Watermark Issue 26.01: Addiction

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2019

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dePartments 7 // PublisHer’s desk

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8 // central florida neWs 10 // tamPa bay neWs

success rates with treatments are about comparable to other chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, things that you have to take care of. recovery is possible. It does require hard work, but life on the other side is so much better.

—DR. JORJa JaMisOn, PHD, LP anD HaZeLDen Betty FORD GRaDUate sCHOOL OF aDDiCtiOn stUDies assOCiate PROFessOR, sPeaKinG aBOUt OveRCOMinG aDDiCtiOn

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CHANCES:

The LGBTQ community, addiction and the road to recovery. Photo by Dylan Todd

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tymisha harris brings legendary entertainer Josephine Baker to the Central Florida stage

Watermark issue 26.01 // January 10 - January 23, 2019

Pose for Pride

eat, drink & be Wary

in tHe navy

timeless tour

PAGE Come Out with Pride partners with InterPride to host first Prides of Southeast conference in Orlando.

PAGE Hamburger Mary’s Tampa alleges homophobia led to closure, mulls reopening.

A Jacksonville sailor recreates an iconic World War II photo with husband after returning from overseas.

John Ambrosino dreams a dream in “Les Miserables” national tour, coming to Tampa’s Straz Center.

read it online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBTQ updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

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LET LOVE DEFINE family.

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contributors

publisher’s

rick Claggett PUBLISHER

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

E

desk

veRytHinG i neeD KnOW aBOUt

drugs I learned from Nancy Reagan. Don’t smoke cigarettes as a kid or you’ll end up a homeless junkie scrounging for next dime bag of crack.

Don’t smoke pot or you’ll end up dead on the street with a needle in your arm. Don’t drink underage or you’ll find yourself pushing everything you own around in a shopping cart, dumpster diving for food and keeping warm with trash can fires.

Of course, she never really said any of these things. All Nancy Reagan really said in her 1980s campaign was “Just Say No.” I completed her slogan with “or else…” myself – given her terrifying stories of cocaine-addicted babies having strokes at one month old. I followed Nancy’s rules growing up, albeit with a few un-inhaled cigarettes in elementary school. I would be offered pot by my cousin from time to time

and I would just say no, I wouldn’t smoke with the drama students in the parking lot during intermission at the high school plays and I would leave every high school party the second a wine cooler was in sight, a Zima was opened or a joint was passed around. I followed the rules until I was an adult and at the legal drinking age of a legal substance, but that didn’t save me from addiction.

Watching Nancy Reagan, coupled with D.A.R.E.’s “To Keep Kids Off Drugs,” helped form my early impression of addiction and addicts. Addicts were awful people.

They lacked self control. Their selfishness ruined their lives and took down people around them.

They were homeless thieves who

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just took from the world and offered nothing in return but pain. In all fairness these drug-free programs may not have intended to paint such a harsh picture, but they certainly seared these images into my young brain. I knew I was not going to be an addict.

As I aged, I gained a distant compassion for addicts.

I was obsessed with the drama of “Intervention,” although still under the misguided belief that these people were in control of their lives and simply making poor choices. Of course I thought they were in control, because I thought I was in control.

At 40, I found myself handcuffed to a wall at the 33rd Street jail.

Although drinking landed me there, I didn’t feel like I was an alcoholic.

I didn’t fit the profile Nancy Reagan talked about. I wasn’t like the people on “Intervention,” clutching mouthwash to keep buzzed. I was functioning, normal. The day after I left 33rd Street I went right to the bar. I figured I needed to jump right back on that horse because I might be too afraid to drink if I waited.

Smart, I know.

The next four months were different. I kept drinking heavily, but I wasn’t enjoying it as much. I would bargain with myself, trying to curb the amount I would drink or the number of days in a week I would go out. All attempts to slow down failed.

I would often find myself sitting in my room at 3 a.m. crying while people were hanging out in my pool.

I was disappointed and ashamed, and that is what kept me from getting help.

Finally, I met some people who helped show me that I had an addiction. They didn’t tell me directly; they showed me by sharing their stories. I could easily see just how much like them I was. These dramatic impressions we are taught as children do more harm than good.

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Addiction isn’t picky. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, a rocket scientist or a high school dropout. Addiction can claim anyone.

In this issue we focus on addiction as best we can in the space allotted.

Each of these brave individuals sharing their experience could easily fill a 300-page autobiography, but hopefully we are able to shed light on the addiction issues that face

all nancy reagan really said in her 1980s campaign was ‘Just say no.’

I completed her slogan with ‘or else…’ myself—given her terrifying stories of cocaine-addicted babies having strokes at one month old. our LGBTQ community. Some of the people are not able to share their full names and faces. This is not because they are ashamed, but because the traditions of the path they chose to improve their lives asks that they don’t reveal their identity.

If you are struggling with addiction, please use the resources in these pages to get help. You will be surprised to see what good company you are in. If you know someone struggling with addiction, encourage them to get help. Let’s do away with the misguided judgement of “Just Say No” and find real solutions.

We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

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is a cohost of Real Radio 104.1’s “News Junkie” program and will kick your ass if she needs to. Page 15

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is a contributor to Creative Loafing, South Florida Gay News and ManAboutWorld. He loves getting lost in other countries and his German Shepherd. Page 45 sabrina ambra, natHan bruemmer, scottie camPbell, miguel fuller, divine grace, samuel JoHnson, Jason leclerc, melody maia monet, david moran, greg stemm, racHel stevenson, dr. steve yacovelli, micHael WanZie

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central florida news

Winter Haven man found guilty of murder in death of Mercedes Successful Amanda Espinosa

PROUD NETWORK:

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aines City, Fla. | The trial over the death of a Central Florida transgender woman concluded with her killer being found guilty of first-degree murder Dec. 20.

A Polk County jury deliberated for less than five hours before convicting 19-year-old Re’shaunte Jermaines Anglin for the 2016 murder of 32-year-old drag entertainer Mercedes Successful. Jurors also found Anglin guilty of robbery and tampering with physical evidence.

Anglin, who faces life in prison, will have his sentence determined by Circuit Judge Jalal Harb since at the time of the murder Anglin was a minor. No sentencing date has been set.

According to Lakeland’s The Ledger, Marva MacIntosh—Successful’s mother—broke down into tears after hearing the verdict and exclaimed, “Thank you Jesus.”

Successful—who was identified by her dead name and male pronouns in several local media reports and police statements at the time of her death—was from Haines City but performed in many LGBTQ pageants throughout the country.

She was found, shot to death, by a dumpster at a Haines City shopping plaza on May 15, 2016 around 7 p.m. Her pockets were emptied, making it look like it was a robbery and her vehicle was found, with blood on the seat, nearby in Lake Alfred.

Anglin and 23-year-old Ray Leon Walker were arrested for the murder of Successful in Oct. 2017.

During the trial, Assistant State Attorney Bonde Johnson informed the jury that while there was no DNA or fingerprints to show Anglin being at the scene, there were cellphone records which showed Anglin and Successful were communicating.

According to court testimony, Successful—who was also referred to by her dead name during the trial—had been communicating via text message with plans to meet Anglin the day of the murder.

“Witnesses can be wrong. They can have opinions, they can have motives, they can have bias, they can have prejudice, they can have faulty memories,” Johnson said during the trial, according to The Ledger. “But all this electronic data doesn’t have any of that. It just has facts.”

Records of the text messages between Successful and Anglin suggested the two had a romantic relationship. The messages also showed evidence of Walker’s involvement after the fact.

Walker has been charged with accessory after the fact of a capital felony and tampering with physical evidence. Walker’s trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 4.

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Come Out With Pride, presenters of Orlando’s annual Pride parade (pictured), will host Pride leaders from across the Southeast next month.

Photo by Dylan Todd

POSE for Pride Come Out with Pride partners with InterPride to host first Prides of Southeast conference in Orlando Lauren Lee

O

RLANDO | Members of the LGBTQ community will gather for the Prides of Southeast (POSE) conference in downtown Orlando on Feb. 7-10.

POSE is a networking and educational conference designed to bring together Pride organizations from all over the Southeast for workshops, networking opportunities and social events.

POSE will be hosted jointly by Come Out with Pride (COWP) and InterPride at the Holiday Inn Resort at Lake Buena Vista, one mile from the Walt Disney theme parks.

InterPride is a nonprofit organization representing and composed of producers of Pride events. It promotes the LGBTQ+ community on an international scale and holds regional conferences such as February’s POSE conference hosted with COWP, as well as the Annual General Meeting and World Conference.

“I am proud to say that Orlando has one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the country and COWP is an important partner in making our resident and visitors feel

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

welcome and respected,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in a press release.

“I’m thrilled to know InterPride has chosen Orlando and COWP to host their Prides of Southeast conference in our hometown in 2019 and we’re looking forward to showcasing our City Beautiful.”

InterPride represents over 170 Pride organizations internationally with 13 in Florida including COWP. POSE will draw attendees from InterPride’s Region 5 which includes 12 southeastern states.

Registration is open for both InterPride members and non-members with a cost of $175 and $225, respectively. The price includes access to all workshop and social events, and includes lunch and snacks throughout the day.

Each evening of the conference includes a social event for attendees who want to explore what Central Florida has to offer including Orlando’s LGBTQ nightlife. There will be both an opening and closing reception, as well as an Out and About around Orlando Tour on Feb. 8.

All events are included in the price of registration. Attendees from all over the Southeast may also book a

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double room for POSE at the Holiday Inn Resort for $149 a night.

Workshops will take place on Friday and Saturday and will include a variety of topics including gender inclusion, festival operations and sponsorship, community engagement and volunteer sessions.

“The workshops will focus on how the LGBTQ community comes together in Orlando,” says Jose Dieppa, COWP Communications Director. “We want to share what we have learned as a community.”

“When we were starting out, we didn’t have InterPride or conferences like POSE, we were operating in a vacuum,” says Jeff Prystajko, COWP Board President. “No Pride is competing with other Prides, and now we know what other Prides have done and we can share our knowledge and help each other organize and engage the community.”

Members of InterPride work together sharing Pride resources and providing local support for marches and other Pride celebrations throughout the world. COWP re-joined InterPride in 2016.

“Come Out With Pride is thrilled to host our first educational conference for InterPride, the largest association for organizers of Pride events worldwide,” said Prystajko in a press release. “We are excited to welcome our visitors to Orlando and introduce them to all the great things our hometown has to offer and which have contributed to 14 years of memorable Pride events here.”

For more information on the Prides of Southeast conference, visit ComeOutWithPride.com/ Interpride-Pose-2019.

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tampa bay news EPIC seeks to raise awareness, rehome couture creations Ryan Williams-Jent

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AMPA | Empath Partners in Care (EPIC) is seeking a permanent home for a collection of five dresses made from condoms and other materials to raise awareness about the nonprofit’s work with HIV and AIDS throughout Tampa Bay. The creations were featured at Balance Tampa Bay’s fourth annual masquerade ball Aug. 4, which raised $16,000 for EPIC. Conceptualized by artist and event chair Ryan Young, each design represents emotions an individual receiving HIV or AIDS care might feel while working with the organization.

“The dresses are just so fabulous,” EPIC Executive Director Joy Winheim says. “The time, effort and thought that went into creating them, and the story behind them, are just so touching. They’re a talking point – they bring HIV back into the conversation.”

Young says he created them to raise awareness about EPIC’s services. “The first look is ‘Undiscovered,’” he explains, “and the concept is someone in society going day to day without knowing their status.” He says it’s reflective of an individual who may be afraid of getting tested.

The second dress is based on chaos. It represents feelings an individual “might experience when they first find out they’re HIV positive,” he says. “It’s a very scary period so I wanted to make it look very dramatic. It invokes all of the mixed signals you’re getting when you’re first diagnosed.”

One of Young’s personal favorites is the third design.

He says it signifies the struggle individuals may experience when coping with a new identity, something he found was common in his research. “People will put themselves into a category rather than seeing how beautiful they still are,” he says of those diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. “They can become very depressed and go through a lot of emotions.

This one is very personal.”

For the final two dresses, Young says he “wanted to take it up a notch” to end on an affirming note. The fourth design focuses on an individual making informed decisions. “This is the person who starts to get control of their life,” he says, “whether that’s through seeking information or making adjustments to have a healthier lifestyle.”

The fifth, another of his favorites, is “Conquered.” It represents “the person who no longer just identifies as an HIV person, they’re just who they are,” he explains. “They’re in control of their life, it does not define them and they’re very confident. They find ways to help other people.”

Known as Cassandra, the fifth design inspired the hashtag “#CassandrasArmy.” It’s utilized to chronicle “anything good happening in the community,” Young explains.

He adds that as Balance Tampa Bay and EPIC move forward with future masquerade benefits, they’ll find ways to incorporate the character and her army’s good deeds.

“I love that people are still interested in the story,” he says.

“The whole experience has been really rewarding.”

The collection is available at no cost, though donations to EPIC are appreciated. For photos, visit WatermarkOnline. com. For more information or to express interest, contact Joy Winheim at JoyWinheim@EmpathHealth.org.

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MARY-ER TIMES: Mary’s cast entertains at the 2018 Watermark WAVE Awards at Hamburger Mary’s Tampa March 8, 2018.

PHOTO BY MAIA MONET

Eat, Drink & Be Wary Hamburger Mary’s Tampa alleges homophobia led to closure, mulls reopening Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA | Kurt King, owner of multiple Hamburger Mary’s locations throughout Tampa Bay, is alleging that homophobia contributed to the abrupt closure of the LGBTQ chain’s Tampa location in Ybor Nov. 6.

It was that same day that King announced Hamburger Mary’s Tampa and Mary’s Pub House Tampa would close. “We, along with our management team and dedicated staff, have done our best to keep Mary’s doors open for nine years, but the latest challenge over the last couple of weeks has proven to be too much to overcome,” he shared.

“It was our pleasure to serve the entire community.”

The closure followed the restaurant’s brief hiatus Oct. 24-25.

The Florida Dept. of Health (DOH) in Hillsborough County reported a positive case of Hepatitis A in an employee, a highly-contagious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis virus. They subsequently

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

offered vaccinations to employees and diners that frequented the establishment Oct. 4-20.

Tampa Bay ABC affiliate WFTS reported Nov. 2 that “the emergency closure was actually due to live roaches and rodents in the kitchen.”

They noted 40 live and dead roaches were found in the bar area and an area designated for chemical storage.

As Watermark has reported, King remedied violations prior to the restaurant’s closure and the outbreak of Hepatitis A was not limited to Hamburger Mary’s Tampa.

According WFTS, there were 559 confirmed cases reported in Florida in 2018 and as of Oct. 30, a known 36 cases were reported in Hillsborough County alone.

King, who discussed Hamburger Mary’s Tampa’s closure with WFTS in a segment that aired Jan. 7 and 8, advises that the employee in question tested negative for Hepatitis A. He also provided Watermark with lab results conducted by Tampa General and dated Oct. 21 that show a negative test result, though no patient name was included.

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The WFTS report to which King contributed indicated that there were four additional Hillsborough County restaurants with employees infected with Hepatitis A in 2018. The outlet found that the DOH in Hillsborough County did not alert the public to the cases.

Dr. Douglas Holt, head of the DOH in Hillsborough County, advised ABC that “the other ones did not have, in our investigation, conditions that have warranted or put the public at risk.”

According to King, it was homophobia that led to the Tampa location’s closure. “He mentioned the reason they came after Hamburger Mary’s was because of our culture,” King publicly shared and reiterated to Watermark following the report.

“What he meant was he came after Hamburger Mary’s because we are gay owned and operated.”

According to the DOH in Hillsborough County’s Public Information Officer Kevin Watler, references to the restaurant’s culture referred to its poor “hand washing culture.”

“I can confirm absolutely that we are not homophobic,” Watler tells Watermark. “We work very closely with all populations and that is definitely not the case. We’ve take no homophobic views in response to the Hamburger Mary’s incident.”

King—who is exploring a reopening for Hamburger Mary’s Tampa and still owns the franchise’s St. Petersburg and Brandon locations—disagrees. “The truth is coming out,” he says, adding that he and his legal team are preparing for legal action.

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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state news

Jacksonville sailor recreates iconic World War II photo with husband Abigail Brashear

B

y far, one of the most iconic photos from World War II is undoubtedly “V-J Day in Times Square.” The picture, in which a sailor non-consensually grabbed the nearest nurse and kissed her, has been recreated in movies, social media posts and more recently, by a Jacksonville couple who just couldn’t wait to see one another.

Bryan Woodington had been stationed in the Persian Gulf and eastern Europe since May, working aboard the USS The Sullivans. The guided missile-destroyer navigated over 40,000 miles and supported maritime security operations over the course of the seven-month deployment.

He and his husband, Ken Woodington, were awarded the

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ceremonial first homecoming kiss by raffle. The raffle, which gained tickets by donations of the sailors’ partners, was something that Ken took part of every chance he got. He was confident that they would win.

“I was putting $20 in every month,” Ken says.

The couple had only been married for a year and was excited to see one another. Bryan recalled how happy he was to hear the announcement that he and Ken had won the raffle. Bryan had been taking a nap and woke up the moment he heard his name.

“It felt like Christmas Day,” he says with a laugh.

When the two finally saw each other for the first time, Ken immediately ran over to Bryan and hugged him, crying happy tears. The two kissed, and everyone around them began cheering.

HOMECOMING: Bryan and Ken Woodington recreate the iconic “V-J in Times Square” photo in Jacksonville. Photo courtesy the Woodingtons The photograph of the Woodingtons’ kiss quickly went viral: Naval Station Mayport’s Facebook post of the couple has almost 3,000 shares, and nearly 4,000 reactions. However, not all

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

reactions were positive. News 4 Jax’s coverage prompted several angry responses.

“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s gross and unnatural,” Bobby Dean wrote in response to a comment

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on how the Woodington’s photo is better than the original, due to its non-consensual nature.

“I don’t care what the navy does I don’t think it should have been shown as news. Kids were watching that and parents had to explain how wrong it is,” commented Ray Schaefer.

“It didn’t really bother me,” Kenneth told News 4 Jax, the local station that covered the homecoming. “Honestly, I’m the type of person who doesn’t really care that much about what people say.”

Bryan repeatedly expressed how supportive everyone has been about the experience. He says he’s received emails from all over the world and that the couple is being treated like LGBTQ activists. It’s something he said he finds surprising, and that a kiss between two men should be considered normal.

“People, in this day and age, should not be afraid to express who they love, regardless of race, sex or gender,” Bryan says.

nation+world news

RNC committeeman: ‘Dumb ass people’ elected Kyrsten Sinema to Senate Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

I

n the aftermath of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) being sworn-in as the first openly bisexual U.S. senator, a member of the Republican National Committee took to Facebook on Jan. 5 to express consternation over the “dumb ass people” in his own state who elected her.

Bruce Ash, who has represented Arizona on the RNC since 2007 and is one of the RNC’s most senior members, made the comments in a public post on Facebook in response to Vice President Mike Pence swearing in the new senator, criticizing Sinema for her appearance during the event.

“Sinema looking more like Senator Madonna than the Senator

Barbie Doll she advertised when she ran for election in 2018,” Ash writes.

“Her politics and positions will lean further left than the dumb ass people on our side ever imagined when tens of thousands left their ballots blank in the McSally-Sinema election which led the way to her being seated in the U.S. Senate this past week.”

Ash makes the reference to “dumb ass people” in Arizona—apparently faulting his own party for the election result—after a relatively close race last year between Sinema and Republican contender Martha McSally. The contest wasn’t called nearly a week after Election Day because ballots continued to be counted.

Sinema ended up winning with 50 percent of the vote compared to the 47.6 percent won by McSally.

In an earlier Facebook post, Ash suggests his disapproval over Sinema being bisexual and criticizes her choosing taking the oath of office over a law book instead of a Bible.

“Sinema: First Openly Bisexual Senator Won’t Task Oath on Bible…

Arizona Proud?” Ash writes.

Simena used a book from Library of Congress that includes both the U.S. and Arizona constitutions.

According to the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life, Sinema is the only member of Congress who identifies as “religiously unaffiliated.”

Elliot Imse, a spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, said the Republican Party should consider removing Ash from his position.

“While Trump has perfected the Twitter tirade, it appears RNC committeeman Bruce Ash is more of a Facebook tirade kind of guy,” Imse said. “Attacking Kyrsten Sinema for her sexual orientation and religion or lack of religion, and then calling Arizona voters of his own party ‘dumb asses,’ says infinitely more about Bruce Ash than it does about Senator Sinema or Arizona voters.”

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in other news Congresswoman displays transgender pride flag outside office Wire Report

W

ASHINGTON | A newly elected Virginia congresswoman is displaying a transgender pride flag outside of her Washington office.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton is a Democrat from the 10th District in northern Virginia who was sworn in Jan. 3. The pink-, blue- and white-striped flag is displayed at the door to her office, along with the U.S. and Virginia flags.

In a statement, Wexton says she’s displaying the flag because she has family members and friends who are transgender. Chief of Staff Abigail Carter says Wexton is an aunt to a transgender person.

Wexton says she wants the transgender community to know they’re welcome. Since it went on display, Wexton says she’s received messages of support and appreciation from across the country.

Wexton is a former prosecutor who defeated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in November.

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viewpoint

sabrina ambra

ladyfingers How Sabby gets her booty back

i

DOn’t KnOW HOW tO say

this, so I’ll just say it: I have recently come to the realization that I lost my booty. I’m not sure how or when; I can only assume at some point in the last few years it happened. I just know now that it’s definitely lost.

You’re probably just itching to find a full body shot of me from 2011 on the internet right now, aren’t you?

Spoiler alert: it ain’t big, but there was, in fact, a time when I could truly shake what my momma gave me.

This revelation is much more complicated than just the loss of my actual rump.

You see, much like Stella and her (once lost, but now back) groove, my booty was not just the physical badonk in my trunk. “My booty” was confidence. It had a “down for whatever” attitude, a “don’t take no shit from no one” bad bitch booty. However, like a small child before GPS tracking devices were made available to the average consumer, my booty wandered away from me. Perhaps it didn’t even wander away; maybe my booty ran away from me. I neglected my booty.

I lost it little by little and I didn’t notice until it was gone. I found myself so consumed with negativity which I assumed was just “the sign of the times.”

In a sense it is a sign because it certainly feels like everyone is angry at something or another. By the same token, misery is not all encompassing unless it’s given the headspace. Fear and laziness do nothing but keep misery on its course as it beelines to your brain hole. I spent an awful amount of time in the “woe is me” zone and it wasn’t until recently that I realized I had walked my booty-less self right into the “whoa, that’s me?” zone. I was depressed, angry and hurt— bitter as ever. My booty didn’t recognize me anymore and I don’t blame it because I didn’t even recognize me anymore. My booty wasn’t trying to find greener pastures, it was trying to find ME.

The “me” that backed that ass up and never backed down. The “me” that twerked and worked. Shakira’s hips don’t lie and neither does my tush—it is time for my revolution because I refuse to accept, I refuse to settle, I refuse to mourn the loss. No, ma’am. It’s about damn time Sabby got her booty back.

Now, I should preface with admitting that I have not read “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” nor have I watched the feature film based on the book (it’s on the list, I swear).

Therefore, the steps I’ll take to get my booty back will be a hybrid of what I think the book is about and my pure imagination as an award-winning novelist (to be clear, I’m going to imagine that I’m a novelist that has won many awards.

You should try it, too. It’s a good time!) The truth is that finding my booty will be a journey, one which should involve very little pretending and a lot more self-realization. It was the pretending that got me here in the first place, acting like it wasn’t all my fault and not addressing my own problematic behaviors.

Holding oneself accountable and giving oneself the opportunity to grow and change is not only possible, but it is fucking powerful. Taking ownership is acknowledging that power within ourselves.

Recognizing that power and learning how to properly utilize it gives a person unlimited opportunities for fulfillment and happiness.

It is not easy to do the aforementioned self analysis.

You know what’s easy?

When you ignore it, place the blame everywhere else, woe the shit out of yourself—it’s somewhat amazing how comfortable gloom can make itself out to be, especially when you have company.

It takes a lot to challenge yourself to change and it takes even more to confront all that haunts you.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

at this point, while I feel like I’ve lost a lot of myself, I also have newfound space to welcome the change and growth; the experience and knowledge to move forward; and a hunger for success like no hunger I’ve ever felt before.

At this point, while I feel like I’ve lost a lot of myself, I also have newfound space to welcome the change and growth; the experience and

knowledge to move forward; and a hunger for success like no hunger I’ve ever felt before. Though it may take some time and hard work,

I know my booty will be back and better than ever. It’ll just take self love—and a decent amount of lunges.

viewpoint Columnist

sCOTTIe CaMPBeLL

tHe tender activist

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viewpoint

Miguel Fuller

HigH fidelity Out for the holidays

“i

tOLD yOUR GRanDMa

you are gay.” That statement didn’t come from my mom when I came out in high school, when I had my first boyfriend in college or when I was honored as Grand Marshal of St Pete Pride in 2016.

My mom called and told me that a couple of months ago. After being open and honest in my personal and professional life since high school I was still nervous to tell grandma.

There are a couple of reasons why the timing of this statement was so important, like I was deciding if I should finally bring my longtime boyfriend to meet my family.

In my 33 years of life I had never taken anyone home for the family to meet. Now I was a few months away from the holidays and I was struggling on what to do.

My mom knew that I was nervous about talking to my very religious grandmother about my sexuality. To add to it, there was more stress on my shoulders because I’m African-American and my boyfriend is white. So without ever having had that conversation with my grandmother, I was about to introduce her and the rest of my family to my white boyfriend.

I was a ball of nerves.

Being who she is, my mom decided to help me and tell my grandmother. When my mom called me that Thursday afternoon I was in the laundry aisle at Target. I answered my phone and right there in front of the Gain laundry detergent display, my mom responded to my hello with “I told your grandma you are gay.” MIND EXPLOSION! I was not expecting that. I told her to hold on as I walked out of Target and sat in my car and asked her to

explain what happened. She told me that she was sitting in her room thinking about my situation and decided to pull the Band-Aid off. She walked into the living room where my grandmother was watching “Jeopardy” and said, “Mom, Miguel is gay.”

My grandmother responded with, “I kind of figured, he’s never had a girlfriend. Can you bring me water?”

That was it. I spent most of life worrying and agonizing over having that conversation with my grandmother and just like that, the conversation was had with no fanfare. Now that she knew, going home for the holidays should have been a breeze, right? Nope. I spent the next couple of months worrying and stressing over taking someone home for the first time.

My boyfriend and I arrived at my uncle’s house early. My anticipation of the first big meeting had me so stressed that I was actually early for an event—which I normally never am. My uncle and aunt met my boyfriend, exchanged hugs, said “Merry Christmas” to each other and continued working on Christmas dinner.

The rest of the day went like that as more cousins and aunts arrived. Then the big show pulled up: my mother pulled into the driveway with my grandmother. I went outside to help her out of the car. As I was hugging my grandmother my boyfriend came up behind me. My mom blurted out, “Mom, this is your future grandson-in-law!”

If I could have dug a hole into my uncle’s driveway to disappear I would have paid whatever money I could find to make it happen in those seconds. My grandmother smiled at my boyfriend, hugged him and then asked if we could help her out of the car and into the house.

Wait … so, no angry yelling? No big conversations about the Bible and homosexuality? Nope. The rest of the day went without any controversy, awkward stares or awkward questions.

We told stories, ate some good Atlanta soul food

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

so without ever having had that conversation with my grandmother, I was about to introduce her and the rest of my family to my white boyfriend. and exchanged gifts. My grandmother even brought a present for my boyfriend.

Just like that, relief like I have never felt during the holidays evaporated.

Coming out is a personal journey that we all experience in different ways and at different times. I think it’s a process that never really ends.

We constantly have to come out. Hopefully one day it won’t

have to be that way—we will be able to exist and not have to make a reveal that we are gay. Our community has a lot that we have to face every day so take a moment to be kind to yourself. You deserve it.

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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talking points

28%

[My mom] was born into a segregated america ... we’re not that far away from that. so, for her, what it meant to be a good, black person was to not make white people uncomfortable. and, I think me being gay made her feel like, ‘Oh, you gonna make white folks real uncomfortable.’

—aCtRess Lena WaitHe, On HBO’s “tHe sHOP,” sPeaKinG aBOUt HeR MOtHeR’s JOURney tO aCCePtinG a Gay DaUGHteR

of

PEOPLE POLLED

SUPPORT SEEING A GAY VERSION of

JAMES BOND

‘double dare’ reboot features family with two dads

N

iCKeLODeOn’s “DOUBLe DaRe” MaDe a BiG sPLasH when it launched a comeback last June after being off the air for 25 years. The hit game show for kids was one of the top-rated children’s programs back in the 80s and 90s, but over the course of the show’s run it never featured a family with same-sex parents until recently. Host Liza Koshy introduced the modern family of brothers Oscar and Marcos with their two dads, Liberty and Bryan, on the family-edition episode that aired Dec. 27. “They love football and they love each other, they are team Double Dads. That’s right, it’s about time we had double dads on Double Dare,” Koshy said. “Double Dare” airs Friday nights on Nickelodeon.

IN THE POPULAR FILM SERIES.

THE SAME POLL SHOWED 52% SUPPORT a blaCk bond, 39% SUPPORT t a hispaniC bond, 37% SUPPORT

ellen degeneres makes list of most admired women in world

an asian bond aND

37% SUPPORT a female bond.

—sURvey By tHe HOLLyWOOD RePORteR anD MORninG COnsULt

He QUeen OF DaytiMe taLK, eLLen DeGeneRes is among the 10 most admired women in the world according to Gallup. The annual poll, released Dec. 27, asks Americans to name the man and woman living anywhere in the world today whom they admire most. DeGeneres, who came in eighth, is the only LGBTQ person to appear on either of the lists for 2018. Topping the list of most admired women is former first lady Michelle Obama. Obama unseated Hillary Clinton, who had topped the list for the last 17 years. Clinton slipped to number three behind Oprah Winfrey. Former president Barack Obama topped the men’s list for the 11th consecutive year.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

louis C.k. attaCks gender-neutral people in standup

L

OUis C.K. CaMe UnDeR attaCK On sOCiaL MeDia Dec. 30 when leaked audio from a recent standup set revealed the comedian going after people who use gender-neutral pronouns.

“You should address me as ‘there’ because I identify as a location, and the location is your mother’s c--t,” C.K. is heard saying on the recording. He also lashed out at the student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., saying “’Cause you went to a high school where kids got shot, why does that mean I have to listen to you? Why does that make you interesting?” The current controversy comes a little more than a year after C.K. admitted to several instances of sexual misconduct allegations.

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

riCky martin and husband Jwan yosef welCome baby girl

R

iCKy MaRtin anD His HUsBanD JWan yOseF have a new addition to their family.

Martin announced that they are now the parents to a baby girl, Lucia Martin-Yosef, on Instagram. The post shows a close-up of the baby’s hands. “We are beyond happy to announce that we have become parents to a beautiful and healthy baby girl Lucia Martin-Yosef,” Martin captioned the post. “It has been a special time for us and we can’t wait to see where this stellar baby will take us. Both her beautiful brothers and me and Jwan have fallen in love with Lucia.” Martin is also the father of 10-year-old twin boys, Valentino and Matteo.

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

Photo by Dylan toDD

SECOND

CHANCES Ryan Williams-Jent EDITOR’S NOTE: At their request, the last names of three recovering addicts featured in this story have been abbreviated for their anonymity and to protect the programs utilized to maintain their sobriety.

i

t Wasn’t DRinKinG His OWn

urine that forced Michael J. to make a change in his life. He’d already decided he should. That just got him high again from the crystal meth coursing through his system, his only access to the drug while strapped to a hospital bed in Central Florida. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY, ADDICTION AND THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

He did it to “get out of” himself, the 48-year-old Orlando resident now recalls, because he hated how it felt to “be just me.” It was a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse that began at 14 and lasted until he was 32.

“I started drinking and eventually started drugging because I didn’t like how I felt when I was sober,” he explains, 17 years since his last experience with alcohol or drugs. “That was it. My first

drink was 14 … I hated how I felt just being me.”

As a child he struggled with depression. He also knew he was gay, “so there’s something you can’t change that no one understands,” he says.

“Everyone says you’re bad and so I felt just being myself was horrific.”

Alcohol gave him a new perspective. “I laughed for the first time in a long time,” he recalls. “I felt good; I felt

Continued on pg. 23 | uu |

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| uu | Second Chances from pg.21

funnier. I passed out on the floor, woke up the next day and I was like, ‘This is it. This is what I’m going to be and it’s amazing.’ It was wonderful.”

Michael eventually turned to other substances, at first “just the fun stuff. Getting high, smoking weed, but after a time the stoned you is the normal you,” he says.

“You forget what it’s like to be sober. Then because life can still get worse even when you are stoned, and because you don’t know how to handle stress, you have to go to something stronger to escape.”

There were years of anonymous sex, sometimes for drugs and other times for the “hooking up high,” and unexpected interventions from marijuana dealers about his crystal meth usage. The experiences flanked stints in rehabilitation facilities, halfway houses and state programs.

“Finally I went to the E.R. and did my last thing of meth,” he says. “I went in and I told them I wanted to get off of it. At the time they didn’t know what meth was and they wouldn’t let me in.

So I pointed to a little kid sitting there with a brace on his arm and I said, ‘if you don’t let me in I’m going to go fucking break that kid’s other arm.’”

The threatening language worked. Security restrained Michael and strapped him into the hospital bed. Without access to the drug, that’s when his high began to dissipate and he drank his own urine—a process he’d repeat the following day after being released from the psychiatric ward for not being suicidal. “Even though I was,” he adds. “It turned out they didn’t want to deal with me.”

Michael wanted to quit. He just couldn’t do it on his own.

According to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, that’s because research has shown that addiction “is not a matter of individual strength, moral character or willpower.” Rather, addiction is a brain disease, “a matter of how the brain becomes wired.”

The foundation is the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider, self-described as “a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by

No one would’ve thought I would have made it to age 28, much less 30. I live in bonus time now … everything that I do is a blessing and every day that I wake up and I’m sober is really an amazing thing.

—Tampa Bay’s Steven M.

addiction to alcohol and other drugs.” It currently offers 17 sites across the country—including Naples, Fla.—and utilizes evidence-based practices while relying heavily on academic research to treat patients.

The organization explains that long-term alcohol and drug usage changes the brain, releasing a powerful chemical called dopamine. When routinely abundant, the brain “attempts to balance things out” by producing less of the chemical. That’s when it relies on substances to trigger its release and individuals use alcohol and drugs “just to feel normal.”

Or as Dr. Jorja Jamison, PhD, LP and Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies associate professor explains, your brain gets hijacked.

“There’s a process that happens where the pleasure and

reward part of your brain—the part that controls things like thirst, hunger, sex and the desire to get free from danger—gets hijacked by the substance or addictive behavior,” she says.

“It shuts off the frontal part of your brain, the part that says ‘let me think about if that is in my best interest.’

“It causes people to not act according to their frontal lobe; they don’t make responsible, accurate kinds of decisions,” she continues. “You’re going on that basis of the instinct, the drive.

That’s where you encounter negative consequences and continue to use despite those consequences, because the frontal lobe is no longer having a say.”

It’s something that a 2016 research update released by the foundation and published by the Butler Center notes is prevalent in the LGBTQ community. It

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

found that beginning in the late 1970s, when substance abuse research first began to include lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) subjects in study findings, scientists reported significantly higher overall rates of substance abuse among sexual minorities when compared to heterosexual counterparts.

More recently, transgender men and women have also been identified as displaying higher-risk substance use behaviors as compared to cisgender individuals. When compared to heterosexual and cisgender individuals, members of the LGBTQ community have been found to “face significantly increased trauma” and “suffer significantly higher incidences of stressful childhood experiences, school victimization, neighborhood-level hate crimes and family conflict, each of these

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

stressors having been found to correlate significantly with increased substance abuse.”

It all leads to additional challenges in recovery, asserts Hazelden’s Clayton Morell, an addiction specialist at the foundation’s Florida location. “We have always been on the outside of the medical establishment,” he says, noting that the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder until 1973.

“I don’t believe there is a total understanding of acceptance of sexual minorities,” he continues, “and especially with the transgender community.

Trans violence is at an all-time high—we live in Florida, where the Pulse nightclub shooting also happened. There are real barriers to treatment for the LGBTQ community.”

Tampa Bay resident Steven M., 30 and sober for nearly three years, succinctly summarizes the findings another way.

“There are a lot of people in our community who are dying from this disease because they don’t know who to go to or what to do,” he says. “Our brothers and sisters are out there dying, and a lot of them don’t have the resources that a similar straight person might have.”

He began using around 14 or 15, entering his first treatment center at 16. There were times no one around him knew he had a problem with drugs and alcohol “and I appeared to be a really normal, functioning member of society,” he says.

Other times, he was homeless and “living in my truck outside of my work office.”

Steven struggled with alcohol, heroin, opiates and was “mainly addicted to meth for a long time,” something “that’s pretty common in our community.” He notes that “a lot of people use it as a sex drug and to party, to have fun, but for me it became an everyday, all-day type of thing.”

Treatment centers, which Steven says he had been in and out of basically his entire adult life, didn’t seem to stick. He knew there was a problem but it always seemed manageable, until one night—while living in a sober-living home and still using drugs—he was robbed.

“I was out trying to get more drugs and it was 2 a.m.,” he says.

“I was driving this guy around Continued on pg. 25 | uu |

23

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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| uu | Second Chances from pg.23

who kept telling me he would get me hooked up with more stuff and he took everything that I had; all my money. I somehow had this moment where I knew that I couldn’t keep doing it anymore and that basically I had ruined my life.”

It’s a feeling Central Florida’s J.C., 43, understands well. On Jan. 26, she’ll celebrate one year of sobriety in Orlando. “I didn’t like who I had become,” she says.

“I wasn’t a stay at home drinker; I was at the bars, clubs and social events. But when I started waking up and not remembering what I did the night before… it wasn’t fun anymore. It opened my eyes to a lot of things.”

J.C. came to realize that her addiction grew “from being in that atmosphere of drinking and using other substances,” from living, as she calls it, the rockstar gay lifestyle of drinking and using cocaine to keep drinking.

She also experimented heavily with ecstasy.

When her brother and best friend died, it led her to further rely on drugs to cope—utilizing them as “an excuse to numb myself, to not feel emotions.”

After that, a local artist from her “secondary family and home in the gay bars” overdosed. “I knew if I didn’t make a change, my mom was going to have to bury another child.

“It was a ‘glamorous lifestyle’ that some of us made it through, some of us didn’t. I’ve had plenty of friends that did not overcome their addiction,” she says. “I had what I thought at the time was rockstar status, being able to walk into the club and have everyone know me. I felt like I was important but I was basically killing myself.”

Tampa Bay’s Sarah Wilson stopped drinking nearly four years ago for similar reasons.

“It was stop or I was going to hurt myself or someone else very badly,” she says. “Luckily for me I hurt myself first.”

After years of bartending at various LGBTQ hotspots, Wilson made the change she did after “a face plant on the concrete.” Or that’s what she was told.

As for the details of what actually happened, “I don’t know,” she says now. “I went from being a happy-go-lucky person that was drinking to a so-called blackout

ROAD TO RECOVERY: The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider. Its Naples, Fla. location is one of 17 sites dedicated to the “healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and drugs.”

Photo Courtesy the hazelden betty ford foundation.

Clayton Morell is an addiction specialist at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Naples, Fla. location.

Dr. Jorja Jamison is an associate professor for the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies.

Photo courtesy the hazelden betty ford foundation

Photo COURTESY THE HAZELDEN BETTY FORD FOUNDATION

artist. I busted my head open and had 30 stitches.”

Wilson had a concussion for nearly three months, something she believes she “played off very well but was a very, very horrible time.” As a well-known bartender with many acquaintances, “I would see people that I knew— and that I knew I knew—but I didn’t have any recollection of who they were.”

She considers herself a “late bloomer,” who didn’t start

drinking heavily until she was out of college. She focused on athletics in school and was hesitant about alcohol because of her father, who quit himself when she was 14. “He wasn’t the nicest guy in the world when he was drinking,” she says. “I was anti-pretty much everything until I was 1,200 miles away. Then, ‘that’s all she wrote.’”

After years in the bartending scene—drinking on and off the clock—Wilson came to

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

realize that after she turned 21, “every bad choice that I ever made in one way shape or form involved alcohol. The drug use, the things I never would have done otherwise, was because I was drinking.”

Now, she sees “this giant scar on my face and that’s my motivation. I have standards for myself and what I expect of myself.” While in recovery, her father—now also sober—wrote

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

her a letter and mailed it to her every day for 90 days.

“My biggest reason for not drinking when I was younger was him,” she says, “and one of my biggest reasons for quitting was because of him.”

She’s maintained her alcohol and drug sobriety in part with the help of the kava and kratom community, a growing trend in Tampa Bay, and is now the general manager of Mad Hatters Ethnobotanical Kava Bar. It offers kava, a drink derived from a plant with anesthetic and eurphoriant properties—and kratom, which has opioid properties and some stimulant-like effects.

It’s not without its critics, something she dismisses. Wilson says she’s only personally experienced “waking up the next day and feeling amazing, not feeling hung over or terrible and not regretting the decisions I made the night before.”

While Hazelden offers no comment on kava, it advises “safety is a concern for users of kratom, which the FDA has not approved as a safe medicine and does not regulate.” They further “caution against medicating with any substance that has not earned

Continued on pg. 27 | uu |

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| uu | Second Chances from pg.25

FDA approval after rigorous scientific scrutiny.”

Morell says that while he wouldn’t personally suggest its use, “the person in recovery needs to decide what is best for them. We know there are some people who can pick up a drink and be fine, while for others one drink leads to total ruin.”

His response is not to encourage those in recovery to “do whatever they want,” he stresses. “The question is how do you want to live? That’s what I always want to pose to my clients. Are you the person in the world today that you want to be? And if not, how can you get there?”

For Michael J., Steven M. and J.C., it was—and is—participating in 12-step programs, like those utilized by Hazelden and found in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and other anonymous meetings.

The steps are guiding principles which outline a course of action for tackling problems including alcoholism, drug addiction and compulsion.

The programs “are founded around having the appropriate social and spiritual support to basically affect personality change,” Dr. Jamison explains.

“The disease of addiction basically wrecks your life. With the 12 steps, you kind of uncover all the parts of yourself that you don’t like or that have been developed as a way to survive and slowly go about changing those.”

Dr. Jamison notes that some members of the LGBTQ community in recovery face an additional hurdle with the programs. “It does use the ‘God’ language,” she advises, “and the history of Christianity and LGBTQ individuals is a little frock with controversy.”

The programs are “really about connecting to something larger outside of yourself,” she explains further. “That could be the universe, nature, your 12-step group; just something that’s bigger than you.”

“There’s definitely a lot of fear around the 12 steps, I think because of the higher power language and certainly because so many LGBTQ people have been ostracized from organized religion,” Morell adds. “The 12 steps is not about religion, but if

It was a ‘glamorous lifestyle’ that some of us made it through, some of us didn’t … I had what I thought at the time was rockstar status, being able to walk into the club and have everyone know me. I felt like I was important but I was basically killing myself.

—Central Florida’s J.C.

that’s how you connect with your spiritually that’s up to you.

“What’s special about the steps, and why I think LGBTQ people have really utilized it, is because it’s more about philosophy and spirituality,” he continues. “If you don’t believe in God it’s not a barrier to join a program or to try and stop drinking or using. There are many anonymous meetings that are agnostic or atheist.”

Like one Michael says he founded out of necessity.

“I don’t believe in God or the supernatural. God is mentioned in half of the steps and a lot of it is about prayer, which is ridiculous to me.”

His higher powers are Google and the law. “In the age of information, ignorance is a choice,” he says. “If I have a problem, rather than sit around and think about it, I’ll Google … and if I follow

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

the law, that’s a greater power than me and I probably won’t get arrested.”

Steven remembers the amount of shame he carried with him when he first got sober, something the programs have helped him cope with. “A lot of the stuff you do for drugs and alcohol can be really bad,” he says. “I thought for a long time that the reason I kept getting hooked on drugs and alcohol was because I was just a

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dysfunctional person who was maladjusted to life.”

That wasn’t the case. “It’s a disease,” he stresses. “No one would’ve thought I would have made it to age 28, much less 30. I live in bonus time now … everything that I do is a blessing and every day that I wake up and I’m sober is really an amazing thing. I have my family back, I have money and I have a job. My whole life is like a vacation. Every day of my life is like a bonus.”

“I’m forever grateful,” J.C. says.

“I function as a normal human being—I get up, go to work and enjoy my sobriety. I don’t have hangovers. That’s the best thing on the planet, waking up without a hangover. I know I was given a second chance at life. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“Addiction is tricky,” Wilson says. “No one knows what someone else has been through; no one knows someone else’s story. People that sit there and say, ‘it’s just a bad choice’ should sit down with someone and find out why they’re making those bad choices. People don’t choose addiction. It just happens, and a lot of times it happens very quickly. Don’t judge addicts—they might be sitting right next to you.”

“You have to think of this as a chronic disease that requires daily management,” Dr. Jamison stresses. “Success rates with treatments are about comparable to other chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, things that you have to take care of. Recovery is possible. It does require hard work, but life on the other side is so much better.”

“There’s a community of people wanting to help,” Morell adds. “It’s okay to ask for help— you get to decide when it stops.”

“If nothing changes, nothing will change,” Michael says. “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Recovery delivers on everything drugs promised.”

If you or someone you know needs help in the struggle against addiction, call the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation at 1-855-592-2308 or visit HazeldenBettyFord.org.

To find LGBTQ and other specific types of anonymous 12 step programs offered by A.A. in Central Florida, visit cflintergroup.org or call (407) 260-5408. In Tampa Bay, visit aapinellas. org or call (727) 530-0415 for Pinellas County or visit aatampa-area.org or call (813) 933-9123 for Hillsborough County. For all other areas or for more information on 12 step programs and A.A., visit aa.org.

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arts and entertainment

PHOTO BY JAkE sTEvENs

THE RAINBOW

TRIBE tymisha harris brings legendary entertainer Josephine Baker to the Central Florida stage

t

Jeremy Williams

yMisHa HaRRis HaD a tOUR De

force year in 2018 with her show, “JOSEPHINE, a burlesque cabaret dream play.” Harris— who co-created the one-woman show with directorproducer Michael Marinaccio and playwright-musical director Tod Kimbro—debuted “JOSEPHINE” in 2016 where it won “Outstanding Solo Performance” and “Best Show” at the San Diego Fringe Festival.

The show was a hit playing here in Orlando and across North America, but Harris and crew took “JOSEPHINE” to another level with a four-week Off-Broadway run in New York last year.

Harris won rave reviews for her performance as Josephine Baker, was nominated for a 2018 Audelco Award in New York and even got a Twitter endorsement from the one-and-only RuPaul.

Now, Harris is bringing “JOSEPHINE” to Orlando Fringe’s Winter Mini-Fest and Sanford’s Theater West End this month. Harris spoke with Watermark ahead of the festival about her early days in

Orlando, meeting RuPaul and the icon that is Miss Josephine Baker. what initially brought you to orlando?

Disney was holding auditions in El Paso at the time and everyone in my dance studio tried out. Half of us made and half didn’t, but the rest of us decided to travel on down here anyways. so it was disney that first brought you here?

Yeah, at first but that was short lived [laughs].

Continued on pg. 31 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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to sit there and live in shadows, and she ended up surpassing everyone’s expectations, her own expectations.

| uu | The Rainbow Tribe from pg.29

You were in New York last year, you took the show Off-Broadway. What was that like, being able to take this show to the theater capitol of the world?

I read that you were involved with the boy bands *NSYNC and LFO when you first moved down here. How were you involved?

I was assistant choreographer for *NSYNC and a backup dancer for LFO. This was the very beginning and it was a crazy time. I had just come to Orlando, Lance [Bass] had just joined the group and I had no idea what was happening. Fresh-faced and everything, we started working with the boys at an old martial arts school off of Kirkman and 50. No one had a studio yet so that was the only space we could use and we’re in there trying to teach the boys how to dance.

I feel like I’m still living on a cloud from it and I can’t wait to take it back.

It is unbelievable to take an original show, an original story, that we crafted and not only show it to folks but that they kept coming back and it kept growing. I feel like we aren’t done with our run there in New York.

Then to be nominated for an Audelco Award, to get recognition like that, taking a Fringe show from Orlando to New York and having it be so accepted I’m just blown away.

I can’t wait to take it back with a full band. What the folks up there saw was a new work. By the time we had taken it to New York we had changed it. So for them to take to it as they did and then tell friends about it and then come see it again and want us to be there longer, just blown away.

*NSYNC was set apart from the other boy bands at the time partly because of their dancing. While you were working with them could you see that these guys were going to be as big as they were?

I grasped pretty quickly that this was going to be something special. I was thinking “Wow, this is going to be our New Kids [on the Block].” I remember being in the choreographer’s living room and coming up with specific dance moves just to see their bodies work in different ways.

Speaking of moves, you have some moves of your own in your show, “JOSEPHINE, a burlesque cabaret dream play,” based on the life of Josephine Baker. For those who are not familiar, who was she?

Josephine Baker was born in 1906 and she was an entertainer. She started off doing the minstrel circuit and was on Broadway for a short time in the 1920s, but then she got the opportunity to take her talents to Paris. There they accepted her and exalted her to greatness. She was the first African-American international superstar. She starred in movies and operas alongside white entertainers which, at the time, was unheard of in America. [Baker was the first person of color to star in a major motion picture, the 1934 film “Zouzou.”]

She was amazing. Over the course of her life she adopted 12 children, was a spy for the French resistance during World War II and was a civil rights activist.

Where did the idea for a burlesque cabaret based on Josephine Baker start?

I was working with Michael Marinaccio and he was saying to me that he thought I was ready to do

You got quite the endorsement from RuPaul on Twitter.

He tweeted about the show after seeing it. Tell me about meeting Ru and getting that celebrity endorsement.

Je suis Josephine: Tymisha Harris embodies the iconic performer Josephine Baker in her new hit show. Photo by Jake Stevens

[Josephine Baker] would break down that fourth wall and seduce the audience. She wore these fantastic costumes and was a sex symbol. She wasn’t ashamed of her body or who she was. She was a strong black woman. That’s what I want the —Tymisha Harris audience to know. something more. I had just opened in an ensemble play, I was working in the background and making sure we had a strong team, but I was never in the forefront of it. He said it’s time that we get something for you. We had originally thought about doing a Tina Turner show but her story has been told and it has been told well.

Josephine was this larger-than-life person whose story I didn’t think had been told well.

This isn’t your typical sit-and-watch theater

experience. You interact with the audience throughout the show.

Yes. I need the personal space, I need to be able to invade other people’s space [laughs]. I need to engage with them and the burlesque aspect of it allows me to encapsulate Josephine’s glamorous start. She would break down that fourth wall and seduce the audience. She wore these fantastic costumes and was a sex symbol.

She wasn’t ashamed of her body or who she was. She was a strong black woman. That’s what I want the audience to know. I help them relax and I give them a history lesson.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

I sing, I dance, I act and I show a little skin [laughs].

What’s the number one thing you want people to walk away from this show knowing about Josephine Baker?

I hope that it opens people’s eyes to what someone can accomplish when they aren’t stopped because of the color of their skin. She lived in a time when she was only seen for her color in America and she worked to try and break down a lot of those walls. She was an extraordinary woman who overcame all of that. She wasn’t going

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I can still see RuPaul’s big, bright smile in the front row. I looked to my left as I was opening my mouth and thought “Oh, that’s RuPaul.” Mike tried to tell me as I was coming down the stairs to head on stage. He said, “I don’t know how to tell you this but RuPaul is here,” and I was like “ha, ha, ha, sure.” Didn’t realize he would be in the front row, and it was opening night so I was hella nervous, and there he is staring at me.

Then for him to come backstage afterwards and tell me that he can see this show on the big screen being directed by Baz Luhrmann, my mouth was to the floor. Like did I just hear that correctly? Honestly, I just can’t wait to take it back and show more people, and have RuPaul come back and see it in a larger space with a band. Next time I’m going to be ready for him too, be like “Can I come on your show? Can we chat, let’s get some movement going on this?” [laughs].

“JOSEPHINE, a burlesque cabaret dream play” will be at Orlando Fringe’s Winter Mini-fest in the Mandel Theater (Pink Venue) Jan. 11-13 and at Theater West End Jan. 25-27. For more information on “JOSEPHINE” visit OrlandoFringe.org and ThetaterWestEnd.com, respectively.

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theater

Timeless Tour

John Ambrosino dreams a dream in ‘Les Miserables’ revival

(above)

REVIVAL:

The company of “Les Miserables” performs “One Day More.”

PHOTO BY MATTHEW MURPHY

“D

Ryan Williams-Jent

oing this show, I can’t even

call it a bucket list item,” out actor John Ambrosino says of touring with the newest production of “Les Miserables,” direct from its celebrated Broadway revival and dreaming a dream at Tampa’s Straz Center Jan. 15-20. “It’s an honor to be able to do it.”

The Tony Award-winning musical based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel of the same name “has changed the world of the musical in so many ways,” Ambrosino continues. “It’s iconic; a juggernaut that has kept going and aweing audiences for years. To be able to go out there every night and perform the show that I saw as a 12-year-old boy is just one of the greatest things in the world.”

Since its 1986 stage debut, “Les Miserables” has been seen by 70 million people in 44 countries and performed in 22 languages. It also spawned multiple film adaptations, including 2012’s Academy Award-winning

production starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.

Set in 19th-century France, “Les Miserables” tells the “story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit,” that has “become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history.”

Ambrosino—who currently plays Bamatabois, Claquesous and understudies Thenardier and Grantaire— vividly recalls seeing the show for the first time during its initial national tour.

“I remember being in awe of what I was experiencing,” he says. “I remember quite clearly the sets, the direction and of

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

course the score and the music.”

He adds that he “immediately left and begged” his parents to buy him the score, which includes celebrated classics like “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My John Ambrosino Own,” “Bring Him Home,” and “One Day More.”

“I was enthralled,” Ambrosino says.

“I remember feeling like it was one of the most awesome experiences that I would ever have.”

It’s something he takes with him onstage as a member of the tour’s ensemble. “I often think maybe there’s a 12-year-old boy in this audience watching,” he says, “thinking ‘maybe I can do this. I want to do this for my life.’

It’s very cool.”

His most notable role is Bamatabois, he says, a “sexually ambiguous character” highlighted in a pivotal scene in which he “terrorizes” the show’s featured role of Fantine. “He clearly comes to the red light district to dominate and degrade women. He’s very well-dressed, very high class. He’s a really nasty, terrible man and I love, love playing him.”

It’s in the scene that Fantine “takes the upper hand” and is “lifted out of this horrible existence she’s found herself in,” he says. Ambrosino notes that while “it’s terrible that the character is so horrible, I do actually really enjoy the challenge and the depth of what that moment means … not only to me as an actor but also to the play in general.”

Notably, the actor also portrays a student in the revolution and “the queer in the wedding,” the latter of which he calls one of his most exciting moments on stage. “I’m on in years,” he muses, “and I have only played a gay man one other time … so when I get to do so I am thrilled. It’s a tiny little thing but it gets a great laugh and I get to represent myself authentically in that way. It’s really fun.”

Authenticity and energy are found throughout the revival production.

“It’s completely reimagined in many ways for its revival that just ran on Broadway,” Ambrosino says. “The scenic

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design is different, but it maintains a lot of the physical and environmental characteristics of the kind of dark world we were living in during that time.”

That’s elevated by projections that weren’t available during the show’s original run and reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of the Victor Hugo himself. “Besides being a great writer, he was also quite a great artist,” Ambrosino notes. “There are a lot of his paintings and sketches that still exist today and they’ve used those. It’s still as epic as the original scenic design, just different.”

Ambrosino says that first-time audience goers and repeat viewers alike will enjoy the revival. “The story’s the exact same, the music’s the exact same, the costumes are similar because they are designed by the same designer and obviously the cast is different. The director has chosen to cast the show is a little differently.”

The casting of the tour has offered “a real kind of humanity and vitality,” he adds. “I think the portrayals are fresh and different—something everyone will get excited about seeing in this production.

It’s a different way in.”

At its core, he describes “Les Miserables” as “a story about a good man who’s fallen upon hard times and a good woman who has fallen upon hard times, who literally just want to be good in the world.”

It’s “an absolutely timeless journey of the human experience and is so hopeful,” Ambrosino continues. “I think that’s what keeps audiences coming back, seeing those characters strive to be good and to fight against the darkness of the world.”

Even so, he muses, that wouldn’t be enough on its own. “The story is great, but then you add onto that the most amazing score, this beautiful scenic world and all of those things make this musical a triumph.” For much of the show’s vitality, he credits its creators—Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg— and Cameron Mackintosh, “who has been shepherding this show as its producer since it first began.”

“If you’ve seen ‘Les Miserables’ before and love it then you’re going to love this production all over again,” Ambrosino asserts. “It delivers on every level and I truly mean that, I don’t just say it because I’m in the show.

“If you’ve never experienced ‘Les Miserables’ then you’re going to experience it as its fullest grandeur and most unbelievable spectacle,” he continues, “and you’ll fall in love with it just like everyone did in 1986.”

“Les Miserables” plays at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 15—20. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit StrazCenter.org.

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In Memory of John “Tweeka” Barber 1972 - 2011

community calendar

event planner arts+entertainment

Central florida

Central florida

LGBT+ Monthly Business Mixer: Business, Banter & Beer

3rd Annual Orlando fringe Winter Mini-fest, Jan. 10-13, Loch Haven Park, Orlando. 407-648-0077; OrlandoFringe.org

FRiDay, Jan. 11, 5-7 P.M. tHe LGBt+ CenteR, ORLanDO

billy Joel, Jan. 11, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com Whose live anyway? w/ Drew carey, Joel Murray, greg Proops and Jeff b. Davis, Jan. 11, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ Love/Locations/Orlando bob the Drag Queen, Jan. 11, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando Johnny Mathis, Jan. 12, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org gay dodgeball Pick up game, Jan. 14, Downtown Recreation Center, Orlando. 407-246-4467; GayDodgeball.com 3rd Annual Women’s March - Truth To Power, Jan. 19, Lake Eola Park, Orlando.

WomensMarchCFL.org Amor’s 1 Year Anniversary with nina Sky, Jan. 19, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com blair St. Clair, Jan. 19, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Cher, Jan. 21, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com “hamilton,” Jan. 22-Feb. 10, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org An Empowering Night of laughter, Jan. 24, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-914-2744; OrlandoNewsroom.com

Come meet with other LGBTQ professionals, have a drink and mingle at The Center Orlando’s monthly business mixer. Light bites will be provided and a cash bar will be available. For more information, call 407-228-8272 or visit TheCenterOrlando.org.

danCing

Watermark’s Third Thursday

queen

tHURsDay, Jan. 17, 6-8 P.M. tWO sPiRit HeaLtH seRviCes, ORLanDO

The legend herself, Cher brings her ABBA-inspired “Here We Go Again Tour” to the Amway Center in Orlando Jan. 21. PHOTO cOurTEsY cHEr.cOM

Queer Quills book Club: “life beyond My body,” Jan. 24, LGBT+ Center, Orlando. 407-228-8272; TheCenterOrlando.org tlC, Jan. 25, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com/Love/ Locations/Orlando

tampa bay Balance Tampa Bay’s January Service, Jan. 12, The Spring of Tampa Bay, Tampa. 813-247-5433; BalanceTampaBay.org bob the Drag Queen, Jan. 12, Southern Nights, Tampa.

813-559-8625; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa drunken diznee singalong and Cosplay, Jan. 12, SubCentral at The Iberian Rooster, St. Petersburg. 727-258-8753; IberianRooster.com

Pride Skate, Jan. 14, United Skates of America, Tampa. 813-876-5826; UnitedSkates.com

howie Mandel, Jan. 24, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

“les Miserables,” Jan. 15-20, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.

813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org

Drag bingo for Pet Pal, Jan. 24, Flamingo Resort, St. Petersburg. 727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com

Balance Tampa Bay’s January Social, Jan. 17, Neiman Marcus at International Plaza, Tampa. 800-388-5646; BalanceTampaBay.org Drag Queen yoga, Jan. 19, SukhaLife Yoga Studio, St. Petersburg. 727-686-1912; Sukhamat.com Masters of Illusion, Jan. 19, The Lakeland Center, Lakeland. 863-834-8100; RPGFundingCenter.com Miss shave My face house Pageant, Jan. 20, Metro Wellness & Community Centers, St. Petersburg. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org

sarasota An Intimate Evening with Deb hunseder and Stephanie Callahan of halcyon, Jan. 12, The Reserve, Sarasota. 888-417-3737; TheReserveSRQ.com “hairspray,” Jan. 16Feb. 3, The Players Centre for Performing Arts, Sarasota.

941-365-2494; ThePlayers.org artrageous, Jan. 18, Venice Performing Arts Center, Venice. 941-218-3779; VenicePerforming ArtsCenter.com

Join Watermark for our first Third Thursday of the new year as we bring together some of our past Most Remarkable People recipients of Central Florida for a reunion. Light bites and first drink will be provided. Remember to bring cash for the raffle tickets to win some great prizes.

January’s Third Thursday benefits the Orlando Gay Chorus. For more information, visit Watermark’s event page at Facebook.com/WatermarkFL.

tampa bay

Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ sports Day sUnDay, Jan. 13, nOOn-4 P.M. eniGMa st. Pete, st. PeteRsBURG Join your favorite LGBTQ+ athletes at the 2nd Winter LGBTQ+ Sports Day. Representatives from Monday Mixed Classic, Advantage Tampa Bay Tennis, Gay Kickball, Suncoast Softball, Friday Night Playmates and Volleyball will be there. Drink specials, NFL playoffs, pool and prizes. Meet representatives from the area pride groups as well. For more information, email Sports@TampaPride.org.

Watermark Wednesday WeDnesDay, Jan. 16, 6-8 P.M. tHe WOODHOUse Day sPa, st. PeteRsBURG Come out to the first Watermark Wednesday of the new year as we gather together some of our past Most Remarkable People of Tampa Bay recipients for a reunion. As always, light bites will be provided and your first drink is on the house. Bring cash for raffle prizes. January’s Watermark Wednesday benefits SPCA Tampa Bay. For more information, visit Watermark’s event page at Facebook.com/WatermarkFL.

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

overheard

tampa bay out+about

play ball!

L

GBtQ atHLetes anD sUPPORteRs FROM aCROss taMPa Bay will hold the inaugural winter Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ Sports Day at Enigma Jan. 13.

Presented in partnership with Tampa and St Pete Pride, the gathering seeks to raise awareness about LGBTQ athletic opportunities throughout Tampa Bay. It follows the creation of an area marketing group focused on LGBTQ sports, spearheaded

by Suncoast Softball League (SSL) Producer and Tampa Pride LGBTQ+ Sports Liaison Gerre Reynolds as well as fellow SSL Hall of Fame player Andrew Cohen.

“This past spring we had the idea of getting the leagues together,” Reynolds says of the duo’s Aug. 2018 event, a gathering of nearly 100 attendees that celebrated the area’s diverse sports scene. “We realized when we got together that there was some crossover between leagues.

“We thought it would be interesting to get all of the athletes together, just for a fun social experience,” he continues, “and when we got to talking about it we realized there was actually synergy. We’re hoping this event will have new people and existing athletes come out.”

The winter event will highlight five existing Tampa Bay LGBTQ sports leagues.

Included are the area’s oldest, Monday Mixed Classic Bowling; the area’s largest, the SSL; the area’s newest, GayKickball; Advantage Tampa Bay Tennis and Friday Night Playmates Bowling. It will also introduce an incoming sixth league, volleyball, which is in the process of forming.

“LGBTQ+ sports have a rich history here,” Reynolds says. “The Monday Mixed Classic has sponsored their national bowling championships here before, the SSL just hosted the Gay Softball World Series, and three of the leagues host annual national tournaments: the Citrus Classic Tennis Tournament, the GAGME Bowling Tournament and the Gasparilla Softball Classic—one of Tampa’s largest, gay or straight.”

Reynolds says that having LGBTQ sports leagues, which are primarily composed of LGBTQ players but include community allies, breaks down barriers. “As long as everyone gets along, everyone’s welcome to play,” he says. “It shows people who otherwise might not interact with LGBTQ people that we’re just like everybody else.”

The leagues “enable us to reach out to the community as a whole,” he continues. “One of the things that sports can do is bring people together.”

For more information about the featured LGBTQ sports leagues or the inaugural winter Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ Sports Day, email Sports@TampaPride.org or search for the “Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ Sports Day” event on Facebook.

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BOOK BROs: Michael and zach zakar sell their book “Pray the Gay Away” before A Drag Queen Christmas at The Straz Dec. 28. Photo BY rYAN WIllIAMs-JENT

2

BiRtHDay BOy: Jeremy Skidmore celebrates his birthday with a custom Chanel cake at Ichicoro Ane Jan. 5. Photo cOurTEsY JEffrEY lucAs

3

CLUe CReW: (L-R) Maria spanolios-Braden, deidre favero, Richard Recupero, Dee spanolios-Braden and lindsey burkholder play Clue with a brew at 3 Daughters Jan. 1. Photo

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BY WAdE WIllIAMs-JENT

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DOG DUDes: (L-R) normand Carter, Joe Miami and Steven lewis hang with Jasmine at Dog Bar St. Pete Dec. 23. Photo

BY rYAN WIllIAMs-JENT

5

2019: (L-R) b., robbie frank and Kayla Chirpman ring in the new year at Enigma Jan. 1. Photo by

rYAN WIllIAMs-JENT

6

LOUDeR LOve: Pasco Pride supporters stand in front of protestors following the organization’s Drag Queen Story Hour Jan. 5.

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PHOTO cOurTEsY PAscO PrIdE

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neW yeaR: (L-R) Joey McDonald, Jason McCoy and Michael noel celebrate the first G2H2 Sarasota of the year at the Social Eatery & Bar Jan. 3.

Photo by RUSS MaRtIn

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(n)OH BOtHeR: Rockell blu and Pooh prep for Drag Queen Story Hour Tampa Bay at Community Cafe Dec. 29. Photo by rYAN WIllIAMs-JENT

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

overheard

Central florida out+about

no shame in this money

“t

He MOney COaCH” taMMy LaLLy Has Been On a MissiOn, and that mission is to help everyday people get out from underneath what she calls “money shame.” A part of that mission was releasing “Money Detox: Your Invitation to Liberation,” a self-help/textbook/autobiography book that told her personal money journey and how money shame was a factor in her brother’s suicide. “The book is really my brother’s legacy,” Lally told Watermark in September.

When Lally released “Money Detox” this past fall she vowed that 100 percent of profits from the book’s sale would be donated to organizations that work in suicide prevention.

Lally announced on her Facebook page Jan. 6 that “Money Detox” book sales have topped $1,500, all for suicide prevention, and thanked everyone who purchased the book. If you would like to purchase a copy of “Money Detox: Your Invitation to Liberation” you can find Amazon and Barnes & Noble links at TammyLally.com.

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deduCtions and donations

t

He U.s. taX CODe is nOt an easy tHinG tO UnDeRstanD and with all the changes that were implemented in 2018, the task of tax preparation may seem daunting—but have no fear, tax agent Rodney Willoughby and Block Advisors in Winter Park have you covered. Along with easing your filing anxiety, Willoughby is helping give back to the LGBTQ community this tax season with a fundraising campaign through H&R Block and Block Advisers which will benefit The LGBT+ Center of Central Florida. Here’s how it works: Come into Block Advisers at 2205 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park and let Willoughby help get your taxes prepared this year. While there, give him The Center’s special 14-digit code (400-1000-109-9542) and the company will donate $20 to The Center. It’s that easy. “It does not increase the fees that the client pays, all that stays the same,” Willoughby says. “The donations come directly out of the company’s pocket.” Willoughby, who has lived in Orlando for the past 30 years and been in the tax field for 15 years, worked with Tommi Pritchett at The Center to get them added to the list of organizations H&R Block and Block Advisers donate to. “It’s just an opportunity for me to give something back to my community,” Willoughby says. “We started this program a few years ago and we have had a lot of success with it.” Last year alone, the company issued donation checks totaling more than $1 million. The code is good in any H&R Block or Block Advisers nationwide so even those not living in the area can still be a part of donating to The Center. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Willoughby at 407-671-0999 or email him at Rodney.Willoughby@BlockAdvisors.com.

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MOney taLK: tammy lally (center) and author salon attendees show off Lally’s book “Money Detox” at the Winter Park Public Library Jan. 6. PHOTO cOurTEsY THE MONEY cOAcH

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MOvie tiMe: Ellen lang (L) and Rizwan zaman take in a flick at the Enzian Theater in Maitland Jan. 5. PHOTO cOurTEsY rIzWAN zAMAN

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nye, sOUtHeRn styLe: (L-R) Morgan thotcher, Christopher Milliron and tony lozardo countdown to the end of 2018 at Southern Nights in Orlando Dec. 31. PHOTO cOurTEsY sOuTHErN NIgHTs OrlANdO

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HOLiDay BLUe: Mari Devi haze (L) and blue Star party on New Year’s Eve at The Venue in Orlando Dec. 31. PHOTO cOurTEsY

MArI dEvI HAzE

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FinaL WeeKenD: (L-R) Morgan Cole, Pom Moongauklang and Mike Parrow celebrate the final weekend of 2018 at Stonewall Bar in Orlando Dec. 29. Photo BY dANNY gArcIa

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PH PaRty: (L-R) Carmen Carrera, Susan Unger, alaska, Don granastein and gia gunn bring in 2019 at the Parliament House in Orlando Jan. 1.

PHOTO cOurTEsY PArlIAMENT HOusE OrlANdO

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tHe BOys aRe BaCK: (L-R) Dylan todd, Rick Claggett, Wade Williams-Jent and Ryan Williams-Jent take the tram to Epcot at Walt Disney World for the Candlelight Processional Dec. 27. Photo by Dylan toDD

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RePResentinG: Orlando Rep. Carlos guillermo smith (L) and Chief of Staff Kristellys Estanga attend Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ inauguration in Tallahassee Jan. 8. Photo cOurTEsY rEP. cArlOs guIllErMO sMITH

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

• Bold Heading • Photo

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announcements

wedding bells

Mark and ricky Celaya-Renaud from Tampa, Florida

engagement date:

dec. 7, 2017

Wedding date:

nov. 11, 2018

venue:

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“a new adventure awaits”

PHotograPHer:

Josh Shipp, J. Bryan photography

PHOTO BY JOsH sHIPP, J. BrYAN PHOTOgrAPHY

“i

PROPOseD tO MaRK—We aRe

both Eagle Scouts and have a shared affinity for the outdoors and nature, so I planned out a camping trip to the Florida Caverns State Park,” Ricky Celaya-Renaud shares.

“We did a flashlight tour of the main caverns, and at the last possible chance before leaving the cave, I gathered my courage, got down on one knee and asked him to marry me.”

“Ricky decided to sign us up for a cave tour—I’m terrified of bats, by the way,” Mark Celaya-Renaud adds.

“I would’ve done anything to get out of that cave! Luckily, not only did I get out of the home of winged-monsters, but I came out of it engaged to the love of my life.”

Ricky, a St. Petersburg native, currently lives with his husband

Mark, a transplant from Granada Hills, Calif., in Tampa.

They first met at a karaoke competition. The more time each shared with the other, the more they realized they had found “the one.”

“My youngest sister gave birth to our nephew over the summer of 2017,” Ricky says.

“I knew when I got that phone call that she was in labor, that I wanted him to be there with

me for that moment and all moments after that.”

“I knew that we were a good match because of not only how much we had in common, but by how we could work through our differences,” Mark says. “I knew I needed to show him how much our relationship meant to me. We were planning a trip to Orlando, so I hid a surprise for him in the glove box of the car. I told him I’d drive, thinking that would make it easier to have him enjoy the moment of finding the gift, but he decided to clean out the car for the first 45 minutes of the trip.”

Mark continues. “Finally, after the car was to his satisfaction, I told him to open the glove box. He opened the promise ring I picked out for him, and I promised to be his for as long as he would have me.”

The two married on the Yacht Starship II in November, walking down the aisle to “A Thousand Years,” sung by local musician Jordan Zentz. Their first dance was to the song “Something New” by Julia Zahra.

“There was so much happening and what they say is true—the day is over in a blink of an eye,” Ricky says. “But the moment that was truly special was seeing my husband-to-be make his way up the aisle to stand next to me. A lot of things blurred in the rush of the day, but that moment of bliss will stick with me for a lifetime.”

“My favorite moment was during the sand ceremony,” Mark says. “We merged Los Angeles sand from the West Coast and St. Pete Beach sand from the East Coast. This not only symbolized the merging of our homes, but also the merging of our families together. It was amazing to see our parents so happy and excited to accept another son into their lives.”

—Aaron Drake

congratulations Orlando’s Ed dobski, aka Trixie Deluxxe, and bill bohannon were engaged on Jan. 1.

St. Petersburg couple Stephen hawk and Jonathan Soots will marry on Jan. 12.

condolences St. Petersburg’s Casey Crouse passed away Dec. 26. He will be dearly missed.

local birtHdays Former Watermark reporter Susan Clary, Orlando Fringe performer logan Donahoo, St. Petersburg florist bobby york, Rage of the Stage Players marketing director David Wooddell (Jan. 10); St. Petersburg instructor and massage therapist Jeremy Couture, Lakeland massage therapist David lesnett, Gulfport retired Birkenstock USA specialist Danny hughes (Jan. 11); Sarasota real-life cowboy bill flynn, Sarasota actress christine Alexander, Orlando promoter Jason nuez (Jan. 12); Watermark owner and publisher Rick Claggett, Tampa Bay marketing artist nick Capezza, Sarasota MCC pastor gina durbin (Jan. 13); Sarasota Pride’s Cindy barnes, Tampa’s former Chelsea Nightclub owner nikki turnon, Se7en Bites owner Trina gregory-Propst (Jan 14); real estate vixen Carla Stanton (Jan. 15); Bradley’s on Seventh bartender levi garrett; Orlando dog-walker Don Williams, Central Florida LGBTQ veterans advocate keri griffin Edenfield; Tampa realtor Patricc Petti, Central Florida musician Justin David (Jan. 16); Watermark art director Jake Stevens, Watermark contributor Scottie Campbell, St. Pete Pride Executive Director luke blankenship, Softball stud Richard harem, Tampa musician Connor zwetsch (Jan. 17); Lake Fairview Marina owner Cynthia Johnson, Orlando Gay Chorus vocalist Edd “Peaches” Sinnett, A League of Our Own member Jerry Rivera, JP Morgan Chase honcho Kris R. Johnson, Orlando Gay Chorus’ Edd “Peaches” sinnett (Jan. 18); Tampa Bay trainer Stephen Kalter (Jan. 19); Former Space Coast Pride President lexi Wright, Lakeland filmmaker Kevin O’Brien, Pageant aficionado aaron bailey (Jan. 20); Watermark senior sales representative Sam Callahan, Watermark contributor Colton adkins, Watermark business manager’s BFF Michelle Carter, D. Cole Hair Design owner and stylist Dylonn Cole (Jan. 21); GSH Radio host and Orlando resident greg Henchar; Orlando service industry pro Jeremy Indomenico, marketing analyst Kyle Mason hollingsworth, Tampa Bay politics pro Michael batista, Teak Neighborhood Grill manager bliss Chadwell (Jan. 22); Metropolitan Business Association secretary Michael Deeying, Orlando actor Mike van dyke (Jan. 23).

do you Have an announcement?

send your announcement to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com

do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 10 - J a nua ry 2 3, 2019 // Issue 26 .01

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Choose to fill 2019 with healthful living.

As we ring in 2019, Orlando Health wishes you and yours a happy, healthy new year — and we’re following up with a commitment to helping make it happen. As your local health partner, we can guide you in finding quality options for nutrition, exercise and wellness close to where you live your life.

To get started with your healthful living tips for 2019, visit our blog at OrlandoHealth.com/Blog or follow us on Instagram at @OrlandoHealth.

ChooseOrlandoHealth.com