ot b e c a u se t h e y pu t o u t s e x u a lly under t h e g u is e o f a co rin g r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith an a d u l t ).

F in a lly , many gay men a r e r i g h t l y con­ cer n e d t h a t o r g a n iz a tio n s l i k e NAMBLA a r e g iv in g them a bad name. The pub­ l i c a44ume4 t h a t b e c a u se WAM6LA f o ­ cu ses on 4ame 4ex c o n t a c t betw een a d u lts and c h ild r e n t h a t i t s members a r e hom osexual; bu t, t h i s i s not n e c e s s a r i ly t h e c a s e .

I t i s a g en ­ e r a l l y a c c e p t e d f a c t in t h e p s y c h o lo ­ g i c a l community t h a t a d u l t - c h i l d s e x ­ u a l c o n t a c t , r e g a r d le s s o f t h e sex o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s , I s a power and s e l f - e s t e e m i s s u e f o r t h e a d u lt, as op p osed t o an is s u e o f a f f e c t l o n a l p r e fe r e n c e . As in a d u lt - a d u lt ra p e , th e p e d o p h ile a c t s o u t o f need fo r c o n t r o l and power r a t h e r than o u t o f lo v e o r se x u a l l u s t f o r t h e c h i ld .

9o n o t be f o o l e d by t h e f e e b l e a s s e r ­ tio n s o f p e d o p h ile s t h a t th e y a c t ou t o f " s e l f l e s s love." o r have sex w ith boys becau se th e p e d o p h ile i s homo­ s e x u a l; n e it h e r i s t r u e .

For a more accu ra-te p ic t u r e o f th e m otiv es o f th e p e d o p h ile , one sh o u ld lo o k in th e a r e a o f s e l f i s h n e s s , and need f o r c o n t r o l and pow er.

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In December o* 1933 a local worker in a near empty warehouse removed a tungsten wheel which some doctors in Juarez had abandoned their cancer therapy equipment seven years previous­ ly. It was sold as scrap but contain­ ed the unit's radioactive source of over 6,000 tiny pellets each contain­ ing 70 m i c ’ocuries of cobalt-Sn. The pellets were scattered contaminating the junk yard's 60 employees and every piece of metal in the yard. A truck carrying metal from the yard contami­ nated some 200 citizens in town while parked in a driveway. Most of the contaminated scrap metal was trucked to a smelting plant where it contami­ nated more than 5,000 tons of steel.

About 700 tons was used in kitchen table legs and reinforcement beams some o f which e n te r e d the U.S. where the radiation was discovered. Much of the remaining 4,300 tons of con­ taminated steel was used for founda­ tion supports in homes throughout Mexico. The 60 junkyard employees are expected to die of cancer or leu­ kemia as well as the 200 citizens of Juarez. As not all of the spilled material has been accounted for, others are being irradiated unknow­ ingly. r , s - r *

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According to the !!tne Reader (#11) Mass. ronqressman Edward Markey of the House subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power asked the ''uclear negulatory Commission for a cormal estimate on the probability of a meltdown at a nuclear reactor before the year 2000. The NRC re­ sponded with their considered esti­ mate of 45%. In spite of this stastistic, the NRC has voted to let GPU Nuclear restart the second re­ actor at Three Mile Island. Anc, although the NRC's official position that the accident there caused no ’’eal th-threatening radiation, the Vermont Vanguard reports (May 1935) that insurance companies have been quietly paying claims for health iamage caused by the Three Mile Is­ land accident.

In May lesbian and gay political leaders met in Chicago to establish the Voter Research Foundation, a non-profit corporation which will seek to identify the size and scope of the lesbian and gay vote across the country. The project was ini­ tiated by the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Democratic Clubs and will draw upon a report which was prepared for the Chicago meeting

by Daniel Najjar, a professional statistician. Write: Voter Research Foundation, 1742 Mass. Ave. SE, Wash­ ington, DC 20003.

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In a step described by Gay Rights "ational Lobby as a "major break­ through" and "critical development", oleven major religious denominations ^ v e recently joined in a letter to members of Congress urging support and cosponsorship of the national gay and lesbian civil rights bill, H.R. 230. Among the groups signing the letter are: the Church of the Brethren, United -'ethodist Church, the Luthern Council in the USA, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ, the Fpiscooal Church, the Union of American Hebrew Congregation, Christian Church (Dis­ ciples of Christ), the UnitarianUniversal ist Assoc., American Fthical Union and the National Council of Churches. Nancy Roth, Executive Dir­ ector of Gay Rights National Loh'-y said, "The letter, signed by so many mainstream denominations, helps us demonstrate broad based religious support. It clarifies the basic tenet that discrimination is immoral."

The National Gay Task Force has com­ pleted a survey of AIDS service or­ ganizations and their social service advocates which indicates that, over­ all, it is now easier for persons with AIDS and AIDS-related complex (ARC) to gain expeditious access to the benefits of Social Security than before. However, NFTF's AIDS Pro­ gram Coordinator, John Boring, com­ mented that "though many of the pro­ blems and inordinate delays have been alleviated, in some parts of the coun­ try persons with AIDS are still ex­ periencing unacceptably long waiting periods and in most areas those who suffer from AIDS-related complex that is severe enough to be disabling are not consistently being allowed bene­ fits ."

"he Utne Reader in issue *11 lists a number of publications which are monitoring the radical right: AGAINST RACISM: Newsletter of the 'nti-Racism Literature Project (five issues, $5/yr. from Anti-Racism Lit­ erature Project, Box 2°02, Brooklyn, MY 11202); APPEAL TO REASON (three issues, *3/yr. from Movement Against Racism and the Klan, Box 11381, Bir­ mingham, AL 35202); COVERT ACTION INFORMATION BULLETIN (three issues, $15/yr. from Covert Action Publica­ tions, Box 50272, Washington, DC 20004); FIGHT THE RIGHT (irregular, no published rate, Center for Con­ stitutional Rights, 853 Broadway, New York, NY 10003); GROUP RESEARCH REPORT (12 issues, $30/yr. frcr.

Group Research, Inc., 419 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003); THE HAMMER (four issues, $5/yr., from Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, Inc., PO Box 6001, Kansas City, M0 64110); INTFRCHANG! REPORT (quarterly, $25/yr., from Interchange Resource Center, 1201 16th St., NW #405, Washington, DC 20036); KLANWATCH INTELLIGENCE RE­ PORT (seven issues/yr., no published rate, from Kalnwatch Project o f the routhern Poverty Law Center, Box 543, Montgomery, AL 36101); NATIONAL REP0RTFR (bi-monthly, $10/yr., from National, P0 Box 647, Ben Franklin Sta., Washington, DC 20044); PEOPLE ,'T THr AMERICAN WAY QUARTERLY RE­ PORT (four issues/yr., no published rate, from Citizens for Constitution­ al Concerns, Tnc., 1424 16th St. NW #601, Washington, DC 20036); THE PUBLIC EYE (four issues, $8 /yr., fromThe Public Eye Network, S. Dearborn St. #918, Chicago, IL 60604) This impressive list was compiled by James Danky and Allen Hunter.

CA/iK Previous research in the gay/lesbian community has indicated a preference for retirement housing and long term care facilities which are homosexually oriented. To elicit more detailed and accurate information concerning interest in such facilities for old­ er Isbians and gay men, a nation­ wide survey is being conducted by Dr. A.J. Lucco, Fellow in Geriatric Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Univ.

School of Medicine in Baltimore.

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On the first Sunday of Gay and Lesb­ ian Pride Week, Chicago's new, half million dollar gay and lesbian com­ munity center had its official open­ ing. The Tavern Guild of Chicago, an organization of gay and lesbian bar employees, began fundraising activities eight years ago. The center is named after Frank Rodde, a gay bartender and community acti­ vist who was murdered by "fag-bashers" nine years ago. The center is loca­ ted at 3225 N. Sheffield St.

Gay men and lesbians who will be at least 55 years old by the end of the current calendar year are needed to complete an anonymous, self-adminis­ tered questionaire which asks for demographic data as well as opinions in regard to retirement housing op­ tions and preferences. If you quali­ fy and are willing to participate, please contact: A.J. Lucco, MD, The Reacham renter, S2P0 rastern Ave., Baltimore, MP 21224. Arganizations will inn to distribute questionaires are also asked to reply.

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A "magickal" and a "remedial" herbal are contained in The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyeri. It is pub­ lished by Phoenix Publishing Co. at $13.95 and surveys 98 of the most commonly used and readily available herbs. A description with quotations, a word-sketch of the plant & its usual abode, and associated lore, as well as a discussion of each herb's medi­ cinal properties is in concise, easily understandable form. Add $l.‘,n for postage when ordering. Write: °aul Beyeri, Dn "ox 10, Custer, WA 98240.

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Soil erosion costs U.^. fanners * 2"R million a year hut may cost the coun­ try f3 billion, sta*?s an article in Th_e Land Stewardship Newsletter re­ porting on a Conservation Foundation estimate based on damage done to water supplies, lakes, harbors, and recreation values. Write them c/o “ innesota Farmers Union, l’’ 1’7 Univ.

Ave., St. Paul, “N 55104.

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According to the USDA, farmland values have dropped an average of 12% nation­ wide since last year, making four "straight" years of decline. The four-year trend translates into a 19% falloff since 1981.

U.S. agricultural exports in fiscal 1985 are projected at $33.5 billion, down 12% below fiscal 1984’s $38 bil­ lion. Export volume is forcast at 137 million tons. U.S. farm imports are forecast at $19.5 billion, slight­ ly above the fiscal 1984 record. The agricultural trade surplus is thus projected at $14 billion, down from last year's $19.1 billion.

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mall farmers get a chance to survive in northern California's San Juaquin County through REAP (Rural Economic Alternatives Project). It has helped set up a fanners' market association and a cooperative. It also runs a demonstration farm and an entry level program with help for credit, land and equipment. Write: REAP, P0 3ox 1259, Delta Station, Stockton, CA 95201.

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Rep. Synar of Kentucky introduced HR 1399 in the House of Representa­ tives this spring. The purpose of this proposed legislation was to amend Title 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code to modify the application of Chapter 13 to family farmers. A "family farmer" would be defined as a "person" (which includes corpora­ tions and partnerships) which re­ ceive 50% of its income from farming.

HR 1399 would grant to the distressed farmer greater options and flexibil­ ity than are now available under ex­ isting bankruptcy laws. Another bill (HR 1397) was also introduced which is very similar but is more restric­ tive than HR 1399.

According to Rural Virginia i num­ ber o*' organizations' in Virginia and North rarolina are calling for diver­ sification of the agricultural base that depends on tobacco and for al­ ternative markets, fne of the most promising alternative markets may be a combined food, feed and fuel con­ cept being developed by the Floyd Agricultural Energy Co-op and Vir­ ginia Tech. Previous researchers have found that tohc.cco may yield large quantities of high-value pro­ tein per acre. It may also be eco­ nomically feasible to turn tobacco into ethyl alcohol for fuel. rite: The Floyd Agricultural Energy Co-op, Pt. 3 Box 120-3, Floyd, VA 24091.

The Seed Savers Exchange Pub­ lished The Garden Seed Inventory, a 44H--.V e boot which inventories 23° U.S. and ranadian seed catalogs.

It lists nearly 6 ,r”T non-by'-rid vegetable varieties that are still being offered commercially and in­ cludes: variety name; range of days to maturity; a list of all the com­ panies will carrying that variety; and the plant’f description. The Seed Savers Exchange hopes to get enough revenue from the book sales to buy a small farm in Iowa to set up as a Preservation Farm. Soft cover is $12 .c9; hard cover is $2 0 .

Write: Seed Savers Exchange, 20'’ Rural Ave., Decorah, IA 52101.

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Land Trust Exchange is a clearing­ house and resource center for land trusts. !!rite them at 3 Joy St., "oston, MA 021U8.

S i S X A l M A T^LE

MAGAZINE FOR HOMESTEADERS

Covering: Gardenino. Small Stock, Shelter, and much, much more. $12/1 yr; $22/2 yrs; $30/3 yrs Money Hack Guarantee!

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Fall internships in sustainalbe agri­ culture, farm design and operation are being offered by the Meadowcreek "’roject in Arizona. Headowcreek is a center for education and research in applied ecology, agriculture, re­ newable energy systems, forestry, and wildlife as well as the ethical, social, economic and political aspects of sustainability. Write: Meadowcreek Project, Fox, Arizona 72501.

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''ernunnos flews, the newsletter of Bay Area Witchcraft, will suspend publication at Samhain, 1985. The publisher cites the reason as his need to put more time and energy into other personal ventures. Af­ ter the Winter Solstice (1986), a collection of the "best of Old Horny" and other excellent writings will be available in a one-time journal edi­ tion Cernunnos: A Pagan Journal of Celebration. To order (if not a regular subscriber), write: Van Ault, 537 Jones #8821, San Francisco, CA 94102.

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In an effort to preserve mountain lore and legend, Marci Nielsen, of “ountain City, Tenn. is compiling a collection of folk sayings and re­ lated wisdom for future publication.

Topics include folk sayings or ex­ pressions, wise cracks, superstitions, plant and animal lore, old time wis­ dom, and humor. Cash prizes will oe offered for the best five received (before Nay 1986). Write: Marci “ielsen, PO Box 77, Mountain City, TN 37683.

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’’"lysian 1 wcian F iolH c RnnIf c p 1 1 P r c: h avp Fields, Booksellers have

nuhlished a new catalog (#28) "Gay Literature and Lesbiana" including fiction, poetry, newspapers, biography, essays, magazines, memoirs, plays, and paperbacks. Write: Clysian Fields, °0-50 Baxter Ave. #33°, Elmhurst, NY 11373 with <2.

Yellow Silk: Journal of Erotic Arts announces an annual $200 prize for poetry, sponsored by Cody's Books of Berkeley, CA. The award will go to the best poem published in Yellow Silk each year. Criteria are excellence of craft and erotic content, within the editorial guidelines of "all persuasions; no brutality."

Deadline for 1985 is Oct. 23. Enclose SASE with manuscript and send to: PO Box 6374, Albany, CA 94706.

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lU/ZTrrKjAC^ < v \ y > t>o A directory providing information about more than 20 national gay/lesbian organizations is now available from the Gay Rights National Lobby.

The directory gives contact infor­ mation, as well as summaries of each organization's current projects.

Write: Michael Weeks, GR'IL, P0 Box 1892, Washington, DC 20013. < Q j i* 6

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Lambda Financial Advisor is a monthly publicat ion offering financial advice for gays and lesbians at $18/yr.

Write: LFA, P0 Box 35^ , Jersey City, NJ 07303.

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r A S g i ar i t r T c Fairymen, USA: A Photo Essy is a proposed book by Joe Lembo. He is looking for single men, couples, groups, and photographers who would like to participate in this project.

Black and white photos of faeries at home, at work, at play, doing spiritual rituals including cooking, dancing, chanting, making love, gar­ dening, or just being is being sought. Anyone wishing to partici­ pate will be required to sign a "model release". Use of name is optional. Write and send photos to: Joe Lembo, D0 Box 640444, San Fran­ cisco, CA 94164. n

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All Ways Free is conceived to expand communication among the people of the planet. It offers a forum for: sharing heartsongs, dreams, visions, and the realization of peace; updates on events; expressing creativity; grapling with problems and poten­ tial solutions; and sharing the love *or one another and our planet home, '.'rite: All Ways Free, c/o Colorado nainbow, P0 Box 9847, Denver, CO 80209

___ "his is a comprehensive counseling manual with analysis o r '(^tinent regulation on homosexuality and step-by-step guidance for draft, military, and veterans cases. De­ signed for counselors and attorneys, it is also of value to military per­ sonnel, veterans, draft-age men, and all those concerned with the mili­ tary's policy towards lesbians and gay men. Fighting Back is available at $16.25 (Postpaid! ‘From Midwest Comm, for Military Counselling, 241 '/'abash, Chicago, IL 60605. r*^rtr T ? v %a O Stormclouds is a new pagan journal published by Pavenscall, a group which "teaches Pagans the arts of protection while demonstrating the Celtic Warrior Path." No price is listed for a subscription, hut eight issues are planned per year. Write: c/o Pagasword,2€3-A w. 19th St., Dept. D, New York, f!Y 10011.

Tapestry is a journal for persons interested in crossdressing and transsexualism. It is $10 a copy or $30/yr. Write: Tiffany Club, P0 Box 19, Wayland, MA 01778.

J. A. Lazo is doing research on the attitudes of Southern gay males and has designed a questionaire to that end. If you fit the criteria, write: J .A. Lazo, P0 Box 680386, Miami, FL 33168 with a SASE for a copy of the questionaire which is anonymous.

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The Institute for Food and Develop­ ment Policy is a source of informa­ tion on the roots of humger and under­ development throughout the world. r$tablished by Frances Lappe and Joseph Collins, authors of Food Fdrst, the Institute publishes a number of excellent books on food development, case studies of devel­ opment policies in different coun­ tries, "action alerts," and various guides on food policy. Write: 1885 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

______ r?/6 H T S - ______ The American Civil Liberties Union announces the publication of Your Right to Government Information, a legal ^nJF bo TT ha t details the pro­ cedures for gaining access to mater­ ial in government files. The guide is written in a clear question-andanswer format, and describes how Americans can uncover viral informa­ tion, whether it relates to an indi­ vidual's own political, business or private life, or whether it relates to broader issues, such as toxic waste, postal rate hikes, govern­ ment contracts, or even national defense. The cost of the guide is $4.95; add $1 for postage and hand­ ling. Order from: Literature Dept., ACLU, 132 West 43rd St., New York, NY 10036.

^U^iSTfAk The Eleventh Commandment Fellowship publishes a Newsletter and is working towards developing an environmentally relevant theology. The "eleventh -ommandment" is "The rarth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; thou shalt not despoil the earth nor de­ stroy the life thereon." Write: ECF, PO Box 14667, San Francisco, CA 94114.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Delaware is the First State's only statewide lesbian and gay organization. It provides a hotline, a newsletter, a support group for men, a state gay directory, social events, prison outreach, and advocacy and education.

Annual membership is $10. Write: GLAD, PO Box 1008, Wilmington, DF 19899.

Irans-Species Unlimited is a non-pro­ fit, tax-exempt, grass-roots animal rights organization dedicated to the total elemination of animal abuse and exploitation. They believe that the various species of sentient creatures on earth constitute a single, complex, interconnected and mutuallydependent web of life, and that man is part of this biological network. They also hold that the infliction of unnecess­ ary suffering of sentient creatures is morally wrong. Write: TransSpecies Unlimited, P0 Box 1351, State roliege, PA 16804.

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Mobilization Against AIDS is a non­ partisan political group dedicated to securing an adequate response to AIDS from this nation. Annual mem­ bership is $25 regular, $12.50 low income, $100 Angel. Persons With M D S and Persons With AIDS-Related Conditions may substitute $5 and $1 respectively. Write: Mobilization Against AIDS, 617-A Castro St., San Francisco, CA 94114.

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The International Bureau was developed to meet the increasing needs of the health care providers in the areas of program planning and development. A wide range of services are offered to health care organizations. The Direc­ tor is Garland Kyle. He is the former Director of Health Education at the Edmund D. Edleman Health Center in Los Angeles and is a specialist in AIDS education and program develop­ ment. He is co-producer and co-writer of the award winning AIDS video docu­ mentary, "For Our Lives", and has published numerous articles and books.

Write: The International Bureau, PO Box 1093, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

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A new club is bo r.j formed especially for the gay chess playing enthusiast, '.'rite: Lambda Chess Club, 1002 Pleas­ ant, Oak Park, IL 60302.

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The Country Exchange is a contact club for country men and those in­ terested in the rural-outdoor life­ style. A contact listing is publish­ ed monthly with listings using num­ bers for identification. $10 buys you an ad, includes forwarding and monthly issues for six months. Write: Charley Richardson, P0 Box 381, Sib­ ley, LA 71073.

The San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society published its first newsletter this summer.

The group was organized by members of several lesbian/gay historical groups which are engaged in preserv­ ing current gay history. They hope to develop an archival and library space for the preservation of our historical resources along with other goals and aims. Write: SFBAGL, P0 Box 2107, San Francisco, CA 94126.

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fJj CRAIN (Gay Rural Aid and Information Network) is a rural support organi­ zation for gay men and lesbians in England. A quarterly newsletter is published giving news of members and country articles. It is also a net­ working tool for rural gays across the sea. Write: GRAIN, 107 Cambrian Dr., Colwyn Bay, Clwyd, LL28 4SY '"ngland.

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VOCAL (Victims Of Child Abuse Laws) is a group who call themselves vic­ tims of child abuse laws and "greedy officials who abuse laws, their authority, the public and their trust in order to generate hysteria...and profit from the media exposure." A bi-monthly newsletter is published, and there are 70 chapters nation­ wide. Write: VOCAL, P0 Box 8536, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

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A year old, Veterans CARE (Council for American Rights and Equality) is an organization for gay veterans "for the purpose of demonstrating the historical contribution of gays and lesbians to the .American Way of Life, through their duty and sacrifices in the armed services..." A monthly newsletter is included with member­ ship. Write: Veterans CA9r , p0 Box f9961, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

"arry Wood of Portland, Maine is in­ terested in finding other men who are into the stiching arts: needle­ point, knitting, crewel, quilting, weaving, etc. for a possible *'ew rngland gathering this fall. Write: arrv Vood, 125 Vaughan St., Port­ land, ME 04102.

Atlanta Couples Together is an organi­ zation formed for the purpose of pro­ viding a social/support/educational outreach to persons participating in an alternative lifestyle relationship.

The new group is affliated with a similar group formed in Long Beach, CA and Los Angeles, CA. Write: ACT, P0 Box 723291, Atlanta, GA 3C339.

--------------- --------Libertarians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns is a national organization that works to demonstrate to the gay community that 1 ibertarianism is a viable, moral and effective alterna­ tive to traditional party politics in the "left-right” spectrum.

Write: LC-LC, Box QS3, San Francisco, CA 94101.

A new support organization has been cormed in the Fond du Lac region of Wisconsin, according to OUT! Called GRAND-FLAGS (for short), its founders hope it will help local residents have a safe place to meet and "deal with their gayness". Write: GRANDFLAGS, P0 Box 85, Ripon, WI 54971.

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Representatives of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays groups will con­ vene in Atlanta for their fourth annual convention on Oct. 25-28. The theme of the convention will be "How to", and registration is $85. Write: Parents FLAG, Box 553, Lennox Hill Station, New York, MY 10021.

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The Seventh National Lesbian/Gay Health Conference and Fourth National AIDS Forum, originally scheduled for June this year in Washington, has been postponed to spring 1986.

\\\o1p 2v,«yA,Nj N J s T V t f P k ' The Elf Lore Family is sponsoring an "Alternatives Networking" Conference for the Midwest/Great Lakes region on Nov. 9-10 in Bloomington, Indiana.

There will be workshops, lectures, discussions, demonstrations, coun­ cils, and circles on: inter-organi­ zation networking, regional communi­ ty communications, survival sanctuary and land projects, co-operative mar­ keting, and the establishment of guilds, circles and covenants. Re­ gistration is $15 for Heartland members and $25 for non-members. Write: Planetcraft c/o E.L.F., P0 Box 1082, Bloomington, IN 47402.

The Loving Brotherhood will hold its monthly Celebrations of Life on: Cct. 12-13; Nov. 9-10; Dec. 14-15; Jan. 11-12. These gatherings are held at the group's headquarters in north-western New Jersey. The Cele­ bration is a "sacred space - it is a space in which we manifest love in a thousand ways..." Write with a SASE to: The Loving Brotherhood, Box 556, Sussex, NJ 07461.

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The National Coalition of Black Gays will hold its national conference on November 29 thru December 1 at the St. Louis Sheraton Hotel. The theme of the conference is "Black Pride and Solidarity: The New Movement of Black Lesbians and Gays." The conference will feature over sixteen different workshops, a cultural event, general sessions for keynote and featured speakers, internal business for NCBG, and a dinner-dance event. Registra­ tion is $30 and $35 after Oct. 15.

Write: NCBG, P0 Box 2490, Washington, DC 20013.

The Second Annual Mr. Leather Contest will be on Nov. 2 in New York City and will benefit the Gay Men’s Health Crisis ft AIDS Resource Center. It is sponsored by Interchain Fraternity and GMSMA. Contestants are needed.

Write: Artie Haber c/o Interchain Fraternity, Box 410, 132 West 24th St., New York, NY 10011.

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Sponsored by the New Ways Ministry, a three-day symposium will be held on Nov. 8-10 in Washington on Homo­ sexuality, Priesthood and Religious Life: Concerns and Challenges. Some of the aims of the weekend are: to hear the personal stories and exper­ iences of homosexually oriented priests and religious; to discuss vocational and recruitment attitudes and practices; to examine existing formation policies; to explore means of educating Church leadership; to shnre methods of providing support systems; among others. Write: New Ways Ministry, 4012 29th St., Mount Raineer, MD 20712.

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A gathering in celebration of all gays, lesbians, and bisexuals will be held at Hampshire College at Amherst, MA on Oct. 19-2°. Entitled "Celebrate our Unity and Diversity", the confer­ ence is hoped to be an opportunity to grow, learn, and rejoice through the sharing of our common experiences and the recognition of our diversity.

Write: Conference, Box 118, Amherst, MA 01004.

Short Mt. Sanctuary will host its Fall Gathering on October 11 - 20.

Short Mt. is in central Tenn. and enjoys 250 acres of woods to frolic in. Write: SMS, Rt. 1 Box 98-A, Liberty, TN 37095.

L'Affaerie '85 will be held on Nov. 1 thru 3 at Briarpatch Sanctuary in central Louisiana. Write: Le Beau Monde, PB Box 1583, Alexandria, LA 71301.

WtTU "Ti Ts T f^-sT] Churches, synagogues, religious and community organizations as well as campus and religious youth groups are joining together to express unity and commitment to furthering peace and ensuring justice for all with a Peace With Justice Week on Oct. 19 - 25. Write: Peace With Justice Week, 475 Riverside Dr. #712, New York, NY 10115.

cago announce the Second National Conference to be held in Chicago on Oct. 11-14. The title of the con­ ference is "Brotherhood: Embracing the Exiles, Embracing Past Members, Embracing New Members - Embracing Gay Christian Scientists Everywhere."

Registration is $25. Write: GPICS, Box 11492, Chicago, IL 60614.

The Star Circle of Los Angeles is sponsoring a Spiritual Gathering For Radical Faeries in the Angeles Na­ tional Forest on Oct. 25 thru Nov. 7, 1985. Although none will be turn­ ed away for inability to pay, the suggested donation to cover expenses is $110 per person. Write: Star Circle, 4550 Hollywood Blvd # 190, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

10™ Southeastern Conference

BY OLLIE LEE TAYLOR3BS88S I he Southeastern Conference for Lesbians and Gay Men returned to its roots this spring with its tenth session being held in Chapel Hill, NC on April 11 - 14. The first conference was held there in 1<*75. The theme this year was "Here Today and Here to Stay." Delegates criscrossed the spring-dressed campus to various lecture halls and classrooms to participate in four major addresses, sixty-five workshops and view three sets of entertainers.

1971 and have been repeatedly reaffirmed. NOW has also launched a project to use financial and political re­ sources for lobbying, fund raising and media relations.

"Any phobia is grounded in fear or ignorance...A recent study by The Los Angeles Times shows that one key factor in changing people's opinions about lesbians and gay men is whether they knew someone who is openly gay...This is one of the most important and central points: to know you is to love you," Ms Goldsmith stated. She continued by pointing out that racism is still with us and that it is critical for those who hold progressive ideas to support one another. "We look to a better future, one in which the gender o f people's relationships will be little no­ ticed or commented upon because that will be regarded as less important than the auality of that relationship; a future in which the definition of love will be more generous and inclusive...if we human beings are not perfectable, we are improvable..." she concluded.

L. Page "Deacon" Maccubin, founder of Lambda Rising Book­ store and long-time Washington activist, offered a Satur­ day address. It contained a dual thrust: the evolution of the bookstore and an outline of developments with Gay Rights National Lobby (GRNL). Lambda Rising is now on prestigious Connecticut Ave. in the nation's capital and is the world's largest lesbian and gay bookstore. A tollfree number will enable one to gain access to virtually any gay and lesbian book in print. (1-800-621-6969)

JU D Y G O L D S M IT H

Judy Goldsmith, then President of the National Organization for Women, offered a lively address making it plain that ‘hose who called for downplaying Now's support of lesbian and gay rights were not on firm ground. "You can't main­ tain your integrity as an organization, if you lop off commitments." "I want MOW to be in a position that when Phyllis Schlafly says: 'NOW supports lesbian rights', to say: You bet se do! Don't you?" Goldsmith termed the insurance industry "grossly sexist and homophobic in its practices." NOW has adopted an insurance program that Joes not discriminate according to sex but permits cover­ age to whom you are related without reference to gender or marital status. NOW's positions opposing discrimina­ tion due to sexual orientation have been in effect since

"God help us if we allow ourselves to return to the days of the inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, Hitler's Germany, or the days of gay-baiting under Senator McCarthy.

The rights and freedoms we have won due to the hard work of so many people can be lost in the twinkling of an eye if we allow ourselves to become snug in our progress and apathetic in our responsibilities," Maccubin stated. !e recently took over a co-chair of GRNL and has witnissed a new commitment grow in this organization. GRNL's pri­ orities are to restore financial stability and legislative effectiveness to itself and to conduct outreach to other organizations. Further goals for GRNL are to utilize skills, talent and intellect to secure AIDS research funding, a national gay civil rights law, end bans on gay immigration and halt unfair treatment in the military.

Barbara Smith offered her address late Sunday morning.

It was entitled "Acts of Faith, Acts of Courage: The Op­ timism of Gay Men and Women of Color." Smith is author of Home Girls and the founder of the Kitchen Table Press.

She defined feminism as "a political theory in practice that struggles to free all women." "Coming out because it is 'politically correct' is a luxury that very few ./omen have. Politics alone is a flimsy basis on which to ground something as physically and emotionally final as

among many, many other workshops, Leland Wykoff explored fundraising skills, methods and procedures.

The SE region of the National Gay and Lesbian Democratic "Tubs conducted caucuses and workshops concurrently with the conference.

Kevin Robson

one's sexuality," she offered. Smith cited that up until the time of the women's movement, she found it difficult to be "both black and lesbian and survive." The women's movement seemed a basis to allow her to be a lesbian and still care about things dear to her. S-”ith decried to those who would pretend that "differences don't exist."

This thinking "does nothing to transform the political system that spawns racism and homophobia to begin with. ...the ultimate result of homophobia in our [black] com­ munities is to literally exclude us from membership in the race."

A mid-morning Saturday panel was held for the conference.

Ken South (AIDS-Atlanta) held the crises with the syn­ drome has the "possibility of bringing out the best in the gay and lesbian community and the worst in our society.

Nancy Roth (GRNL) voiced a clarion call for basic civil liberties, immigration reform and AIDS funding. Richard Goldstein (Village Voice) noted the AIDS crises provided "a new basis for gay adhesiveness other than promiscuity." ”andy Carter (War Resister's League) offered: "You can see a black person and a woman. You can't tell a gay person on sight. Self-denial is self-destructive."

Smith cited myths on homosexuality. 1) Lesbian/gay op­ pression isn't as serious a form of oppression. "People don't know how we are oppressed. It's very vague to them. ?) Gay means gay white men with large discretionary in­ comes. 3) Homosexuality is a white problem or even a disease. Anti-gay bigotry can be acceptable to many in contrast to other forms of bigotry. Smith labeled gay and lesbian speakers taking part in the 20th anniversary -arch on Washington as "historic - it was a triumph for us" and concluded that "activism is the bottom line...

It's about going out there and trying to change things."

The Southeastern Conference made several decisions in its plenary session. The current directors were re-elected and three new ones were added. New Orleans local groups received the bid to host the 1986 conference.

Gilberto Gerald, Executive Director of the National Co­ alition of Black Gays sparked Friday afternoon with his address. He outlined "A New Offensive Strategy: Assert­ ing Our Differences, Drowning Out the Apologists." It's "erald's contention that this is no time to lament the likely lack of Presidential support for efforts to bring out economic and social justice. For the NCBG, it means Pursuit of means to vacilitate the development of a "con­ sensus agenda for our community...and the further develop­ ment oT an effective working relationship with the civil rights community..."

Gerald added: "When you build a ridge, you must meet at the center." We must take into account our coming from different cultures and regions.

ROMANOVSKY

orkshops have always been a staple of the decade of con­ ferences. Grant Folmsbee offered alternatives to the bar scene including sports, cultural events, rap groups, club parties, etc. Robert Kunst told of an approach of "How to Survive and Thrive in '85 by Going on the Offensive." ^en South, Executive Director of AIDS Atlanta, presented his case for avoiding the HTLV-III test. Tim Williams and William Sims, SCSW, shared the lifelong importance of friendships among men. A capable sociologist on hand asserted himself to facilitate a session on Minorities With Our Minority when that workshop found itself leader­ less. Gilberto Gerald shared techniques to create a more supportive and responsive social and economic environment for black lesbians and gays. A Saturday breakfast work­ shop sponsored by John Vorhees dealt with ageism. And

&

P H IL L IP S

Venders were on hand to provide souvenirs and offer litera­ ture and crafts. There were evening opportunities for performers to enchant delegates weary of rounds of work­ shops, caucuses and serious thought provoking speeches.

"Past Caring", a one-act play was performed on Friday.

Romanovsky and Phillips gave a concert as did Sue Fink and Diane Lindsey. There was a special performance of the Her Singing Chorus doing parodies of spirituals to make social comentary, and there were folk and rock dances held late Saturday evening.

4s many as a fifth of the 340 registered delegates attended the moving and symbolic "closing circle" to end the 10th conference with a dedication towards ten more years.

Ki m Grittner

ong before the plow first turned the soil of North "merica, wildflowers flourished. The prairie grasses and flowers protected the great plains from wind erosion, and the forest plants protected the hills and valleys from washing away. rowadays, there is little land left in meadow and wild­ flowers; most has been turned into corn and grazing land.

But, you can do something about it! Whether you have only a 10 ' x 10' spot in your back yard, or only an acre, you can bring back the wildflowers. Not only will it benefit you and those that enjoy the land in the future, but the birds and other critters just love that native vegetation.

SOURCES: I am listing two good sources of seeds that are excellent for the plains and northern states. Those of you in other areas may wish to write to the seed companies or talk to ecologists and local county extension agents to see if you can find other types of seeds that are native to your region. Your regular seed supplier may well handle wildflower and prairie seeds as well.

Olds Seeds Company "0 Sox 7790 (2901 Packers Ave.) Madison, WI 53707 (especially: Midwestern Wildflower Mixture)

Johnny's Selceted Seeds Albion, ME 04910 (especially: Northern Lights Mixture - "18 perennials and reseeding annuals especially formulated for the short summers and cold winter of the north.")

TIPS ON PLANTING Dennis of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin planted several hundred square feet of wildflowers early in May of 1985. He used a sod remover set at 1 1/2" deep to remove the existing root systems. Then he rototilled the soil lightly to crumble the soil and to avoid a compaction problem. Den­ nis now suggests that you prepare the soil as you would for planting a garden or crop, or use the above mentioned method if you are prepared for the sod hauling and extra work involved.

The seeds were mixed with sand (per directions), and scat­ tered on the surface. He kept the area watered until the first good rain. From then on, they were on their own.

In a few weeks, the meadow turned into a beautiful garden of colors and texture that requires no weeding or further care. The red poppies are especially exciting when in bloom.

So why not take the time to set aside a small part of your homestead to nature and enjoy the beauty for years to come ?

Louise Coggins

^ i v i n g in the country had been an idea that had been in­ stilled in me over the past 15 years; however would it really work for me? My life had always revolved around the city or an urban area, and I knew very little about how to exist in the country. My age was 54 and growing.

The way to find out, which was a path I had always used, was to take the bull by the horns and experience the coun­ try first hand. The city life had been anything but co­ operative these past few years and change seemed very much in order.

I had a garage sale and most of my furniture and household items were soon disposed of. Next, I put things in order to allow me to travel and find my place in the country -if that was to really be where I belonged!

About this time I was made aware of RFD, a country journal for gay men everywhere. They supplied me with a good many contacts around the country to communicate with as I made my search. My home state is Oklahoma and I was drawn to the Ozarks where I had spent vacations as a child with my family. I was sure I needed mountains and/or the ocean since my natal sun is in Cancer with Capricorn rising.

My travels finally got me to the northwest corner of Ar­ kansas and I felt right at home. Some new-found gay bro­ thers offered me a place to stay (on their farm) in ex­ change for farm chores, etc. It was a good chance to real­ ly look around and decide if this area would suit my needs.

That summer/fall on the farm will always be one of the great experiences of this lifetime for me. I learned to milk goats and do numerous other farm chores. It was an experience of magic and healing! The time soon came for me to decide how I was to earn my living as savings have a way of evaporating when not supported with some input.

RFD continued to be a rich source of information about how to make a living in the country and also a source for many new friends.

The observations I used to make my final decisions were: country living is wonderful, tut unless you are well es­ tablished (with land and cash flow) you will need a job to suppliment your country project. Several brothers joining together for a joint effort also seems to be a positive move, however the decision making process can bog down in a hurry. Often any real progress seems to be hindered by the inability to agree on when, where, how, etc.

There are some very positive articles in RFD that I would suggest you read and consider before you start your ven­ ture: #40 "Homesteading" page 20 #41 "On Choosing New Digs" page 40 #41 "Thoughts on Modern Homesteading" page 48 #42 "Homesteading" page 28 "orking outside, in a garden, or taking care of farm ani­ mals, gathering firewood, harvesting the wild edibles, and activity in the great outdoors can be very positive! If you have always earned your living from the jobs which exist in the urban areas, you can experience some real setbacks when you try to establish a cashflow in the rural areas. Most of the local jobs are few and far between and generally held by long established locals.

My experience in the Ozarks made me aware of how difficult it can be to get started, especially if you don't have a pretty sizeable nest egg and "translatable" experiences.

The experiment was very positive for me, however I was finally faced with the decision to return to an urban area where I could sell my abilities and make some money.

This now brings up the real reason for deciding to write this article. It is my belief that the "place" we search for can be almost anywhere. It may be right in our own back yard. We just have to open our eyes and really see all the possibilities all around us. I became more con­ vinced that many of us need to take what and where we are and make it grow -- yea, bloom!

I presently live in a large urban area on the Atlantic coast, and I have only limited plants/domestic animals, but it returns great peace to me. I look out on the Atlan tic every morning and try to swim as often as my schedule permits. My bike is my transportation for most local chores involving short trips, and my pickup does the long­ er hauls. The air is fresh and I am able to leave the city push behind on a pretty regular basis. This urban area supplies a very lucrative job and I have a three-year plan directed at living more on the edge of this metro­ politan area where I can have a garden and less of the city noise and turmoil.

This, of course, is not for everyone. But, we all can't be country boys. Many of my friends are finding that they need a combination of the urban and rural amenities. Per­ haps that is a more workable solution for many of us than having to make a choice of one lifestyle over another.

It is important that whoever or wherever you are that you be happy and find fulfillment. Y 7

pimple, I really would rather you get down off ?the counter. Your tennis shoes are muddy. And you know it is I who am going to have to clean i u p your, uh, tracks."

driving grocery carts, or sometimes snippy employees.

And Dimple has proved to be quite an efficient bagger.

(I, uh, leave my money on the checkout counter).

Dimple looks back at me simply astounded that I should even so much as think of suggesting such a thing. To Dim pie, where else should a dragon sit and eat breakfast muf fins but on the kitchen counter. Thankfully, he eats them plain, neither butter nor jam a desire of his.

Outside of this daily morning rebellion, Dimple is quite well behaved. He i_s lazy. But I figure this is on the positive side in tTtat having an exhuberant fire-breathing dragon about the house could very easily result in no house at all. Were he to yawn too wide, he'd burn down the house.

One most amusing incident I must recall. I was too late in cautioning Dimple to settle down. Dimple always gets so excited in the soup aisle. I haven't the faintest idea why. And exhuberance will get the better of him at times to the point where Dimple has a tendency to climb up on­ to the display.

Of course, the morning he did that, the manager came run­ ning! But, then as he turned the corner and began to speak, nota word Issued

You might be wondering why we've a dragon about the house It's really quite simple. Dimple is a friend of Griff's, our griffin, and Mort, our moose, the later of which 1s doing his exercises in the kitchen presently and leaving antler hairs all over the floor. This can be remedied easily enough by a vacuum cleaner. However, the house itself tends to complain of Mort's extracurricular activities.

"Dimple, tie your sneaker lace."

I have found having this rather unique trio about the house most convenient when I go out to do the errands, or work in the lawn. I have come to notice that everyone has a ten­ dency to keep his distance from me, which I rather prefer, being one who does not enjoy crowds. A case in point: when Dimple accompanies me to the market there now seems to be a mass exodus of customers and employees upon our arrival. This I find somewhat convenient In that I now am not nearly run over by old ladies'"

OK GIRLS

so-much as from his mouth.

I don't know why.

He was staring directly at Dimple, could see that Dimple was not where he belonged and knew Dimple indeed deserve a reprimand. But my amazement, and Dimple's ger didn't so much as Do you suppose it was taste in sneakers? I understand it. that time, whenever they proaching, they initiate odus and stand worriedly parking lot, grouped, unple and I depart.

"Dimple, Yes, I No, you cannot your tail off the Thank you."

you've just had lunch, am writing about you. proofread it. Now get typewriter carriage.

, GET OUT YOUR CRAYONS AND TURN THESE DRAWINGS INTO THE FIRST FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS EVER IN R F D .- Light

~

If being refered to as "GIRL" offends you, choose an attitudinal alternative from the list below:

a) b) c) d)

people min/wymin boys dog-boys

e) pigs f) sluts g> s i r : h) Daddy

i) j) k) 1)

marys sissy marys Myrna Louise Mabels

m) faeries n) faggots o) queens P) queers

androgvns r) faggot sorcerers s) faery warriors t) amazons

q)

u) Ladies of the island V ) lesbos w) dykes X ) diesel dykes

brothers/ sisters z) poofters @) y)

Illustrations by Jim Hennigan

since it is cool and since he is his own heater.

disturbing from a deep (Mort was not pleased) as we the garage door.

Really, one would think I was a better disciplinarian than that. Whether or not you are wondering how long Dimple olans to stay with us, I haven't the vaguest idea. He arrived last month, late, after we had gone to bed -- an arrival that required that I ac­ company u* Griff down to the garage, Mort si eep at all opened

"Griff, the least you done is to have told me was due to arrive for a

could've that Dimple visit."

The last word went completely over both their heads.

'Visit' is completely absent from their vocabulary. Once they're here, you never get rid of them. I realize quite well enough that Griff and Dimple live in entirely differ­ ent time frames than we do. But I suggested to Griff that he try to realize this and inform me accordingly so that I can at least have food enough in the house for his guests.

"Food enough in the house" always gets them. This is neither out and out welcome of his unexpected guest, nor is it out you go, and pronto! It's more, let us be a lit­ tle better prepared for the, well, outrageous. I am not adverse to Griff's friends. After all, I welcomed Mort ...uh, five years ago. Moose tidbits do not come cheap, believe you me. Then, too, Mort's antlers keep scraping the tops of the doorways as he enters and exits, so that we now have a quite peculiar sort of inside lintel at each door.

Griff has no problem on this score because he just sort of vanishes and reappears at will. This is quite all right until we, say, might go to sit in one of the sofas or chairs and Griff, having refused to appear to us in his seeable form, allows us to sit on him so that he can nip us. Playful little Griff. He has been sent to his room more than once for such behavior.

Now, I consider myself a reasonably individual . I do not complain when wait in line while Dimple shaves.

I complain when Mort is taking one his lengthy baths, the water of which reeks with Calgon Bou quet. These little in­ conveniences I can over­ look with relative calm.

(When first I uttered complaint, they simply locked me out of the bath).

1iberal I have to Nor do of

Now, even though I have accepted Dimple's laziness, some­ times even Dimple can stir my calm temper to anger. One would think with Dimple's built-in snow moval equipment that he would have just danced out to shovel the walk and drive way while at the same time enjoying a frolic in the snow.

Ha, ha. Dimple? Not on your life.

He was afraid he might wreck, get this, wreck his manicure. When he said that, I just threw him out. He huffed at me the rest of the day.

Michael suggested he rent himself to the city and earn some extra money helping clear the streets. After that, Dimple went into hiding until the roads had been cleared.

"Yes, Dimple, what is it? No, I am not going to enclose a shapshot of you. No! I said 'no1. And stop throwing all those views of you at me. Yes, lovely, simply exquisite.

But space is precious. No, I don't think they plan to use you on the cover. No, Dimple, I don't think you’ll be asked to appear on "Lit­ tle House On The Prairie." Well, now I have a pouting dragon on my hands.

I really have no idea what I did in some former life to be the one to have been selected to put up with Griff and his friends. You’d think Dimple would have taken to Chinese poetry. But he seems only to be in­ terested in comic books, while eating cheese puffs. You'd think Griff would spend a great deal of his time visit­ ing the various gargoyles around the world. But no, he stays right here wanting things his way, and no one else's^ Mort does not stray as he and Paul (Bunyan) and Babe are having some kind of dis­ agreement that I tried to understand. Bui' Mort is so vague! Something about a forest here and a dense patch of timber there, and Bunyan picking him up by mistake thinking him a tree with which to comb his beard. Mort was so offended he thought of joining a monastic order. So I am Mr. Diplomacy with Mort.

"Dimple, will you please get down off the ceiling. I know you think it clever as pie. But I don't want sneaker marks on the ceiling, '"hat's fine if you're a connoisseur of absurd art.

I'm not. Now get down. Thank you. And stop huffing ac me. WATCH THOSE MANUSCRIPTS! I know all things return to ashes. But give the manuscripts a chance.

So, go burn some incense. Now settle down."

But when it comes to sleeping at night, I put my foot down with force.

I simply refuse to permit Griff, Mort or Dimple to sleep in the bed.

Not only are they selfish with the covers, they are downright aggressive with them. Then too, Mort has a ten­ dency to nibble at my pajama bottoms.

Therefore, I have delegated them own which they in turn blithly ighas the library, to which he stays enough, unless they all decide to kind of night mischief. Mort I have ramily Room which is really quite a room. And Dimple I have assigned

However, every morning, when I come down to put on the coffee, I find Dimple stretched out on the sofa in the liv­ ing room, Mort on the sofa on the porch, and myself waking them up quickly before Michael wakes up, comes down and ushers them into oblivion.

Really, this is too embarrassing. Forgive me, airing my personal squabbles like this. There are times, however, when Dimple does tend to get on my worst side.

"Mort, will you please take off my boots. rooms of their nore. ',r i " put content get into some assigned the cozy 1 ittle the garage

Thank you."

"Griff, come in here. Listen, if you guys don't shape up, it's to the next circus that passes through town with you! Mark my words."

Griff returns my remarks with a scowl. Whew! Quiet.

Blessed quiet. Do you know, I've just this minute realized, What, on earth, am I going to do when it comes time to in­ troduce Dimple to society?

L e is u re & R e c re a tio n

Patrick Dowers

A SC)UI ICE ( )F RENEWAL IN A NUCLEAR AGE

_ have a friend, an older woman, who has played the piano throughout her life. Now she rarely touches the piano which sits prominently in her living room because she adores her two grandchildren, and she spends every waking hour working for peace so that they will live. Love moti­ vates her and she has clear priorities; she is a vital, inspiring person who has made her leisure choices conscious} y and without conflict. Often when I get discouraged, I recall her saying, with a sparkle in her eyes, "I don't think nuclear war is going to happen." And I cannot doubt her. The problem is that most of us find ourselves in conflict. Finding a balance between social responsibility ind personal re-creation is an essential and complex chal­ lenge.

Often T talk to people who are reluctant to acknowledge that we are on the brink of global holocaust. They feel powerless, paralyzed. They say that it's too depressing to think about and that if they take responsibility they will become consumed by the issue and will have to sacri­ fice the "good things in life." In fact, most of us choose to take refuge in denial to some extent and habitually fill our lives with distractions. As Valerie Stevenson wrote in her article, "Too Busy to Save the Planet": Our chronic national busyness is irresponsible.

It is time to recognize the narcotic, addictive effects of our leisure and consumer activities.

Every life is threatened and every able adult must be personally responsible for working through solutions. rn the other hand, many activists become so dedicated *hat they feel guilty if they take time out to spend with criends and family, to travel, or to enjoy time alone, '.'ithout the benefit of leisure experiences to refresh them, they experience "burnout" and discouragement.

As a recreation professional working in the movement to awaken and empower people in the nuclear age, I have ob­ served that the people who work tirelessly and wholeheart­ edly over the long haul are those who enjoy life deeply, celebrate their lives fully, experience grief as a measure of their caring, and make leisure a priority in their lives. Having awakened to the knowledge that tjumanity has the power to destroy everything on this planet, activ­ ists cannot be at peace if they do not take every oppor­ tunity to educate themselves and their community about the nuclear issue and about the possibilities for changing the course of the arms race. At the same time, the value of recreation and leisure has been magnified in their lives.

Knowing that this moment is all they have, and that they cannot take their future for granted, they do not fritter away free time; they enjoy life and their recreation strengthens and nourishes them.

Norman Cousins, in his book The Healing Heart, emphasizes the importance of "positive emotions - hope, faith, love, will to live, creativity, playfulness... in creating an environment congenial to treatment." These elements, vital to our health and to the quality of our lives, are also essential as we work to reduce and eliminate the cancerous proliferation of nuclear weapons on our planet, "•nly love, deep enjoyment, hope, and a collective will to live can create an environment congenial to meeting the greatest challenge to the well-being of all living sys­ tems on Earth.

The key is that we must learn to distinguish diversion from true recreation and to make responsible choices. In this time of crisis, there are many paths to psychic numb­ ing; all of them, in a sense, are suicidal. We all have our own compulsive habits, mechanisms of denial that keep us busy ... and powerless. But busyness in our discre­ tionary time does not guarantee re-creation, the deep re­ charging that is required to cope with living in the nuclear age. By definition according to Cousins, the experience of recreation "... is characterized by feel­ ings of mastery, achievement, exhilaration, acceptance, success, personal worth, and pleasure. It reinforces a positive self-image." And "leisure," according to an ancient Greek, Heraclitus, "is listening to the essence of things." By incorporating this deeper understanding of recreation and leisure into our daily lives we have the opportunity to enrich the quality of our lives and to empower ourselves.

C. Forrest McDowell, in a workshop called "Leisure Well­ ness," offered some tools to help evaluate leisure well­ being. He described leisure experiences of the following continuum: BUSYNESS —

ENJOYMENT -- MEANING -- MISSION

"Busyness" is the level of hectic activity that might best be called "Rat race recreation"; it is the purest express­ ion of psychic numbing. "Enjoyment" refers to the ex­ perience of pleasurable diversion, still offering some measure of escape, but with the elements of conscious choices and positive personal values. "Meaning" repre­ sents experience of deep enjoyment, enriching interactions, beginning to lose one's sense of time, feeling engrossed.

"Mission" is the level of completely losing oneself in an experience, of celebration of life, of feeling passion, enthusiasm, and purpose.

Evaluating leisure experience by placing them along this continuum can be helpful in assessing leisure wellness and can lead us on a path of self-discovery. Each person and each moment are unique. An experience that is fun one day may be boring the next. An anticipated event may be a let down, while a spontaneous meeting may be up­ lifting. Possibly most surprising of all is that "work" may feel like play and "play" may feel like work. By constantly questioning the popular images that equate acquisition and competition with "having fun," by getting to know the playful child within us, we open ourselves to the simple, earth-shaking joys of being alive that cannot be advertised or contrived.

To focus on specific leisure patterns, Dr. McDowell pre­ sented a "Leisure Well-being Inventory" as a self-assess­ ment tool, from which the following questions are adapted: * Do I fill my so-called leisure with obligations? * Do T run my "free time" on a tight schedule and by the dollar as I do my work? * Do I spend my recreation with close friends and family, in nature, in appreciation of beautiful aspects of life? * Am I as good to myself as I would be to someone else I care for? * Do I allow other people to abuse my time? * Do I participate in leisure activities out of habit? * Is my "free" time really free or am I influenced by other peoples' values or the media's image of "The Good Life"? * Do I take time each day for myself - to recharge and to relax? * Does my leisure experience complement my work? For ex­ ample, if your work is sedentary, is your leisure ac­ tive? If your work requires interaction with people, do you take time alone in leisure? If your work is in­ tellectual, does your leisure experience involved you emotionally? * Does my schedule run me or do I run my schedule? * Am I using my leisure to numb myself or to empower my­ self?

Some people are too busy to save the planet; others think that only grim determination will eliminate the threat of nuclear war, and they are too busy to enjoy their lives.

We have no time or energy to waste. We are all responsi­ ble and we have to give it everything we've got. Like my friend who chooses to channel her creative energy into work for peace and justice rather than playing the piano, we have the opportunity to make choices that empower us in all areas of our lives.

Only the spirit of love and joy can sustain us and only a loving, joyful process can bring about the fundamental transformation that is our goal. To be effective, our best efforts affirm life, nourish our hope, strengthen our affiliations, and empower us for the work that may take generation. More than ever we must ask ourselves: What makes my life worth living? What vision nurtures my hope? The more we are truly alive, the more determined we will be that this magnificent creation shall continue.

In the words of Wallace Stevens: After the final 'no' there comes a 'yes' And on that 'yes' the future world depends.

O Originally published in Interhelp J o u r n a l .

Better Things To C om e

by Dan Mrazek ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ W hen

we think of mining, thoughts may come to mind of dusty old men walking into a Western town looking for a drink and telling stories of how they struck it rich.

In these modern times, though there may be huge companies with vast fleets of equipment which are believed to do the work of mining, there are still men making their way through rough terrain looking for the Mother Lode. They may no longer spend their entire lives talking to an old pack mule, but many do spend much time in different fields of geological study looking for rare gems and metals.

One may ask if it would be worth the investment of time and trouble for one or two men to strike out on such an adventure. This is just one expedition of one who be­ lieves it is.

*'ot long ago, another man and myself sat in a bar in a town called Santaquin, Utah. For a week we deliberated over information and legends regarding the mining areas on our maps. Many miners had previously explored the areas we thought about, but it still was not easy. We had to be prepared to drive on through this formidible land, making our own paths and roadways. This means that we had to arrange to have equipment ranging from a catarpillar D-R bulldozer to beans, honey, flour, and water.

We drove to Dougway Proving Grounds, an area 50 miles from Vernon on the way to the Buckhorn Mountains. We then unloaded the dozer and began to explore the color­ ful rock, reaching an area with trace deposits (telltale minerals that surround the metals we searched for). It took most of the day and evening to arrive at what we called a geologist's paradise. Rocks and minerals of all shapes and colors were abundant.

Our camp was about 3,000 feet above sea level, surrounded by thrusts of white and pink quartz, going vertical and horizontal. From a deductive survey we determined it necessary to move partially up the side of a wash where I found ruby, marble, and berylium, and trace indicators of better things to come.

My partner took samples into Salt Lake City and registered a claim. He was gone for a week which T spent exploring.

I was intrigued by the number of old mine shafts and abandoned relics. I survived on Indian fried bread, Keans, and fruit juice. He returned with news that we had 1500-5000 ounces of pure native Utah silver.

We spent 30 days mining, exploring, and excavating, after which we went for supplies. These included a tent, more food, a drilling rig, and explosives. It took about two more months to mine about 900 tons of ore-bearing silver on our claim; then we called an ore buyer. ''e flew to where we were and gathered three thirty-pound bags for testing, spent the night, and flew out the next morning. After two days he sent a fleet of trucks to pick up the ore. The foreman of the crew brought us a sizable check and cash.

All of this expedition took some time but nothing com­ pared to the lifetimes of the old 49ers. Today we have the advantages of devices to measure the density of rock, heavy equipment, nitro, dynamite, blasting caps, and fire cord, compared to the black powder of old. We can truly look forward to better things to come. »

furnished in the package from the drugstore, then comb and make sure to dispose of what is found in some sure way such as flushing down the toilet. (Unfortunately, some crab lice and especially the nits and eggs are too small to be combed out.)

A daily hot bath is helpful, not only in bodily cleanli­ ness but sometimes in removing crab lice although it will not eliminate them. Crabs live on bodily sweat and grease (as well as human blood) and removing the bodily excrement will make life harder for the lice. But, strong remedies are still necessary to eliminate them.

A radical way of attacking crabs is to cut off the body hair and burn it, and then shave all possibly infected areas although not necessarily the eyebrows. Shaving the testicles is not so difficult as it may sound -- simply stretch the skin of the scrotum and proceed carefully from one area to another.

imagination -- and very few know what to do. But all species of crabs are obnoxious, biting, burning, itching and cruising from the pubic region to the eyebrows and even the lashes. Only entomologists (louse experts) can distinguish one species from another, but the books with enlarged illustrations are interesting even if not as helpful as they might be.

Any person who has worked in public health and particular­ ly in a VO clinic never ceases to be amazed at the number of patients, male and female, complaining about crabs.

Often they endure the pestiferous insects until they can endure the discomfort not one more minute, and beg for assistance. Yet, the ultimate relief may not be simple.

Crab lice are most often acquired from person to person and the contact need not necessarily be in the nude. rrabs can be picked up from the most casual contact in crowds. Crab lice infest dirty, sweat-stained upholstery, particularly of a velour type, in public places, and they may even come home with clean laundry (and so may bedbugs).

A casual walk through a large drugstore shows a selection of remedies for crabs: RID, Triple XXX, Tisit, A-200, and other liquids. There are some sprays and some powders, but the liquids are generally preferred. Doctors have their own recommendations and Kwell (a prescription medi­ cation of 1% lindane) is often said to be the best. An old-fashioned remedy, Blue Ointment (a 1? or 2% compound of mercury in vaseline) worked like magic with one appli­ cation but is not generally available today. ‘ow can a person avoid crab lice? Throughout one's life, it is almost impossible, particularly if a person is gre­ garious and travels about. It is not possible to pick off the lice and think they are all gone. Finding one or two crabs only means that a person has many more than he thinks. The nits (the young of the lice) and the eggs may be countless and cannot be seen with the unaided eye.

The life cycle of the crab louse may be only 7 - 1 0 days, and as each louse lays large numbers of eggs, a human may very rapidly become unbearably infected. A fever can result and infected sores are possible, but the lice never leave a body voluntarily, nor does the population become less.

Whatever remedy is used for crab lice, the fine print in­ structions on the container must be followed minutely and Ky the clock. If the label says, "Rub in for four minutes” the preparation must be rubbed on the hairy areas, pubic, belly, chest, armpits and possibly the eyebrows for the full four minutes. If the label says, "Don't allow to remain more than 10 minutes," that is a clea,c instruction and an irritation from the medicine should not be risked.

When the lable says, "Wash off with warm water," that should be easy enough. (If soap is used in the washing, then the traces of the remedy will be removed and the lingering traces can be important in killing the remaining crabs and nits.) If the label says, "Comb the body hair with a fine tooth comb," and such combs are sometimes

The eyebrows can be washed several days in succession with the crab remedy, but carefully. If the eyelashes are in­ fected, great care must be used in removing the crabs with a hot washcloth. Unfortunately, crab lice love to drink the moisture from the corners of the eyes, especially the corner nearest the nose. Too much care cannot be used in removing the lice if they have reached the optical region.

Crabs rarely infect the scalp though other lice do, and that is a separate problem for which remedies can be pur­ chased. Shaving the scalp is not always necessary, and often infestations can be eliminated without difficulty. '.'hi1e crab louse nits are soft and can easily be crushed, most mature crab lice are incased in a hard carapace which cracks with an audible sound like a tiny shot. From the larger species blood may spurt and the smaller ones can leave minute traces of blood. (The place where lice are crushed should be washed at once with an antiseptic.)

Some people crush lice between their thumbnails. Then their hands should be washed at once also with an anti­ septic.

While the pubic region is the favorite living area for crab lice, quite strangely, they are not often found in the rectal zone. They do not crawl down the legs but follow the belly upwards.

Mo one need think that crab lice can be eliminated easily and completely at first try, even when directions on the remedies are followed closely. There must be a second and even in some cases further application of the medi­ cine in a week or 10 days in order to eliminate the next generation.

The underwear of the person treating himself for crab lice must be removed and boiled for 10 minutes, and it is entirely possible that other underwear which has passed through normal laundering should also be boiled. Bedding should be sent to a laundromat and washed in hot water.

Mattress covers or pads should be washed, and all might ave to be boiled. In extreme cases, a mattress might be found to be infected for which bedbug sprays may be helpful, used several times at a week's interval. Heating fabrics in an oven at 130° F for 30 minutes will be ef­ fective, then laundering in hot water.

Pidding oneself of a severe infection of crabs is an in­ dividual matter, and requires considerable care and per­ sistence. Crab lice are a curse of prisons, dormitories, camps, gymnasiums, health clubs, locker rooms, etc. The lice are no disgrace, but not ridding oneself of them promptly may be counted disgraceful. There are more crab lice in hot climates and also more in the summer than in the winter.

Information on crab lice is available from the U.S. Public ''ealth Service and the U.S. Government Printing Office in Washington, DC. Medical libraries contain information on crabs and all other kinds of lice. Public Health Offices in cities, counties and states may have useful information, and every VD clinic can offer assistance, as can some large drugstores.y f

The Brothers Behind Bars Program is an outreach to our gay brothers in jail.

It has three major activities: 1) providing space in the journal for a forum of ideas, in­ formation, and other prisoner writing; 2) developing a Pen Pal program whereby we maintain lists of prisoners seeking correspondents to furnish those interested along with guidelines; and 3) providing prisoners with free subscriptions to RFD whenever possible.

If anyone is interested in writing to a prisoner, please write us for the local list and guidelines.

It is also a good idea for folks receiving mail from prisoners from the Contact Letters to get the guidelines before respond­ ing. Since we have a waiting list for free subs, we we l ­ come gift subs ($12). Please specify if you want your name to be given to the recipient.

As with Contact L e t ­ ters, one can also write to prisoners through RFD.

Metropolitan Community Churches, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029.

1. is is as

Phone NASA. Their phone number (713) 483-3111. Explain that it very important that you get away soon as possible.

2. If NASA does not cooperate, phone a friend you may have in the White House at (202) 465-1414 to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA. 3. If you don't have any friends in the White House, phone the Krem­ lin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-259-9051). They don't have any friends there either (to speak of), but they do seem to have a little influence, so you may as well try.

Gay Community News, Prisoner Project, 167 Tremont St. 5th FI., Boston, MA 02111 .

Dignity Prison Ministry, Box 18479, Cleveland, OH 44118.

Prison Pen Pals, Box 92122, San Diego, CA 92138 (for California prisoners).

Wilman, Box 722, New York, NY 10011.

The Loving Brotherhood, P0 Box 556, Sussex, NJ 07461.

Joint Venture, P0 Box 26-8484, Chica­ go, IL 60626. . 4

(k ( 2 v

/

•; •;

The Prison-Ashram Project announces the publication of a new book by Bo Lozoff with illustrations by Rick Martin entitled: We're All Doing Time. It has three~major parts: "The Big View" is a lighthearted, brilliantlly illustrated look across ages and cultures at the most pro­ found common sense, as well as com­ mon ground, that we share as humans.

"Dear Bo" shares over eleven years of Bo Lozoff's correspondence with prisoners sturggling for sanity and freedom in the harshest environment imaginable. "Getting Free" is an instruction manual offering a wide variety of practices and ideas for gaining control of our lives. The 432-page book is $10 (free to pri­ soners). Write: Prison-Ashram Pro­ ject, Rt. 1 Box 201-N, Durham, NC 27705. . 4

A picture or word Will be differently heard; Depending who’s looking to see.

I think red While you contemplate blue; And we both could be right, or both wrong.

Things I may do Seem unpleasing to you; Does this mean I should not sing my song?

Treasures I have May be tere junk to your sight; 3ut still my collection's no sin.

Understanding, you know Comes exceedingly slow; To those who stand out and look in.

4. If that also fails, phone the Pope for guidance. His telephone number is 011-39-6-6982, and I gath­ er his switchboard is infallible.

5. If all these attempts fail, flag down a passing flying saucer and explain that it's vitally important that you get away before the phone bill arrives. <3

Judge me not Till you've seen through my eyes; All that life has cast upon me.

Larry Gara writes in the NonViolent Activist that privately financed and operated detention facilities are on the rise. Big business is starting to carefully look at the operation and building of correctional facili­ ties. If private industry gets into operating prisons as a profit-making business, there will be more com­ plaints from prisoners who will be the obvious victims. ^

............ > Some researchers have been pointing towards the future trends in behavior­ al modification by predetermining criminal offenders through biologi­ cal and physiological factors which can identify pre-delinquents. Youths identified as future criminals will be subjects of behavioral modifica­ tion programs with little or no pro­ tection of their rights. This can constitute a serious threat to our already diminishing civil liberties in this country. ^

Experience to me Does not open your mind; For my road may stop, where yours begins.

Judge not, I still say For you can't know my way; Till you've lived your whole life in my skin. <^J

We still get complaints that the well-publicised (we thought) moneyorder scam continues to garner vic­ tims. Anyone corresponding with prisoners (especially) should NOT cash any money-orders for whatever well intentioned reason. Many have been forged, and the person cashing the forged money order will stand to lose that m o n e y . ^

oooooo<s>oo In the article "Pen Pals?" by Jamie FIo1id in issue #42, there was quot­ ed poem which was not properly cred­ ited. It was apparently written by Hank Purcell of Comstock, NY.

s

O

R

n A P E IN T A T IS T IC S A M E R IC A ’S C O R R E C T IO N A L IN S T IT U T IO N S

by LEN RICHARDSON INm o r e men t han w o m e n are r a r ed each y ^ar in the u n i t e d rTATES. More adult heterosexual men are raped in jails and prisons than the total of straight women and lesbians in confinement and in free society.

The National Moratorium on Prison Construction indicated that there were 723,710 American prisoners at the end of 1983. THIS IS THE HIGHEST RATE OF INCARCERATION IN ANY 'DEMOCRATIC' NATION IN THE WORLD. Wooden and Parker found that 14% of all prisoners in medium security prisons had been sexually assaulted in that prison. Based of those statistics we get an annual male rape total in adult prisons and jails of over 330,000!

Total annual jailings are over 7 million. This enormous base yields a figure of 264,000 male victims a year, of whom 7,377 are in jail on any given day. This figure is arrived at by using the conservative rate of 3.3% of males sexually assualted in the Philadelphia jail system as reported in the Davis study. With a repeat rate con­ servatively estimated that means at least 3,600 rapes of men in jails everyday. Davis noted that only 3.2% of the rapes which his investigators uncovered were ever men­ tioned in official jail records.

According to Kevin Starr in the San Francisco Chronicle (May 28, 1982), almost one out o f five inmates are raped in correctional institutions. Of the present population 1n the U.S., almost five million will be arrested during their lifetime. Thus, almost a million will be trauma­ tized and stigmatized, many for life. Many will become sociopaths because of this abuse. At present there may be almost 200,000 prisoners in some sort of sexual slav­ ery, the result of rape. Others are 1n protective cus­ tody, cut off from the very few amenities offered to the institutions' general population.

While the rape of a man by another man or the rape of a woman by another woman is often called a homosexual act, this is entirely misleading for at least two main reasons: 1) rape is an act of domination; not an act of sex; 2 ) the overwhelming majority of inmates who rape and who are raped are heterosexual. Very few truly gay in­ mates rape, and although many are victims there are still fewer than straight victims simply because of the population ratio.

As well as misleading, the term "Homosexual Rape" is also dangerous because of the very low level of awareness of prisoners as well as general society concerning homosexu­ ality. When a young, uneducated, inexperienced heterosex­ ual inmate is raped, his or her trauma is often heightened because of homophobia. Males suffer this more th^n fe­ males. In confinement, the male victim (whether straight or gay) bears the ignominy of being called a "faggot" or a "pussy" or some other such vile sexist label. Thus, the victim loses his "manhood” while the rapist is en­ hanced. For young, male heteros already suffering from

A B U S IN G T H E TE R M C

h il d

A

ib u s e

by RAY LATHAM

homophobia, this can be tragic. Penologists believe most suicides as well as most violence in confinement is caused by rape and/or sexual harassment.

Inmate rape is often called "prison rape" but this, too, is misleading since so many rapes occur in reformitories, jails, detention centers, and mental hospitals as well.

The prison caste is cruel, ruthless and unbelievable. For an 'open' gay it is even more dangerous. Gays are often singled out and scapegoated by other prisoners and guards alike. Quite often gays are forced to act out roles of women or sexual slaves. Many gays are obliged to go in­ to segregation because others have pinned the label "in­ former" or "snitch" on them. Many officials and prisoners alike see the gay prisoner as a sex addict who is "asking for it." The double victimization by prison officials and straight prisoners is most apparent when the gay pri­ soner is used as a device to pacify and calm violenceprone prisoners. It is a common practice for prison of­ ficials to place a gay prisoner with a sexually aggres­ sive straight prisoner. Far more than anything else the prison experience is just a microcosm of the authoritarian­ ism of the outside world. It is nothing more than a power play where sex is only a tool of power wherein the weak, the frail, the sensitive are used by the strong, the v1r11, and the gross.

The dehumanization which goes on behind the walls is difficult for gay men outside to comprehend. Prisons are for survival ists in that one has to be strong, in­ tense, forceful and insensitive to human frailty and suffering in order to survive. A gay man would have to suppress his innate qualities.

For our society to have such arenas of dehumanization and to foster the attitudes which dictate "the bigger, the better", "the more powerful, the winner", and where the closed eye of human warmth and compassion swells to utter blindness. Where tension, paranoia and fear di­ lute whatever composure and tranquility had existed be­ fore that time.

Sexual aggression is violence and the echelon of power.

Even in calm city gay bars there can be found power aggressives who flaunt and stride a code of sexual domi­ nance in order to demean and possess. The fact that we can just walk out from that scene or turn our backs on it is quite a contrast to the walled jungles where a man has no place to turn to, no door to walk out of.

We all live in a violent society on one shrinking planet.

Some of us have more choices than others, but how much?

NOTE:

The above data is based on statistics compiled

by POSIP (People Organized to Stop Rape of Im­ prisoned Persons) and Steven Donaldson.

POSRIP was established in 1979 and needs financial assistance.

Write: PO Box 246, Napa, CA 94559.

Jver-emphasis on child abuse in the media is leading our xhildren to fear even the most innocent expression of affection. In confusion, the media carry ridiculous tales to get adults into horrible trouble exactly as described in George Orwell's 1984. Witness the case in Scott County, Minn, where children were influenced into testifying against their own parents. When sexual acts no longer created the clamor desired, false charges of murder came out, creating a monstrous Roman Circus. Only by a bare margin we>~e the parents vindicated. These parents will suffer nightmares for the balance of their lives. Certainly, this example proves that testimony by youngsters can be akin to their fantasies.

Child abuse is something we ail abhor, but only when it is true. Now, it is being carried into areas where not abuse but the paranoia of the accusers is apparent. Many assume wrongly that all children are "pure" and asexual.

Nothing is more untrue. In the 17th and 18th centuries, children were on an equal footing with adults -- protected against rape, violence and abuse of authority, but never against sex, as such. Youngsters chuckle when they ob­ serve the social worker, detective and judge assume that they are without sexual desires or a sex life. It gives the streetwise hustler the edge he needs to extort money by threats of disclosure, while knowing he is safe.

An example of paranoia on the part of accusers is the case of Bob Butler of Las Vegas, Nevada. Five years ago, he received the most horrendous, draconian sentence ever -23 consecutive life sentences for having consensual, lov­ ing relations with two boys he was training for his acro­ batic troupe. How much were the boys harmed to warrant such an incredible sentence?

The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry contains the truly expert opinions and research of qualified psy­ chiatrists. From it we find, "No part of Sigmund Freud's doctrine enraged people so much as his findings that children are full of sexual feelings and desires." Until then, no one questioned that children suffered frightful harm if sexually approached by an adult. In 1934, a ‘'orwegian psychiatrist, Agusta Rasmussen, began follow­ up research on victims of indecent assault. The conclu­ sion was surprising: no evidence whatever of lasting da­ mage. Rasmussen was followed by Landis in the U.S.; by lempp in Germany; by Burton and the Dominican Friar In­ gram in England; by Bernard and Corstjens in the Nether­ lands; by Tindall (again) in the U.S., and many others.

Summing up the evidence of these researchers, Professors Schorech and Kerscher in West Germany, Dr. Hauptmann in Austria, Prof. Graven in Switzerland, the governmental Commission presided over by Judge Kjellin in Sweden all agreed unanimously: "There's no proof whatever that child­ ren who have consensual sexual relations with adults suf­ fer any lasting damage from the sexual experience, itself.

P

e n

P 'A LS

NEEDED! Having attended to the BBB/Pen Pal Program here at RunWa since April, it has come to my attention that some of you are not doing your part when it comes to our brothers behind bars. There is a scarce commodity, and that is persons writing for the lists of prisoners for their area.

If there is any damage that these children suffer, it is always secondary, caused by the reactions of upset parents on discovery of the facts, or caused by police examina­ tions." H.U. Storzer wrote Sexualitat und Sociale Kontrolle (1978) which was published in the British Journal of Criminology in 1980. In it he states, "Among 33 such children afterwards seen by psychologists or psychiatrists, not less than 31 showed evidence of traumatization by police questioning, the effects runninq from a display of self-importance to attempted suicide."

"In 1922, William Stekel, one of the fathers of analysis wrote, 'According to my experience, pedophilia constitutes a nearly normal component of the sexual impulse.' Sixty years after Stekel, Prof. Sigusch wrote that people who did not desire to have tender sexual relations with a child, were, in his eyes, 'problematic personalities.'

"Because such feelings have to be absolutely suppressed today, the difficulties caused by this repression make individuals violent in their rejection of pedophiles, suspiciously emotional, and strongly committed to their prejudices." Such a person followed my daughter and my­ self for four months and put me away for 30 years at the age of 70, for daring to love the "wrong persons." As my daughter, 14, tearfully said upon hearing the sentence, "Why does everyone care so much? We were all very happy and no one was being harmed!"

I knew that petty ignorance and the prejudice of one detective had perverted the minds of the two boys, 12 and 14, to whom I had given a good home. I pled guilty for one reason: not to see it in their distorted faces. Be­ sides, what court is interested in truth in the face of such narrow-minded intransigence? Not just my life, but the lives of the boys have been destroyed by this one man; I could not bear to see the results. I was placed in the position of a Jew before a Nazi court in 1939, trying to defend himself. It was utterly hopeless and impossible.

Many of us accused of child abuse are the victims of homocidal paranoids--not much different from the witch trials of Salem.

CREATE YOUR OWN REALITY IN THE ’80s Magical Blend Magazine

takes you on a transform ative journey as it ex­ plores ancient and modern myths, magic L ■ and mysticism, chart. ing the development •y of a new global age.

In cradibla, lu ftl in cradibla This m ag atlna / s b ast /V # saan. aapra%9ing tha idaa% of tha Aquarian m ag ical m ovam ant today Chang** Journal . . . A Una m aga/ina A n na McCaflay . . f la gan ! to look at, and g o o d raadlng.

C la a rly tills a naad.

Gary Snydat . . . A happy vantura.

Ray Bradbury

Federal regulations, with typical closed-endedness, prohihibit prisoners writing other prisoners in most states.

To we are denied a veritable Ft. Knox of pen pals. Most­ ly, a prisoner's need is emotional - to have contact with the world.

Gay-related groups might help by including in their agendas a period in which to write a prisoner. Households of one, two, or more might make a collective effort (and good Kar­ ma, Gerry?) to offset this imbalance.

We especially need help for Ohio and Florida - states having the greatest number of prisoner listings. And, California listees have never had anyone write for their names although we have many ready and waiting- pen pals on the line.

Your kind attention to this matter would be most unusually appreciated. For further information, write: PPP, ATTN: Mr. Mason of RFD.

C o n tr ib u to r s N iv a in c lu d e d

• • • • • •

ROBERT ANTON WILSON ROBERT FRIPP JOAN HALIFAX WENOY PINI PETER GABRIEL JOHN LILLY

Ra*a»a»or> f**»ur*a • Regular column* on »*roi A»no*ogy. Mofcartc Haattft • Wbaiaa *no • VtatOnary Art • PoaUy • C -jm tc*

i S a m ple co p y $4 4 is s u e s u b s c rip tio n $12 8 is s u e s u b s c rip tio n $20 Mail check lo: .

Magical Blend Magazine. Dept HFC' PO Bo* 11303 San Francisco, CA 94101

t

DELITY

"Hm. Walid the priest would enjoy that, I bet." ar. far away in space the ! planet Marem!ma turns !slowly, I bringing a new dawn to the city of Novirem. As the blue [star Azor climbed in­ to the sky, its warm 1ight played through the lattucework windows of a certain home, coaxing Nuwai to awaken. Instinctively his hand sought the body of his lover, si iding between the silk covers to the warm flesh beside him. It responded, and they faced each other with sleepy smiles.

"Oh!" Nuwai gave a lit­ tle scream of disgust.

"That horrid creature!

You think I would give myself to the 1 ikes of him? Really, my dear!"

"Of course I don't think that, but he could de­ mand you. You know the law; within the temple precincts, you cannot refuse anyone who wants you. And he does want you."

"I know." Nuwai said with a shudder, "Oh! What if Walid should cast a spell on me to gain his desires?"

"A spel1?" laughed Tarik.

"You still believe in those silly superstitions?"

"Magic is real, Tarik; your unbelief makes you an easy target for it!"

Nuwai warned.

"Good morning, Tarik."

"Morning...Ummm..." Ta­ rik felt his lover's hands probing him. "You know we don't have time for this; I must oversee the outfitting of my car­ avan to Labatat."

"Can't Melik see to that? ^tay with me."

"My brother is too young to saddle with such a great responsibility."

Tarik yawned, "Besides, I'll be back as soon as I can."

They kissed and Tarik rose to dress. Nuwai watched his man's supple body move gracefully about the room while he stretched and postured brazenly to lure Tarik back to bed. Tarik sighed.

"Business must take pre­ cedence over pleausre, my love. Didn't I say I'd be back soon?"

"You had better or I'll go to the temple to sat­ isfy my desires!"

Lancing

a • tale • o f • the Shashen ° Empire BY - C H A R L E S

•T

CREEKMUR

"Then that means you are not because you do be­ lieve, so don't worry," reasoned Tarik as he ad­ justed the headband of his cap and buckled his sword. "There. How do I look?"

"Better every day, my love."

They kissed long and sweetly before Tarik left. Nuwai laid back down to enjoy the sun1ight a 1 ittle while.

At length he reached over and struck a small gong next to the bed.

Soon Topar, the servant girl appeared and Nuwai ordered breakfast.

Meanwhile Tarik had gone down to the stables to awaken Cituza, his groom.

While he was getting Tarik's horse ready, Tarik diverted himself by standing at the gate of his home and looking out into the busy streets of Novirem.

T he m o r n i n g section

of

had

brought

Novirem's

forth

a throng

of

people,

a cross-

peggars had taken up their daily places along the street •with special bronze madallions displayed prominently on their chests. The city government issued these to anyone who could prove they could not work for a living and had to rely on alms. There, a prostitute tired by her night’s work made her way home, her makeup smeared and clothing disheveled. An elegant litter enclosed by saffron-colored silk passed by, born by six sturdy female porters. It was that sometimes Prince Issa traveled that way through the city, so that he could see for himself the condition of the people he ruled.

A priestess from the temple walked past and Tarik, touch­ ing his forehead and heart with a slight bow, saluted her.

She returned the salute, and Tarik was thankful for the blessing. Sunev and Sinoda, god and goddess of love, were powerful deities worshipped throughout the Shashan Empire.

Merchants needed all the protection they could get nowa­ days, what with all the robber-gangs about just itching to attack a fat caravan.

The horse was brought at last, and Tarik set off for the caravan s t a t i o n outside the c i t y . No sooner had he turned a corner, though, than a sinister-looking man who had been watching the house quickly walked in the opposite direc­ tion. He soon reached a small shop which displayed the sign of a fortune teller and went in.

"Dewahi!

"Do you see this dog?"

population.

Where are you, wife?"

"Coming, coming," called a voice from the back of the shop. The man heard a multitude of clacking noises as a bead-strand curtain was pulled aside and an old woman entered. "Well? What is it Zozed?"

'Tarik has left. Wa1 id’s men shall see to it that he is kept busy for the rest of the day. Now you must play your part."

"Yes.

Oh!

It is crying!

Why?"

"Oh my dear, she weeps over her fate. She is no dog, but was once a beautiful noblewoman who spurned the love of one of her servants, a groom. He, in revenge, went to a sorcerer and paid him to transform her into this base form. Now the spirits tell me that the like will soon happen to you."

"Oh!

What can I do?"

"Will you harken to my advice?"

"Yes, anything!"

"Give this lovesick person what he wants - your lover need never know - and while he has his way with you, get a hair from his head and I shall make of it a powerful charm so that he will never be able to bother you again."

"Oh!" Nuwai exclaimed as his loyalty to Tarik fought with his urge for self-preservation. The latter quickly won out.

"Very well, but Tarik must never know!"

"Never fear. My magic shall keep Tarik away from here for the rest of the day. Prepare yourself to receive this angry lover and I shall go forth and allow the spirits to guide me to him. When I find him I shall intercede for you with him and bring him to you."

"0 thank you, good mother! There shall be gold for you after this affair is over. You are a most unselfish soul to volunteer your services to me in this!"

"For our sakes you'd better. Walid has planned long and hard for this seduction. We'll get no gold if we fail to deliver Nuwai to him for his pleasure."

As soon as Dewahi left, Nuwai rang for Topar and told her everything the old woman had said and that they must be ready when she returned. Now Topar was a girl with better sense than most servants. She thought this was a decep­ tion of some kind - probably Walid's - and said as much to Nuwai. But he would hear nothing of this. Dewahi was a mystic, not a procuress, he told her. So Topar held her peace and helped get things ready, but secretly de­ termined to stay close to Nuwai in case of trouble.

Without a word Dewahi reached behind the curtain and un­ tying a leash, led out a dog. Zozed was surprised to see tears running down its face.

!n the meantime, Dewahi had fairly run back to her shop, visions of gold leading her on. She found Zozed losing at solitaire, playing with her fortune-telling cards.

"Why is the beast crying?"

"Zozed! she panted, him!"

"Never fear, Dewahi knows what to do."

"I fed it a pepper cake to make its eyes burn and water."

"Why?" "Never mind, just wait here for me.

I'll return soon."

Soon Dewahi presented herself at the home of Tarik and 'uwai and begged to see Nuwai, pretending to have a grave message for him. The superstitious Nuwai had her let in at once, for he held fortune tellers in high regard.

"Well good mother," Nuwai began once they were comfortable, "what brings you here?"

I have an urgent message for you from the spirit-world!"

"The spirits!?!" yes! They say you are in grave danger from someone who loves you, but whom you have rebuffed!"

'Danger? From whom?" Huwai asked, too frightened to think of Walid.

The spirits do not say, but your peril is worse than could be imagined!"

"How so?"

"Go get Walid!

Huwai is ready for

Abandoning his game, Zozed made his way swiftly to the tower of the sorcerer Elc-Nu which stood a short distance away. Walid had agreed to wait at that landmark, the tallest building in all of Novirem. Having made the cir­ cuit of the wall around the tower however, Zozed could not find Walid.

Spotting one of his friends among the beggars, Zozed tossed him a coin and describing Walid, asked if he had seen him. The beggar thought for a moment, laughed, and told Zozed how a man fitting that description was arrested by the city watch after he attempted to seduce a noble­ man's son.

Zozed returned dejectedly to Dewahi and told her what had happened. The old woman swore horribly, invoking the nether-organs of Borgon, the demon-swine. Now she and Zozed would get nothing for their pains! Unless...

"Perhaps I can find some other who will pay to have Nuwai.

It need not be Walid; I never mentioned his name,” she thought out loud. "A traveler perhaps who knows not the city. Yes! I shall go to one of the city gates and watch for a suitable stranger!"

"Wait gold

here," out

of

Dewahi this

told

Zozed.

situation."

"I m a y y e t

With

that

squeeze

she made

some

her way

to the North Gate, where the caravans usually arrived and departed.

Now it happened that Wa1 id's plan t keep Tarik away from the city for the day had not worked. This was because the ruffians Walid had hired to capture him had waylaid another man who happened to resemble Tarik. After greeting his bro­ ther and inspecting the cara­ van's supplies, Tarik rode back to Novirem unmolested.

Now as he entered the city wearily, Dewahi saw him, and never having seen Tarik before, assumed he was a newly arrived traveler. She hastened forward at once and took ahold of his horse's bridle.

"Pardon, sir!"

"What do you want, old woman?"

"I see you are weary from trav­ el and the dust is caked on your skin. Listen to me."

"Speak." Tarik replied, his interest piqued.

"Have you a mind to a bath, food and drink, and a man adorned and ready for pleasure?"

Nuwai was paralyzed with fear, but Topar, who had seen through Dewahi's plan from the first, saw the old woman's mistake could save Nuwai. Pulling down the nearby window hang­ ings, she handed Nuwai the curtain rod and with an air of righteous indignation said: "0 Nuwai, now I see with my own eyes that which you told me was true, although I could not be­ lieve it at first. But indeed, Tarik has fallen into the trap you set with Dewahi's help, and now we all know that he is a frequenter of loose men! I would beat him myself, but he is your man."

Nuwai was not slow to take the hint. Standing up, he shook the rod at Tarik and shouted at him.

"So! This is how you treat me! No wonder you left so quickly this morning! Do you think you haven't enough to do in your own home that you must go catting about the city in search of lewd pleasures?

I could satisfy an army! You deserve to be beaten until your worthless bones show!"

With these and other curses Nuwai scolded his lover. Ta­ rik was nonplused and had to admit the guilty thoughts that had led him to accept Dewahi's offer. After a great show of feigned anger, Nuwai forgave Tarik who thanked his lover for showing him the error of his ways. Nuwai then took De­ wahi aside and gave the old woman gold to keep quiet about the original mission and to agree to Topar's version of the affair. So, the day ended happily for everyone...except for Walid of course, who - to put it delicately - suffered "indignities" at the hands of his jailers. 'Suffered' may not be precisely the right word - Walid enjoyed bondage - but that is another story.

"Lead on!" said Tarik, not one to turn down such an invita­ tion. "Surely Sunev and Sinoda, the heavenly lovers, have sent this as a reward for my salute to their priestess!"

Tarik's attitude soon changed however when he realized they were going to his own home. He held his peace, though, as De­ wahi conducted him to Nuwai, who sat by the window, perfumed and decked out in his finest apparel. Tarek fumed silently until Nuwai raised his eyes to him and screamed.

"So, you play the harlot in our home while I am absent, eh?"

Tarik said as Dewahi cursed her luck. Out of all the men in Novirem, she had found Nuwai's lover!

■ Copyright 1985 N

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A lo t o f white gay m en were s h o c k e d that their govern m en t o f other w hite m en s o m e o f w hom are gay, w ould ju s t d o nothing a b o u t AID S, w ould let them die by the thousands.

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Lesbians/Gay Men A ttacked at U. of Arkansas 27

WHERE WILL YOU BE? They will not come a mob rolling through the streets, but quickly and quietly move into our homes and remove the evil, the queerness, the faggotry, the perverseness from thei r midst.

They will not come dothed in brown, and swastikas, or bearing chest heavy with gleaming crosses.

The time and need for ruses are over.

They will come in business suits to buy your homes and bring bodies to fill your j o b s .

They will come in robes to r e h a b i 1 i tate and white coats to subjugate and where will you be when they come?

Where will we a 11 be when they come?

And they will c o m e - They will come because we are defined as opposite-perverse and we are perverse.

Everytime we watched a queer hassled in the streets and said nothing-It was an act of perversion.

Everytime we lied about the boyfriend or girlfriend at coffee break-It was an act of perversion.

Everytime we heard "1 d o n 't mind gays but why must they be blatent?" and said nothing-It was an act of pervsersion.

Everytime we let a lesbian mother lose her child and did not fill the courtrooms-It was an act of perversion.

Everytime we let straights make out in our bars while we couldn't touch because of laws-It was an act of perversion.

Everytime we put clothes to go to wedding and left at home-It was an act of

Everytime we heard "who I go to bed with is my personal choice-It's personal not political" and said nothing-It was an act of perversion.

Everytime we let straight relatives bury our dead and push our lovers away-It was an act of perversion.

And they will c o m e .

They will come for the perverts. & it won't matter If you're homosexual, not a faggot lesbian, not a dyke gay, not queer It won't matter 1 f you own your business have a job or on S .S . I .

It won't matter If y o u 're Black Ch icano Native American or White It won't matter i f y o u 're from New York or Las Angeles Galveston or Sioux Falls It won't matter i f you 1re Butch, or Fern Not into roles Monogamous Non Monogamous It won't matter if you're Catholi c Bapti st A t h ie s t Jewi sh or M.C.C. They will come They will come to the cities and to the land to your front rooms and in y o u r closets.

They will come for the perverts and where will you be when they come?

on the proper a family our lovers PAT PARKER perversion.

ED SCHREIBER Is a Social Therapist at the Boston Institute for Social Therapy and Research and Clinical Coordinator of an addictions treatment program in the Boston area.

I N T R O D U C T I O N : GAYS F A C I S M Greetings,

F A C I N G

brothers and friends,

Some time ago I contacted RFD that we (activists in the Boston feature together that would look the social realities under which

and suggested area) put a seriously at we are living.

I co ntacted my very good friend, Willie, and asked that he work with me on this project.

It was, from both our perspectives, important for a working class Black gay man and a middle class white Jewish gay man to look together at the oppression we have faced, together and seperately, through our lives.

We did that. We also sought to include honest, passionate, real pe rspectives on what we are all feeling.

Included in this 16 page feature is the work of the growing in de pe nd en t- ra in bow -m ov em en t. I have learned so much about history and about the history of today from that movement, that I thought it critical to pass this along to all of you.

I am always looking for others, gay and otherwise, to join me in this work. The work of not being victims of the growing oppression, the work of building alliances with Blacks, Latinos, and others who are oppressed, the work of l e a r n ­ ing from Blacks, from women about oppression, about power and about intimacy. So, consider this my invitation for anyone interested to join me (all of us) in this work. I'd be happy to hear from you!

Ed Schreiber Boston Institute 715 Center Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

WILLIE LEWIS Willie is a Case Worker for DSS in Boston and follows in the tradition of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X; his goal, orientation, philos­ ophy and politics can be summed in one phrase, and in the tradition of Malcolm X "working for humanity."

"The problem here in America is that we meet such a small minority of so-called 'good' or 'brotherly* white people. Here in the United States, notwithstanding those few 'good' white people, it is the collective 150 million white people whom the collective 22 million black people have to deal with!

Why, here in America, the seeds of racism are so deeply rooted in the white people collectively, their belief that they are 'superior' in some way is so deeply rooted, that these things are in the national white subconsciousness.

Many whites are even actually u n ­ aware of their own r a c i s m . . .u nt i1 they face some test, and then their racism emerges in one form or another."

MA LCOLM X

I am writing this article with a Jewish white gay man that 1 love and respect dearly. When asked that I would do this with him, I imme di a­ tely felt I wasn't qualified, and my own h o m o ­ phobia surfaced: more importantly, what is it that I would have to say that would be of im po r­ tance? The answer is alot!

My relationship with Ed began approximately three years ago when I left New York and entered a Half-Way House that accepted gay alcoholics.

I met Ed there at the Half-Way House as he was employed as a counselor there. Initially, I felt an attraction toward him, (and I may add, I thought it was mutual) that made me want to get to know a Jewish gay man. Our re lationship is not perfect , nor do I expect it to be, but it is better, because it is clear as members of the human race that something is wrong in the world, in Bedford Stuyvesant, in Roxbury, and in the gay community. What is wrong is that we can not live peacefully, happily in Boston and in the world, because the smelly aroma of racism, homophobia, sexism affects all aspects of our lives and it is in direct clash against humanity.

It must stop!

29

Ui and I are doing this article because we ate an :i y and want to share with you the growth f the RAINBOW and why it's important as we r e a l ­ ize the enpidentic of fascism that gays and Blacks are Reeling and facing. We can no longer v i s u a l ­ ize. verbalize and internalize that feeling of homophobia, which is more rampant today than it v.as a year ago!

A year ago I did not think 1 would be writing this article; three years ago I did not think I would be living in Boston arid ten years ago I did not. think that my being gay would be a part of my alcoholism and drugs.

1 grew up in Bed-Stuyvesant, primarly a Latino and Black community. 1 went to Catholic elementary school in which my awareness of who 1 was. my history as a black man, and my worth as a human being for the most part I felt was acknowl e d g e d , but. not in a way that did me any damn good. THe effects of racism had already affected my motivation and emotional balance before I entered high school.

Upon graduation from elementary school in 1966 I attended a white Middle Class High Sc hool,where co nc re te ly the issues of being Black in this country became evident, and my awareness of my attraction toward men became evident and painful.

Ihe rule of divide and conquer was employed then and today by those in power , and that made it. impossible for me to trust my Black family (not biological) but the Black family at large, and therefor I tried the impossible task; to be white and deny who I was! The denial of who I was made me emotionally crazy and that in itself was very p a i n f u l .

The High School 1 attended was an all male high school and 1 was attracted to white men for the most part. I think today I have a b e t ­ ter understanding of why.

In short, toward my senior year in high school (1970) I was drinking more and more, as it was clear that I did not enjoy 'straight parties', although I thought something was wrong with me, that on a gut level I did not feel sexually or emotionally attracted to women.

I remember the pain I went through, explaining why I didn't have a girlfriend, and trying to find enough excuses to avoid straight parties.

I graduated from High School in 1970 which wis the year my drug and alcohol culture began.

I drank to surpress my attraction toward men!

The drinking indeed did not help my feelings but only added to my confusion and impulsive behavior which progressed.

1 could not deal logically with how I could be attracted to white men. I knew on some level they perceived me and the Black family as in fe r­ ior. I remember how I was seen as the 'happy nigger', always sailing , because I thought I was supposed to be happy while being treated (by peoples attitudes) that Blacks were not as good --L-l_ self, because I wasn't supposed to qet angry at white f‘o '1 k s 1 I was angry then and I am J.n2 ry As I write this, I am still conflicted with many different feelings, i say to myself what can 1 do, and w h e n 7 I feel ashamed of who 1 am so what do I do? Run! I run because I'm Black!

I run because I'm gay, and I run because I did not want to face the painful truth--that my life has been like a double edge sword that has not been sharpened. I am the blade and one side of the blade is racism which denies my existance because I am Black. On the other side, homophobia which denies my right to be gay! So it a 1 adds up that I am not with anything in this country. The sad fact is that I believed that!

Imagine an intelligent man believing he is not worth anything. Let me tell you as I write this I am sharpening up both sides of that

30

...oru, for 1 am SOMEBODY that is gay and proud of it!

The sad irony is that this country has consistantly and consciously looked upon gays as they do Blacks, Latinos, Jews, women, Asians, poor whites, and all people of color as u n d e s ­ irables and have always found ways to keep us from coming together by lies , stereotyping, and controlling. Further, those that seek power and control of other human beings for c a p i t a l ­ ist gains find no value in human life, and this is even more evident by the present a d m i n i s t r a ­ tion in America and South Africa. Yes, I am angry and I have a right to say it! And I feel like saying it so I'm saying it, because it hurts a l o t t o live everyday with feeling that they say 'I am nobody'. I am angry and saddend at the white gay community that wants to be accepted, but cannot find in their struggle to recognize that Blacks, Latinos, Asians have a gay community also.

The growth of the Rainbow is our key to gays facing fascism. It's very sample, really!

United we stand, divided we fall. We have reached a point in the hi story of t h i s c o u n t r y where we cannot deny something is frightfully wrong. What is wrong, the book '1984' is being re-written quicker, with more designed and detailed descriptions.

In other words, Big Brother is no more watching, but is acting! I want to say to the white gay community, that not only have you suffered from fear of being associated with people of c o l o r , but in doing that you continue to add to your own homophobia and isolation, and therefor less powerful as a gay community.

There is a need that we begin to create a diologue that a Rainbow can be built on trust.

It's not easy, but not impossible.

I want to say to the Black community, that we have been the victim and can no longer r e ­ main the victims of racism that has taught us, on a gut level, that we cannot trust one another, and taught us to self-hate. Sisters, brothers I beg you to sit down and look around a t what's happening! It's not going to stop unless we decide together to stop it! We are not the problem, but the solutionT "'iy pilgramige has broadened my scope. It -blessed me with a new insight. In two weeks in the Holy Land, I saw what I never had seen in thirty-nine years here in A m e r ­ ica. I saw all races, all colors, blue eyed blonds to black-skinned Af ri ca ns -- in true brotherhood!

In unity! Living as one! Worhsip1ng as one! No segregationists-no liberals; they would not have known how to interpret the meaning of these worlds.

In the past, yes I have made s u r ­ prising indictments of all white people. I never will be g u i l t y of that again--as I know that some white are truly sincere, that some are truly capable of being b r o t h e r ­ ly toward a black man. The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites made blanket inciictements against blacks."

MALCOLM X

A GREAT YEAR FOR COMING OUT! VERA HILL Vera Hill is a leading organizer for the New Alliance Party. She nas worked for years to build a progressive relationship between Blacks and gays. She has worked long and hard to build organizations which give power to poor working people in America. She writes the column Empowering The Poor in the National Alliance Newspaper.

One thing I want to share with you is that this was a very difficult column for me to write; I'm not sure why.

I think it had s o m e ­ thing to do with the fact that two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the annual c o n ­ ference on Ma rxism and Mental Illness sponsored by the New York Institute for Social Therapy and Research entitled "The Rise and Fall of the American Empire: Freedom, Fairness and V i o ­ lence."

The event was wonderful, emotional and frightening.

Along with hundreds of other people I learned the history of how America was built to benefit murderers who brutalized, d e ­ humanized, enslaved, robbed, raped and killed people of color for profit.

Now that's some some heavy shit!

I guess what I found so frightening about that history is that 1 see some of those same vicious attacks being made against people of color right now in 1985 and the folks that are doing it are not only a l l o w ­ ed to get away with it, they're made out to 1ook like h e r o e s .

Learning that history also taught me how my ancesters and other people of color were able to come together and build powerful o r g a n i z a ­ tions that fought back.

I learned about the history of the working class, a class that has

never won anything without a struggle.

I began to understand how my history and the history of so many other people have been distorted and from us.

You see, I was never taught the real deal about who I am--not in school, not in church, not in the family.

Now that I know my history, I have to make a decision about how I'm going to use it.

For starters, I know that I can no longer keep one foot in the independent movement and the other foot in the closet, which I have been doing for quite a while.

So I have to come to terms with the fact that it's easier for people to accept me as a Black woman leader than a lesbian leader.

For me it's been easier to deal with the issue of racism but not so easy to deal with the fear that people have toward lesbians and g a y s - - h o m o p h o b i a .

I don't see how they can be separated, though, since I'm both Black and a lesbian.

I have issues in the Black community as well as the lesbian and gay community and I can't be silent on any kind of oppression.

As I was writing this I was reminded of an incident that happoned back in 1980. I was very young in politics and very backwards.

I have never heard works like sexism, an ti -S emitism or homophobia; these words were alien to my ears.

I was running legal clinic for the N.Y.C. Unemployed and Welfare Council, teaching a class called "Know Your Welfare Rights."

One lady wanted to know how I got involved in politics.

One of the things I told her was that I was a founding member of the New York City Union of Lesbians and Gay Men. She was shocked at the words lesbian and gay and she asked me if I was one of t h e m . I asked her what she meant.

She said, "Isn't that all white folks? I've never met a Black gay person, e s p e c ­ ially a Black lesbian."

I wanted to slap her.

It's been 11 months now since I wrote my "Empowering the Poor" column, called "Coming Out Powerful."

It was the beginning of my coming out as a lesbian.

Five years of struggling had gone into trying to decide if I was going to write it as Vera Hill the Black woman, or Vera Hill the lesbian, or both.

Now that was not easy.

It raised all kinds of issues for me-Would my family see it?

Did they know? Would they disown me?

Also, would people follow me and read what I wrote?

I made a decision then and I'm making another decision now, that in the face of what's going on in the world I can't cover over who I am and I can't let other people do it either.

But since that time the world has changed.

I have changed, and we have changed.

During the last year I began a close and in ti­ mate re lationship with a Jewish woman who I've grown to love very much.

It's been a period when the Democratic Party has had a difficult time getting its shit t o g e t ­ her because they ran none other than Walter Mondale for President. It was the period when Jesse Jackson ran for President.

JJ represented for many people--the illegitimate, the d i s e n ­ franchised, poor and working people and gay men and lesbian women--hope.

It was the year of the Rainbow.

When JJ invited gays and lesbians into the Rainbow, he was the only Presidential c a n d i ­ date to utter the words.

This was a year to be proud, even with increasing attacks on gays and lesbians, Jews, poor people and people of color.

And it was the year of the independent campaign of Dennis Serrette.

This was a time when 1 began coming out too.

It is not unrelated that as Jesse Jackson was coming out so was I. It's not accident that the movement led by Jesse Jackson moved me. The idea of the Rainbow raised all kinds of issues for me --what it meant to grow up poor iri the backwoods of Georgia, in a family where I was always treated like I was crazy because I was so rebellous and always on the front line.

Then JJ was dumped.

That, was a slap

31

t.o Afro-Americans.

Th Democratic Party said to Blacks, "You can take your Rainbow, however many votes you have, and shove it up your ass."

That, was not just a message to JO but a message to me.

The message from the DP was to the movement that happens to be the base of the DP. that hit me right in the gut in terms of what I needed to be doing in the face of what the DP was doing to poor people and people of color.

The DP could and would no longer fight for the jobs and services that people need.

The DP said to me, "You ain't never going to amount to shit."

Now this did not come as a surprise to me.

I've had to deal with this kind of h u m i l ­ iation all my life, although 1 never knew what to do about it except to get angry and act like a victim.

Well, my friends, times have changed.

I've finally learned what to do about my anger.

I am outraged by the increased attacks on Blacks, lesbians and gays.

These attacks are not i s o ­ lated incidents.

It's very frightening to be living in a country in which bombs are dropped on innocent women, men and children, where the media rallied behind Bernhard Goetz for s h o o t ­ ing four Black youth; where in Boston Mr. Long Guang Huang, a 56 year old recent immigrant to this country who does not speak English, was brutally beaten by a white police officer, then charged with solicitation of a prostitute and assault and battery, and there have been no charges brought against the officer.

In New York City, Cut Your Throat Koch is responsible for the failure over the last eight years of the Gay Rights Bill to get passed and has done nothing to deal with the AIDS crisis. Three years ago he ordered the as s a u l t on the Blues, the bar where Black and Latino gay men were viciously beaten by the police. To this day no one has been prosecuted for the attacks--and he's got the nerve to run for re-election.

Massachusetts' Governor Michael Dukakis played a major role at the Democratic Party national convention in the move ri gh tward, helping to pave the way for the dumping of the caucuses.

While these attacks are going on, our so-called leadership in the Black, lesbian and gay c o m m u ­ nity is selling us down the river.

The " m o d e r ­ ates" are demanding that we be quarantined and the Far Right is calling for our extermination while the white, middle class, ma le -d om in at ed gay movement stays totally impotent in the face of these attacks because it has failed to make the alliances with people of color necessary to or ganize a powerful response.

There is a need to bring progressive p o l i ­ tics into our communities.

We are vulnerable as long as we hold onto the perspective that being gay is a matter of sexual preference and not a political issue.

In holding to the p s y ­ c h o l o g i s t s position of preference, the lesbian and gay movement will continue to set us up as perverts whose sexual habits have brought the plague called "AIDS". The issue is not who we're fucking, but who's fucking us over.

The l a c k o t response to the AIDS crisis among DP leadership in major cities is notorious; check out Tom Chorlton, Executive Director of the now defunct Lesbian and Gay Caucus of the Democratic N a t ­ ional Committe, who said, "We'll stand on our heads to be good Democrats but we must be in cl­ uded." Tom, I don't think you get the message.

For a lot of folks, it's very clear that a life of freedom and fairness is reserved for straight, white, middle class men. When Reagan talks about bringing America back to the way it used to be, don't be fool yourself. He'sure aint talking about you or me. The day that I stand on my head will be the day when there is an end to ex pl oi ta ti on for all oppressed people and I can proudly say, "Free at last!"

32

THE APOLITICAL INTELLECTUALS 0 n o day the apoli tical 1 n t e l 1e c t u a 1s of my country will

be interrogated

by the simplest of our people.

They will

be asked

what they did when their nation died out slowly like a sweet fi re small

and alone.

No one will

ask them

about their dress, their long siestas after

lunch,

no one will

want to know

about their sterile combats with the idea of the nothing.

No one will

care about

their higher financial

learning

They won't be questioned about Greek mythology or regarding their self-disgust when someone within them begins to die the coward's death.

On that day the simple people will

come.

Those who had no place in the books and poems of the apolitical

intellectuals

but daily deli vered their bread and milk their tortillas and eggs those who had mended their clothes, those who drove their cars, who cared for the dogs and gardens and worked

for them,

and they 'll ask: What did you do when the poor suffered, when the tenderness and life burned out of them?

OTTO RENE CASTILLO

THE FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BLACKS AND GAYS. Held on October 20, 198A by the Lesbif. and Gay Caucus of the Hew Alliance Party in New York City. The following two presentativ were made at that conference.

FREDA ROSEN Freda Rosen is a staff member and therapist at the New York Institute for Social Therapy and Research and an Editor of Practice. She is the author of "Sexually Speakin' and Otherwise," a regular column in The National Alliance.

This workshop today is about the relationship between Blacks and gays. I'd like to put right up front what 1 think we'll be talking about-how come Blacks and gays don't get along much, but have to. We'll be talking some about the homophobia of the Black community and about the racism of the gay community.

But 1 want to help set the context for the workshop by talking some about history, abou* the particular moment in history in which we're having this discussion. Why are we d o ’ this and why are we doing it now? How come Blacks and gays need to be getting along, even though they haven't been?

Being Black and being gay both mean something different here in the 1980's then they did in the 1 9 6 0 ' s and the early 1 9 7 0 ' s . Dealing with racism was a very different thing at the height of the Black liberation movement and the civil rights movement, when large number of working people and mi ddle-class white people began f o l ­ lowing the leadership of Af r o - A m e . .cans, from the Black empowerment leadership of Martin

: uther King, Jr., to the revolutionary leader­ ship of the Black Panther Party. That was a very different time in our history to be Black and to have to deal with racism than it is today, when the Democratics are trying to dump the Rainbow Coalition and collaborating with the Reaganites in overturning the hard-won civil rights reforms of the 1 960 's , and the KKK is burning crosses in Queens.

The 1 9 8 0 's are also a very different and d a n ­ gerous time to be gay, and to have to deal with homophobia. Some of you may remember the S t o n e ­ wall Rebellion in 1969, when police raided a gay bar patronized predominantly by Black and Latino working class people. The massive d e m o n ­ strations that grew out of the raid, following the leadership of Blacks and Latinos onto the streets and into the courts, sparked the c o n t e m ­ porary gay movement. Coming out of the closet and fighting homophobia as part of a growing movement was very different than it is now, with the rise of Reaganism, the Moral Majority, the Schlaflys, the Falwells, the Democrats like Mondale who won't even say the word "gay."

I grew up in the Bronx, in a poor community.

As far as 1 knew, we didn't have gay people in the co mmunity--no such thing existed. 1 hoard name calling like "faggot" and "dyke," but I didn't know what it meant. I never thought much about it. The words "lesbian" and "gay" wore not common.

So I didn't know what "gay" was. But my mother taught me a lot about what it was, a l t h ­ ough she didn't come right out and talk about it because she was from the old school. I remember when I was about eight years old a cousin of mine came to visit for a few days and my mother told me not to sleep with her because she was "a little funny." I didn't find her particularly amusing, so I didn't know exactly what my mother was talking about, but I knew it had something to do with being in bed together.

I was 11 years old when I had my first gay relationship, with an older woman--she was 14.

(You laugh, but the difference between 11 and 14 could be orgasm!) She was the superintendent's daughter, and she lived downstairs in the b a s e ­ ment. I din't know it at the time, but you could look from the street right into her bedroom.

So I was learning the ropes from this kid, and apparently someone saw us, because suddenly I was being interrogated by my mother. I don't remember her exact word, but I remember the gist of it. She said something like, "Hey, someone saw you fooling around with so-and-so. What's that about?" I said, "What are you talking about?" and she said, "Don't lie to me, I always know when you're lying." I said "No, that never happened. I never did any such thing," but 1 felt very guilty because she could always tell when 1 was lying, and 1 knew she c o u l d tell now.

But I lied anyway, because even though I was young, I was smart. So I knew she knew I was lying, and she knew that I knew that she knew, but she dropped it. That was remarkable, because usually if my mother caught me doing something wrong and lying about it, she'd kick the shit out of me. But she didn't.

So I got a message from that, and the message was: There are things that you can _do, but that you don't talk about. In fact, this is very much what sexual repression in this country looks like. There are things one does that one simply does not talk about. L e t ’s not be blatant, you know.

Actually, people don't talk very much about sex at all. Certainly not in groups like this, and not even with the people they are doing it with. And espec i a 11y not when they're a c t u a 11y doing it.

1 got the message. My mother was cool about it, but she gave me the message that this is something one needs to hide, and then maybe

33

you'll get over. Like I said, my mother was from the old school, but this is very much the m e s ­ sage of the contemporary gay movement. Don't be blatant, stay cool, don't talk about it, and maybe you'll get over. Came the Gay Liberation Movement, 1 learned all about homosexuality, and for a time people were talking about it, yelling about it in the streets, in the newspapers, on TV--even the Democratic Party started talking about it. Then, even the Left started talking about it! For the first time, "gay" got popular.

But here we are 15 years later and Walter Mondale won't even utter the words "gay rights."

Now nobody wants to talk about it anymore--not the Democratic Party, not the Left, not even gay people themselves want to touch it. But there is one e x c e p t i on--the Right. The New Right loves to talk about homosexuality. Jerry Falweli.

J immy Swaggart, Phyllis S c h l a f 1y--they all love to talk about Blacks and gays. They get a great deal of joy from co nt em plating out loud what it is they're going to do to us both when they get the chance. They love to talk about how h o m o ­ sexuals are destroying the family and how the Moral Majority is going to clean up Sodom and Gomorrah.

The social vision of the Right in this c o u n ­ try does not include either Blacks or gays. It's not just that they don't like them--they make that plain enough. They simply want to eliminate both! You think I'm exaggerating? They come right out and say it! They use words like "e x­ termination." This is the historical context in which we're talking about the relationship of 81acks and gays. We have to come to terms with the fact that, like it or not, Blacks and gays are in this together. Both have been targeted by the New Right. We have to face the social and political reality that the White House has been taken over by the Right, that the Democratic Party has moved and will continue to move s t e a d ­ ily to the right, that the whole political a p e c trum in this country is moving dramatically to the right, and that we're in a period which is scientifically identifiable as one of e n c r o a c h ­ ing fascim. That's what's going on.

Cognitively, I don't think many of us really understand this. But we do have the capacity as human beings to experience--e.iotiona 11 y , p s y c h ­ ologically, culturally, sexual 1y--what it is that I'm talking about about. People have a sense of profound crisis in their everyday lives. People are responding emotionally. As a therapist I see all the time in clinical se t­ tings the kind of crisis people are experiencing in their personal lives.

I work with a lot of gay men. One way this crisis manifests itself is in the very real c o n ­ flicts gay men are having about their sexuality.

In Social Therapy groups we work on how to o r g ­ anize the group in such a way that everyone can get help with her or his emotional problems. In one particular group I lead we are working to engage the conflicts that are in the relations among people in the group. One of the issues raised in this group has been people's sexual attractions to each other and their responses to that, and how that--either being attracted or not attracted to each other--made it difficult to get closer. If they were attracted to so m e ­ one, that made it difficult because they had all these feelings of inadequacy, fears about being inferior and thinking they'd be rejected. On the other hand, if they weren't attracted to another group member, why bother gett ing closer--who cares?

We were talking about these difficulties. The women were talking about their attraction for the men, the men were talking about their a t t r a ­ ction for the women, and the women were talking about tn?ir attraction for other women. M e a n ­ while, all the men in the group happen to be gay.

34

and no man was saying anything about being a t t r ­ acted co any other man in the group.

I mention this as an example of the very real conflicts that people feel about coming out gay, even in a Social Therapy group, which is a pretty safe place. But they couldn't come out.

They could come out and say, "I feel attracted to this women and that raises a whole lot of conflicts for me," but they couldn't come out and say, "Yeah, I really want this man." That ;as a whole different matter. I find, actually, that|s frequently the character of the " p r e ­ senting problem" that gay people come into therapy with. They say, "I can't get close to people, I can't get a job"--all linds of e v e r y ­ day problems. But more and more how they u n d e r ­ stand themselves is not that they're gay people who are having problems, but rather that their being gay is the problem.

"If I wasn't gay, I wouldn't have this problem. I'd have a stable re lationship , I'd get a decent job..."

This particular way of un derstanding the problem is itself a proble m- -e xp re ss ed in the fears and conflicts about being gay that people have in an historical moment like this one. It used to be if you said something anti-gay, people (e sp ec­ ially gay people) would have a definite response you'd have to deal with -- bu t not anymore. Gay people don't even know anymore, if they're out, if they should stay out or get back into the closet, although the closet is no longer big enough (once you're out), nor is it as safe as it used to be.

There are different ways of going back into the closet. Some gay people think about getting married. That's always a good cover. That's l e g ­ itimacy. Nowadays lots of gays, women and men, are seriously thinking about having or adopting c h i 1d r e n - - some because they want children, and some because they want what comes with children, which is validation. (You really look good w a l k ­ ing down the street with a baby c a r r i a g e . ) Still another way of going back into the closet is r e ­ fusing to have any kind of sexual intimacy with someone of the same sex. I have patients telling me they can't have sex anymore because of the AIDS crisis. Same-sex intimacy is really taking a beating these days.

To understand why things are different now, you have to understand some of the fefeats which the gay movement has sustained. A turning point, if you remember, was in 1977, when Anita Bryant campaigned in Dade County, Florida to defeat the gay rights ordinance and the failure of the gay movement to fight back against this attack and others that f o l 1 owed--the murder of Harvey Milk in San Francisco, the Save Our Children c a m p ­ aign, and the Victory for Decency. Since that time the gay movement, like other progressive movements in this country, has been constantly under attack, and increasingly isolated from other progressive movements and people, in p a r ­ ticular, isolated from its original alliance with the Black and Latino community.

Fifteen years after Stonewall, New York, the most liberal city in the country, has yet to pass a gay rights bill that was first presented more than a decade ago. Fifteen years after Stonewall, the gay mo vement is still not only supporting the Democratic Party, but the R e p u b ­ lican Party as well. We have to take a look at how we got from massive rebellion to licking the boots of the Democrats and Republicans, when it's obvious that neither of them is going to support gays, any more than either of them is going to support Blacks. It's just not going to happen.

Think about the Anita Bryant campaign. I don't know if any of you rmember, but Florida had a Democratic governor in 1977 who supported Anita Bryant. Jimmy Carter didn't say one word against Bryant. Monoale can't even find an aide

to send to talk to the Gay and Lesbian In depend­ ent Democrats. And why are gays supporting the Republicans? Some say, "Well, Reagan never said anything bad about gays." They may have f o rg ot­ ten the Briggs Initiative, that Reagan supported when he was Governor in California. The Briggs Initiative was to prevent gays from entering teaching and other professions. But Reagan didn't come out and say anything bad about gays, so they're supporting him.

In fact, there was an interview in The Native os some folks who were supporting Reagan, and one of these traditional gay movement, white, middle class males said, "I'm voting for Reagan because I vote with my wallet, not my dick, and my wallet's doing better." There's a lot of folks like that. That's what the gay movement has become--a white, mi ddle-class movement of those who can make it (they think), and they've pretty much left behind those who can 't — B 1 acks , Latinos, and a lot of other folks.

In thinking about the gay movement. I'm very much reminded of the situation of the dews in Nazi Germany. Some Jews supported Hitler's p o l i ­ cies with the same a r g u m e n t a t i o n - - they were d o i:’g better. As oppressed peoples, we learn that if you really want to escape the worst abuses of racsim, of homophobia, of a n t i - S e m i t ­ ism, you have to be middle-class. Be well-to-do and then you'll get over. Don't make a fuss - just be nice, be middle-class, do well e c o n o m i c ­ ally and everything will be fine. Some middleclass Jews really believed this in Germany and supported Hitler's policies because they were immune from their cultural and social identity as Jews. If you remember the movie Ship of f o o l s, there is a Jew who argues that Hitler's fulminations against the Jews are not to be taken seriously. "What do you think he's going to do," the fool says, "try to kill all 12 million of us?" Yeah! You bet! That was Hitler's plan.

So this is heavy, but we have to think abou^ it. You don't think the Right is going to e x t e r ­ minate a 11 the gays in this country? Think again. Given the opportunity, they will. It's not even a secret. They say it out loud. And the only politicians who have the guts to come in support of gays, whc will fight, are Blacks.

What presidential candidates would stand up and say "gay rights"? Black candidates, that's who.

Jesse Jackson. Dennis Serrette. Blacks. That's where the leadership is coming from, and gays have to come to terms with that.

LENORA FULANI Lenora Fulani, Ph.D., is a practicing Social Therapist and Director of the Harlem Institute for Social Therapy and Research where she teach­ es the course "Reorganizing emotionality in the Black Community." She is a member of the Practice Editorial Board.

I've been thinking a lot for the past few days of a cousin that I had, a Black gay man who died in the early I960's at the age of 26 from an overdose of liquor and pills. In my family, even though his cousins were also gay, people were furious at him because he was out of the closet. Though the immediate cause of his death was drugs and alcohol, he actually died of poverty, racism and homophobia, and I'd like to dedicated this to him in engaging the issue of what it means to build a r e l a t i o n ­ ship between Blacks and gays and what it means to build a country where everybody, all of us, can be out of the closet. We're going to s t r u g ­ gle with these issues from the vantage point, of what it means to build a progress ive r e la t­ ionship between Blacks and gays? What does it mean to organize that relationship p r o g r e s s i v e ­ ly? We're in an economic crisis, and even though the NfW YORK TIMES covers it over, we experience it daily in losing our jobs, in having no food on the tables, in not being able to get decent education for our kids.

We also experience the increase in the vi c­ ious attacks on Blacks and gays and what h a p ­ pens in the midst of an economic crisis, as Freda was describing in the case of Nazi G e r ­ many, is that people who are oppressed in a society are scapegoated for what goes wrong.

The United States puts profits before people, and is willing to do whatever it has to do to maintain these profits at our expense. When we talk about the progressive organization of the re lationship between Blacks and gays, what we are talking about is what Blacks and gays must do to s u r v i v e . So, this is very serious, and has to be related to as such. We have to look at how that relationship, the relationship of Blacks and gays, is currently organized. For the most part, the issues that impact upon the lives of Blacks and gays are understood p s y c h o ­ logically. For example, in psychology books, racism is defined as a mental disease. P s y c h i a ­ trists have also attempted to define h o m o s e x ­ uality as a disease. But even when these issues are being discussed pro-gay or pro-Black, they are treated psychologically. For example, there are numerous debates about the origin of homosexuality. Are people gay because of this, 35

or ere they (jay because of that? ihis debate is a cover for not engaging the issue of what do we have to do to fight gay oppression in this country, it doesn't matter if people d cided to be gay or whether they were born gay, just like it doesn't matter whether people decided to be Black or whether they were born Black. The question is, based on the realities of our lives, which side are we going to be on?

One of the most important ways in which we have been organized as Blacks and as gays in this country is around our victimization. 1 had a patient a few months ago, a Black gay man, who started off his first session with me by saying he didn't like women, and he didn't like straight men--that took care of threefourths of the world! Furthermore, he only liked the gay men who he was in a relationship with. I said to him, "You know, I think that's serious, considering that you've left out most the world." I pushed him to deal with some issues of intimacy, and one of the things that came out in the course of therapy weas that he was vicioiusly a n t i - S e m e t i c , along with being viciously sexist and racist.

And he r a t i o n a l ­ ized his position on anti-Semitism, for example by saying that people were more homophobic towards him, so he had a right to be antiSemetic.

I offered him the choice of dealing with these issues as serious emotional problems >n his life, and made it. clear that 1 wasn't going to support, nor was I going to debate, his right to be a n t i - S e m e t i c , racist and sexist.

What 1 raised with him was the backwardness of the victimization around which both Blacks and gays are currently organized.

This man came back to me two weeks ago; he's very conflicted because we actually helped him tremendously in therapy.

He wants to be iri therapy with us, hut on his own terms -terms that 1 cannot accept as a progressive psychologist.

What I raised at that meeting was the fact that his an ti -S em it is m is his real problem, and he needs to have a look at t h a t .

The reality is that it's impossible to be against racism and at the same time anti-gay, because the historical roots of racism and homophobia are the same.

They're both based on the ma in tenance of the status quo.

And whether we like it or not. the status quo in the United States of America is oppressive to Blacks, oppressive to gays, oppressive to dews, op pr es si ve to poor and working folks, o p p r e s s ­ ive to Latinos, oppressive to women.

We have to constantly deal with what we want to do about it.

As Freda said, the Right not only isn't afraid to talk about us, they're proud to talk talk about ex terminating us.

I often fight with people in the Black community when they say things like, "Well, I'm not really a n t i ­ gay, but I'm pro-family, and being gay u n d e r ­ mines the Black family." The point is that Black folks don't decide what kind of families we're going to have.

I didn't decide at the birth of my children, "Well, I'll raise this one as a boy. I'll raise this one as a girl and we'll have a house and live happily ever after."

These decisions were made long before any of us were conceived, and one of the realities that we have to look at, hard though it might be, is that the functional role of families is to s o c ­ ialize family members to participate in this society as it currently exists.

The family is not organized in order to help the individuals in those families.

Indeed, it's organized in order to maintain the o p p r e s ­ sion of the society. Now. that's heavy, but it's real.

So to say that Black f o l k s ’ s u r v i v ­ al depends on the Black family misses the pcint that as this country moves to the right.

36

the family is moving to the right, including the Black family. A lot of the s o c ia 1 iziation that goes on in the family actually supports and organizes family members to go along with whatever's happening to them.

We're socialized not to deal seriously with the fact that Black people are starving, that many men in the Black community can't find jobs, and to think that even if you're poor you should be clean.

This is the kind of morality that's substituted for looking at what's really happening, and how come we need to fight back.

Another example of how families are o r g a n ­ ized to be oppressive in this country is the way single parents are attacked in the so c i o ­ logical literature, which is mainly an attack on poor Black and Latinos.

If we end up single parents, we're supposed to know we've sinned.

This country cannot be moral 1y against h o m o ­ sexuality because it's an immoral country.

It's a country that wrote the Constitution based on everybody being equal while they were suppressing, oppressing, and kicking the asses of Black men, women and children.

Geetting sucked into this moral bullshit is falling into a trap that only benefits the people who run this country. The Democratic Party tries to keep Blacks, gays and other so-called minority groups fighting each other and never engaging the issue of how come a few people up there have e v e r y ­ thing and we have to fight for crumbs.

As the crumbs get even fewer in the 1980's, we're going to end up fighting for nothing b y ’ virtue of being located in the Democratic Party.

So we have to have a real look at what it means* for the gay movement to be depending e x c l u s i v e ­ ly on the Democratic Party. It's not in support of the survival of gay folks, and it can't be that we allow it to stay there without raising all kinds of issues and fighting as hard as we can. So I guess it's understandable, it's lawful, that even our emotionality, our feelings about these issues, are organized in support of the state, not in support of the survival of Blacks and qays. We have to say, "OK, we understand w here i.he problems are coming from, but now what can we do about, it as progressive Blacks and progressive gays?"

When i talk about organizing the relationship of B'acks and gays progressively, I don't mean anything deep, dark and mysterious. The attacks on both these groupings derive from the needs of Big Business to scapegoat someone in the time of economic crisis in order to maintain profits.

It's very important to understand that racism, sexism, homophobia, an ti -S emitism and classism are all rooted in a society that is organized and run by a firticular class of people in their own interest. The issue of following Black lead­ ership is a hot one, because in this country we re all taught that Blacks are at the bottom of the barrel. When we raise the issue of the Rainnow Alliance, people sometimes think we mean 11 mora 1i s ti ca11y , that it would be nice if white folks would follow Black leadershio. But that's not the issue. The basis for following Black leadership in this country is that Black and Latino people are the most progressive people in the United States and internationally.

It s in iatin and African countries that r e v ­ olutions and liberation struggles freeing m i l l ­ ions of people from the yoke of capitalism are going on. Whether people like it or not, it's the r e a i i . . B l a c k s have been so thoroughly orTla n i z e a a victims, that it's a very heavy issue .,0 engage f > fact that we are the progressive leadj-rhsip nt er ra ti on al !y and at the bottom of the 1 arrel the United States of America. rtla !..are 1e tn !o about that? Blac; have provide.; 1 c- ’e-snip •n all of the progressive s t u o .1e s ^ ; (.uu .ry, from the 1930'< to the ci vi. rig-,1 r. a me: t , through the Black power

rebellions, and through the presidential c a m ­ paign of Jesse Jackson and Dennis Serrette.

Those of us who are committed to progressive politics will continue to do so, and it's very important that we fight to have everybody who is willing working with us. We understand full well that racism is not simply the problem of Black folks, and that an ti -S emitism is not simply the problem of Jews. All of these "isms" are problems for all of us who are progressive and who want to change this goddam world.

So, in ord „r for Blacks to defend the Black movement, for gays to defend the gay movement, we have to fight for each other. That's what we are about in the New Al liance Party. We don't believe this bullshit that only Black people.can defend Blacks,and only gay people can defend gays. I remember Amiri Baraka saying that if you really understand the the nature of the struggle, you try to get everybody on your side. Even if they're in a .<heelchair, you try to figure out how they can roll that wheelchair for your st r u ­ ggle. The political perspective that supporting the gay struggle undermines the Black struggle actually supports the status quo. They want to keep us divided, and in our places.

As Freda mentioned, the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969 encompassed Blacks and gays and Latinos struggling to build a progressive movement.

Unfor t u n a 1 1y , the Gay Action Alliance purged poor. Black and Latino gays, as well as t r a n s ­ vestites, and took the gay movement into the Democratic Party. They defined who was gay, but in 1984 we have to say as progressives, "You don't define us anymore!" We need to put p r e s s ­ ure on the gay movement which is very middle class and very married to the Democratic Party, to fight for a 11 gay people and participate in building progressive alliances and movements like the Serrette campaign and the Rainbow C o a ­ lition that are fighting to end the opppression of all groups in this society. Again, I am thrilled, honored and privileged to be here r e p ­ resenting the progressive Black community, to stand up and say to everybody that we will lead the fight for every oppressed group in this country, and we invite you to join us.

The American scientific establishment, in cl­ uding senior researchers and government o f f i c ­ ials, may be sitting on top of a public health scandal that would rival the U.S. government's decision to infect Black sharecroppers in Alabama with syphillis during the 1 9 3 0 ' s in order to study the effects of the untreated d i s ­ ease. In the 1 9 8 0 1s the scandal is being called "AlDSgate"; it refers to attempts by the federal and New_York State 'government to thwart i n ve st­ igations into a possible connection between AIDS and African Swine Fever.

Dr. John Beldekas, a prominent Boston r e s e a r ­ cher on AIDS, and Charles Ortleb, editor of the New York N a t i v e , the city's largest gay n e w s ­ paper, believe that virulent homophobia, p r o f e s ­ sional incompetence and the unbridled greed of the powerful U.S. pork industry have dictated a policy of non-cooperation with private r e s e a r c h ­ ers attempting to follow up a suggestion first, made by Dr. Jane Teas more than two years ago.

Writing in the pages of the prestigious British medical journal Ih e L a nc e t , Teas--a biologist then working at Harvard Universi ty -- sa id that African Swine Fever might be a causal factor in the fatal and so far incurable disease which has killed at least 6,000 people in the U.S. alone.

According to Beldekas, who after months of waiting finally received word last week that the Plum Island Aninal Disease Center~-a research facility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture off Long Island in New York--would be instructed to release blood samples containing Swine Fever antibodies to him for research purposes. "When I called to find out why they had been sitting on my application, they said that if the A m e r ­ ican public had any inkling that there might be a connection between Swine Fever and AIDS, the American pork industry would be destroyed. And they asked me why I was trying to destroy it. I said I wasn't. I'm just trying to find out what causes AIDS." Out on Plum Island, Ortleb is not a favorite Dr. Charles Mebus, a veterinarian in charge of African Swine Fever research at the U.S.D.A. facility, regards the AIDS-Swine Fever c o n n e c t ­ ion theory as implausible, and claimed not to know why researchers with the kind of c r e d e n t ­ ials Beldekas and Jane Teas carry would hold to it. "I don't know why there's a controversy," Mebus remarked. Referring to Orleb in particular, he siad, "Why these people have not accepted HTV-III (the virus identified by Robert Gallo, the Re ag an-connected Director of the federal Center for Disease Control) as the cause of AIDS, I don't know. I have a strictly scientific in­ terest in the thing." Mebus insisted. "From what I know about African Swine Fever I think they're wasting their time, but I'm willing to discuss it. The only reason the New York Department of Health is doing it is because they've had so much political pressure put on them by the h o m o ­ sexual community."

Beldekas and Ortleb agree that politics is at the root of the controversy, but not with Mebus' interpretaton of where the pressure comes from.

Ortleb has pointed out in the Native that if the presence of African Swine Fever were suspected in the U.S., $25 billion in Big-Agri-B us in es s , of which the pork industry is a significant part, would be in Big Trouble. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Secretary of Ag ri culture John Block, to whom the Plum Island scientists u l t i m ­ ately answer, is a big time Illinois pig farmer who since 1960 has parlayed 300 acres and 200 hogs into a 3,000 acre, 6000 hog operation. As

37

for those who actually gatekeep AIDS research, Beldekas said, "They're white, Anglo-Saxon, straight, Protistant men who are out of control.

They're not only homophobic, they're racist and sexist. Gallo refers to gay men as 'diseased homos.' We're trying to just wipe out a disease that attacks not just homosexuals and we're being treated like we're creeps."

While Beldekas cautions that any connection between African Swine Fever and AlDS-the a c q u i r ­ ed Immune Deficiency Syndrome that attacks the natural immune system of the human body and makes it vulnerable to the kinds of m i c r o - o r g a n ­ isms that normally live in humans without doing any harm--is hypothetical so far, he aruges that there is more than enough evidence of a c o n n e c t ­ ion to warrant a thorough investigation. A l t h o u ­ gh African Swine Fever does not destroy pigs' immune system, in its chronic form it results in a kind of skin cancer and a type of pneumonia that closely resemble the two most common causes of death from AIDS. Not only do the diseases manifest themselves in similar ways, Belkekas points out, but wherever in the world African Swine Fever has oc cu red--Zaire (formally the Congo) and Rwanda in Central American; Brazil; Haitia and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean--AIDS is prevalent.

"We still don't know what causes AIDS," said Beldekas, who intends to test Plum Island's samples of blood containing African Swine Fever antibodiesd against blood samples he has taken from people with AIDS. " I t ’s a diagnostic tool," Beldekas explained of the 12-step process. "If the antibodies to African Swine Fever virus r e ­ act to the blood of healthy people, we're in a lot of trouble. We have to consider the p o s s i b ­ ility that there's African Swine Fever in this country and that it may be the sole cause or one of the c a u s e s - - w h a t 's called a co-f ac to r- -o f AIDS. If Swine Fever antibodies don't bind with AIDS virus, then Swine Fever can be ruled out and we'll look elsewhere. But we can't afford to ignore anything, any possibility, until we in­ vestigate it. People are dying, after all."

During the 1960 's , Beldekas recalled, many Haitians had fled from "Papa Doc" Duvalier's d i ct at or sh ip to what was then the newly indepenCongo, where they hoped to find refuge and s t a b ­ ility along with the cultural familiarity of a French -s pe ak in g Black nation. But with the c o m ­ ing to power of the infamous Mobutu Sese Seko, the Haitians found themselves in the position of having jumped out of the frying pan into the fire; deported by Mobutu they returned to Haiti.

Among the meager possessions which they brought back, Beldekes and others speculate, they may unknowingly have been carrying AIDS. Dreaded in the Congo as "the plague," the disease was p o s s ­ ibly originally contracted by eating pork c o n ­ taminated with Swine Fever and later passed on through sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, Haiti was becoming a fashionable tourist, attraction for affl ue nt Americans, including gay men lured by the availability of young male prostitutes driven by the desperate poverty of life under Duvalier's son "Baby Doc" to sell themselves in the ma rk etplace for a few dollars. This is how AIDS may have come into the ll.S. and why it has been associated in this country, until recently, largely with the gay community. It has filtered into popular thinking as a "gay disease" and been blamed on the supposed promiscuous l i f e ­ style of gay men. As such, it has aroused neither the compassions nor the interest of the scientific establishment.

On Duly 19, the New York State Department of Health received African Swine Fever virus a n t i ­ bodies for which it had applied to Plum Island, presumably to do research similar to the e x p e r ­ iments Beldekas plans to carry out. Until now those in charge of AIDS research in New York,

33

the state with the highest AIDS mortality rate in the country, have been unenthusiastic about pursuing the African Swine Fever connection. Why the sudden turn-around? Ortleb, the Native e d ­ itor who has conducted a virtually one-man war against "AIDSgate" in the paper's editorial pages, is probably justified in his claim that he "embarrased" the Health Department into m a k ­ ing the move. Nevertheless, he says, "I can't have great faith they'll do it in good faith.

Government scientists are not acting like normal scientists regarding AIDS research."

If it turns out that there is an AIDS African Swine Fever connection, govenment scientists will have a lot to answer for. Such a connection would point to their having knowingly suppressed the fact that a deadly disease is present in this country in order to protect the economic interests of the pork industry. Already they are guilty of standing in the way of research when every delay spells misery and death for hundreds more people and increases the chances that an AIDS epidemic would sweep the country like a plague. No wonder they are "not acting like normal scientists."

PHYLLIS GOLDBERG The National Alliance. August 9, 1985

JOHN BUSH John Bush is the National Co-Chair of Black and White Men Together.

In the May 1982 issue of E s q u i r e , David Bradley wrote, "There are no good tTmes to be Black in America, but some times are worse than others." In 1985 there are many who argue that this may be the best of recent times. The a r g u ­ ment might be correct if you're one of the m a j ­ ority middle class whites (or Blacks) who have benefited from the economic upturn, though Crisis magazine (December 1984) presents st a t ­ i s t i c a l evidence which vividly demonstrates that Black poverty has increased since 1980, and that Blacks in every income group have lost ground.

Before Bradley wrote that "there is no good time to be black in America," W.E.B. DuBois wrote in Souls of Black Folk that Negroes were saddled with a double burden, "being American a n d b e i n q black." Blacks were brought here in chains, sold as chattel, "scientifically" d i s ­ covered to be inferior, and left, after o m a n c i ­ pation, to "make it" or die. The majority of society was not true to its lofty ideals and sacred creeds, and Blacks found themselves to be objic^s iontempt. It was practically imp o s : i b '_ ter them to venerate those things which white merica “eld dear, t h e r e core, the. could not be truly "American."

It i*„ s equ ;iy difficult to be Black because blackn. ••,$ was thoroughly denigrated in ail p h a s ­ es of .ner: life. For many Blacks, p a r t i c u l ­ ar],. tie ui u.ited and the poor, this denigra-

tion was taken as truth, and they, as James Baldwin said, "believed the things that white people said about them."

We all know something of that past. It is an integral part of our present -- being Black and white in the 20th century. Neither group will be free of that common history for years to come.

If DuBois was correct in observing that being Black constituted a double burden, then being American, Black and gay certainly qualifies as a triple burden, even more difficult to bear.

There has never been a time when it was socially acceptable to be gay or lesbian in the United States. It has been a bane to the so-called Judeo-Christian society from colonial times, and although there may not always have been open hostility against homosexuals, they were c e r t ­ ainly expected to stay in the closet.

Blacks, gays, especially poor Black gays, lead even more complicated lives as they attempt to survive with this added handicap. And we all know all know that a large proportion of them do not make it in a competitive world. They are victims; r e s i d e n t i a l 1y segregated into the p o o r ­ est areas of all major cities, unemployed or underemployed, and poorly educated. They spend their time "hanging out," often destined to become alcohol or drug abusers, victims of ghetto crime, residents of mental institutions, or prisoners, whose letters fill half a page of the weekly G C N . And because white America really does not care, the situation will only be compound 'd in the foreseeable future. We'll certainly have to build more jails (But not in my community!)

Black mi ddle-class gay men and lesbians s u f ­ fer different indignities. They often come from, or are members of, communities which put a high priority on middle-class values: "being like white folks"; therefore, the middle-class gay person tends to confine him/herself to the closet in order to survive more comfortably.

The Black middle class might be a little less homophobic than its white counterpart, but we don't know that to be a fact. We do know that in civil rights activities, Black gays (those who are out) have had to use all their powers of persuasion to get Coretta Scott King, et al., to permit openly-gay Blacks to speak at civil rights rallies. Moreover, it was necessary to dialogue with Jesse Jackson before gays were in­ cluded in the Rainbow Coalition. In some large, predominantly Black cities like Washington, D.C. (where they have a liberal Black mayor) there may be a lessening of oppression against gay people, but in other cities (such as Atlanta) the Black mayor has tended to be very c o n s t r a i n ­ ed in his re lationship with gays (Black and white). The latter reaction tends to more c l e a r ­ ly reflect Black middle-class attitudes toward Black gay men and lesbians.

It would be helpful (for the Black gay m o v e ­ ment) if more of the famous or highly-achieved Blacks would step out of the closet--as have Audre Lorde, the women of the Kitchen Table Press, and James Baldwin, to mention a f e w . U n ­ fortunately, the price is often too high. In most instances it signifies the end of a career, particularly if one is in politics, government, or for that matter, in practically any career which deals with the public.

The hostility against gay men and lesbians is ubiquitous in a homophobic society; thus Black gays tend to protect themselves by remaining in the c l o s e t , j u s t as white gays of similar p o s i t ­ ion do. It is no wonder sexual minorities, the poor, and all individuals who are on the margins of society are suffering from the r e b ’rth of born-again Christian morality (which is opposed !° almost everything); the Protestant work ethic (if you don't make it, it's your own fault); and increased ch au vinism (my country right or w r o n g ) .

The environment under right-wing Reaganism is

not conducive to encougaging closeted ho m o s e x ­ uals to step forward. The middle-class gay Slack who is slipping in the battle for economic se c­ urity simply cannot affort to take on a foe as formidable as the right-wing state.

A final dimension of being American, Black and gay is unfortunate, for it is characterized by a certain irony. It concerns the mal-treatment that Black gay people receive from white gays, who although themselves oppressed and put down, oppress and put down their Black brothers and sisters. Many white gays see themselves as superior to Blacks (gays included) and reflect those feelings in their treatment of Blacks by name-calling ("dinge queens"), refusing to hire Blacks in gay establishments, and discriminating against Blacks in access to gay bars. (It h a p p ­ ens all over the U.S.) But most of all, white gay people tend to isolated themselves in gay enclaves which tend to be closed to Blacks and other people of color (a microcosm of the larger society). Blacks who are subjected to such r a c ­ ist acts, closeted or otherwise, realize that their triple burdon is actually quadrupled by white gay people who claim to be fighting for liberation' It is miraculous that so many Black gay men and lesbians have managed to survive.

If white America and especially white gays paused to realize that it was the Black civil rights movement gave rise to the various ethnic ncvs-ents of the '60s, then they might begin t j pay tribute to Blacks. Ihe "new birth of freedom" which emerged from the Black civil rights m o v e ­ ment gave rise to the women's movement; the Black civil rights movement gave rise to the Native American movement; the Black civil rights m o v e ­ ment gave rise to the varioius ethnic m o v e m e n t s , and the Black civil rights movement, gave rise to Stonewall and the ensuing gay and lesbian m o v e ­ ment.

It seems that many of the inviduals in those movements have forgotten that Blacks were first on the firing line, or perhaps they feel that the Black movement was not a mitigating factoron the gains which white minorities have made in their liberation struggles. If that is the case, then they should realize that they will never really be free, because none are free until all are free.

t u u i u u i a u a a u u i u t i i a u u M U u u u a a Credits

for this feature:

Where Will You Be by Pat Parker; the work of tenora fulani and Freda Rosen from The National Conference on Blacks and Gays was first printed in Practice, The Journal of Politics, Economics, Psychology, Sociology and Culture. 7 East 20th S t i 1 0 t h Floor, NYC, NY 10003.

A Great Year For Coming O u t , AI DSgate and the article by John Fitzgerald were published in the National Alliance. 216 W. 102nd St. UYC. NY 10025.

The article by John Bush was first published by Gay Community News, 167 Tremont Street, Boston, 02111.

Photos of Lenora Fulani, Freda Rosen, and John Fitzgerald were taken by Harriet Hoffman of the National Alliance.

39

JOHN FITZGERALD John Fitzgerld is the Assistant Director of Education at the George Jackson/Rosa Luxemberg Center for Working Class Education in NYC. He is also a writer for the National Alliance.

When the Family Protection Act was introduced in Congress two years ago, the organized gay c o m ­ munity protested loudly. This viciously anti-gay legislation called for, among other things, d e n ­ ial of all federal funds to anyone who (merely) advocated homosexuality as a lifestyle. The FPA came on the heels of attacks against gays by Anita Bryant and fundamentalist ministers, one of whom publicly advocated the murder of 1esbians and gay men. And these attacks from the right have not lessened. With the advent of the AIDS crisis, the Moral Majority spokesmen speak of re tr ibution of God for homosexuals' sinful way of life and call for the exclusion of gays from jobs with public contact. Just last week San Francisco's director of health banned all sexual activity in San Francisco's gay bathhouses, c u r b ­ ing the civil liberties of gays and succumbing, however directly or indirectly, to pressure from the right. It is obvious that not only is the right growing in power and influence nationally, but also that as lesbians and gay men we are one of its prime targets. How can this be happening, given the gay movement and increased visibility of gays during the last fifteen years, and what should progressive lesbians and gay men be doing about it?

In order to respond to these questions it is critical to recognize that we are living through a growing economic crisis in this country. As the economy weakens year to year, we see the destabi 1 ization and breakdown of all our t r a d i t i o n ­ al institutions. The family, education, religion, the Democratic Party, in short, all our instutions are not working. The right recognizes this and is trying to reorganize these institutions along extremely conservative lines. They call for a return to the "traditional." oppressive, m a l e -d om in at ed family, relilgous fundamentalism, au th or itarian education and Amer ic an is m (i.e.

America for white, Anglo-Saxon, middle class Ch ri stians only). The right, therefore, plays an increasingly important role in advocating and justifying the exclusion from society of people (the poor, racial minorities, gays) the society no longer has the resources to provide for.

Frighteningly, the current political location of gays parallels in striking ways the history of the gay rights movement and the rise of r e a ­ ction in Germany before World War H . From 1897 until 1923 (interrupted by World War I) a gay rights movement fourished in Germany. Led by the d i s t ri gu is he d Jewish physician Magnus Hirschfeld, the movement's strategy was to win legitimacy for lesbians and gay men. This was to be done in three ways: by an extended petition drive to c o n ­

40

vince Germany's Reichstag to remove homosexual acts between consenting adults from the German criminal code; by enlightening public opinion on homosexuality; and by involving large numbers of gays in the movement. Although much of the movement centered on the repeal of the angi-gay laws (debates on it at times attracted t h o u ­ sands), movement leaders and others researched and argued the "nature" of homosexuality in an effort to demonstrate that gays were essentially "normal." By 1922 the gay movement in Germany was finally powerful enough to present the R e i c h ­ stag with the signed petition calling for the repeal of the anti-gay legislation. However, the law was never repealed, for by 1923, post-war economic and social chaos in Germany had d r a s t i c ­ ally increased, and the gay movement declined in size and influence.

At the same time the right in Germany was growing. By the early 1 9 30' s gays were under direct attack by the Nazis, who labeled h o m o ­ sexuality "The mark of Cain,...a godless and souless culture which is sick to the core." When Hitler took power, the gay movement was brutally exterminated. Hirschfeld fled the country, dying in France in 1935. Significant in the demise of the German gay movement was the desertion of the social democrats, who earlier had been among the mo ve me nt 's strong supporters in the Reichstag. During the rise of the Nazis, the social democrats not only failed to speak out for gays, they also attempted to use the issue of ho mosexuality against the Nazis. One tactic was to queer-bait Ernst Rohm, one of Hitler's SA leaders who was known to be gay and who was brutally murdered by Hitler in 1934. This r e s ­ ponse contributed to the myth that the Nazis were agay movement, a myth that persists to this day.

What lessons can we learn from history, and where is the gay movement to go in 1984? The simultaenous m a in st re am and seperatist white, male middle class gay movement, as its p r e d e c ­ essor in Germany, is currently committed to a strategy of winning legitimacy for gays and of winning it through the Democratic Party. We can see that this goal is becoming less and less attainable as the economic and social crisis worsens. It is not surprising that the movement has organized only small numbers of lesbians and gay men and very few Blacks and Latinos. We also see the growth of the S & M movement in the gay community, a movement that organizes into overtly oppressive and physically brutal re lationships which ex ag gerate the ordinary o p ­ pressive re lationships of our society and foster the development of fascistic fantasies rather than intimacy.

However, we are also seeing in 1984 the growth of an independent movement that includes gays at its core. It is a movement c h a r a c t e r ­ ized by the rapid growth of the Rainbow C o a l i t ­ ion around Jesse Jackson's Democratic primary and the continued co nsolidation of support for the independent presidential campaign of Dennis Serrette. The independent movement is not s e e k ­ ing legitimacy for gays, Blacks, Latinos, and poor and working people, but some real political power to change this county's social and e c o n o m ­ ic priorities and to combat the right. Around the country, in New York, in Massachusetts, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas, Illinois, South Dakota, and California, lesbians and gay men are en th us ia st ic al ly taking on the Serrette campaign with the un derstanding that the l i be r­ ation of gays can only occur with the l i be ra t­ ion of all oppressed people in our society.

THE PRACTICE OF FREEDOM Throughout

history men and women have a t te mp te d to ov er co me

the fa ctors which make them ac c o m o d a t e or adjust, constantly to obtain

th r e a t e n e d by o p p r e s s i o n - their full

humanity.

If men and women are incapable of c h an gi ng Adaptation

it is sy mp to ma ti c

in reality,

And a society

begi nn in g spirit,

in the wake of change.

in that ch ange

si gn if icance.

to move from one epoch to another requ ir es

the d e v e l o p m e n t of an e s pe ci al ly such

instead.

p e rc ei ve the themes of their time,

but are subm er ge d

its dr amatic

they ad ju st t h e m s e l v e s

sphere:

they are c a rr ie d along

see that times are changing, so ca nn ot discern

L a ck in g

reality,

of his d e h u m a n i za ti on .

If men and women are unable to cr i t i c a l l y and thus to inte rv en e and

(social)

is be ha vi or c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the animal

e x h i b i t e d by man,

They

in a st ru gg le --

flexible,

critical

spirit.

men and women ca nn ot pe r c e i v e the ma rk ed c o n t r a d i c t i o n s which occur

in society as em er gi ng

values

in search of a f f i r m a t i o n and f u l f il lm en t

clash wi th ea rl ie r This

values

Contradictions wh ic h

se lf - p r e s e r v a t i o n .

increase between

and other ways

the ways of being,

u n de rs ta nd in g,

wave". be ha vi ng

and valuing

shock

(in society)

be tween

characterizes Only,

a ye st e r d a y is ga ining

the "tidal

wave"

becomes

stronger

its r e l e v a n c e but still

seeking to survive,

substance, transition

as an an n o u n c e m e n t and decision.

to the de gree that ch oices

from a critical

being t r a n s f o r m e d represents

loosing

the phase of (social)

however,

r e su lt

deepen,

i n c r ea si ng ly emotional.

and a t o m o r r o w which

p e rc ep ti on of the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s

into action.

Ch oi ce

are they real

is illusory to the de gree

and

c a pa bl e

of

it

the e x p e c t a t i o n s of others.

W h et he r or not men and women can perc ei ve how they act upon re alilty within will

"tidal

of p e rc ei vi ng and valuing which belong to the future.

its c l im at e

This

an h i s t o r i c a l - c u l t u r a l

belong to y e st er da y

As c o n t r a d i c t i o n s and

seeking

time of t r an si ti on co ns t i t u t e s

the epochal

which these times

largely de te r m i n e their h u m a n i z a t i o n

times and above all,

are ge ne r a t e d

or d e h u m a n i za ti on ,

th ei r a f f i r m a t i o n as Subjects or re du c t i o n

as objects.

PAULO FREIRE Brazi1

41

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Black & W hite Men Together Convention

BY OLLIE LEE TAYLOR he fifth Annual Convention of the "ational Association of lack and White Men Together convened in Los Angeles in July.

The theme was rotherhond: The Issues/The Challenges: A Focus on Racism."

Sneaking on the topic "Beyond the Yellow Brick Road," Ms neborah Johnson, co-founder of a large black lesbian pro­ visional network, stated that: "If we want to have the things t ha t we desire, the o ly thing that we needed to have done ;s to believe in ourselves." "We have done everything in the world to our consciousness that we can possibly do to it." "We have raised it, broadened it. politicized it, sensitized it." "We've done just about everything but heal it." Citing a need for coalition, Johnson proclaimed, "We as gays, must, I repeat, must, participate in other civil righcs movements. Do we, as gays, attend the meetings of other community groups?

Jhat are we, as a movement, contributing to our society?

We must integrate, not assimilate, society with our move­ ment.

Johnson conceded with ideas for practical ap­ plication and cautiont-j "not to trade one type of oppress­ ion for anothei cteve Schulte, a West Hollywood City Councilman, offered remarks to the convention on Friday morning. He focused on AIDS and racism in the context of leadership ability.

V ATDS, Schulte noted, "we have to talk to each other, hold each other and learn to cry out loud. We have to examine our sexual behavior, our personal relationships, and yes, our lifestyles." Schulte expressed racism as being "deep, powerful and profoundly complex." "Racism 'as to do with learned cultural behavior^ all around as much as it does with deep-seated prejudices. In an op­ pressed minority group, such as gays, racism can be par­ ticularly disappointing. Diversity among us leads to richness in life." Relating to leadership, Schulte stated that leadership is "correctly articulating what we all experience in the world and listing the possible options tor dealing with these phenomena, leadership is about building bridges, both, to the unknown and those ■n'th whom we have differences." Schulte conculded stat­ ing that each of us, no matter who, is valuable and special, each of us is worthy of respect, dignity and love. ^ev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolotan Community hurch vith its special outreach to gays, offered a stir­ ring inspirational speech. Perry asserted: “the most revolutionary act today in the gay and lesbian community s still holding hands in public." "Any time you deal with interracial couples in our society, still, to this *ay, it's revolutionary." Perry told of his support for ev■ lesse Jackson in 1984. "He was the only politician not a rraid of our issue." Perry's concluding remarks !ipt“d: the greatest work we have to do is education."

But, you have to do it by example...We don't have to be ^raid anymore...If people can get tc know us as neople 1rst., labels won't make much difference." erry Watkins served in the US Army for seventeen years. ''though he stated at the time of his induction that he ■3d homosexual tendencies," the army later took the position that he should be discharged without benefits, atkins outlined the military rules and procedures that ed to the current litigation. He chronicled such situ­ ations as being denied access to chaplain's school and eing forced to identify at least two people he was sexu­ ally involved with at one point.

■■■■■a Bayard Rustin is currently Board Chairman of an organiza­ tion working on voter registration and other programs to strengthen relations between blacks and the labor move­ ment. He stated, "the struggle for the freedom of the gay people in our society is the most difficult human rights "rohlem o c all." There are three distinct reasons for this. "The first is Biblical injunction. The secc d is that homosevuality is considered an attack on the family.

The third reason is the "mistaken notion that every person ho is homosexual, male or female, has as a fundamental objective: the brutalization of children." Rustin cautioned not to "waste your time trying to convince those who are :ommitted to hate you." Forgetting the extremes, "our ob­ jective is to convince the 90% in the middle to join us.

The NAACP never tried to convince the Ku Klux klan."

He continued, "society is redeemed by recognizing the gra -St problem and dealing with it." "The fundamental ob­ jective of the gay movement is to recognize that it is central to the elimination of all other propositions of injustice." Rustin offered two concluding points. Bills for civil liberties aren't nough for minorities. There is a need "for an economic order for full employment."

And, "your greatest security as a homosexual is...in your integrity to your commitment to the freedom of mankind." "if you want to defend yourself ultimately as a person whe, is gay, you do not defend it on the basis that gayness is good; you defend it on the basis that you, as gay people, ‘ave stood up for the rights of all people." 'he convention featured several workshops for small group rocus and instruction. Three of these dealt with inter­ racial relationships, leadership development and the stati ~f minorities in the °eagan era. r major debate was staged on the question of whether baths should be closed or left open due to the AIDS crisis. A second debate focused on whether the name Black and White "en Together was racially inhibiting. 'he N3WMT Board of Representatives ranked its priorities cor the coming year. The five highest ranking goals are: Discrimination Response Systems, Maintenence of struggling chapters, Outreach for new members, AIDS and health con­ cerns, and Leadership development. lack and White Caucuses took place on Saturday morning.

The black caucus was dominated by a difference of opinion which erupted over the display of Confederate battle flags by members of the Atlanta chapter. The white caucus ex­ plored such subjects as the economics of relationships between men of different races, communicaMon and the preference issue on the basis of race.

There were several representatives of other agencies ap­ pearing at the Convention. And, two outstanding chapter projects were presented to the Board. With the help of the "hiladelphia AIDS TaSk Force, BVr'-Philadelphta under­ took a joint venture to cut a rap record to play on radio stations in the city and at discos heavily patronized by lack gay men. The BUM! unit in Memphis offered a short istorical film on a proposed American Civil Rights Center.

There were several cultural and social opportunities for this busy and festive convention. A play, "The Surfer"

by Cerald U. Ackerman was produced, along with a tour, pool party, and a memorial service. There were also some iwards presented. fficers were elected, and memberships were pegged at 961.

Two new chapters were admitted bringing the total up to 26

AV

hiomunk

C rucifiKion bv Antler

’o chipmunk had to be crucified on a tiny cross of twigs To save all the other chippies, ad to have nails pounded through his little paws, Had to take upon himself all the sins of all the chippies that ever were or would be and die in agony So that after they died all the chippies could live again forever, But only if they believed in all the sayings and doings of the chipmunk crucified on the tiny cross of twigs.

is

onfe/zionol

by Raeburn Miller

There must be other people who hide in corners ■/ho go down in corners for nickles and dimes /ho suffer all week just to look good and they do who suffer all their life just to look bad and they do suffer they do go down looking good

uilder

by K. J. Myers Jonas the Men-non-nite (A German Prot-es-tant sect, you know) Prays as he builds the barn Giving Him Thanks for each Brace and board Jonas does Not believe In the force r f arms or Taking oaths (So Mister febster says) Gear Jonas, I whisper Please tell me Tour feelings About men who Dare to love Their brothers For this I promise to pray to your (our) savior, Je-sus Christ '.'ho also heard the sweet music of the hammer on the nail

Let those guilty of prostitution come forward and receive his communion, said the priest in my lover's dream.

When does anger become murder? love become hustling?

Self-sacrifice self-pity? !hen does flesh become bread?

The kid told me 1 was his father1s agethen reached out to me, seeing me hurt.

Paid to care, some care anyway.

That’s what. God knows.

It's my fault.

That's what 1 tell him.

And my lover said his dream ■ids like the Last Judgment.

David Kwasigroh

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;omber Apple/

by Kenneth Pobo 'n the Produce Department ! saw dozens of somber apples.

Fed skinned, shaped like leaking balloons, I wanted to ask them why they were sadder t an their green cousins h. 1f an aisle away.

Silent and round-bottomed these edible gurus waited for any pair of hands to bag them and take them to paradise.

Driving home r passed an orchard. Each apple, a beak swelling into a bird in a white chariot.

M o w n by wind.

Cuch happy apples-mmediately I mistrusted them. :tust they celebrate?

Ihey wore sunlight as a ring and the moon, an evening stole white on bare shoulders.

They were mine for the taking but I drove back to Krogers for my somber friends.

I bought half a dozen and never ate a one.

Inside my fruit bin I swear at night little gongs clanged--

by Steven Finch What room for fantasy there is amid these fields now that harvest is past and the golden voices and bodies of the hired hands have faded away, while, against a massive haycock whose shadow gets longer as the sun sets and thicker as the moon rises into the sky studded with stars, I lie alone, loosing my mind and, shadowless, losing my self.

At the sight of fields covered with stubble, I remember those cocks that grew from green to gold and long and taut as stalks of corn; the closely cut crops of wheat bring back those closely cropped blond butches; the stretch of earth lately tilled titillates with thoughts of those brawny bodies that plowed and sowed clearings by day and my stretch of clay by night; the drops of dew refresh the memory of the sparkle and salt of sweat at the moment of laboring; and, last but not least, this gentle stirring breeze carrying the savor of sperm coming from meadowsweet at a distance, now mingling with my own at arm's length,â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 0 longings that will converge when hands come together once again next summer.

utumn

a ceremony, vespers chiming in sweet freon.

by Scott Humphries The man, on his forest search, forgets the delicacy of skin and pricks his calf on a thorn.

His blood runs swiftly, returning to the earth.

D. K.

by D. S. Lawson Takes me out for drives, Gets me drunk or tipsy, '’hat a way to have with me.

And, who gives a shit When a factor enters the equation?

We can cope-This is something .Je know what to do with, Something that has Mo effect On the color of the sky Or on anything else permanent.

by Fred Smith I was staying with a friend who had a straight roommate and he was living with his father. 3ut he said he knew a place we could go in his car. Which in the dark turned out to be a one-lane dirt road through an empty field. I have always disliked sex in open places, preferring my own apartment with the doors locked and shades drawn. A car with its lights off came up behind us, then turned on two red flashing lights. He jumped out with his pants around his knees. Just as a policeman flashed a light inside the car. And told him he had stopped to take a leak. ’le got in the backseat of the police car. While the policeman followed us to the station in our car. Names, addresses, and places of employment. But no fingerprints or photographs. The policeman and a gergeant at a desk were talking loud enough *or us to hear. "You know what they are. You know what they were doing."

"You’ll have to get on the stand and swear you saw them doing it."

The upshot being we were charged with trespassing. Where bail equals the fine and is forfeited for nonappearance. The person I was with paid for both of us. He said it was OK since he had got me into a situation which at that time in Texas could have landed us both in jail.

ior/t H e e d

reek Ctqtue

everybody /tore/ at a block corN/effe

The policeman's flashlight was in the car on the floor next to the driver's seat. Big enough and heavy enough to be used as a club.

Je stopped at a bowling alley for coffee and talked about what to do with the flashlight. He wanted to keep it. as a souvenir. t thought it should be returned to the policeman to show our moral superiority. But he v/asn't at the station when we went back. We left the flashlight with the desk sergeant who seemed annoyed seeing us again. And annoyed at a policeman who hadn't done anything right that night.

by John Landry

There have been days so hungry I wanted every body who passed my door.

That's why, when I found you, I knew we'd have to move into a house whose only door only faced a hedge that blocked the street and the eight foot wooden gate that only has two keys.

by Brian Sal chert So I waited on his red-haired couch: characters balls his angry cows my upset stomach distracting me I even kept my coat on for a while and before he entered used his bathroom twice Tall and sol id in his dark-blue robe his gentleness surprised me as we stretched on his bed and he helped me out of my clothes You are small but

tender

You are hairy and large

he said I thought

He tongued my penis masterfully ^ut it would not stand and the gas in me not stop ? couldn't believe he loved it In the end I was so perturbed I asked for the vaseline anyway I must have pumped for another half hour

by David Sunseri there are moments here â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘/hen I feel I have lived in this spot for ages a hermitage of wonder for a man been round the world I do everything more completely here more with the heart here I don't worry about when it's evening it just goes out gradually like the dawn comes in exactly like the dawn I fix my meals slowly and never know what I'll have until I'm hungry for it I never know who I am here unless some one asks.

He was sleeping when I slid in I who finally had kissed a man I who this day would be 32 I who soon would be properly standing before a high school class a visiting poet from miles away

b/curo

by V. Starr "Older now!" silently contemplating a vague reflection in a mirror, lines and wrinkles on a face.

In a magical mystical trace forgotten-childhood memories--embraced.

A gray, misty, foggy haze-life?

Mo1es in time, lost in cosmic space...

Deâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ja vue, in the image of a face.

Copyright 1985

DREAM PO ND

by Zarrus Wind

luce <1 rainy 'ay a dream fell upon a forest, '{a in-tears dropped everywhere and enchantment filled the air. "ot one leaf nor pine needle went un^athed. flower buds outshown emeralds. Bird wings folded in rest, and fourlegged creatures snuggled in coverts.

They continued to lie there on the cool grass. One final­ ly turned to the other and softly said, "The pond is bub­ bling with dreams." His words floated passed the 1 illypaid frog and through the pines.

He studied the movements in the pond. Seeing his own image waving with underwater teeds, tie was drawn in deeper fn tadpole waterheds. A moment of strangeness overcame ''is senses, "‘urning away, he broke his hypnotic stare and r i x e d his attention on the grass.

The waterfall poured from the sky's rim for long and longer ticks of timelessness. Tog rose around the pond i ike ghosts leaving home, as noon liaht. passed on.

"look how the raindrops make the grass dance," he ."-vole 1 ,ir,ne after the other, crystal musical notes pluck green strands, to make music too far for ears dio hear."

Light

Woodland beasts were lullabyed to sleep. All activity ceased -- except for tie rain, and two dreamy-eyed play­ mates, lying naked, side-by-side, watching bubbles pop in the pond.

"Indeed!" the older one replied with wide eyes. "And os the pond fills higher, so does my insight of waterbeads round and soundless on grass blades. I see my face in a single drop smiling at a tribe of Grass People doing a rain dance, dust think, surely there's no pride nor pre­ judice when we see ourselves as one lovely shade o* green.1 iheir laughter made the frog jump.

They looked like gods gazing in crystal balls held-up by tips 6r armS" A microscoP1c wor1d was at their finger Look closer," the younger one pointed out, "and you'll see the difference in each grass blade. I feel I'm look­ ing down from a watchtower onto a?mass of people and pick­ ing one out to focus on. Obviously veins vary from leaf to leaf, and no human is ever exactly alike."

AJaydbug scurried over a grass arch, unaware of being observed by their presence. "Hey look - that bug runs just like me when I'm late for my botony class!" They 'urst-out laughing louder than rain and fell into each other s embrace. layfully westling in soggy sod, long strands of hair dipped over their happy faces and wedged between wet lips The rainwater cooled their sweat. Grass and mud stuck o their flesh. Tumbling merrily, forgetful of the pon<, they slid down the mud bank and were doused by a double splash! Tach gulped a mouthful of water and coughed for air. Their dripping bodies stood up in surprise, causing concentric rings spilling over the brim. They stood centered in the pond up to their waist. The pond frog watched them from the grass, as their heart rates dropped ack down. The sound of rain came back to them. But this rainfall was suddenly bewildering. They rubbed their eyes n isbe lief. Raindrops touched down everywhere; everywhere but on their own bodies! No tree branches hung over then just the heavy gray sky.

Turning their heads, rainbows stretched rrom sky to earth. rield grass was washed in blue and indigo. °ine branches were tipped in violet. Green sky-streaks streamed over mountains, glowing red, orange, and yellow auras; and each tiny raindrop held a rainbow. hey froze in pronounced wonderment and fear for in all this supernatural beauty, their individual images stood ^efore them as angels waiting for confession.

Neither spoke their inhaled words, but discreetly touched the reflection with their fingertips. That's when their eyes burned through their faces -- the realization of being inside a bubble was too real!

"Spawned from the spash of my own body?!" one uttered.

How could this be? Could this be God's mystery?" He felt a shrinking inside himself. "Am I am I? Or was I was?" He pinched his arm. "Is this God's crystal womb?

If this be some kind of lucid egg, I must breakout to be reborn!"

Their four hands pressed against infinite contours; then became like pounding fists quivering the belly of a jellyish. ihe bubble tottered, and when the crying man-bov slipped and hit bottom, the bubble shook from its a x is ' and emerged with fog into skylight. Clenching each other over tree tops, they peered in the pond's misty mirror and saw the formulation of a dream. ’owards the rainclouds they floated, echoing thunder vibrated their eardrums and made their hearts beat faster bmokey cloud-bellies shaded off light until comolete dark­ ness b.indmided their eyes. The fog left them elevated inside a black cloud.

Are we still rising?" the younger asked.

I can't tell anymore, the darkness took away my insight, uon t fear, my mate. I am here to fight for life, though you may not see me." Just then daylight lit up their ■Tightened faces. "We rose above the storm!" he cried with relief to see the light, but still shivered in the unknown wind.

cxoose^ ^ !0,d beyond the hori'zo" ^e ir bubble hi?herdthP h ^Kidndascended, W6n^ “pward ,lke a lost balloon. higher the bubble the thinner the air became The until oxygen no longer existed. a de*p ’"halation, they cupped their mouths to­ gether and shared life in their last breath. star lights burst in their brains as they were rendered unconscious to another realm of inner space The cof, ? ^ ed ' h M aCh °ther’s arms- The lack of oxygen popped :w^ran do lsa?n 3 * * motion. ^ wo rao aoils in slow

D°W" they dropped

hashing through waves of air; oxygen filled their lunqs and tossed their hair. bove the clouds, in the clouds, below the clouds -- down with raindrops they went.

Crashing through geese and flying feathers they saw how angels fell. nee more consciousness was regained to verify their earthbound landing. Diving down they reached their hands to­ gether, held on tight and closed their eyes. The older one shouted, What do you see when you close your eyes?!" rhere was no reply, as flashes of past lives reeled before their inner eye as fisherman and balloonist.. They saw their teachers; they saw their mothers. A family of friends poured from their eyes and vanished. The sun ap;ea»ed like a spinning sunflower, followed by rain-spears piercing their goosebumps. fire and water colors shook them with fury and pointed their heads to earth. Their numb hands tightened in a crippling grip. In that moment, they both knew a stronghold of love would soften the FATAL he pond came into view so fast it seemed to fall upwards to them. And then a final flash of white light covered their bare bodies with white feathers. A powerful primal scream flew in the air...

Silence lay over silerce.

Several moments after forever, tender hands were fused together still. The man-boy found himself on his mate's ack, who was straddling a great white winged horse! As it reared up they caught a glimpse of its heavenly blue eyes sparkling like sparks on water. In total amazement the man-boy shouted into the ear of his companion, "Are you alive?! Are you breathing?! Are you awake?!"

"I am! I am! I am!" the other cried back in bliss. have been saved by this magnificent creature!"

"We

rheir minds quieted and freely glided with hypnotic wings waving up and down, up and down, up and down...

Tertainly the ivory creature is God's graceful messenger -- a moving sculpture glazed in rain. As it flew, its wings conducted a choir of invisible angels. Sunset sounds boated from the clouds and peace filled the air. "piral1ing to earth, they softly landed. The rain stopped and the sky cleared. The creature kneeled for them to slide off, then vanished like it was never there.

Tubbing their eyes as if awakening from a dream, they looked upward for a trace, but only the evening star shown in their sleepy eyes. Beside them, the pond mirrored the moon growing fuller in the sky, and the lily-pad froq egan to bellow. 'ooking at their hands, the mates loosed their melted grip. Fingers opened slower than lotus flowers, and shining between their palms, was a tiny treasure box bordering the contents of a dream shared.

PASTELS

by MARK MCNEASE

f u n e r a l s don't suit my mood, particularly when it's rain­ ing. Alf the black cloth clings to the mourners as though they’d been sweating profusely. They huddle under their umbrellas, sharing a somewhat fabricated loss, re­ acting to my attendance cordially. I'm a reality they'd rather ignore, being neither a member of their family nor a woma n .

His eyes were framed by hornrims so far removed from the dictates of fashion that I was immediately captivated.

The looseness of his flesh conveyed a less than vigorous lifestyle, so when the time came for proposition I sug­ gested something sedentary. We went to a movie, for the price of which I received the next eighteen years, the best eighteen years of my life.

I’ve always thought it unfitting that these occasions are bathed in black, which is not a color at all. It is a symbol, like dreaming of knives or blunt objects. It in­ sists there is a void left when someone dear to us takes permanent leave of our presence.

We were able to buy a house three years ago after a suc­ cession of rented apartments, each of them lived in and loved in as best we could. The house has two bedrooms, one of them turned quickly into a library (it would have been useless otherwise). It has a large kitchen with tiled counters, blue for the most part with burgundy trim.

The floor is blue tile also, Spanish in design as is so much of the decor in California. I love every square, every carpet fiber. I've polished the stainless steel to make it shine like all my blessings. I know what it is to be satisfied.

Seeing that black voids don't fit my conception of en­ richment, I chose blue to wear to this singular burial. «lue is a gentle color, indicative of the peace I've been left with by the man who once resided in that pale body.

Blue is a quiet, and if I listen very carefully I'll hear the sound of him breathing on my neck as he did, not that long ago.

I'll be able to close my eyes and see the great display of colors that we knew. I'll be able with no more than a want to smell the odors of his body, having known them better than my own. After today, I'll take those walks at dusk, with the same traffic buzzing away its hurried existence. I’ll smoke alone in bed while reading a novel , knowing he would think it well written, and there will never be a void in my life.

Eighteen years we were together. Some might view that as an accomplishment. r ighteen years is a long time, a num­ ber of fortune. There are enough moments in that span for an infant to become the parent of an infant who will repeat the unending. Eighteen years is a coming of age, and I did. My movements have slowed. My decisions are somewhat wiser, but the heart still wakes up young.

I was twenty-five when I met Jim. He was forty, old enough to be my father (assuming he had a chili before a driver's license). We met at a birthday party I'd gone to more out of boredom than any desire to congratulate someone for staying alive another year. He ambled up the walk like a man who knows exactly why he's on this planet.

He had his hands in his pockets, perhaps to hide the num­ ber of his fingers (I discovered later there were eight, and two thumbs).

Our living room is made outstanding by a large curved window overlooking much of Los Angeles. At night I would point to one star or another and tell him we were going there someday. We'd depart from that very spot, through our lovely curved window, having no regrets to stand be­ hind us. I never thought he'd leave without me.

Last October I came home to find him seated in front of the window, looking out at the sunset. When I walked over to him he turned his face away and said he was dying. I told him he was only fifty-eight; that fifty-eight year old men don't die. He said maybe not, but fifty-eight year old men have cancer.

Wetness is not sadness. It's rained for two days now.

The family came and the family went, paying their respects to everyone but me. I don't mind. I'm wearing blue, and 1n my blue I know the sea has stopped rocking. The earth that's been packed is saturated with forgiving rain.

I'm selling the house while I know the love is mine to move with. I've gathered familiar knick-knacks around me like porcelain friends, not because I can't let go, but because they are like the scent of roses -- I want them to linger. Many of them are small figures in pastel garments. I like pastels. They make me wonder why any­ one would wear black to say goodbye. ■

4

J

—

CL

A K l I C n^vC b ccT eR -'Y ’ V ^ V / o k J f~ \

R

/<Vt age 16, I learned to drive, and at age 13, I learned to masturbate. The driving lessons included many hours r of careful learning of details and techniques from a skilled person. The lesson for masturbation consisted of three or four hurried sentences and a few illustrative K twists of a hand by a friend who had seen someone else l masturbate, but he had not tried it yet himself.

C The driving lessons ended with, "Well, now you are a capable driver. Enjoy it!" The masturbation lesson end­ ed with, "But remember, it's a mortal sin!" I often think of this contrast and imagine how fortunate I would have been if the same time and encouragement had been given to me for the skill of masturbating as for the skill of driving.

J 5 A

X

t £ N J

While looking at pornography, you may fantasize about the models or wish for partners like the models. This evokes a sense of lack. To "image" with pornography, simply see it as a visualization of all the wonderful ways in which you are sexual. In this way, admiration (for the models) becomes identification. There is no longer a gap between you and them. Union occurs and with it self-enrichment.

P .

Masturbation is described positively and reverently in ancient mythology. Osiris, the Egyptian god of light, created the world by an act of masturbation. In Greek myth, Hermes taught Pan to masturbate. The myths show that masturbation was considered creative and empower­ ing. It was a skill and a power taught by friendly gods.

Self-befriending masturbation means enjoying masturbation as a good in itself. It is sexual self-esteem; it cele­ brates our competence in nurturing and taking care of ourselves. It is therapeutic since it involves a letting go of inhibition, even a showing off and taking pride in the self-sufficiency of our sexuality. As long as mas­ turbation is sexually complete in itself, then we are complete in and as our sexual selves.

This freedom from duality is sel^-transcendence. It is the point at which you are no longer masturbating; you are masturbation. You may feel a warm and satisfied^ sense of oneness at such a time. The universe becomes rriendly. You are not aware of any separateness. A fus­ ion of apparent opposites occurs: male/female energies, you/other, active/passive. Self-transcending masturba­ tion can be the unique door through which you enter an undivided, unalienated personal spaciousness, uninterrupted by ego, neediness, or desperate desire. low do we go beyond our own ego in sex? First, while mas­ turbating, we are thinking and acting from the right side of our brain, the part that is intuitive and synthetic rather than logical and analytic. Mental chatter stops; harsh judgements evanesce: we become more comfortable with ambiguity and perceive similarities instead of dif­ ferences .

Sensation becomes secondary at such times. The body be­ comes less distinct, the genitals less central. Our en­ tire being is eroticized, a moveable feast that takes us beyond and yet within ourselves.

This means dropping the false belief that masturbation is a substitute for "real" sex. If the full reality of sex depends on someone outside ourselves, how can we ever be whole and sexual at once? Positive, conscious, self-orchestrated sexual pleasure. It declares to be independent while we still participate in relationships with others or one other.

The results of such letting go are exciting: a new self­ trust arises. We are no longer afraid of where our own lusts may lead us. We trust the forward-moving processes of our own evolution. We cooperate with this movement and find it to be a hero's journey: a retreat from the ordinary and a return to the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

Then masturbation is not a good in itself but only an outlet for frustration, we are discrediting ourselves by equating self-affirmation with neediness. We pro­ gram ourselves with feelings of deficiency this way.

The positive view engenders a sense of inner abundance.

It is after discovering self-befriending and self-trans­ cending masturbation that we may proudly identify ourselves as masturbators, at least within our own minds. We may even seek out others who have made a similar discovery.

This is not just curiosity, but a deep longing to share a common excitement.

Guilt does not usually prevent us from masturbating, but it does attack our self-esteem by associating self-love with failure or weakness. Taboos against masturbation are really taboos against self-exploration. In selfbefriending masturbation, we explore the great varieties of sensations our bodies are capable of. This is how we transcend the limits that internalized roles and taboos have set on us. .n our unconscious, there is no difference between an act and an image. The Soviet Olympic teams use imaging 'forming mental pictures of themselves winning) for 75% of their practice time just before the events. Images ave a keen impact on the unconscious. This is why a self-befriending session of masturbation can well in­ clude imaging. How? Simply form an image of yourself as sexually rich, selfnurturing and limitlessly inventive. Begin masturbating durjnj} the imaging and let the images return throughout the session. This builds self-esteem and erotic play­ fulness much better than does fantasizing. Fantasies are usually about what we do not have. Fantasy can di­ minish us unless it is balanced by images of ourselves as ful1 and whole.

Once our sexuality has become self-befriending and selftranscending, there is less need to collect experiences and more generosity in sharing experience, fewer intima­ cies and more intimacy, fewer self-doubts and much more self-giving, fewer excluding rejections, and more in­ clusive acceptance.

Masturbate with some of these thoughts in mind and notice what happens. My original analogy with driving is rele­ vant after all, in one other sense: masturbation is also about going somewhere. '.'here do we go? We go beyond our own egos and relate better to others. We go to higher levels of self-esteem. "e go through the looking glass, beyond narcissism to that heartplace where there is only One of us.

N o t e : Readers who would like a more extensive treatment of the subject of masturbation as an art of self-befriend­ ing and self-transcending may order the author's booklet; Solo F l i g h t . It is illustrated and can be obtained by sending $3 and a self-addressed, stamped, legal-sized envelope to: I..A.C., Box 3.1027, Santa Barbara, CA 9 3 1 3 0 .

$ -------- ----------------------------©

It is unclear (and perhaps unimportant) whether this ar­ ticle is a report on the War Resiser's League conference on "Feminism is for All of Us", held in Edgewater, Mary­ land last February--or, a Call to disArm. The U.S.-made Cruise missies are in place in much of Europe. The nu­ clear insanity has reached new levels. Faced with an apathetic and cowed population, Ron Reagan turns his sights on the world.

At the Greenham Common Cruise Missle Base in Great Brit­ ain, women have had the Royal Air Force and the United States military non-violently under seige for over four years. The women are there "for as long as it takes."

Their creativity and perserverance - not to mention their continued non-violent resistance - serves as an inspira­ tion for us all. "Non-violence means nothing if it loesn't mean to act," said Susan Pines of the W.R.L. national office.

This has not been easy. Imagine four years of sustained efforts! It gets cold and snotty at Greenham Common in the winter with thirty-eight degrees and rain for days.

You can't keep any good equipment. Periodically, the police come through and clear out the camps. Things dis­ appear. Tents, sleeping bags, stoves and the like vanish in the police raids. It is not easy dancing on the edge of Armagedon.

The favorite form of shelter has come to be known as the “Bender", full a few saplings over, cover with some poly­ ethylene, secure with some duct tape, and presto: instant home for six. Sleeping in a pile becomes mandatory if one is to stay warm. Is it any wonder these actions are turning women into lesbians? Is it any wonder the "straight" peace movement is having trouble with these changes?

At the Feminism Is For All of Us Conference, these ques­ tions and more were bounced around for several days as part of the ongoing dialogue of "what is to be done."

I suppose it is a measure of how far we have come in this second wave of feminism that a little mutual tolerance is finally starting to surface in these discussions. As Igol '’odenko - a straight (I think), old-line pacifist - put it, "Can we create the space where our mistakes can be treated'as ignorance as opposed to evil." Indped, we have sat and talked like this before.

The conference was about one-third male and two-thirds 'ernale. A few gay men, like myself, were there. This seemed to encourage many of the hard-core activist dykes who noted a dearth of gay men at most peace events.

Let us hope this gives us, as Nina, a woman who had been to Greenham Common, said, "the courage to face what is true."

There are women at Greenham who, one fine frosty morning, snuck over "the fence" and had a witch dance for seventy on top of a loaded underground missle silo. They boogied for over an hour before being caught. Doesn't this im­ press you as to just how closely the boys in the military keep an eye on their atomic six-guns.

Julie Baxendell, another Greenham participant, thought the fact that the British police don't carry guns makes the women in Great Britain more nervy than here. At the Seneca Falls Peace Camp in upper New York state, the spector of very heavv violence loomed closer. Tactically, we must understand these differences.

The peace movement will go on, in spite of the freakouts about homosexuality and women-only space. Mutual respect for the contradiction and a historical sense of feminist process furthers understanding. Commented Duffy, a tough little dyke from North Carolina, "It breaks down to a fear of touching."

It seems the Right will use whatever it can to prevent us from acting on our fears of species annihilation. In spite of the Republican resurgance, we respond from Sene­ ca Falls to Rocky Flats, from Greenham Common to the '.’omen's Pentagon Action. In spite of homopjiobia (sigh) in the peace movement, we continue to grapple with these issues.

Said Mandy Carter, "We must be real careful about writing people off. This is crucial." A lot of people's personal fears have to do with ignorance. To truly teach is a long hard struggle. Violence is the .socially accepted cop-out to frustration. A truly new future requires that we be cagey, resourceful, and determined. There are many step­ ping stones to tomorrow.

For more information about the War Resisters League, write: War Rcsisters League National Office, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, or call: (212) 228-0-550.

The Politics & Test o f A.I.DS. Part1=

BY STUART NORMAN

AIDS epidemic can be a test for us as well as for the nation. Individually and collectively we have passed many hard tests before: coming out, Stonewall, Anita Bryant’s crusade, organizing and building the movement. And, we are facing tests: political naivete, infighting, jealousies, and apathy. We have to fight the bigotry of homophobia in general. Now we have this pestilence quietly slipping up behind us, striking unseen, undetected. It fuels any spurious rationale for increased homophobia, sets us fur­ ther apart from society and each other. It breeds frus­ tration and fear among us. It is the most severe challenge we have ever faced.

But, it is just as great a challenge for our whole society.

The outcome of the AIDS controversy goes far beyond the gay community. It is not within our power to solve the problem as it is with just political activism. It is more than a gay problem, and we need the resources and support of the nation.

There is a potential in this crisis to bring us together and unify us as a community, but also to see our plight as a common human problem. Here is potential for healing the societal wound that sets us apart as an oppressed minority.

I cannot believe that the majority of people in our na­ tion are homophobic. Personally, I have not found it so.

They may be uncomfortable with the strangeness and ex­ cesses of gay sexuality, but they do not hate or fear us.

However, their fears and insecurities can be inflamed by bigoted rhetoric from a vocal, hateful, homophobic minor­ ity. Probably that minority is much smaller than the gay community.

•O 85

Some of us have had to change our lives because of the AIDS threat: fewer sexual partners, watching our health and diet, limiting drug usage, and developing a new in­ terest in stable relationships. These things are not bad for us. AIDS has made us conscious of our health and how we relate to each other. This knowledge about ourselves is valuable. Thus, we are demonstrating how we can adapt our lives in the face of adversity. That can make us strong, give us the ability to protect our­ selves, and gain our rights in society as well as change our culture for the betterment of all.

P a rt 2-

I haven't seen much safe sex consciousness in RFD nor on the east coast outside of New York City. It seems that San Francisco leads the nation in this regard. Accord­ ing to recent surveys approximately 80* of San Francisco gay males have altered their sexual expression. This 1s demonstrated by extremely low rates of other venereal diseases in the city. But this community has paid a price by limiting Its sexual expression. Some have even been celebate. The whole community was in a drepresslon.

Now it is looking for ways to enjoy safe sex and go on living In spite of AIDS. We are looking for ways to con­ quer our fear, find self-affirmation and purge ourselves of psychic toxins.

AIDS has been politicized, and that is dangerous for everyone. The ambiguity of our government's support and the squabbles over research funding mask what positive work exists. And, our divisiveness only demonstrates anger and confusion, inspiring no confidence. A united front is needed lest we be the brunt of attacks by those needing a scapegoat for personal or political gain.

The liklihood is that AIDS is going to be around for a long time. It is no short term change in our lives. If you think because you live in a rural area or small town that your chance of being exposed to AIDS is very low, unless you've been in a strictly monogamous relationship for years, you'd better think again. People travel and spread the disease. AIDS risk consciousness is higher in the large cities because there are so many cases in close proximity and information is disseminated through­ out the community relatively rapidly. Most people in cities know PWA's (People With AIDS) and friends who have died.

AIDS is the albatross about our necks, curtailing our ‘hedonistic lifestyle, generating in us an intangible fear. No one knows who or where it will strike next.

That may leave us feeling helpless since there is no known cause or cure. But, we must not perceive ourselves as helpless lest we become so. Our attitudes are impor­ tant.

The safe sex techniques which are being promoted in most gay pubMcations are all too often perceived as boring or too much trouble for many gay men, thus taking the pleasure out of sex. And, there are those who say to themselves, "I won't get it," and continue to lead preAIDS promiscuous sex lives and probably spread the con­ tagion .

If we put our energies forth in support of AIDS research we can be sure we are helping not only ourselves, but all of humanity. The potential to gain knowledge about im­ munology is immeasurable. That can be our gift to society.

We have been provided with a mission to work together to abolish the threat.

I can agree that many safe sex techniques are boring, but there are many things we can do to make safe sex hot.

The most important is to remember not to exchange any body fluid. Fantasy trips are wonderful. Your imagina­ tion is limitless to create new ways to express yourself alone or with partners. You can design love-making rit­ uals, start a JO club, use condoms and sex toys (but use your own on yourself), and by all means use a water solu­ ble lubricant, not a petroleum or vegetable one as these destroy latex condoms. It’s up to you if you care for yourself and your partners, ultimately for the whole gay community. At this time safe sex is politically correct.

The life you save may be your own.

Many people say that it is our lifestyle that caused AIDS, and they fear us. But, we must not accept the belief that AIDS is our fault. It isn't. We are its primary victims. The rest of the world must be educated to this fact.

Yet, we must not act the part of victims. That would be accepting defeat, coming from powerlessness. And that weakness in our collective psyche can make us susceptible to disease, prone to depression, defensive, and let fear and hatred creep into our souls. We have made too many gains to allow that to happen now. The closet doors must be ripped off the hinges so that all people realize our plight. It is the test of whether we have the courage to support each other, to take responsibility for our changing lives.

But there's a lot more to the politics of the AIDS issue.

AIDS is moving into the general population, as well as in­ creasing in our own community. At first the disease be­ came politicized because it was seen as an exclusively gay men's disease. The cultural blinders of homophobia prevented sufficient action against it. Research funds and assistance funds have been kept at low levels. This time the heterosexual population will pay for their pre­ judice.

The medical profession is trying to make headway into looking for drugs to combat the virus, but they have their prejudices, too, even if not homophobic. Researchers fight among themselves for funds and recognition. Robert Gallo of the National Institute of Health discovered HTLV3 shortly after the french at the Pasteur Institute an­ nounced the discovery of LAV. There are even accusations that Gallo stole the LAV and renamed it, claiming it for himself. Again, who cares for the gay community except ourselves? However, there are some alternative healing methods which hold promise. These are not supported by the establishment medical profession, and sometimes they are actively fought. This is repeating the same scenario over cancer research. Alternative treatments have worked in many cases of cancer, but the vested interests of the American Medical Association will not allow any serious investigation into these cures.

From diagnosis to death the average AIDS case will cost approximately $280,000 for treatment: hospitalization, chemotherapy, drugs, tests. Most alternative methods are much cheaper, perhaps $30,000 a year with a chance to live, but insurance won't pay for it. And, the al­ ternative methods require the patient to take charge of his/her life and make major changes in lifestyle; they must take an active involvement in their cure.

Chinese medicine, for instance, has recognized the symp­ toms of AIDS for over 3,000 years. It takes a wholistic approach to harmonize/balance the tody/mind/spirit. It treats the individual, not the disease. Most of the al­ ternative methods in use today operate on this philosophy.

But, our medical systems treats our bodies like machines suffering from invading armies of germs and otherwise completely ignores the mind and spirit in the process of healing. We might well ask if there is anyone really healthy in the United States?

Even the much-touted ATDS antibody test has potential for government abuse over the issue of confidentiality. There is talk of quarantines if the disease keeps spreading, and that by health officials concerned over protecting the general population and the nation’s blood supply. vet, this test only detects antibodies, not the virus itself, and it cannot tell you if you will get AIDS. It can only tell you that you are at risk to develop the disease or to pass it to others. If you know you have the antibodies, you can act accordingly to practice only safe sex to protect your partners. Too little is known.

Many gay organizations have advised against taking the test while other organizations are keeping a neutral stance. It's up to us to stay healthy, to take charge of our lives, and be responsible for our loved ones. It's all we can do at this time.

Fascism on the M arch

BY STUART NORMAN:

h should be informed of the growth of neo-Nazi, ultra right wing groups in the U.S. These racist, white suprem­ acist, fundamentalist Christian groups are attracting fol­ lowers by playing on their fears of economic ruin and social collapse. Farmers in middle America and the bible belt are prime targets, as many find their mortgages being foreclosed. And lacking sophistication to discern the >igotry in the rightist rhetoric, they may swallow the whole biased explanation.

One major reason for the growth of these groups is the perceived breakdown or fragmentation of society. And, coupled with an economic crisis affecting the lower middle class and the poor, they offer simple analyses of the problem, especially directing their invective and anger toward certain minority groups that threaten the traditional conservative social beliefs. They want a scapegoat to blame. Of course, their invective is oc­ casionally turned against gays exploiting the AIDS issue.

These ultra-rightist groups preach against an international Jewish bankers' conspiracy that is attempting to rule the world, thus bringing up an old Federal Reserve conspiracy theory of controlling the money supply of the world. With banks closing, rumors of financial instability in major institutions, and loans being defaulted, there are perhaps grounds for fear that there may be runs on banks.

The Ku Klux Klan, Christian Identity and other Nazi philos­ ophy sympathizers are joining toqether in expectation of a race war and biblical armagedon. Many are prepared to live out the worst part of the war as survival ists in closed, armed camps which they already have in isolated sections of the country. These people do not realize the evil they preach. Hatred and fear fuel their beliefs and actions, making them immune to reasonable discourse and cooperation. Yet, as always, such people ultimately bring about their own ruin. Their hatred and violence eventually burns them out. Their moral lack of respect for others' rights will be turned against them. That is l/armic law. Just like Hitler's Nazis, they will probably loose the struggle, but these groups can create much human misery in the interim.

Anti-semitism runs rampant in the discourses of these groups. Fundamentalist interpretation of Revelations in the Bible is used to associate the current crisis with the "Mark of the Beast", an obscure symbol of turmoil.

White supremacy, worship of Hitler and his Aryan race theories also abound. These groups preach against the evils of communism as well as that of capitalism and democracy. They admit that they don't want to allow free choice.

Some of these groups openly declare their intention to violently overthrow our government. Many of the groups have secret plans for takeover and ravenge. How well networked these groups are is not known. But some lead­ ers and members have been arrested and prosecuted for crimes from murder and beatings to storing caches of automatic weapons. These people can be very dangerous even if they remain a small minority.

How do we stop them? Not by violence directed against them, nor by outlawing their organizations which would only drive them further underground. They have a right to their beliefs, just as we do. Education directed at those who might be taken in by their rhetoric would help, ''ew economic policies to assist those people disenfran­ chised would diffuse their despair and give them some faith in our government. The current administration doesn't seem to care or perhaps doesn't understand the potential ror social collapse in the practice of its policies. B j

Farmer's & Housekeeper's Cyclopedia

by Frank M. Lupton The Crossing Press, P0 Box 640, Truiransburg, NY 14886 $10.95 (paper), 544 pages 'lain and John Gill are to be praised for saving this delightful and informative book from oblivion. Originally published in 1888, much of the data in the book is still very useful. The recipe for tanning animal hides with the fur on - "hard to come by" - first brought the book to their attention.

Uprisings-

The Whole Grain Bakers Book

The Mother Earth News '05 Stoney Mt. Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28791 $12.95 (paper with ring binder), 300 pages ’his is a uniquely written book compiled by "experienced Takers from many small independent bakeries." I found the stories behind each of the independent bakeries in­ teresting. Thirty-two bakeries belonging to the Coopera­ tive Whole Grain Educational Association from all over the U.S., Canada and Holland contributed to this book.

I feel this contributes to the variety in tastes and definately not the general run of the mill recipe book.

Recipes consist of using the whole grains - wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, rice, barley, and millet. All of the recipes are hand written and illustrated, making Uprisings a very enjoyable book to look at and use.

Uprisings presents to me a very important aspect of life, fn the midst of all the negative things happening in our lives and world, there are those who really care about working together because they want to and are making it work. ♦ Eveline Horrel1

WoodworkingTools, Materials, Processes

by William P. Spense and L. Duane Griffiths American Technical Publishers, Inc., Alsip, IL 60658 '24.05 (hardcover), 634 pages ; highly technical and complete handbook, Woodworking is not for leisurely reading. It is, however, a superb reference work with review questions and self-help pro­ jects at the end of each chapter. The format resembles that of a home learning course. Illustrations are ex­ tensive and appropriate, including line drawings, photo­ graphs, and tables. The reader will learn to lay out and sketch projects, plan proportions, and estimate materials.

The sections on hand and power tools are essential to safe operation and handling. Even the spokeshave is covered. Standard cabinet making joints are diagramed and explained in detail. There are tables of nails and screws, discussions of other hardware, and adhesives.

Especially helpful is the section on finishing techniques, covering abrasives, stains, and applications. The section on the wood industry proved interesting and helps one un­ derstand such things as the grading of lumber, veneering, and the relative merits of particle board versus plywood, for example. Several useful projects are ’aid out at the end of the book and there is a helpful glossary. As one ••ho has worked with wood for at least twenty years, I recommend Woodworkinq as a valuable tool and instructional guide, whether one is a novice or an experienced crafts­ man. ♦ Tom Foxwell

A friend of the Gill's, Stephan Lawandowski, has written new introductions to each chapter pointing out with modern knowledge where the 19th century was right or wrong on the various subjects discussed. The book touches on al­ most all aspects of farm life: building plans for homes and barns, raising crops and livestock, food recipes, needlework, home remedies, helpful hints, and more.

Thanks to these people, we have not only a glimpse into the farm life of the late 19th century, but access to recipes and methods whose usefulness makes them timeless.

Any antiquarians will be very interested in the many il­ lustrations of Victorian buildings, tools, furniture, and nicknacks. It is a good addition to any self-suffi­ ciency library. ♦ Charles T. Creekmur

Embracing The Exile: Healing Jouneys of Gay Christian

by John Fortunato The Seabury Press, 815 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017 $11.95 (hardcover) This book is somewhat technically oriented and was written especially for Christian psychotherapists. However, any­ one interested in the evolution of consciousness, religion, psychotherapy, and/or the psycho-spiritual plight of gay people in American society will find the book worth read­ ing, because John Fortunato speaks to and from both the heart and the mind. He is honest and straightforward in telling his and other gay people's stories.. .and he’s quite a good story teller at that.

The heart of the book is the chapter on Psychotherapy as Grieving. Fortunato borrows the five steps of dying from Elizabeth KUbler-Ross: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance (which he calls grieving).

He generalizes that process to apply to all of our every­ day lives: anytime we have something difficult to work through, we proceed through more or less the same steps.

He provides the best description of what Christian mystics '■ave called "dying daily" -- a central theme for those who identify with Jesus.

But, Mr. Fortunato is speaking in the broadest terms possi­ ble. He considers the gay person struggling to find him­ self and to make sense out of his world to be in the very best position for breaking through to genuine spiritual insight and higher consciousness. His description of the process brings Mitch Walker's Visionary Lojye to mind for it portrays very clearly how gay people are left out of the predominant Myth which gives support and also controls the minds and hearts of the mass of people in our culture.

I find one problem with the book. Fortunato mentions that he is not trying merely to help people to adjust to and return to the Myth, but he does not successfully explain what he sees as the role we suppossedly highly evolved gays are to play in a society bent on the destruction of the earth and all that is free and wild. I'm afraid he takes the all too well trodden trail of thinking which favors putting our emphasis on life in heaven in higher consciousness, while never mentioning putting our aware­ ness into practice by embracing truly alternate cultures

and

ways

of

agree with

living. his

From

politics,

this at

point

of

view,

I must

dis­

least.

Though I intentionally call myself a Pagan, I was raised a Catholic, and my little breakthroughs on the inner plane tend to have a distinctly Christian flavor, whether I like it or not. That is why I wanted to read and review this Kook. I found that the book did help me resolve some of my own conflicts, even if I did disagree on some points.

John Fortunato writes in the same way he works, by letting the reader use him as a springboard to jump into fruitful thinking. In this quality he and his book are remarkable, even if, like some of the patients he describes, you hate his guts part of the time.

I used to resist the flow of familiar (Christian) phrases which, nevertheless, often describe my own spiritual in­ sights remarkably well. Now I feel that we can never be­ come whole until we soften our heart and freely embrace the exile within. + Blue Jay

Quiet Fire:

ful , a n d a

Memoirs of Older Gay Men

by Keith Vacha; Cassie Damewood, editor The Crossing Press, Trumansburg, NY 14886 $8.95 (paper), 219 pages

Gay and Gray: The Older Homosexual Man

by Raymond M. Berger Myson Publications, 40 Plympton St., Boston, MA 02118 f7.95 (paper), 202 pages The "older gay men" who speak in Quiet Fire are at least r5; the "older homosexual man" studied in Gay and Gray is at least 40. We don't know Vacha's age; the ClP data for Merger says "1950-". There's a message in there somewhere.

Vacha's objectives for Qluiet Fire were personal - to gain insight, get a sense of role models, and break down stereo­ types. He says he accomplished these for himself, and readers will get the same benefits. Vacha had no hidden ror open) agenda to impose on his subjects - he let them talk, and he asked about what interested him. The men who speak to us in Quiet Fire are individuals, telling the story of their fives, thoughts and feelings. Seven­ teen men, and we meet each one as himself. Two of these men live in Phoenix...some men asked for pseudonyms, and Vacha used some pseudonyms and some actual names, without comment.

Gay and Gray was conceived in the late seventies and pub­ lished in 1982; at that time, it was the first serious published study of older homosexuals. (Berger hoped to include women in his study, but very few women volunteered.)

112 men completed Berger's questionnaire, and he chose ten for personal interviews. As the scholarly study Berger intended, Gay and Gray has serious limitations, despite the academic trappings, but as a groundbreaking presenta­ tion of data and information, it deserves more attention than it's had. "'art I of Gay and Gray is the interview study, which con­ sists of an overview, and interviews with six of the ten men chosen. The interviews are structured, and we see ‘'ow each man responds to the same questions.. .we learn more about how they're similar than about how they're Afferent, ''art II is the questionnaire study, including all the standard scientific apparatus (Berger devised the questionnaire himself). The summary chapters present questionnaire information in terms of characteristics, adjustment and perspective.

Quiet Fire is an introduction to 17 real live people... people who want us to know what it’s like to be them... to be older gay men. Gay and Gray presents data and in­ formation on a similar population - more objectively use­

place

necessarily for

both

less

emotionally

absorbing.

There's

in y o u r m i n d .

♦ Meg Umans (Meg is a counselor in private practice in Phoenix and owner of Humanspace Books, Inc. Both books are avail­ able from the publishers and at H u m a ns pa ce ).

The Son of the Male Muse Edited by Ian Young The Crossing Press, Box 640, Trumansburg, NY 14886 $7.95 (paper); $15.95 (cloth); $1 post/hndlg., 192 pages Strength and diversity are the hallmarks of this anthology.

Because sexual attraction is the basis of gay existence, "gay" poetry abounds with the al1-too-fami1iar uncertain­ ties of lust and love. The very reason then for gay poetry "ecomes in some measure its weakness in that the sexual bias cloys with an unrelenting sameness no matter how skillfully handled and artfully inspired. In that re­ gard, this book of poetry is to be savored and delved in­ to from time to time rather than to be absorbed at one sitting. And, yes, there is a great deal in this volume to return to and reflect upon. The strongest poems take the reader from realms that lie within the simplicity of "male meets male" or "male does male" into the uncharted ’ands of relationships and lives bound together by ties that defy reason and reveal the pathological side of com­ pulsive desire.

Tn poems less intense, but equally perceptive, one may revel in the felicity of modern poetic language whose clarity of image and succinctness of phrase stem from the poets of the late '60's. If an abscence of lightness and a sense of the comedic are truly a minor aspect of modern gay poetry, then this volume is an accurate re­ flection of a seriousness of tone, that, for all its in­ novation and outrageousness, can be seen as a product of the well crafted poem in the modern academic tradition. + John Alexander

Patterns Ot The Dance

by Gareth M. Mackenzie 'rsus Press, P0 Box 112247, San Diego, CA 92111 $4.95 (paper), 40 pages

\s his first effort, Gareth Mackenzie's Patterns Of The a nee is a very enjoyable and thought-provoking book of poems. The poet sings of dances and love, of the magical and the mundane. The size of the book belies the quality of the poems, but since when has quantity guaranteed qual­ ity? 'n excellent group of poems in the book, "The Turning Of The Wheel", is a celebration of the ever-changing year.

In a series of poem-glimpses we see the signs and events of the passing seasons on a farm. Celtic mysticism is woven in throughout these poems in its many unusual and interesting forms. Hopefully this will not be the poet's last book, for I look forward to reading more from "the witch of wood's end". + Charles T. Creekmur

What A Drag

by Homer Dickens Tuill Publications, 105 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 '10.95 (paper), 266 pages Charlie Chaplin as a flapper? Mickey Rooney as Juliet?

Ricardo Montalban as a Geisha girl? Yes, they're all here! From the turn of the century to the present time, with over 250 pages of fab fotos of men as women and women as men in the movies, What a Drag is a movie buff's delight. This book is good fun, easy, light reading, and

a real eye opener. (Marlon Brando in apron and sunbonnet, for instance.) There are, of course, the standard Milton Cerle and Laurel and Hardy shots we all know and love.

But there are also stills that even the most fanatic de­ votee of the silver screen may never have seen. My favo­ rite was my long-time idol Burt Lancaster as a charming •ench, sporting sun dress and flower garlands in ''The Crimson Pirate." I Melt like dragging out the furs and frocks! What more can I say about What a Drag? I con­ tinue to page through it and enjoy it. So,~ toss the boa and wig in the corner, girls, kick back, light up a cigar and enjoy!

Crowstone

by Hakim Spartacus/Coltsfoot, PP Box 3^96 NL-1PQ1 AG Amsterdam *12.^9 (paper), 384 pages Oamar, one of the 1°8 moons of the giant gas planet Algol, s the world, and half-sunken Suvyamara, a kind of alien ’'enice, is t^e city where Crowstone is set. With incred­ ible imagination Hakim shows us the social structure and ~e!igion of an ancient alien culture which is based upon the idealized concept of boy-love. With women kept in religious seclusion, boys have taken the women's social roles and become the sexual foci of the older men in Suvyamara.

♦ Tom Foxwel1

Kindred Spirits edited by Jeffrey M. Elliot Alyson Publications, PO Box 2783, Boston, MA 02208 $6.95 (paper), 262 pages Kindred Spirits is "an anthology of gay and lesbian science fiction stories" according to the legend on the cover.

And so it is. Unfortunately, the book reminded me of the little girl who had a little curl - when it's good, it's very, very good, but when it's bad, it's horrid. Taking the bad first, you would expect gay authors to be sympa­ thetic to gays in their stories, but this is not the case in most of Kindred Spirits. I realize not every story has to have a happy ending, but the 'horrid' stories are an unrelenting exercise in doom and gloom, where gay characters are stabbed, shot, hung, etc.

Vamp is the first of these depressing chronicles, where a mercenary artist sets up a gay man to be murdered for the sake of getting an interesting photo. They get worse.

When It Changed tells how an agrarian lesbian paradise was invaded by hetero men. This story had chilling im­ plications, but the writer mercifully spared us the gory details. How We Saved The Human Race again ends with the gay hero executed (his lover is killed by a gang of street punks, emboldened by society's anti-gay attitudes) and his life propagandized with all references to his gayness erased.

Frankly, I don't know what Broken Tool was doing in the anthology. There wasn't the slightest hint that I could see of the three main characters' gayness. Ditto for Flowering Narcissus, a story whose claim to a place in the book apparantly rests upon the anti-gay obscenities uttered by the main character, a painfully straight man named, ironically, Honcho. Before I was done reading that epic, I found myself wishing I had Honcho hogtied and suspended in a sling for the mutual pleasure of my­ self and a few friends. Passengers was basically a hetero romance which paid lip service to gay sex in the final few sentences. Good story line, but where's the beefcake?

Going Down was a bit too cryptic for my taste - its plot Tor lack thereof) had the feel of something slap-dashed together in order to meet a deadline.

Now for the very, very good. Black Rose And White Rose and The Woman Who Loved The Moon were two excellent tales that had the timeless feel of Arabian Nights1 classics.

Nuclear Fission was a very touching, human tale of a woman leaving her family and lover to find herself. The Night 1nd is another story of leaving home, warm and compassion­ ately done.

The Prodigal Daughter, though, deserves'special praise. I was absolutely gripped by this smoothly flowing drama in­ volving a noble warrior woman, her lover, her magiciangrandfather, and the curse of Hophaetus, fiery god of iron. Surely, I thought, it would make better sense to spend money making a movie of this than "Rocky V". The Prodigal Daughter by itself would save Kindred” Spirits from being a complete dud, but with the"help of the four other tales mentioned above, it achieves greater luster than I would have thought it had at first glance.

4 Charles T. Creekmur

The images invoked in Crowstone may be sensuous, haunting, tender, entrancing, or shocking. But they are never dull as we follow the exploits of Valamiel the Mad Monk, Zaek the Chaote warrior, and Soloron the love-wizard as they try to prevent the mystic Crowstone from falling into the clutches of the evil sorcerer Mabreuse. And at the same time they also attempt (and succeed) to please a full dozen beautiful and sexually insatiable boys.

Despite the excellent writing style and the sometimes surprising plotline, I am not sure Crowstone warrants its '12.50 price tag. Presumably, this reflects the cost of having the book printed in Europe -- strange that no US publisher could be found to produce it. For readers who ire really into Sword and Sorcery or boy-love or both, I would recommend buying a copy for your library. The mere­ ly curious should wait until they can borrow it from a 'riend.

4

Charles T. Creekmur

Samuel R.Delany

by Seth McEvoy Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 36 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003 $6.95 (paper), 142 pages

Seth McEvoy approaches the task of writing about Samuel Delany's life from an interesting direction. Selections from extensive interviews granted to the author show how events in Mr. Delany's life influenced and corresponded to his works. Almost like a diary, Samuel Delany's science-fiction novels reflect the course of his life while dealing with issues of social injustice.

It is no accident that his characters are often outcasts.

Black and gay, Mr. Delany knows the prejudices of society intimately. From his childhood struggle to overcome dys­ lexia to the distinction of becoming one of the ten best­ selling sci-fi writers alive, the book is an overview of ?n interesting and unpredictable life. If you enjoy bio­ graphies, you should find this book a treat. But if you are like me and do not especially care for bios, you might be pleasantly surprised by it. I was. ♦ Charles T. Creekmur ►

ECOLOGY - EARTH RELIGION - TA< o f f i c i a l p u b lica tio n o f E.L .F F . O . Box 1 0 8 2 , Bl oom in gt on , II L7L02 - S5/L i s s u e s - in cl u d e : 25 word o r l e s s l i s t i n g o f an; p r o d u c t / s e r v i c e s you may o f f e i CONTAX, PfiOJEX, EVENTS, * mor< F S I - U N h . ; , CLASSES, FESTIVALS

Note: Letters are in ZIP Code order for the most part.

Dear New E nglan ders, I(( t h e r e a r e p e o p le o u t theAe in New England who would be. i n t e r e s t e d in two to t h r e e c o lo n ie s o f bee,& to be lo c a t e d on th e in farm s, 1 want to co n n ect w ith you. I am a c i t y p e r ­ son who had once l i v e d in th e coun­ tr y , and I am i n t e r e s t e d in b e e k e e p ­ ing a s a hobby. But, I have no p&tce s u i t a b l e for &uch a p r o j e c t .

Alan S ch u ltz 39 Ma6-5. Ave. Box 432 * 0* t o n , MA 0 2 1 1 5

This t e t t e r has two p u r p o s es: f i r s t o f c o u r s e , T hope to fin d "Hr. Right" and seco n d , T would l i k e to hear from o th e r p e o p le who a r e in my s i t u a t i o n .

1 am a age 34, 145 l b s . , c o n s id ­ e r e d a t t r a c t i v e , e t c . T work f o r an in su ran ce company and commute d a il y 40 m iles each way to w ork. My m other, age 76, makes h er home w ith me.

Hy m other a c c e p t s t h a t J am gay. I n eed to fin d a mate who i s c o m p a tib le and who co u ld a c c e p t living in our home. Physical s p a c e i s n ot a p r o ­ blem , as toe have 7 rooms w ith room for expansion and s e v e r a l a c r e s o f lan d . Hy m other does coun t on having me a t home. I fcnow i t i s hard fo r her to a c c e p t t h a t sh e has to s h a r e me. I r e a l i z e t h a t the l iv in g s i t u a ­ t io n co u ld be im p o s s ib le a t tim es, bu t then I a l s o can e n v is io n t h a t p a r ts o f i t co u ld be b e a u t if u l a l s o .

I en jo y c r e a tin g re p r o d u c tio n f o l k a r t , r e fin is h in g fu r n itu r e , cre w e l em broid ery , le a r n in g to p la y th e p ia n o .

P le a s e w r it e i f twu a r e i n t e r e s t e d in co rresp o n d in g or i f you have e x p e r i-

RFO prints contact letters free of charge. We also provide a free forwarding service for readers who wish to remain anonymous. Just give your address as "c/o RFD", and we will forward your mail. Of course, donations are always welcome!

Please condense your letter to 200 words or less. Spelling and punctuations will be corrected as needed for clarity unless you specify otherwise. It helps to be positive in stating your in­ terests and preferences. Saying "no" to any particular trait or characteristic may unnecessarily offend a brother.

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You may want to write us for suggestions regarding writing to prisoners before responding to prisoner responses to your letters.

en ced my home s i t u a t i o n .

G regory ft/. Sm ith P0 Box 3964 S p r in g f ie ld , HA 01101

There must be o th e r s ou t th e r e who a r e f r u s t r a t e d w ith th e r e p e t i t i o n o f a n i n e - t o - f i v e j o b . T here must be o th e r s who dream o f g e ttin g away from th e r a t r a c e o f c i t y l i f e and p r e s s u r e s . To have some tim e to en ­ jo y p e a c e o f mind, to en jo y th e beau ­ ty and wonders o f n a tu re. The r e a l i t y however, r e q u ir e s l o t s o f tim e and

fin a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s . A ll to o o ft e n p e o p le grow o ld n ev er a tta in in g t h e i r dream o f owning a home and la n d .

But, why must we g iv e up on th o s e dreams? I have been in v e s t ig a t in g f o r some tim e now t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f communal liv i n g w hich in c o r p o r a t e s elem en ts o f s p i r i t u a l (n ot r e l i g i o u s I growth and u n d erstan d in g , as w e ll as r e s p e c t f o r t h e In d iv id u a l. The id e a orf community I s not new, but. t h e d i f ­ fe r e n c e h e r e would be an I n t e r e s t e d group o f p e o p le who s h a r e common con­ cerns; form ing a l t e r n a t i v e v a lu es to t h o s e of p r e s e n t-d a y s o c i e t y ; w here f o l k s c h o o s e to l i v e c l o s e r to t h e e a r th w h ile bein g co n sc io u s o f n ot abu sin g i t ; w here bonds o f lo v e and fr ie n d s h ip can be form ed fo r a life t im e .

No, t h i s may n ot be t h e answ er t o a l l o f s o c ie ty 's i l l s .

I am su re com­ munity in v o lv e s a g r e a t d e a l o f ■work; a l o t o f g iv e and t a k e . But f o r t h o s e who a r e w illin g t o make t h e commitments, t h e r e co u ld be much o p p o r tu n ity f o r p e r s o n a l and s p i r i t u ­ a l grow th. I b e l i e v e t h e ben efiX s t o o n e's m ental and p h y s ic a l w e l l ­ bein g mau be w orth t h i s commitment.

Hy pu rp ose h e r e i s to form a netw ork f o r com m unication. The w here's and how's would have t o be worked o u t.

1 am a New E nglander, but T am open to o t h e r p l a c e s . Hy i n s t i n c t s l e a d me to t h e s e a r e a s : New England, sou th to V irg in ia , G eorg ia , o r p o s ­ s i b l y n o rth ern C a lifo r n ia . I welcome your thou ghts and i d e a s .

P eace, PJA o f New England c /o RFV

o ffeA t h ib g i f t foA ijoua zyzb and h e a o t and mind to come. L et i t be f e l t , heAz [oa th eA z); :ve oaz one!

Glznn o f Taezb 411 W. 48th S t. [5RE) New YoAk, NV 10036

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I wab one o f t h z z d ilo /ib o f th z f e a tuAz b z c t io n in t h ib ib b u z . T'm \iQJuj in tz A eb tz d -in fin d in g i f theA z -ib a man o a t theA z who would bz capab-iz and in tz A eb tz d -in jo-ining mz [b z x u a lly and otheAw ibz) w ilh my c o u n b z ilin g woAk. Tf b o , p lz a b z dAop mz a t i n e ! tty p o l i t i c b , a p h o to, and w hat’b im p on lan t t o mz -ib pA elty much covzAzd in th z t{eatuAZ. Lovz, id SchAzibeA n0 Box 1054 Jam aica P la in , MA

021301*S

Hi1'm 6'1", 140 I b b . , and a t pazbzn t 1 havz a blon d mohawk and bAown zyzb .

I am bzjmi-good lo o k in g , t a l l and blzndzA . I wab boAn undza th z bign o f AAizb in a dog za/tlh ijzoa.

I z n joy punk mubic, Azggaz, and otheA bandb t i k z BAonbhl B zat, Echo S th z Bunnymzn, 2iggy StaAdubt, T a lk ­ in g Hzadb, ztc.. I am a lb o in t o ttonty Python, Va . Who, G azat B olt-tain , th z middle, ag zb , th z o c c u l t , zabtzon p h ilo b o p h y , and good bookb.

I t i k z a l l typzb o f mzn below th z agz o f 30, z b p z c ia l ly te.znb. T would A Z ally t i k z to havz c o n t a c t w ith mzn fAom a l l oveA z b p z c ia l ly th o b z fAom England. T t i k z to cu d d lz , k ib b , and have p a b b io n a tz b z x . 1 a lb o zn­ jo y ta lk in g and w a itin g le t t e A b .

Sznd mz a l e t t e A [and a p h o to , th z mo/lz A zvzalin g th z bzttz/i ) , and you oaz abbuAzd o f a o z p ly .

Svzn o f ttainz c / o RFV

VeoA fa z A iz b p iA iib , UndeA a f o o l moon I "Acte" t h ib veAbz, ex ten d in g an i n v i t a t i o n to a l l who tAaveAbz acAObb t h e b e p la n eb , be you oAdinaAty, peAveAbe, o a in b a n e.

T am heAe to bhaAZ my miAth; my game, th z j o y o f bein g heAe on eaAth and weaving t h e mag-tc v ib io n b beyond heAz, h e ld dza>t. I havz dAeamb o f co n n ectin g w ith o u t fzaA. Be th ib b p a ez a bp-O iitu al A etA zat foA th z piigA im to A ebt hib hzaAt oa f e e t , oa bz i t borne, fa n ta b y ba to n oa ZAotic cA zation b t o g a y -z z upon?

Tt co u ld bz a mubzum o f dada and th z abbuAd; a l l dzpzndb upon th z woAld you m a tz A ia liz e . WhatzveA, I

I l i v e in th z zabteAn p a n t o f New Vook ju b t b o o th o f th z ttohawk V a lley .

I have a AuAal home heAz bu t woak a t a pA o febb io n in a bm all town. I'm an a v id gaodzneA and lo v e t o woak abound my hundAzd-yzaA o ld houbz, b u ild in g , AzpaiAing, and la n d b c a p in g .

I havz a l o t of, h o b b iz b : h ik in g , bnow bh ozin g , t o a v e l , t o a in b , pAZbeAving what I gaow, Azading, many othe-Ab. T'm a t wayb inteA Z btzd in IzaAning a b o u t and p o b b ib ly bhaAing th z pabtim zb o f otheA b.

GAYELLOW PAGES IMOHMING rn GAY COMMUNITY SlNCt 19/3 Accommodations. AA groups. bats baths, book stores,businesses counselors, dentists doctors hotels lawyers. mat order, medut. publications organizations religious groups setvtces. social ffwps switchboards therapists, beret agents etc , etc .etc (a re a c o d e s 6 up c o d e s w o 1)

I ’ m 45, h e a lth y , a t tA a c t iv e , and ewby g o in g . I'm z b p z c ia l ly in te A e b te d in m eeting men in t h ib Azgion ab w e ll ab in noAtheAn New Vook S t a t e and Veb/nont bzcaubz 1 fA zquent th obz aAzab, t o o .

Pznpalb fAom antjwheAz oaz mobt w elcom e.

Voop a n o te!

USA 4 CANADA S10 NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY * 3 50; in c lu d e s M a n h a t t a n t»> n o te s A w o m e n s se c tio n SOUTHERN EDITION *3 50.

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M a s s a c h u s e t t s N e w H a m p s h u e O h io . f W i s y l va m a . R h o d e is l a n d V e rm o n t W V irg in ia

SPARTACUS INTERNATIONAL GAY GUIDE tar men *20; T h e test ol the w o rld d o e s n ot in c lu d e

H ello young bAotheAb,

U S A or C a n a d a

Aaz you lo o k in g foA t h a t 'b p z c ia l' oldzA baothzA oa ju b t wanting to me.et a caning f/tiz n l? WELL, heAz I am!

Go ah ea d l i t t l e bA othzA .. .dAop t h ib bin czA z and caning guy a l i n e to d a y !

b y first c l a s s m ail, y o u r

YoungeA bAotheAb undeA 30 yzaAb W A i l z mz ab T i l l o o k foAwaAd to hza/tlng fAom YOU! Send mz you /1 p h o to , and when I anbweA I ' l l bend you a ’ b in d ­ in g b h o t' o f mz. PLEASE WAitz mz Azal boon!

Ken Vo/ik P0 Box 8457 P itibbuA gh, PA

15220

name k e p t stric tly c o n organization or

lid e m ia l To list a b u s i n e s s or lor further in fo rm a tio n s e n d d a m p e d s« if a d d r e s s e d b u s in e s s w e envm o pe Please contact us for prices outside the USA In Canada, order from Glad Day Books M B A Yongo Si Tqromo Ontario m a y 2A6 416-961-4161 (cheek lor prices)

Ask us about Gayefkrw Pages on mastng tabets'

T'm a GWtt, n ic e lo o k in g and young lo o k in g a t 28. 1 btan d 5'11" t a ll ., havz bAown h aiA /zyzb, a blen d zA -ty p z bmooth body, and w eigh 156 poundb.

I z n joy m eeting new p e o p le and w h il­ in g . I'm hon zbt, veAy fA izn d ly , and a ffe c t io n a t e .

I am btA aight.-acti.n g and appeaA ing, and T’m n ot in to dAugb OA a l c o h o l . T'm veAy Aomantic and T lo v z t o cu d d lz , h o ld , to u ch , and k ib b a l l - n i t z - l o n g ! T v z many in teA eb tb fAom mubic to g e t t in g outdooAb and ta k in g lon g walkb in th z cou n try .

m e n 's c o v e r a g e o n ly

Renaissance House Box 292IT VMage Station NY. NY 10014 212 929 7720 AH boons discreetly

Uncover Virginia!

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12 issues $9.00 Name _____ A d d re ss______________ I City S tate

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Pen P als Wanted:

8e good t o y o u r s e lv e s ,

7 l i v e in t h e Tidejwater/Hampton Roads a r e a o f s o u t h - e a s t e r n V irg in ia . 7 w i l l be moving to th e Malvern a r e a o f Arkansas in January or February, 1986.

Wes C h risto p h er ("C hris"] PO Box 2521 M anassas, VA 22110

7 w ish t o e x p lo r e and d e v e lo p w h o le­ some fr ie n d s h ip ( s ) through 1985 pen p a l c o rresp o n d en ces in th e Malvern a r e a and so u th c e n t r a l a r e a o f Ar­ kan sa s, and t o be a b l e to s h a r e t h o s e fr ie n d s h i p s .

G reetin g s Fr ie n d s , 1 hope tivis c o n ta c t l e t t e r fin d s you in good s p i r i t s and h e a lt h . 1 am a b ig , h a ir y , b ea rd ed and g o o d -lo o k in g b ea r who i s A t i l l in s e a r c h o f a m ate. Although I have had a c o n t a c t l e t t e r in RFV b e fo re ,, from w hich I made many good f r ie n d s , I am again in s e a r c h o f a A p e c ia l beaA t o AhaAe l i f e w ith . I am 3 2 , sta n d 6 ‘ t a l l , and w eigh 2 3 0 pounds. 7 am muAcul.OA and m aA culine, y e t te n d e r and a f f e c ­ tio n a te .

Hope to m eet som eone who c a r e s t o w r it e . Your co rre sp o n d e n ce i s a p ­ p r e c i a t e d , and 7 w i l l answ er a l l t h e l e t t e r s t h a t 7 r e c e i v e from any a g e.

M isplaced A rkie Going Home c / o RFV

1 am a papeAmakeA, p r i n t e r , book d e s ig n e r and b in d e r . Though 7 am not a v e g e ta r ia n , 7 en jo y v e g e t a b le , heAb and floweA gaAdening. C ig a r e tte AmokeA I am, but not p o t noa dru gs.

In a d d it io n , 7 d o n 't c a r e foA th e "Gay" s o c i a l l i f e oa Auch. I f by chance you a r e in teA eA ted in thiA big and g o o d -lo o k in g beaA, p l e a t e u n ite w ith p hoto to me. Take cane and may l i f e be tA eatin g you w ith k in d n e s s .

Gneg Gordon PO Box 172 JeffeA A on , MV 21755

H ello R eaders, I am w a itin g thiA le t t e A w ith ho p et t h a t through i t T w i l l be c o n ta c te d by and m eet otheA men in theiA twentieA and t h i r t i e s , e A p e c ta lly thoAe who AhaAe my i n t e r e s t in fan n in g, t am a g o o d -lo o k in g , h a ir y , 23-yean, o ld man w ith c u r ly tviown h a ir and a f u l l beaad and who AtandA f i v e f e e t e i g h t in ch es t a l l and who w eighs ISO poundA. I A ecen tly moved to a uaaI western Maryland where among otheA tfiingA I am con tin u in g my pu r­ s u i t o f a g r ic u lt u r e d e g r e e s .

Be.Aides farm ing, 1 have otheA i n t e r ­ e s t s t h a t include. pnofeA A ional f o o t ­ b a l l , h ik in g , c y c lin g , w orking o u t­ d o o r s , m ost ty p es o f music and bein g a r a d io announce* [a form er o ccu p a ­ t i o n .)

7 a ls o en jo y good co n v er sa t i o n , AtAong fA iendshipA and a c l o s e peAAonat r e la t i o n s h i p .

I f you one i n t e r e s t e d in lea rn in g more a b o u t me, 1 know th a t I would en jo y lea rn in g more a b o u t you. A p ic t u r e i s d e ­ s i r a b l e and yours g e ts mine.

Yours t r u ly , Ken Coppola 3610 O live S c h o o l Road K n o x v ille , MV 21758

H elp!!

Ue a r e a gay w h ite c o u p le , mid 30's , liv i n g our fa n ta s y o f running a bed 6 b r e a k f a s t inn i n c e n t r a l V irg in ia .

Two y ea rs ago we to o k on t h e monu­ m ental t a s k o f r e s t o r i n g t h i s h i s ­ t o r i c 22-room V ic to ria n Steam boat H otel t h a t had been abandoned f o r 40 y ea rs and we have w atched i t tra n s fo rm t o i t s p r e s e n t beau ty .

Our b acky ard i s t h e r i v e r and t h e rem o te s e t t in g i s t r a n q u il. But, both o f us bein g c o n v er ted " c it y b o y s”, we c o u ld n 't l e a v e w e ll enough a lo n e — in a d d it io n to our busy bSb, we a ls o have a sm all, h a r d - s h e ll cra b b in g b u s in e s s . We a ls o t r y to r a i s e c h ic k e n s , b r ee d g o a ts , grow v e g e t a b le s and p la n t h r e e g r e e n ­ h ou ses! H o p efu lly , t h e swimming p o o l and h o t tu b w i l l go in next summer so we can r e la x !

We n eed your h e lp ! W hether you a r e s i n g l e o r a c o u p le , i f you a r e i n ­ t e r e s t e d in f r e e room and board and a p e r c e n ta g e o f t h e p r o f i t s as w e ll as a g r e a t l i f e n ear t h e C hesapeake Bay i n exchange f o r sh a rin g t h e work lo a d , we want t o t a l k to you and m eet you. We don ’ t have enough tim e to do i t a l l o u r s e lv e s .

Vear RFV R ea d ers: 7 e r j o y t h e th ou g h t t h a t t h e r e a r e o t h e r gay men who c h o o s e a g a in s t t h e s t e r e o t y p i c a l gay l i f e s t y l e o f big c i t i e s and b a r s . I ' d h ik e to g e t to know some o f them b e t t e r .

A fte r growing up as a sm a ll town o r cou n try p er so n , 7 t r i e d t h e c i t y l i f e f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . Mow, I'm back to a sm a ll town and have a g o a l o f s e t t in g up my own boardin g k en n el and moving perm an en tly back to a r u r a l a r e a . I ' d lo v e to h ea r from o t h e r gays who l i k e t o b r ee d and tr a in dogs - e s p e c i a l l y p o in tin g o r r e t r i e v i n g b r e e d s . H orses and game b ir d s (and o t h e r e x o t ic |$ow£) a r e a ls o a l o v e . A ctu a lly , a l l liv i n g th in g s a r e a p a s s io n w ith me.

I had a lo v e r f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , but ioe have been s e p a r a t e d f o r some tim e now. 7 m-c54 t h e d ep th o f in tim a cy to be found in su ch a r e l a t i o n s h i p , and 7 am s e e k in g i t a g a in . S t i l l , 1 am an in d ep en d en t s o r t , o p t im i s t i c and happy a lm o st in s p i t e 0 |$ m y s e lf, and in a lm o st any c ird u m sta n ce.

7 am 46, v ery much a Leo, 6'2", 180 l b s . and am t o l d t h a t 7 r e sem b le Ben K in g s le y 's Ghandi - t a l l and b eard ed w ith a sh a v ed head . 7 en jo y a l l p e o p le but e s p e c i a l l y l i k e th e s h a r ­ in g e x p e r ie n c e with p e o p le who a r e n ot a f r a i d t o be p o w erfu l and open w ith t h e i r f e e l i n g s . (CONTINUED)

W e're lo o k in g f o r som eone who wants to g e t in tu n e w ith t h e i r own f e e l ­ in g s, l i k e s a r u r a l l i f e s t y l e , and wants t o h e lp . We’r e n o t lo o k in g f o r s e x u a l p a r tn e r s .

The w in ter i s coming upon us, and we need t o b u ild a barn f o r t h e g o a ts and a co op f o r t h e c h ic k e n s , e t c . , e t c . We’ l l te a c h you what we know and hope y o u ' l l s h a r e your know­ led g e w ith u s.

A ll r e p l i e s w i l l be answ ered.

Bob 8 R ick PO Box 130 Mt. H otly, VA 22524

Vear F ello w RFVers: I am a gay w h ite m ale, ag e 34, liv i n g in t h e r u r a l so u th w est V irg in ia a r e a .

I am v ery l o n e l y as 7 don't have a lo v e r nor any gay f r i e n d s .

7 c o n s id e r h o n esty , s i n c e r i t y and bein g d i s c r e e t a must.

I ’ d l o v e t o h ea r from anyone. 7 need your fr ie n d s h ip and who knows ejhat e l s e co u ld d e v e lo p . I a c c e p t a p e r ­ son f o r what he r e a l l y i s — nothing m ore. P le a s e l e t me h ea r.

A ll my l o v e , L.P .

PO Box 1416 H cnaker, VA 24260

I'm an oldeA A in g le man who would H k e to m eet o th en men in A t h e v ille , ■JC oven 25 yeant o ld ion dlnneA, an evening o u t, on a t home, c a t u a l g e t to g e th e n t, countAy d n lv e, on whateven w ith o u t pnetAune on commitment e x c e p t t o g e t to know each otheA .

W nlte t o :

HI, I'm b ack a g a in . Didn’t heoA iAom many o i you guys iAom my la A t l e t t e A {In *4 2 ); why? WaA I t t h a t I'm hung and l i k e Aex w ith guyA? WaA I t t h a t I d id n ’ t have a p h oto to Aend out?

Oa , d id I Aound to o weiAd to RFDeAA? What? T e ll me ao T can tAy t o AepalA t h li d e fe c t.

W ell, I'm 37, 6'2", 160 Ib A ., w ith lon g b lo n d iih halA and a muAtache.

I ’ m veA A atile l i we g e t In to I t , th o ' uA ually a to p .

I would l i k e to heaA iAom Aome p e o p le who have pAevlouA ly H a t e d themAelveA In c o n t a c t letteA A i i you one At i l l o u t theA e. I ’l l b e heAe t o A e c eiv e m all |$oa t h e AeAt oft my H i e (anotheA 35-40 yeaAA In thlA bodyJ. In lAAue *40: H ike WaAd, MV; Chuck Bant, PA; RIE, PA; Ken Lumley, CA; PeteA Keegan, MM; JP , TX; Bob CuAAy, AZ. In liA u e *41: ChAlA WilAon, NJ; Rick GoldbeAg, MV; M ichael Panken, PA; B i l l y BayleAA, FL; John AndeAAon, IA; John W heeleA, MW; Ray, VA; Kim G n lttn ex, W1, Henning and Woli o i Genmany.

TheAe guyA and otheAA, p l e a t e w n lte; penhapA we. can e a t e t h e lo n c lin e tA o i countAy o a c i t y H i e .

P eace, (U ncleI Jim Whlpkey RD *1 Box 60-8 VatlaA, WV 26036

Dean i e l lo w n ead en t, 1 have A e c en tly AetuAned to wetteAn WoAth C aA ollna, and I ’m A eeklng in le n d t, a aoommate, and ? (who knowA).

I am a GWM, 37 {w ith t h e A p ln lt and h e a lt h o i a 25-yean o l d ) , 5’ 10", who p l a c e t gA eat im pontance on matu n lty , bein g c o n tid c A a te and en ­ jo y in g H i e .

My I n t e A e t t t on e a t v an ted a t H i e i t t e l i w ith p a n tlcu loA em p hatit in outdooA a c H v i t l e t .

S in ce we on e a l l lo o k in g ioA Aomeone to AhaAe H i e w ith ; what b etteA tim e than now, ao d o n 't put o H wA itlng (and p h o to l i poA A lble); pen p a lt on e moAt w elcom e.

WetteAn Month CaAollna c / o RFP

A. 8.

Box 1661 K A h ev ille, WC 28802

'

A m id d le aged, w h ite m ale would H k e c o n t a c t w ith A tnalghtA, gayA, b l ’ a in t h e P a c l i l c N onthwett e t p e c i a l l y on 1/ancouven lA land on Vancouven C ity , B.C. PO Box 72 ScottA bon o, AL

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I am WAitlng inom t h e AwamplandA o i nonth F lo n ld a, and 1 would l i k e to make c o n t a c t w ith RFD bnotheAA who one A tu d y in g /p n acticln g n e -e v a lu a tio n counA elH ng ( t h a t I a , " c o -c o u A e llin g " ).

L e t ' a exchange letteA A , d e v e lo p /a t ten d wonkshopA, and/on have a "AetA lon."

GeAny Rt. 7 Box MLC-34 Talla h aA A ee, FL 32308 RFD ReadeAA: I have juA t punchoAed an 8 0-acn e iaAm In MW Iowa. 1 w i l l be moving inom my p n e ten t hom estead t o t h e new p l a c e In l a t e AuguAt. With th e extAa la n d cornea mone A tock and lot& o i wonk; I'm goin g t o n eed h e lp .

My ianm and I n eed two helpeAA. One Anould lo v e anim ate and be p h y A lca ll y a b l e t o ianm t h e la n d , e lt h e n w ith hoAAet on tn a c to n . Helpen *2 Ahould l o v e to co o k , b a k e, can, and ganden.

Both p e o p le would have enough tim e ion a c o t t a g e InduAtny l i t h e y wan­ ted .

R eA tn iction one iew , bu t no Amoklng, dnugA, on pnevlouA tn o u b le w ith t h e law on e Aome. Age and lookA on e unIm poA tant. What I a, I a a deA ine t o b u ild a laA tln g h o m e H ie. Room and boand pluA a Aalany w i l l be p n o v id ed .

I w i l l be a pan t o i a l l wonk on th e ianm, bu t a i u l lt i m e j o b and a bud­ ding w a itin g can een w i l l k e e p me buAy. That'A why I n eed h e lp , and t h e th o u g h t o i companlonAhlp to bAeak t h e lon elln c^ A AoundA gA eat.

My v i t a l AtatA a a e : 5'10", 195 IbA ., 35 yeaAA o ld , bAoum halA and eyeA. l i you aAe InteACAted, we can cUacuaa an ythin g elA e t h a t matteAA. A ll letteA A w i l l be anAweAed and a oh otb would be n ic e bu t n o t neceAAaAy. LetteAA iAom any ie l lo w RFDeAA would b e a p p n e c ia te d , alA o.

Ken In MW Iowa c/o RFD

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The James White Review .

i giy »•<• * Incrtry cpwocrly has mdulil d the fnmu and short stems of mans u-ntrrs, including Steve A b b o tt, John Gilgun. C hasen G aver, Rick> Rankin. Ed Santa V icca, Robert Bouc heron, Stan L eventhal, Mark Lewcrrnz, We» M uchm o re, Antler, Jerah C h ad w ick , Michael Lawell. David Lindahl, Claude Peck, T om Y oung, Richard Um ans, A ustin A lexis, Joseph Butkic. M ichael M ayo, JoelErnarta, Will In m an , Gary Smith, R ich ard H all, Donald Vim rig, Ian Y oung, Tom Goodwyn. and Jam es W h itt.

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The Unicorn Published 8 times a year on Sa bb at s since Yule 1977 for Pagans and Witches everywhere. $10/POBox 8814, Mips, MN 55408

I deAiAC an a t h l e t i c manly buddy on my jouAney wheAe we can leaAn h u m ility and be th e b e a u t if u l men we tA uly oKe. a ft e x we g e t thKough Aome o f t h e moKe n e g a tiv e b e l i e f s we have a b o u t ouxAelveA.

I am a GWM L iv in g in c e n tx a l Ohio and lo o k in g OA fK ien d s, a companion on p o s s i b l e lo v e a to sh on e good tim e a , t x a v e l and l i f e , w ith . I am a a e a l faxm bog, l i v e in a Kuxal a x ea and have some L iv e s t o c k . I'm 34 yeaxs o ld , 6'1" t a l l , and w eigh 180 l b s . , have bnouin h a lx and b lu e e y e s , and am s e lf- e m p lo y e d . I en jo y natuAe and t h e outdooKA, l i k e to tx a v e l on s h o x t w eekend t x ip s and even abxoad.

I am a 33-yeaA o ld W/M a ttA a c te d to a new kin d o f gay man. In to phyA lcal exeA clA e, m e d ita tio n , d i e t , th ou g h t, A ex u a llty oa methodA to gKowth. I am m usculax, a v eg e ta fila n , a KunneA, 6 f t . , 175 l b s . , beaxded, t a t t o o e d , g o o d -lo o k in g man w ith lotA o f cAazy ideoA . I d e tlK e to heoA fAom bxotkexA , fAom lik e -m in d e d aouI a to AhaAe IdeoA , eneAgy, ouAAelveA. VennlA in Chicago c / o RFV

I'm hoping t o fin d a peAton t h a t has some o f th e Aame In tex eA ts I have AO I can Ahone what I have w ith him.

K eith o f Ohio c / o RFV

ok

P le a s e w x ite Aoon.

A.I Watexs PO Box 2547 C hicago, IL

60690

Hi guys, I' d l i k e to g e t thKough moxe and mone o f th e b u l l s h i t in o u k headA. And th en K ea lty b e li e v e th e x e on e no l i ­ m ita tio n s in what we can becom e. I ’m a guy ou t hexe who b e lie v eA w e'd a l l be b e tte n o f f w ith o u t many o f th e i l luAionA we l i v e by. The Tnue L ife fnexgy I a undeKneath AomewheAe. SometimeA I Aee m ascu lin e "muAcle" eneAgy a* a m a n ife s ta tio n 0 |$ t h a t eneAgy. Som etim es I Aee th e beau ty o f a sunA et, o k a la k e o k a c h i l d 'a Amite o a a m an ifeA tation o<$ t h a t eneAgy. I am a t t x a c t e d to men o f both p o ta A itleA , ao I can affiA m t h a t in rnyAelf: humble, macho, Atrong y e t A o ft, bxave y e t v u ln e x a b le , a daddy and a Aon. I deA ine to uae my gayneAA to bKlng hlgheK awoAeneAA. My a ttA a c tio n to t h e m ascu lin e in a man I a my own maA­ c u li n e eneAgy. When I f e e l thiA en ­ eAgy, i t opens dooKA in my head . Mob i l l z e what I team man--(o-man eneAgy, a lm o st pA im itlv e eneAgy, and, w ith th o u g h t, chan n el i t in countleAA wondCAfut AtatcA o f mind.

Kip Smith Rt. 2 Box 591 Ava, MO 65608

Hi! I o p e x a te and l i v e on a com m excial gKaln faxm In Hoxth MIaaouaI .

I'm 51, 5'7", n ot f a t , d o n 't Amoke, and th in k o f rnyAelf oa A t i l l young. I am K e c e n tly dlvoK ced, ao have few fKlendA and acqu alntanceA In t h e gay woK id.

1 K e a tly l i k e to faKm; I'm a "whole hog ok n othing" pexAon. I juA t wiAh faKming waA moKe p K o fl i a b le K ig h t now. My Aecond poAAlon I a t h e C oloKado mountalnA - A klin g In w intex and h ik in g and b a ck p ack in g in summex. I a l s o en jo y K eading, p h o to gKaphy and m ovies .

OM, 43, liv eA in C hicago, A eeks GM daddy/f a t h e x . P x efex Aomeone o ld en and w illin g to aAAume K o le 0|$ a f a thex ok bxothex aA I ’ ve K ec en tly loA t my fa th e x and th n ee bKotheKA w ith in two yeaKA and am in need oft AuppoKt and sh a x in g .

1 w i l l be g la d t o coxxeApond w ith you m eet you. My in tex estA in c lu d e c l a s s i c a l and pop muAic, c o o k in g , s a f e Aex, maAAage, and juA t a bo u t anything elA e. I p u b l li h a K ellglouA o x le n te d gay n e w s le tte x and en jo y coKAeAponding w ith otheA gay men.

to l e t me oK ganlze Auch a cAew. Ok a t le a A t, we co u ld have a la K g e ly gay mixed ctew . Anyone In te x eA te d , ok even juA t cuAiouA I a w elcom e to WKlte to me. I t iA n 't a jo b foK evexyon e, bu t i t hax made i t p o s s i b l e foK A evexal o f ua to have faxmA, and t h e money t o do what we want to w ith them w h ile gKeening t h e Eaxth and h e a lin g a few o f t h e acoka l e f t by oua m achine a g e .

VeaK RFV, 1 am w a itin g t o xemind / a c q u a in t you a l l w ith t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f making good money In a AhoKt tim e w h ile Kemalning in KuKal aneaA and In an enviAonment AuppoKtlve o f oua g ay ­ neAA. I am t a lk in g a b o u t tA ee p l a n t ­ ing oa a AeoAonal winteK j o b . I have done i t foK t h e l a s t fouA winteKA veAy p K o fit a b ly , and s e v e x a l otheA gay men have been on t h e CAew oveA t h e laA t thA ee AeaAonA. LaAt yeaA theA e weAe Aix o f ua on a CAew o f 12-15, and we wexe g en eK o lly t h e haadeA t woKkeAA and hlgheA t eaAneAA, ao theAe waA no a n t i- g a y fK lc t lo n .

The woKk i t A e l f I a l i k e any diA ty, hand a g K lcu ltu K al woKk, a l l done by hand in fo x e s t AiteA w hich have been c l e a t - c u t . The pay I a piecew oKk (b o A ic a lly 3<f a tA e e), ao haAd woKk, i n t e l l i g e n c e and e f f i c i e n c y p la y a majoK paKt in how w e ll ea ch planteA doeA. An e x p e x ie n c e d plan teA can e x p e c t $75 - $100 p e t day, and aometimeA even b e tte K . We woKk a bo u t a fouK month AeaAon [V ec.-M atch ), ao we tx y to g e t in Aix days woKk peK w eek, w eathex peK m itln g. A ll th e woKk I am fa m ilia x w ith goeA on in th e AoutheaAteKn AtateA [V ix g in ia to TexaA), and a cAew muAt be m obile w ith each p lan teA having h is /h e x own v eh icle/ca m p eK o f Aome AOKt. I f theA e weKe enough o f ua in tex eA ted we co u ld have oua own a l l - g a y {h o p e­ f u l l y men and women) CAew; th e com­ pany I have woKked fo x hoi o ff e x c d

I would l i k e to heax fKom o th ex fa x meXA, p a x t ic u la x ly thoA e neax enough foK an o cca A lo n a l viA-it, but othexA oa w e ll .

I oIao would L ik e t o heax fKom thoA e w ith KuKal. beginningA ok lon g in g s and otheXA w ith common i n texeA tA .

Rod v0 Box 353, StockyaxdA S ta tio n S t . JoA eph, MO 64504

S eek in g a man t o Ahaxe my countxy L i f e w ith . A m ascu lin e guy who en ­ jo y s bein g h e ld a l l n ig h t, g e ttin g d a il y houA-long moAAageA, u n lim ited klAAlng by a f a i t h f u l lo v e x . Outwaxd a p p ea x an ce: 27 yeaxA o f a g e, 5' l l " , 1604, bxown h a ix and e y e s , la x g e weAtexn mouAtache. C onsldexed maA­ c u lin e , g e n t le and lo v in g .

Only Aome o f my IntexeA tA : lon g walkA In th e woodA, claA A lcal muAic, A ittin g axound a wood A tove, en jo y in g a Aimple l i f e A t y l e , w ith fKeedom o f t h e mind. Futuxe planA in c lu d e b u ild in g a Amall l o g home. R aised in Oklahoma, L iv ed in Tahoe/Nevada mountalnA, Kuxal Maine, now tem poxaK ily in B K itish Columbia, Canada t i l l Vec. 85 whexe I am doing In depen den t con A txu ctlon woKk [p a in tin g , a l l typeA o f home fin is h in g ) and at a x i ­ ing on a wood buxning h o t tu b soon .

I'm Keady t o t a c k l e j u s t a b o u t any a x ea o f t h e coun txy. Thanks fo x Keading t h i s . Wishing you t h e b e s t o f h e a lt h , w e a lth , and h a p p in ess .

G xari Sowexy PO Box 36 S t i l lw a t e x , 0K

74076

S ir , I j u s t r e c e n t l y r e a d on e o f your m agazines f o r t h e f i r s t tim e . I d id n 't r e a l i z e t h e r e w ere so many b a c k - t o - l a n d 'e r Gays In to d a y 'a s o c i e t y . I t ' 6 n ic e t o know I'm not aj> un ique a s o r i g i n a l l y th o u g h t.

I ’v e been L iv in g In t h e b a c k - t o - b a s i c s mode h e r e In t h e E ast Texas, backwoods, fo r s i x y ea rs now and w ouldn’ t L iv e any way on anywhere e l s e . The p e o p le h er e one m m , r e c e p t i v e , and [to a p o in t ) t o l e r a n t o f " d iffe r e n t " p e o ­ p le .

I s t a r t e d o u t my L i f e h er e by liv in g In a t e n t f o r f i v e months and b u i ld ­ ing a n a tiv e lo g and n ock hou se on my ten acn es,. L a st yean I s o l d t h a t house and f i v e a cn es and p a id o f f a l l my b i l l s and t h e nem alnlng f i v e acn es I s now my home. I b u i l t a m odest home on I t o u t o f r e c y c l e d m aten lals [fa n l e s s than $300).

Most of, my en en g les went to my f I n s t lo v e , g a rd en in g . I managed t o b u ild up th e s o i l during t h e p a s t yean, so t h a t I had a " fa ir " h a n v est o f f t h e ganden. I have my own p e r s o n a l stn aln s o f conn, to m a to e s, and squ ash t h a t I d e v e lo p e d dunlng t h e pn ecedln g ganden yeans h en e. The p la n ts one mone t o le n a n t to a dven se w eathen co n d itio n s and I n s e c t s than " sto n ebought" p la n t s , as w e ll as mone pnod u c tlv e .

a n c e s tr y , se m i-lo n g h a ir , trim beand, a v ery s lim , L ith e , h o m y body a c ­ custom ed t o running, yoga, and a lo n g -tim e v e g e ta r ia n d i e t . Some o^ my f a v o r i t e th in g s a r e sunbeams, g n a rled o ld t r e e s , r o c k s , r i v u l e t s , palm s, fe r n s , f u l l moons, wind ch im es, fr e s h f i g s , S h e lly , Haiku, S u fi r i t u a l , Zen p r a c t i c e , P a le o ­ l i t h i c paganism , ra k u , r e c o r d e r , c a n d le s , In c e n s e , A fro-A m erican dan ce r e l e a s e , s a c r e d s p a c e , m assage, and k a le id o s c o p e s o f w ild flo w e r s .

S e x u a lly v e r s a t i l e , I am m ost drawn t o le a n , lan ky p h y s iq u e s , b e a r d s, Roman n o se s, and big e a r s . My con ­ c e r n f o r h e a lt h and need fo r w h o lest i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s and em otion al su p ­ p o r t k eep me from throw ing m y self upon t h e a l t a r o f t h e Cock as a s a c r i f i c i a l an im al. N urturing, r e v e r e n c e , t r u s t , I n s p ir a t io n , and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a r e my s c o n e fon making music t o g e t h e r .

I am a 42-y e a r o ld GUM w ith broion h a ir , w eigh 145 l b s . , am 5'9" In h e ig h t, and am d i s a b l e d .

1 ivould L ik e to h ear from a n o th er d is a b l e d GWM. I had a mining a c c i ­ d en t fo u r y ea rs ago. I t l e f t me w ith a sm a ll lim p and a p e n ia l p r o s t h e s i s .

I L iv e In a sm a ll town In th e N orth­ w e st. My h o b b les a r e my home, m usic, a u to m o b ile s , t r a v e l and d o g s.

S i l l o f Idaho c / o RFV

CIRCLCv

I s e a r c h f o r a s p e c i a l companion as a sperm b r o th e r f o r a jou rn ey In to t h e h e a r t, and fon my n ex t pan t In t h i s Cosmic L ig h t show. I w i l l m e d ita te on t h e d i f f e r e n t sh a d es o f c h l o r p h y ll g reen u n t il I r e c e i v e your m essage.

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S p r r l a l focus on W i c c a n , N e o - P a g a n , 4 S h a ma n i c v a y i .

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P u b l i j l j r d $ u a r t r r l | f by C i r c l e , a n o n - p r o f i t i n t e r n a t i o n a l mag lck al r e s o u r c e c e n t e r ,

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P.O.BOX 219 m e. houeu,

I'm I n t e n e s t e d In heanlng from any o th er gays t h a t on e In to my ty p e o f L i f e s t y l e and w illin g to shon e knowledge and s e e d s o f f my p la n t s .

AnnoId A h ls te d t Rt. 2 Box 765-A J e f f e r s o n , TX 75657

'l e s s l n g s , Falny B nothens, 'Xiy pnlm al e x p e r ie n c e cum thnu us ‘laked p e r c e p t io n , s e n s u a l 6 ex tn a se n s u a l Lmengence thnu cn ack In s o c i e t y In to th e Cosmic R e a lit y Peyond th e c i t y w a lls ”eyond even human nealm s And In to t h e common s o u l of, bn othenhood Two jounneys began fon me In th e Anczona d e s e n t: P h y s ic a l Taurean o lr t h , 1950, and Falny Awakening, [979. Yeans as a w ild c h i l d In th e Oklahoma h i l l s , and yeans 0|$ tn a n sform ation In and o u t o f Texas fin d me p r a c t ic in g la n d sc a p e d es ig n hene i t p n e se n t. My focu s now I s moving to a w oodland haven an houn fnom t h e c i t y w ith in t h e n ex t two y e a n s .

1 have C e l t i c and American In dian

uji

53572 U.S.X.

H ello o u t t h e r e , My name I s M ich ael, a QdM, 35, 5'8", 145 l b s . w ith h a z e l e y e s , brown h a ir and b e a r d . I'm In to w ide open s p a c e s , h e a lt h fo o d , o ld c a r s , a n tiq u e s , swap m eets, c a t s , m ovies, good m usic, and d an cin g , but m ost o f a l l , good p e o p le who a r e n ’ t a f r a i d t o show t h e i r f e e l ­ in g s ; who have a good s e n s e o f humor and d o n 't t a k e L i f e to o s e r i o u s l y .

I d o n 't do drugs o r sm oke. I L ik e g e ttin g h ig h on t h e r e a l th in g s in L i f e and t r y t o en jo y t h e p o s i t i v e th in g s L i f e g iv e s me. I'm a s e l f em ployed au to m echanic. I'm a ls o In to a l t e r n a t i v e en ergy sy stem s.

I L iv e In a c o n v er ted 1951 Chevy s c h o o l bus I b u i l t a b o u t 7 yea rs a g o. I lo v e my tr a v e lin g home, and would lo v e to h ea r from o t h e r s o f s i m il a r I n t e r e s t s .

P eace and Love, M ichael Cohen 4865 N. La Canada Tucson, AZ 85704

.. . for living gay N B N *N o Bad N o w i* a d ivisio n o f The Reading Pobl»*hjHg Com pany

PO Bax <706. F ield Station SI lo u is , M O M1QB 314*513*3770

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and f a i r y r i t u a l s . S u b je c ts can i n ­ c lu d e : c o o k in g , dan cin g, ch a n tin g , doing a r t s 6 c r a f t s , p la y in g m usic, m ilkin g a g o a t, g a rd en in g , a c tin g c r a z y , o r j u s t b e in g .

Upon rea d in g t h i s l e t t e r , 1 w i l l have. r e c e i v e d PFD for 1 one y ea r. I am co m p e lled to w r it e fo r two r e a s o n s : 1] I s e e k a s p e c i a l companion, 2] T have had no A pccess w ith my e f f o r t s In resp on d in g to o t h e r ' s c o n ta c t letter s.

7 r e g a r d to t h e se co n d , 7 have s e n t l e t t e r s to two b r o th e r s who a d v e r ­ t i s e d . A seco n d l e t t e r was t e n t In my f i r s t a tte m p t. 7 d id not r e c e i v e enough r e s p o n s e to know i f th e y weAe s t i l l s h a rin g In oua e a r t h ly c e l e ­ b r a t io n , o r had p a s s e d beyond t h e a b i l i t y to c o rre sp o n d . 7 m u ld sa y to a l l making su bm ission s to t h i s s e c t i o n , PLEASE be re a d y to re tu r n a th ou g h t to one who r e a c h e s o u t to somewne who has r e a c h e d o u t: namely yours e l f .

7(J t h a t w hich you w rote fo r has alA eady been r e a l i z e d , a p o s tc a r d o& acknow ledgem ent and a (5ew chosen wordA i& S u f f i c i e n t .

Does iX t a k e ao much?

My f i r s t reaAon iA by f a r the d e a r e r to me. 7 am queA ting a f t e r t h e t r u t f la in l i f e : a tru e way o(( l i f e .

7 6el i e v e i t to be c o n n ected to a n o th e r , oa 7 have n ot found i t on my own.

I t w i l l moa t l i k e l y be in a cou n try environm ent (th e c i t y abuACA m e], though my r u r a l expoAure iA l im i t e d .

I have a g r e a t d e a l to le a r n from t h a t one who iA w illin g to te a c h .

1 am 26 y ea rr o ld , s l i g h t l y younger in lookA , o ld e r in th o u g h t. I'm p le a s a n t lo o k in g w ith m ainly S i c i l ­ ia n h e r it a g e .

7 have a medium-Amall bu t Atrong body. 7 am i n t e l l i g e n t , fu n -lo v in g , and honeAt. I en jo y re a d in g , muAic., ch a llen g eA , d ls c o v ery .

7 need good, c l e a r , b la c k 8 w h ite ph otos ( w ill c o n s id e r c o l o r , t o o ] , any s i z e . Send a s many oa you wiAh, but pleaA e in c lu d e a SASE f o r re tu r n .

AIa o , 7 w i l l n eed th e p h o to g ra p h er 's name, d a t e , p la c e , e t c . f o r c r e d i t in th e b o o k. Payment: a copy o f t h e pub­ l i s h e d bo o k. D eadlin e f o r s u b m is s io n s : Jan u ary 1, 1986 o r th e r e a b o u ts .

So c'm on .. . s t a r t goin g throu gh your o ld p hoto albums and s e e what you can fin d . Or, you m ight want t o t a k e some new p i c t u r e s . Won't you p l e a s e h e lp me document t h e f a i r y movement? This i s j u s t as much YOUR book as i t i s m ine. L e t's c o - l a b o r - a t e !

In c e l e b r a t i o n and l o v e , J o e Lawrence Lembo PO Box 640444 San F r a n c isc o , CA 94164

A Quarterly Forum For Nurturing Men

“One of the most vital sources of both informa­ tion and substantive per­ spectives for anyone con­ cerned with men's chang­ ing roles. ” Or. Joseph H. Pleck W ellesley C o lle g e Center fo r R esearch on Women

1985 Subscription $15.00 24 pages per issue.

187 Caselli Avenue #A San Francisco, CA 94114 415-861-0847 David L Glveans,

Editor

B ro th ers, I am a 33- y ea r o ld f a i r y now read y fo r my l i f e - m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p .

7 am a ls o lo o k in g f o r new f r i e n d s h i p s .

7 lo v e d i v e r s i t y (a g e, r a c e , i n t e r ­ e s t s , c u lt u r a l backgrou n d ) and s e e k a b r o t h e r who s h a r e s some o f my own t r a i t s : h e a lth y and high en ergy, s i n ­ c e r e , tru stw o rth y , fe m in is t, a f f i r ­ m ation-m aking, s e l f - l o v i n g .

7 lo o k forw ard to r e c e iv in g and r e ­ sponding t o your co rre sp o n d e n c e.

P r a is e t h e G oddess.

C en tra l C a lifo r n ia d o RFV

9~1nc W ise W om an , A n a t i o n a l J our na o f F a a i n l a t W i t c h c r a f t and ( ' Goddess l o r e . A r t l c l a a , ( f e m i n i s t i s s u e s , p s y ch i c I development. Pagan a r t and ' , p o e t r y , son gs, h e r t s .

I JS yr . ( s e t t l e : 12). | 'THE WISE , 2441 Cordova S t . lOahland, CA 94602 .

7 am lo o k in g f o r one A in cere reAponAe. Any r e c e i v e d m ail w i l l be anA ered.

WQKAA — ------------------- 1

P u rpoA efu llg, M. JoAeph W hitney S W. Avenue 42 Mt. WaAhington, CA

NURTURING NEWS

90065

’’’e a r fu iru m en : I'm c u r r e n tly ivorking on a book p r o ­ j e c t c a l l e d FAIHYMEN, USA: A Photo lAAay o f th e F a iry Movement o f the 1980' a . The ourvoAt o f th e book iA to show th a t " f a i r i e s r e a l t y do exiA t" and a r e w o n d erfu l, lo v in g , human b e ­ in g s .

I w on't be a b l e to t r a v e l a l t o v er th e U.S. to a t te n d a l l th e g a th erin g s o r to m eet you i n d iv id u a lly . S o, 7'm a sk in g you t o sen d in your p h o tos o f p a s t g a th e r in g s or j u s t Semple p h otos ta k en a t home. The book w i l l c o v e r : F airieA a t home, a t p la y , a t w ork,

I'm a 2 7 -y ear o ld w h ite m ale and I'm a m a c r o b io tic v e g e ta r ia n .

7 e a t g r a in s , bean s, l o c a l and in s e a s o n v e g e t a b le s and f r u i t s .

I fin d t h i s d i e t b a la n c e s my body and mind and k eep s me in tune w ith my su rrou nding n a tu r a l environm ent.

I pursue s p i r i t u a l id e a s and r e a l i ­ t i e s and 7 en fo y t a r o t , w r itin g , r e a d in g , c o o k in g , c r a f t s and m usic.

7 c u r r e n t ly l i v e and work a t a ma­ c r o b i o t i c stu d y c e n t e r and r e s t a u ­ r a n t in so u th ern C a lifo r n ia and have y e t to m eet o th e r m a c r o b io tic gay men in t h i s a r e a o r e ls e w h e r e .

Anyone o u t t h e r e ? W rite: S c o t t Humphries 3504 Ray S t.

San D iego, CA 92104

H j'ay an W tccat am ?

HAcn>sUf{py' jY cw s ■T^hevPs ■Z V b a fts f~ar~pxms • a n ? m are-

3 9 /6 Jssues ? 0 J>

9

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S ^ n j o s c C a 95157 U f-A -

c h ec k in ' o u t t h e a i r c u r r e n ts , p r e ­ parin g to f l y __ I £oue you a l l .

I'm s t i l l open t o h ea rin g from new f r i e n d s . Maybe a l o v e w i l l s o a r . [see letter in #43, page 77]

In p e a c e ,

G en tle P eo p le,

T revor PO Box 117 B r l d g e v i ll e , CA

95526

Monterey Bay a r e a p o t e n t i a l fa r m e tte s e e k s con tact. w ith i n t e r e s t e d I n d i ­ vidual!! on. c o u p les f o r p o s s i b l e p a r tn e r s h ip . Sunny, w ith w a ter and view s, r u r a l bu t c l o s e t o c i t i e s , 90 m iles so u th o f San F n an eisco.

Weed* g arden in g e n t h u s ia s t re a d y to make p e r s o n a l and f i n a n c i a l commit­ ment. Must b e tr u s tin g and t r u s t ­ w orthy, f i n a n c i a l l y s t a b l e , en jo y sim p le l i v i n g . Some c o n s tr u c tio n and fanning e x p e r ie n c e and t o o l s d e s ir a b le .

1734 NE H alsey P ortla n d , OR 97232

G e n tlefo lk :

Vear RFV••

I'd l i k e v ery much t o get. some view cards o f VA and WV. In a d d it io n to t h is hobby, I en jo y making f r ie n d s , photography, and am p a r t i c u l a r l y in te r s t e d and in v o lv e d in B lu egrass mu4-cc. Any o t h e r B lu eg ra ss lo v e r s out th er e? P le a s e w r it e . We’ d have much to w r it e a b o u t.

I c u r r e n tly l i v e in a sm a ll C a l i f o r ­ nia c o a s t a l town. Am a s i n g l e w h ite m ale, t a l l and t h in , d a rk h a ir and blu e ey e s, and [ugh!) SO, though I do lo o k younger. Would welcom e ca rd s and l e t t e r s and your f r i e n d ­ s h ip v ia l e t t e r s . W ill answ er a l l m ail, i f i r e c e i v e a g r e a t d e a l, i t may t a k e a l i t t l e lo n g e r , but don’ t g iv e up on me.

S in c e r e B est W ishes,

I l i v e in a b e a u t if u l canyon on th e ed g e o f t h e W illla m e tte N ation al Foo.e4*, 30 m iles from th e s t a t e ' s c a p ito l.

Owning a sm a ll c o t t a g e on 1/ 4 - a c r e , I r e t i r e d e a r l y to r e tu r n t o th e q u i e t o f t h e c o u n tr y s id e on a tin y in com e. I grow much o f my own food, o r c o l l e c t from com m ercial farms in t h e v a lle y - p e a c h e s , c h e r r i e s , p e a r s , e t c . f o r canning or fr e e z in g .

Having w orked in F lo r id a , th e Baha­ mas and Las Vegas, h ik e d , camped, b i c y c l e d , youth h o s t e l l e d in Europe, I le a r n e d some o f t h e c u lt u r a l ways.

So, I en jo y t h e a t e r , b a l l e t , d an ce, c o n c e r t s , d ocu m en taries from PBS, which c a b l e TV brin gs to me w h ils t I en jo y my lo g f i r e .

U ntil r e c e n t ly I had a 4- y e a r r e l a ­ t io n s h ip w ith a young a r t i s t who has moved on. I would l i k e to s h a r e my home w ith som eone o f any a g e who i s i n t e r e s t e d in cou n try l i v i n g , en joy s th e a r t s , and i s lo v in g and c a r in g .

No d ru gs, drunks or ferns. I'm 57, v er y h e a lt h y , 5'S 1/2", 165 l b s . , and en jo y th e c lo s e n e s s and com puta­ b i l i t y t h a t comes w ith a on e-on -on e r e la tio n s h ip .

R obert Vennison o f C a lifo r n ia c /o RFV

T here a r e u s u a lly a few v a c a n c ie s in v a rio u s kin ds o f j o b s , but tr a n s p o r ­ ta tio n i s n ecessary .

h e l l o Out T here A g a in ...

A lso, I ' d l i k e t o h ea r from r e a d e r s o f RFV liv i n g in t h e a r e a . I alw ays w elcom e v i s i t o r s .

I'd l i k e to than k ev ery o n e f o r w r itir g me. The cou n t i s som ewhere near t h i r t y a s o f t h i s w r itin g . How h e a l ­ ing i t ' s been ! I f e e l l i k e my wing i s n e a r ly m e n d e d ...l'm p e r c h e d h igh,

I l i k e a mountain a r e a , even A laska o r C olorado, bu t anywhere w i l l s u r e ly do i f t h e p erso n i s n ic e lo o k in g , has a home and wants som eone to c a r e fo r I t , do h is c o o k in g , k eep t h e yard lo o k in g n ic e , e t c . I'm not a fr a x d o f hard w ork.

Ron

Monterey Bay c /o RFV

I'd l i k e v ery much t o h ea r from some o f your RFV r e a d e r s in V irg in ia and West V irg in ia . I have l i v e d in t h e B risto l-M a rio n , VA a r e a and l i k e d i t very much t h e r e . Would e s p e c i a l l y l i k e to h ea r from anyone in t h a t g en ­ e r a l r e g io n o f V ir g in ia . E v en tu ally I ' l l be moving back t h a t way t o l i v e .

I urn born and grew up in th e coun­ try and p r e f e r i t o v er urban a r e a s .

I l i k e doing chores like fe e d in g t h e c h ic k e n s and g e e s e . Not lo o k in g f o r any w ild s t u f f ; j u s t down to e a r th .

I am s e e k in g a man who a p p re.c la tes a good bottom among o th e r th in g s .

I'm n o t a "hippy".

I ’ m s a f e , c le a n , a good h o u se k e ep er , and s e e k t h e co m fo rts o f a r u r a l h o m e - life . I w i l l do my p a r t .

I f you a r e a b l e and w illin g t o s e r i ­ o u sly c o n s id e r la n d ow n ership w ith t h e s e n s e o f bein g a "stew ard o f t h e earth" I' d l o v e to h ea r from you.

Dear F rien d s,

r 'm a s i n g l e gentlem an lo o k in g fo r a p l a c e to c a l l "home". I'm a nonsm oker, n o n -d rin ker and p r e t t y w e ll mannered.

Rod B arker Rt. 1 Box 104-3 Lyons, OR 9735S (503) S97-2S06

I am new to S e a t t l e , th e P a c ific North w est and to your p u b lic a t io n . A ll seem t o a g r e e w ith me q u ite w e ll .

J am a b la c k fe l lo w w ith a s p ir a t io n s in th e w r itin g t r a d e . My ex p erien ce, and ed u ca tio n a r e s u it a b l y v a r ie d . I am 40 y ea rs o ld , 145 lbs., and 5'7". 1 am an unem ployed l i b r a r i a n .

I would l i k e to make some good fr ie n d s in t h i s a r e a o f th e cou n try and in Canada, in o r around B r i t is h Colum bia.

I l i k e h e a r ty r o b u s t guys who a r e down t o - e a r t h , broadm inded, kin d o f i n t e l ­ l e c t u a l , and ea sy t o be w ith .

I'd l i k e t o m eet o r w r it e t o some o f th o s e f o r lon g term fr ie n d s h ip t h a t would make e x p e r ie n c e r i c h and m em orable.

1 am r e a l l y i n t e r e s t e d in auus abou t my a g e w ith stro n g q u a l i t i e s --g o o d so rts.

I t a ls o o ccu rs to me to a sk f o r i n ­ form a tion on any F a e r ie G atherin gs in t h i s a r e a .

Vour fr ie n d , C. 0. Gray o f S e a t t l e c/o RFV

M atii'i gay/b i/leib ian co m m u n ity o rg an izatio n '! m o n th ly n ew d etler available (or S 5 , or m o te , in elu d e! 12 m on th ly ii !u e ! mailed in plain enev elo pe!

Mailing lilt kept ilrictly confidential Send check or m o n ey order to B oth Side! N ow . PO B ox 5tM 2.

K ahului. M aui, l i t 9 6 7 3 7

NAME------------------ADDRESS

H ello ,

Eve/t s e e a Mountain /-fan? He would Stand ouX in any crowd, but mountain men don ’ t t i k e crow ds.

Som etim e a you’ l l s e e a few a t t h e coun ty f a i r , on in t o m on a Saturday doing tome Atone ch oppin g. On, b u ild in g a hewn lo g fe n c e t h a t no one e l s e has th e s k i l l f o r doing anymone.

M ostly, th ey Atay in t h e mountainA th e y l o v e .

I know 'cauAe I'm a moun­ t a in man. The c o o l AtneamA w ith tn o u t fis h in g and p le n ty o f game one a j o y t o thiA kin d o f man. A l i f e w ith th e sounds oft wend en tn e t n e e t and anim al noiAeA iA much more p le a Aant and k in d er to th e ea rs than r a d io on TV. We one money poon w ith no j o b s , but *hen thene'A no b itlA on a boAA, e i t h e n . We do ohat we can each day in th e ganden, and naiAe oun chicken A .

MoAt o f the tim e we don’ t wean c l o t h e s unleAA th e w eathen (/Jive f u l l monthA 0/5 4«0w the winten o f 1984-85! makeA uA p a t aome on to k eep wanm.

MoaI 0/5 th e tim e we one a lo n e . But when oun mountain fr ie n d s come to v i A it thene'A alw ays a g n ea t Ahoning 0/5 /5ood, s t o r i e s , newA, and neu> wayA w e've /5ound to co p e w ith f r o n t i e r lit* .

I came hene a lo n e to t h i s h i l l a bo v e th e v i l l a g e . Rays o/5 morning Aun c a tc h th e to p s o 5 v o lc a n o es a c r o s s th e bay. Someone s e t th e dump on /5i n e . T here ane many e a g le s and raven s in th e s k y . I can h ea r /5an 0/5/5 salmon lumping and t h e hum o/5 g e n e r a to r s on a Ja p a n ese tnampen outbound in t h e ch an n el and fis h in g b o a ts retu rn in g to t h e steam ing canneny. The wind i s m ild and warm.

I can s e n s e t h a t som ebody i s ou t t h e r e lo o k in g fo r me t o o . This tim e 1 want t o l o v e him and h o ld h is lo n g ­ in g s and h a p p in ess . I d o n 't know what I want. I want him t o come.

I am a 3 0 -y ea r o ld m ascu lin e gay m ale, 6' t a l l , 138*. I have a 30" w a is t and I cu t my h a ir in a mohawk l a s t month. I l i v e w ith my 9-yean o ld son in t h e A leu tia n Is la n d s . I'm an a n i i s t . I p a in t, s c u l p t in wood and bone, I make e tc h in g s , w eave g ra ss b a s k e t s , and d e s ig n mummys and iew e lny. I s k i .

F ish /5nom a kay ak.

Smoke salmon and make w ine. I have good fr ie n d s and community, and h e 's not h e r e .

I l i k e ja z z and c l a s s i c a l m u sic. I r e a d . My g o a ls ane to s e e a s p a c e s h u t t l e la u n ch . To w alk a c r o s s T exas. Live in some o th e r p la c e f o r a w h ile . Someday.

I would l i k e to g iv e you my a d d ress and i n v i t e you to drop me a l i n e .

I'm h o n es t and h o m y as a b i l l y g o a t.

Mike Rasmussen G en eral D eliv ery U nalaska, AK 99685

1) "The b e s t l o v e r s a r e f r i e n d s , and th e b e s t fr ie n d s a r e l o v e r s " , o r would you p r e f e r " t r ic k s w ere a p le a s u r e , bu t r e a l m agic d oes b e t t e r . " No more p ro m is cu ity /5o r t h i s k id ; I have b e ­ gun The G reat S earch /5or a l a s t in g 5u l l - t im e r e l a t i o n s h i p . R equirem ents a r e hard to d e f i n e : I'm lo o k in g /5or an in d iv id u a l, n ot an "item ". Vou can g e t some i d e a from my own s e l l 5 d e s c r i p t i o n - I ' d p r e f e r som eone un­ d e r 39, do l i k e slim men, but p r e ­ fe r e n c e s a r e n ' t re q u ir em en ts .

2) Oh y e s , I to o want t o l i v e on a commune in t h e cou n try (t h o , f o r e s t , p l e a s e ) , p r o b a b ly in Canada o r in I r e la n d . Not t o t a l l y gay bu t w ith a mix o f gay, s t r a i g h t , b is e x u a l.

Not c o m p le te ly C e l t i c "pagan", but w ith c o m p a tib le , b a s ic a p p ro ach es in common.

R e p lie s n eed n ot be l im i t e d t o th e a b o v e, I l i k e g e t t in g m ail from i n ­ t e r e s t i n g p e o p le , to o ! May t h e gods guard and g u id e you.

Sean 805-85 W e lle s le y E ast T oron to, O nt., Canada M4V 1H8

Dear S i r s , I am a Sw edish lan gu age t e a c h e r , 21 y ea rs o ld , who i s lo o k in g f o r tem ­ p o ra ry employment in t h e U.S. o r in Canada in t h e sp rin g and summer o f 1986. I have been te a c h in g E n g lish and French f o r t h r e e y e a r s , but s in c e I ’ ve n ot y e t se e n North Am erica, I would l i k e t o t a k e a b rea k and work f o r s i x months to r e a l l y g e t to know your way o f l i f e .

I t ' a alwaijA good to have /5r ie n d s come. Hot a l l o /5 oun v i s i t o r s a re mountain men; Aome one Indiana on lo g g e r s on cowboy f r i e n d s .

1 Apeak E n g lish , French, S p a n ish , and Sw edish, and I a ls o have a f a i r know ledge o f German as w e ll as a b i t o f P o lis h .

We en jo y a honing oun home gnown v e ­ g e t a b l e s and f r e s h eggA, 'terns o/J tn ade hene in the N orthw est. In the mountainA hene, oun lan d iA to o nocky /5on fan n in g, but down near oun niven A ectio n in a good ganden Apot whene we have r a i s e d bedA and n ic h A oil th a t we k eep h e a lth y and a l i v e thnough co m p o stin g .

AH. jo b s a r e o f i n t e r e s t t o me: te a c h in g , work in a h o t e l o r in a b a r, work in a h o u seh old , e t c . I am a ls o i n t e r e s t e d in knowing a bo u t accom m odation. I f you th in k you have som ething f o r me, don ’ t h e s i ­ t a t e t o w r it e :

.. L JL la Oun dayA ane lon g and Alow, eA p e c c o l­ l y in th e good o l e summertime. In th e winten AnowA, oun lo d g e iA Anug and wanm wi th a wood ^i n e .

Mountain men ane mOAcuiine and l i k e the same k in d t o p a r tn e r up w ith . I gucaa thene a*te many kin ds o <5 homo­ sex u a l men, but I auwe l i k e bein g a mountain man.

I f y o u 're a mountain man and en jo y oun kin d oft l i f e and want t o w r ite to u s, you sune can . I t would be good t o sh a re s t o r i e s and experten ceA w ith o th e r men l iv in g in th e mountain,,s o ^ oun lan d.

L i t t l e Rig Sear PC) Box 497 Kel-ten, WA 99140-0236

Learning and Working c / o RFD

PeaA RFD R eaders, Two reason s I'm w r itin g t h i s • one prim ary and im m ediate, t h e secon d fo r th e fu tu r e .

I'm a gay m ale, 36, s lim and h e a lth c o n s c io u s . Though, it5 b e a u t if u l men a r e " a n g els" , then in keep in g 'with winged b e in g s, I'm /5an c l o s e r (th e n ot c o m p le te ly !) a g a r g o y le .

[Do I g e t e x tr a p o in ts f o r honesty?) I'm p o l i t i c a l l u "Green", but n ot o v e r t l y p o l i t i c a l ; in to sim p le te,ch [ r a d io s : y es; m ega-com puters.* naj; and " s e r i ­ ou sly" [ i . e . p l a y f u l l y but v ery s i n ­ c e r e l y ) in to a n c ie n * C e l t i c mytho­ p o e t i c r e a l i t y [I e d i t a quarterly jo u rn a l on th e p sy ch o lo g y o f a l t e r ­ n a te r e a l i t i e s and C e l t i c p oetr. 14-a.ndn atu re m agic, p a r t i a f> y in the o r i g i ­ nal I r i s h ) . So:

r e a r gay fr ie n d s , I am w ishing f o r c o n t a c t w ith gay [rien d s betw een a g e 28 - 35 who a r e n ic e lo o k in g . P le a s e w r ite and sen d a p h o to . “r . A nirut Saesia PC Box 58 Hatyai Songkhla 90110 S. T hailan d

Aii-cotten Hanes T-shirts.

Lavendar lettering spans blackink drawings. Recursive theme. Available in s,m,l,xl.

star route?

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An Eminent Erection

the circle binds us together; it is the only time at the gatherings that we all touch and share at once. The Cir­ cles just don't get off the ground during rainy weather.

A permanent structure would allow us to have circles and workshops despite the weather.

It seems that it has been discussed for years and brought up during circles at Running Water gatherings by Ron Lambe. "aving it mentioned was about all that ever happened with the idea of constructing a permanent structure at Running ''ater which could provide shelter for gatherings and work­ shops. The ball finally started rolling this past Summer Solstice Gathering at Running Water when enough energy and enthusiasm came together to not only bring the topic up 'again), but to generate a serious discussion about the building as well as a sizeable amount of money in donations and pledges to be used for its construction!

There seemed to be an understanding and agreement on the need for such a structure at Running Water, which has been host to gatherings since 1978. At present, it has only one small house which serves as a focal point on the pro­ perty. This house serves as home for Ron Lambe, frequent visitors, and for the production of RFD. During the gatherings, the house and porch fill up with people and food. The kitchen is the most frequented spot; it is from here that all those glorious meals seem to magically appear. The old house is really much too small to hold crowds of people. A permanent structure would take the center of activity elsewhere and free up the house.

During rainy weather, more people gravitate towards the house. It is impossible to hold workshops or circles in the tight space. The circles are a vital part of the gatherings; they provide for communicating and sharing as well as structuring our gatherings. Host importantly,

Some plans for the structure have been submitted for con­ sideration. The basic plans are for an octogonal room large enough for a circle. It will be a simple pavillion­ like structure, open on the sides. It will probably have a porch and will be designed to allow for the future development of a loft sleeping space and the addition of a kitchen. There is the possibility that the structure could be enclosed for use in cold weather. Basic plans have been drawn up, and estimates on material costs are being made.

Fund raising got off to a good start at the Summer Sol­ stice Gathering. Close to $2,000 was pledged or donated Dy about 25 men. This is an encouraging beginning! A fund raising committee was formed to continue efforts to secure enough money to see the completion of the struc­ ture.

More details should come out with the next issue of RFD. More discussion will be held at the Fall EquTnox Gather­ ing at Running Water on Sept. 20-22. In the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions, or wish to make a donation, please write to: Running Water Erection Fund, P0 Box 964, Charlottesville, VA 22902. Any checks should be made payable to Running Water. — —

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Sample copies (current issue when available) are M. 25 (post-paid). Back ’ Issues are S3.50 unless they are over 12 months old. Anything older than that 1s SI.00 each (except those issues we are out of: Is 1, 2, 4, A S 32). Pleast add postage at SI.00 for each five Issues or any portion therof.

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PFD itself is not copyrighted. However, each accredited contribution pub­ lished (photo, drawing, or written material) remains the property of those contributors, and nothing of theirs may be reused in whole or part without their permission. Contributors can be reached through RFD. Any non-creditel mater­ ial may be republished freely. Mention of source would be appreciated.

C O P Y R IG H T

Due dates for submission to receive ful1 consideration are: Winter 1985/6 Issue #45 Feature: "AIDS" Nov. 1, 1985 Spring 1986 Issue #46 Feature: "Dishing" Feb. 1, 1986 Summer 1986 Issue #47 Feature: "Friendships" May 1, 1986 Some material can be used if received after these dates, so try anyway.

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Issues are mailed around the Solstices and Equinoxes, and second class mall can take up to three or four weeks for delivery. If you don't receive your issue within a month of the publishing dates, please check with us. The num­ ber of your last issue is on your mailing label. If you move, please let us know as second class mail ings are not forwarded by the P0; they destroy them, and it costs us about $3 to mail out another copy.

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We publish the names of all contributors, but other than for the contact letters, we generally do not include the addresses. All contributors can be reached through R£D. We will NOT give out the names of subscribers (except where specified by them) to anyone, but we will forward mail to them through this address.

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Please share your knowledge and vision through RFD. This is a reader written journal, so it is YOUR forum. It helps if you can type (double space) your written material, but please do send in your gems even if they are "rough".

RFD prefers to wield the editor's pencil lightly, so please send in your sub­ missions pretty much as you would have them appear. We generally do correct spellings and minor punctuations, so please indicate any intentional varia­ tions from standard English.

Photos: Black and white photos reproduce better than color. If possible, send us an expendable print. If you wish to send us a treasured photo which is the only copy, please indicate this so we can take care of it. We can't use negatives.

Drawings: Again, black and white reproduces better than color. Pencil draw­ ings should be as dark and of as high a contrast as possible. Yellow #2 pencil washes out easily; blues do not print at all.

Occasionally, part of a drawing or photo, or collage of various artists will work well with an article. Please indicate if you wish your artwork to be printed in its entirety only, or if there are any other considerations you wish us to respect.

We try to report as soon as possible on selections, but we sometimes hold material for another issue, and it may be some time before the final decision is made. Please bear with us. You might want to set an expiration date so we'll know how much time we will have. A self-addressed, stamped envelope will insure the return of your originals. Multiple submissions are fine with us.

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Dan Ward

RFD will send contributors two copies of the issue in which their work appears as payment.

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sm all Raphaels sprung up from the ground (all adorned in exquisite flow ing gowns)} and: tied me up and took me to the m iddle o f the earth ( || w here at p a rty was going on ,, and I! was asked to dance every dance by the mas# w onderful and fascinating man there. When; the dance w as over, II hitched ® ride back to m y apartm ent and to o k ® show er.^ — Raphael Sadahhii