YES! Weekly - June 1, 2022

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June 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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MACHETE was nominated for Best New Restaurant in the prestigious James Beard Awards- best in the United States, not one of the geographic subdivisions. That’s major league, indeed.The menu is constructed around tapas-style servings, some sized for sharing, others small, in comparison to full entrees in most other area restaurants.

Grazing and conversing, while sampling from the elaborate bar concoctions or sophisticated wine list, is the norm.

6 With the end of the 2021-’22 academic year at the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (UNCSA), Deborah LaVine has completed her first year as dean of the School of Filmmaking – and she’s already looking forward to the second.

8 For the past 20 years, I’ve been calling for all schools to have armed officers with metal detecting wands placed at every entrance, but I’m always told by politicians that my plan is impractical and would be too expensive. Yet, less than a week after Congress allocated $40 billion (unbudgeted) dollars to stop the carnage in Ukraine, we had CARNAGE HERE AT HOME, and once again, it occurred in a classroom.

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WATCHER, the award-winning debut feature from director/screenwriter Chloe Okuno, is a well-made but unremarkable thriller. Relying more on mood than violence – at least until the climax, which is plenty bloody – the film is undoubtedly a cut above the usual horror schlock (no pun intended) and should find favor among genre aficionados who prefer style over substance.

15 PRIDE WINSTON-SALEM returns with plans to take over Winston-Salem from June 12 to June 19 with several events.

Following a brief and safe hiatus, Pride Winston-Salem is back in full swing as the LGBTQIA community celebrates coming out, figuratively and literally.

19 Calling all freaks! Underground Presents brings its original cast together for a special Pride edition of the “FREAKY FRIDAY” DRAG AND VARIETY SHOW, on June 17 at Monstercade in Winston-Salem. Aiming to “put on the freakiest Pride event Winston Salem has ever seen!” organizers look to expand boundaries and raise funds for worthy causes—with door proceeds from the evening going to the 5th Ave Alliance’s LGB-Transgender Stability Assistance Project.

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[SPOTLIGHT]

DEVONTE JACKSON ON T WITH A TUDE

BY IAN MCDOWELL

The year 2015 was a pivotal time in the life of Devonte Jackson, pastor at New Faith Metropolitan Community Church in Winston-Salem.

His good friend Blake Brockington died that year by suicide at the age of 18, wrote Jackson in an email on Sunday.

“Like me, he was a trans man. We shared a birthday and when I met him, he was so full of life. We would talk and just have a lot of fun; he called me his big brother and he was an amazing young man. One of the last things we had a conversation about was how the resources for the transgender and non-binary community were just plain garbage.”

His friend’s death prompted Jackson to do something.

“In November of that year, I had Top Surgery and began planning and doing research. I wanted to make a difference for Blake and that is when I found Pride WS.” Jackson decided to compete as the first transgender male to enter the Pride WS Festival and Parade competition.

“I decided then that I wanted to compete if for nothing to at least tell my story to begin the journey of helping others. I figured everything else would fall into place later on. I competed in 2016 and to my surprise, no one competed against me, so I was crowned Mr. Pride WS 2016. That night was freeing for me. I was able to share a 3-minute presentation about things in my life that no one except my wife knew about. It was for Blake and a new beginning.”

The next year, he founded T with a Tude, a Trans Community panel discussion group that meets on the second Tuesday of each month at various locations throughout the city.

“T with a Tude was established in 2017, shortly after I gave up my title as the First Transgender male to compete. I was mad and had an attitude at the lack of resources in our community of Winston-Salem. That is when T with a Tude was formed with the help and ideas from several board members of Pride WS, as we decided we didn’t want to be a part of the problem due to lack of resources, but rather part of the solution.”

Jackson described the group’s mission as “to provide safe space for those that identify as transgender and non-binary working towards a more accepting environment through education, support, and social action, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.” He explained that the group “comes together to discuss various topics within the transgender and non-binary community and to share resources that will provide education, support, and social action; it not only equips the transgender and non-binary community but our friends, family, and allies to be able to help, as well.”

June marks Jackson’s fourth year as pastor at New Faith Metropolitan, where he was co-pastor from 2018 to 2020. He shared his thoughts on the church’s role in the LGBT community.

“We must love one another just as God loves us and meet people where they are in their journey, no matter where that is. I have people who say they do not believe in something they can’t see and I respect that. My job is not to beat the words of the Bible into them to make them believe, nor to tell them they are wrong or going WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

to hell. The LGBTQ community has been told for so long that we’re an abomination, but when asked the question by whose standard and whose judgment it can only be quoted by scripture written so many years ago.”

Scripture has always been used against the LGBT community, but Jackson pointed out that such literalism could easily be turned around.

“Could we not do that against those wearing linens that do not match, or eat foods forbidden by the Bible.

I could go on for days with this, but I am a witness that God is in my life each and every day and that God loves me. My favorite scripture that I live by is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I live by this because anything I have set out to accomplish when I put God first, he blesses it and make it fruitful for me in good and bad times.”

Jackson is greatly concerned about the rise in violence toward trans youth.

“It happens all the time. When parents kick our young people who have come out to them out of their house, this leads to violence as those young people get caught out on the streets. Once people find out they are trans or non-binary, they get assaulted, either physically or sexually. I think the worst is when parents use religion as a weapon, and then wonder why so many, not just in the trans, non-binary and LGBTQIA community, as a whole turn away from the church. New Faith MCC is non-denominational for this reason; we open our doors to love and support; not judge.”

Jackson, who turned 44 in May, grew up in Caswell County and in the church.

“My grandmother Laura Cornelia Whitted-Hemingway made sure I never missed a Sunday. I became a Christian when I was 5 years old, as that’s when I began to understand who God is. I just never knew there was a calling on my life to serve God as a Pastor until later on in life.

The more I spent time with God, the more answers I received that I was the one. The more I tried to run, the more I found my spiritual journey. I became aware of the concept of Pride when I was 27 years old.”

He grew up on a farm and led what he described as a very sheltered life, with little exposure to the world.

“Growing up, I had the news, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and the Golden Girls to watch on TV. I was sexually abused by my uncle and again by my son’s father and because I believed that this was the path that God chose for me and I do not believe (let me be clear for myself only) in abortion, I gave birth to my son.”

He entered the military in 1997, served in Germany and was deployed on 9/11. In 2005, after eight years of service, he was honorably discharged.

“Growing up, I didn’t like dresses and I knew I was different at the age of 8, but in the Black community and especially in my home, we didn’t show affection and if we did, it was considered a sign of weakness. The term ‘gay’ was never spoken, let alone transgender. I played with the boys and I dressed like a boy. After I was on my own, I was still scared to say anything to my family.

When I did come out to my biological mother, she didn’t take it very well but I continued on.”

Jackson began his transition medically at the age of 35.

“My wife Melissa Jackson and my drag kids Love Lee (Miranda Waters-Wellman) and Reddick (Ellesha Waters-Wellman) were my biggest supporters. I started T July 9, 2014, and had top surgery on Nov. 19, 2015. I legally changed my name September 2015 and this will be a forever transition but I am very happy to be where I am today.”

Jackson’s Twitter account lists his motto as “I am a Transman and your approval is not needed!” For YES! Weekly, he elaborated.

“It took me some time to accept myself because of everything I had been through. I never thought I was worthy of anything, so society and myself took a toll on me.

It was my wife Melissa who encouraged me to be who I am and be happy and she assured me that through any and all things she would be by me. She never let me talk bad about myself, so over the years, I gained confidence through her. We pray together, we talk through everything together; we went through times of just living off peanut and butter sandwiches and living paycheck to paycheck and grew stronger together through God. I finally realized in my life that the only approval I needed was my own and as long as I love me that is all that matters so what this means is ‘I love me some me.’ No one else’s approval is needed in my life.” !

IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

JUNE 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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WAGYU BEEF

Chow down with John Batchelor at Machete

BY JOHN BATCHELOR

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achete was nominated for Best New Restaurant in the prestigious James Beard Awards — best in the United States, not one of the geographic subdivisions. That’s major league, indeed.

The menu is constructed around tapasstyle servings, some sized for sharing, others small, in comparison to full entrées in most other area restaurants. Grazing and conversing, while sampling from the elaborate bar concoctions or sophisticated wine list, is the norm.

Items come out of the kitchen in no particular order, delivered by a runner who provides details about the dish. Full descriptions are available from servers, as well — among the best informed you will find, anywhere. Details are necessary.

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Cooking here ranks in the top echelon for complexity and creativity.

A half dozen “snacks” lead the way.

Consider, for example, something as simple as a tray of olives. Here, they are roasted. As soon as they arrive, an aroma of mustard wafts across the table. Red wine and orange juice are also part of the marinade, with marcona almonds added to the assortment for good measure. The flavors marry wonderfully with red wine.

Bread is not like any other I have had.

The menu characterizes it as “Dutch crunch” (a hot item in San Francisco) and it indeed bears a crunchy crust- white bread, brushed with a slurry of rice flour and yeast. A dab of soft butter, blended with foie gras and a little cognac, rests alongside. The impact from the liver is subtle.

The menu cites “Lettuce Wrap,” which

my wife and I found disconcerting, because “wrap” is singular, and in other locations, we have found the terminology to be literally correct. Machete’s grammarian, however, must have been thinking figuratively. Four wraps of tender butter lettuce, filled with a variety of mushrooms, plus pine nuts and pickled onion, dressed in an olive oil and toasted pine nut butter, served our party of four perfectly. [The photo only shows threeunindicted co-conspirator David got to the plate before I did.]

I had never encountered Duros before.

These grow out of Mexican snack food, large, crisp wafers, flavored with lime and chili. Adventurous, to say the least.

These are all priced below $10. An elaborate charcuterie of cured meats and cheese might be considered for a party of four or more, priced at $32.

Fourteen “plates” continue this culinary adventure.

Vegetables are either a “plate” of their own, or an a la carte selection to accompany a protein. We chose asparagus.

White and green spears are decorated with bread crumbs and coconut flakes, interspersed with vibrant red pickled Peruvian drop peppers. A tzatziki sauce (yogurt and herbs) lends bite.

A single Short Rib Croquette occupies about a fourth of the plate. Both texture and flavor are quite wonderful, a function of long braising in beef stock and balsamic vinegar, followed by careful trimming, so there is no waste. The pulled beef is then reassembled in a roll and fried, presented adjacent to a swirl of smoked mustard sauce, centered with a roasted onion slice. This costs $12. The price illustrates the concept — portions that are intended

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SHORT RIB CROQUETTE

ROASTED OLIVES

KEY LIME SORBET

HOUSEMADE ICE CREAM

to be combined with other selections, to add up to the cost and size of a more conventional entrée. You get a much more varied experience this way.

Lamb Bacon Pasta would satisfy even my appetite, although I would no doubt clean my plate. The pasta itself looks and tastes homemade, firm to the tooth, and the lamb bacon bursts with flavor and crisp texture. Ground hazelnuts lend complexity, while large strips of shaved pecorino cheese render a mellow influence.

There was more than one “Scallop” in my serving, menu singularity notwithstanding, but they had been cut up, so I couldn’t count with any precision. Every bite, however, exhibited near buttery tenderness, their flavor enriched with asiago cheese, morel mushrooms, and chorizo sausage.

“Wagyu” is steak, elevated to a high

level, indeed. Extensive marbling characterizes this variety, yielding unusual depth of flavor. The exterior had been expertly seared dark brown, the interior perfectly red to pink. Artistry in beef! A sauce of black garlic and hickory syrup augments, but does not interfere with, the primary flavor.

We tried two homemade ice creamschocolate chili and rose pistachio, plus an intense key lime sorbet, and Horchata- a decadent, dense, yet light dark chocolate concoction joined by raspberries and almonds, in aerated vegan coconut yogurt and whipped cream.

These, along with some savory collaborations, are the offspring of Chef de Cuisine Lydia Greene, a graduate of the Alamance Community College culinary program. I would classify them as masterpieces, nothing less.

The name “Machete” is intended to

convey the idea that this kitchen seeks to function on the cutting edge. That aspiration is central to chef Executive Chef Kevin Cottrell’s vision. He formerly cooked at Reel Seafood Grill and One Restaurant in Chapel Hill. Tanner Lankford, recently returned from training in Italy, is Sous Chef.

These chefs are joined and supported in their ambitions by owner Tal Blevins, who graduated from Page High School and UNC-G, then relocated to San Francisco, where he spent 20 years as a tech journalist. He and his wife, Nicole, became enamored with that city’s illustrious food scene. He was an investor in Lazy Bear, which earned two Michelin stars, and True Laurel, named one of America’s best bars

by Esquire magazine.

The Blevins met Cottrell and Greene at LaRue [RIP], then initiated a series of pop-up meals. Those morphed into a restaurant when the space on the edge of

downtown became available.

I think the Beard Awards showed good judgment when they recognized Machete.

It’s certainly on my “best” list! !

LETTUCE WRAPS WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

JOHN BATCHELOR has been writing about eating and drinking since 1981. Over a thousand of his articles have been published. He is also author of two travel/ cookbooks: Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants and Recipes from the North Carolina Coast, and Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina.

Contact him at john.e.batchelor@gmail.com or see his blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com.

WANNA

go?

Machete is located at 600-C Battleground Ave, Greensboro | 336-265-8859 | machetegso.com Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday | 5-10 p.m.

Friday & Saturday Snacks: $4-$32 | Plates: $10-$44 | Desserts: $7-$16 Most recent visit: May 21

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Year One: UNCSA School of Filmmaking dean looks back and looks ahead

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Mark Burger

Contributor

ith the end of the 2021-’22 academic year at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), Deborah LaVine has completed her first

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year as dean of the School of Filmmaking – and she’s already looking forward to the second.

LaVine (pronounced “LaVyne”) is the second female School of Filmmaking dean, after Susan Ruskin, who served from 2013-’19, and she recently returned from the annual UNCSA trip to Los Angeles with graduating students, where they meet and interact with profession-

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als in the industry. “It was excellent,” she said. “It exceeded expectations. The students were really wowed.”

An award-winning film and stage director, LaVine was the program director of the graduate-level directing program at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), prior to coming to UNCSA. Although she had never visited the campus before, she was well aware of

the school and its reputation. “I’ve been in film education for 30 years, and it’s a small kind of eco-system, so I did know of the school.”

Her enthusiasm for her new position is palpable. “I’m very much in love with the school,” she said. “That may sound romanticized, but I feel very honored. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s exhilarating, it’s exciting. We’ve begun some interest-

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ing initiatives. It’s clearer what’s succeeded and what didn’t. There has been a big learning curve, and I don’t think that learning curve will ever really end, but I think that’s a good thing. I love it.”

Last month, the School of Filmmaking was once again recognized by Variety in its selection of the “30 Top Film Schools in North America.” Each year, the publication analyzes the top school programs in the United States and abroad, and this year noted that “film education is a fast-growing and widely expanding focus.”

Regarding this latest accolade, “UNCSA deserves to be at the top of any list of best film schools,” she said. “With our terrific value and an even playing field created by our financial support of thesis films, alongside our incredible faculty and uniquely collaborative environment, UNCSA is a gem among film schools worldwide.”

Of course, a major adjustment was the resumption of in-person classes and events as the COVID-19 pandemic began to abate. She’d had experience dealing with the situation at CalArts. “It was complicated,” she admitted. “Some people were more than ready to return to the classroom, others — understandably — were a little more reluctant. We did have a brief spike, it was kind of a mini-rollercoaster ride. It’s harder to connect with students when you don’t have in-person classes, but I think we’ve done well.”

Besides, she noted, “we’ve got to look ahead.”

Originally from Cleveland, LaVine is currently bi-coastal, with homes in California and Winston-Salem. “It’s a little schizophrenic,” she said, “but it’s a wonderful adventure.”

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LaVine isn’t the only “newcomer” to UNCSA; Endalyn Taylor (School of Dance) and Saxton Rose (School of Music) are among those who also completed their first full year as dean, to say nothing of UNCSA chancellor Brian Cole.

“It’s a dynamic moment for the school,” LaVine observed. “We have so many new administrators, and we’re very like-minded and very interested in cross-collateralization. We have, I think, a shared vision. There’s a great energy.”

This was also the first year that LaVine got to experience the RiverRun International Film Festival, on whose Board of Directors she now sits. She was able to participate in RiverRun screenings and events. “That was also a joy,” she said.

“It’s beautifully organized, really impressive. It’s top drawer.”

LaVine still teaches remote classes to students in Berlin and Latvia, and still has projects she’s working on. But, for the time being, she’s not teaching classes at UNCSA — although she’d like to at some point in the future, if possible. “I’d love to get into the classroom, because I love that interaction with the students.

Being dean is 24/7, no doubt about it, but I’m able to compartmentalize things. I have two children, a husband, and a dog. You just have to find — and make — the time for everything.

“There’s a crazy Energizer Bunny in my soul,” she laughed. “When you love what you do, it fills you. It doesn’t diminish you.”

For more information, visit the official UNCSA website: https://www.uncsa. edu/. !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2022, Mark Burger.

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Our children are massacred... AGAIN

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or the past 20 years, I’ve been calling for all schools to have armed officers with metal detecting wands placed at every entrance, but I’m always told by Jim Longworth politicians that my plan is impractical and would be too Longworth expensive. Yet, less at Large than a week after Congress allocated $40 billion (unbudgeted) dollars to stop the carnage in Ukraine, we had carnage here at home, and once again, it occurred in a classroom.

What happened in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 was horrific.

After shooting his own grandmother, an 18-year-old male shot and killed 19 little children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. We don’t know

his motivation because he is no longer alive to tell us. We don’t know how long he had been planning to purchase two assault-style rifles. We don’t know if he had threatened violence before, or if he was making some sort of political statement. There is a lot about this tragic incident that we might never know. But we know what he did, and we know who he did it to, and that should be enough for our elected officials to finally take action. History tells us they won’t. They didn’t take action after Columbine or Sandy Hook, or Parkland, so why expect them to act differently now. Sure, there will be plenty of “thoughts and prayers” offered, but politicians aren’t likely to do anything now that will make thoughts and prayers unnecessary in the future.

Our kids used to have fire drills at school, now they have shooter drills. But, drills don’t prevent violence, they only react to it. Yes, we need tougher gun laws, including thorough background checks and a higher minimum age for purchasing those guns. Yes, we need more comprehensive mental health screenings

and better inter-jurisdictional communication among law enforcement agencies.

And yes, we need to put parents in prison who make guns readily available to their kids. But even if you outlawed the sale of all guns, keep in mind that there are already more guns in circulation than there are people in this country. Translation?

Most anyone can get his hands on most any kind of gun. Regardless, reforms of any kind take time, so what we need right now is better school security.

Sure, I understand that my solution will cost a fortune, and it isn’t 100% foolproof. After all, armed officers stationed inside of a building can’t always stop shootings that occur outside of school buildings, but they can at least be in position to neutralize shooters quicker in those instances. Believe me, I’ve heard all of the arguments on the left and the right as to why more police and metal detectors aren’t the answer. But do we really want to tell parents at Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Robb elementary that school security costs too much money? We are the wealthiest nation

in the world, yet it seems that our local, State, and Federal governments have funds for everything except school security and that just makes no sense. It’s also sadly ironic that our elected officials love to argue about the sanctity of life before birth and then ignore the sanctity of life after birth.

A law enforcement official once told me that schools are like small communities, and that the children who comprise those communities deserve all of the same protections afforded any other community. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here in America, and now 19 more children are dead. But hey, school security would cost too much, wouldn’t it? Better to just do nothing and bury our heads in the sand. That’s what we’re good at. We’re also good at burying children. Too bad we can’t stop doing the former in order to stop having to do the latter. !

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15).

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flicks

Watcher: Someone wicked this way comes

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atcher, the awardwinning debut feature from director/ screenwriter Chloe Okuno, is a wellmade but unremarkable thriller. Relying more on mood than Mark Burger violence — at least until the climax, which is plenty Contributor bloody — the film is undoubtedly a cut above the usual horror schlock (no pun intended) and should find favor among genre aficionados who prefer style over substance.

Maika Monroe plays Julia, who accompanies her husband Francis (Karl Glusman) to Bucharest, where he has been transferred due to his job. Although Francis is half-Romanian and can speak the language, Julia can’t. She’s a stranger in a strange land, and things get much stranger when she spies a figure in the apartment across from theirs observing them on a regular basis.

Julia’s paranoia is further fueled by a spate of serial killings in the area committed by a fiend known as “The Spider,” whose grisly specialty is decapitating his victims, which are primarily young women.

Attempting to ascertain the trajectory of this tale is not difficult, but Okuno succeeds in establishing a menacing mood that subtly intensifies as the narrative progresses, with cinematographer Benjamin Kirk Nielson making his noteworthy feature debut. Nathan Halpern’s score is reasonably effective, although it occasionally echoes the score for It Follows, the cult 2014 chiller that gave Monroe’s career a significant boost and established her as a contemporary “scream queen,” although in interviews she disdains the moniker.

Based on a screenplay by Zack Ford, who earns a co-producer credit, the comparisons to Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) are inevitable, but Watched is more similar to Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965) and The Tenant (1976), and — more recently — John Carpenter’s 1978 TV movie Someone’s Watching Me!. It’s well-made and spooky, but it doesn’t have many surprises in store. There’s the obligatory dream sequence, a couple of false alarms, and the inevitable skepticism regarding Julia’s fears. This, of course, causes a rift in her relationship with Francis, who seems

more preoccupied with office gossip than comforting her.

Since so little backstory is provided for their characters, Monroe and Glusman are competent if on the bland side, as is Madalina Anea as the friendly stripper who lives next door and disappears midway through, but does inform Julia that she has a gun hidden in her coffee table (a major plot point). As the sloe-eyed, stone-faced neighbor whom Julia comes to suspect of being The Spider, Burn Gorman doesn’t overplay his hand, thereby keeping the film’s suspense simmering. He does a lot with a little, and the same could be said of Chloe Okuno and Watcher. This is essentially simple fare, yet it’s dressed up with enough ambiance and atmosphere to make it worth a look.

— Watcher opens Friday !

See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2022, Mark Burger.

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[NEWS OF THE WEIRD] WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

More than 800 New Yorkers aged 75 and older are going to get a new friend, The Verge reported.

The New York State Office for the Aging is distributing robot Chuck Shepherd companions named ElliQ, built by Israeli company Intuition Robotics, to help with social isolation — for example, engaging in small talk and helping contact loved ones.

“It focuses on what matters to individuals: memories, life validation, interactions with friends and families,” said NYSOA director Greg Olsen. Intuition Robotics said ElliQ can project empathy and form bonds with users, even cracking jokes for users who tend to laugh a lot.

FINE POINTS OF THE LAW

According to the Conrad Public School District in Conrad, Montana, there’s an old law on the books that stipulates that a school principal is responsible for feeding and tending a horse if a student rides it to school. On May 23, WTHR-TV reported, 12 students at Conrad High School put the statute to the test, riding their steeds up to the school and leaving them in the care of Principal Raymond DeBruycker throughout the school day. Apparently DeBruycker had no time to comment while he kept his charges watered and fed and (presumably) mucked the parking lot.

GOALS

A man in Japan identified as Toko has spent almost $16,000 to make himself look like a collie, fulfilling his dream and depleting his savings in one fell swoop, Wionews reported. Toko contracted with a professional company called Zeppet, which makes sculptures and costumes for movies and amusement facilities, to create a costume that is extremely realistic. It took 40 days to build. “I made it a collie because it looks real when I put on,” Toko said. “Longhaired dogs can mislead the human figure.

I met such a condition and made collie, my favorite breed of dog.”

CRIMINAL NO LONGER ON THE LAM(B)

In South Sudan, inmates at a military camp have a new jailbird to get to know — or maybe that should be “jailsheep.”

NBC Montana reported that the ram was arrested and convicted in May of murdering an African woman “by hitting her in the ribs and the old woman died immediately,” said police chief Major Elijah Mabor. “The

YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 1-7, 2022

owner is innocent, and the ram is the one who perpetrated the crime, so it deserves to be arrested.” However, the owner has also been ordered to pay five cows to the victim’s family.

WEIRD SCIENCE

The Cambodian Ministry of Environment has taken to Facebook to plead with the public to stop picking a rare carnivorous plant known as a “pitcher plant” for the way it captures insects, Live Science reported on May 17. The plant, Nepenthes bokorensis, could be driven to extinction if people continue to harvest it, scientists warn. So why, you might ask, are people, particularly women, so drawn to picking the plants and having their photos taken with them? While the leaves are still developing, the mouths of the plants resemble men’s genitalia. “If people are interested, even in a funny way, to pose, to make selfies, with the plants, it’s fine,” said Francois Mey, a botanical illustrator. “Just do not pick the pitchers, because it weakens the plant.”

LOSE SOMETHING?

Iberia Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s officers were called out at 3:30 a.m. on May 22 because of a house found abandoned on a trailer attached to a truck, KATC-TV reported. The rig was blocking the road, and signs, mailboxes and trees had been damaged along the street. In addition, power lines and poles had been hit, knocking out power to about 700 customers in the area.

Deputies arrested Tony Domingue, 46, and Nico Comeaux, 32; they had been told they needed permits to move the home, but they went ahead and tried to do it on their own anyway. Both men were held at the Iberia Parish jail.

I’LL HAVE THE PASTA

Florida International University recently published a three-year study of bonefish living off the South Florida coast that might make you rethink your entree order. The fish they studied averaged seven pharmaceutical drugs, with at least one containing 17 different substances, ClickOrlando.com reported. Lead researcher Jennifer Rehage said the drugs are entering the fisheries through the wastewater systems and include blood pressure medications, antidepressants, antibiotics and pain relievers, among other medicines.

Researchers said the drugs could also be changing the fishes’ behavior, making them more susceptible to predators, or affecting their reproduction. !

© 2022 Chuck Shepherd. Universal Press Syndicate.

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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[KING Crossword]

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just add salt

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feature

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Jack True Sr. at Santa House

True Legacy: Famous Santa House to be demolished, True Brothers move on

T

his is the story of the Greensboro house the daily papers printed directions to every Christmas, and the country music duo who grew up there Ian McDowell and were briefly so well-known that Contributor Willie Nelson asked to meet them.

They never made money or the big time, but the middle time seemed in reach.

“We came close to grabbing the brass ring on the Merry-go-Round, like in that Elvis song in Roustabout,” Roger True said Saturday as he loaded up the truck that will take him, his wife Katie, and their kids to a home 487 miles away that’s not collapsing like the “Santa House” on 507 S. Chapman.

Roger has endless stories of the True Brothers, and the legends they met here YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 1-7, 2022

and on the road. But first, he wanted to talk about his father, Jack Carl True Sr. and the house that Jack built into a Greensboro legend.

By the time you’re reading this, Roger and his family will be in Pennsylvania, because that’s how far they had to go to find affordable housing. Soon, the “Santa House” will be gone, too.

Jack True Sr., the Santa Claus of Chapman Street, was born in Greensboro in 1932. He married his wife Jettie in Danville and brought her back to the city he loved.

Their son Jack Jr. (Jacky) was born in 1963, and Roger in 1966. (From here, “Jack” refers to Roger’s father and “Jacky” to his brother).

Jack worked for the Bell Telephone Company. A fall from a utility pole put him on permanent disability. The $475 monthly check didn’t go far.

The house they rented on Chapman in 1962 was built thirty years earlier. “It was in bad shape when we moved in,” said Roger, “but at least the roof didn’t leak yet.”

Jack had been decorating their various

PHOTO BY IAN MCDOWELL

The Santa House today homes for the holidays since the 1950s. In the 60s, he started renting 16mm horror movies and westerns from Blackhawk Films and showing them in the backyard.

“We had a ‘moviejector’ and would show them on a screen we built from cast-off two-by-fours. Parents going to movies at Friendly Center and the new Four Seasons would drop their kids off here, as they knew they could trust my dad, and pick them up on their way home.”

Jack bought second-hand holiday decorations when he could afford them, and

then people started donating.

“It was my mom’s idea for my dad to play Santa Claus. First couple of times, people from the bars threw beer cans at his feet, and he got mad, but mama told him, honey, you know how much you love Christmas. And he did, and folks started appreciating him and bringing their kids.”

And then Roger said the first of two things he wanted to stress.

“Daddy never asked nobody for nothing.

People donated stuff, but as he told the newspaper, if anybody is gonna give you

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Jack and Jettie True in early 60s

Santa House anything, they’re gonna do it out of the kindness of their heart, you don’t have to ask.”

And word spread.

“In 1971, Jerry Bledsoe wrote an article that went big, and Daddy got interviewed on News 2. A lot of important people stepped inside that house, like Bill Kopald, Sandra Hughes, Rod Davis and Lee Kinard, and they kept it going. Come Christmas, there would be a little map to this place in the newspaper.”

Halloween became big, too, especially in the 80s, with Cassandra Petersen hosting the nationally syndicated Elvira’s Movie Macabre and Dana “Billy-Bob” Lowell showing horror movies on WGBT. “BI-LO grocery, where I worked, gave me an old banner, and on the blank side, I painted NIGHTMARE ON CHAPMAN WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

STREET, and cars lined up from 29 to Market. Daddy would wear this gorilla suit and scare the kids, and then one day, this man drove up and offered him $200 for that costume, saying he wanted to scare the crap out of his wife. Daddy said, sure, but if she dies from a heart attack, don’t say where you got the suit. Fortunately, she was fine, just gave her husband a good whuppin’ and no dinner for two weeks.”

One Halloween, Jack ran out of candy.

“The News 2 guy with the Burt Reynolds mustache came out and asked why we was sitting inside watching horror movies on Billy-Bob. Dad said he’d run out of candy to give the kids. So, Tobacco USA, Food Lion, Big Lots, all began dropping boxes of candy on the porch, and we never had to buy a stick of candy again.”

Jettie True died of a heart attack on

Roger and Jacky True at the gates of Graceland Christmas Day, 1976. “That was a big loss for Daddy and me.”

Six years later, landlord Osborne Realty wanted to sell the Santa House out from under Santa. “A lady named Sandra Hoyle saved us by starting the ‘Santa Claus is True’ fundraiser campaign.” On Valentine’s Day, 1982, campaign organizers presented Jack with a $20,000 check to buy his house from Osborne.

Beginning in 1974, Jack wore a Santa suit every Christmas; first a $25 one, and then a $125 suit from Sears. And then someone

sent him an $800 suit with gold trim. The mysterious donor was Elvira.

“My Dad watched her show every week back in the 80s. He joined her fan club, and he wanted me to send her pictures of him as a Santa Claus, and of his house. Years later, we got this big package, and it was that suit from Elvira.”

Jack last wore that Santa suit in 2000, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia at Cone Hospital. He died in May 2003.

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Roger True with tribute to his father that he painted on wood and carved with a jigsaw

Ron Craddock brother of Billy Crash Craddock with Jack True

Jack True as Easter bunny

FROM PAGE 13

In September 2000, Roger and Jacky, who had been performing for over a decade as the country and rockabilly duo True and True, were told they could open for Willie Nelson at the Central Carolina Fair at the Greensboro Coliseum, where Roger worked security until last week.

“Coliseum had been letting us play the Greensboro Fair since Day One. We’d been told we could open for Willie, but then the deputy boss man told us there was a change of plans ‘Because you boys don’t have no insurance, you can’t play on the same stage as Willie, so we’re putting you in the Beer Garden.”

But Willie Nelson knew who the True brothers were, and sent his sister Bobbie to buy their CDs at their merchandise table.

And then they got word that Willie wanted to meet them.

“We went home like dummies and changed clothes, dumped our J2100 guitar and Epiphone, came back, and almost missed Willie. But the door to his trailer opened, and there he stood, barefoot and in Nike shorts, and yelled ‘the True Brothers!’ in that famous voice of his. He said ‘it looks like you boys is doing real good.’ We told him we were trying to get somewhere and wanted to meet him.”

“He said, ‘well, you met me, and it’s a cut-throat business, they’ll smile to you and stab you in the back’, and he was right.”

Roger naming those guitars relates to the other thing he wanted to stress.

“When we first started, some folks said we weren’t really playing, and even that our guitars had no strings. One time, we was playing, and Jackie said ‘okay, let’s kill this rumor,’ and then he strummed his guitar real loud.”

According to Roger, the myth started because they sounded so much like their YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 1-7, 2022

PHOTO BY IAN MCDOWELL

idols the Wilburn Brothers that people thought they weren’t actually singing, and because they had no band and bought their backing tracks from a karaoke company. “Then we recorded two albums at Big Mama’s recording studio up in Knoxville.”

They’ve also recorded with the Reidsville bluegrass banjo player and singer Bobby Atkins, who died in March.

One day Atkins came to visit Jack True at the Santa house. “My Daddy said “my boys are True and True,’ as we was calling ourselves for a while. ‘I know,’ said Bobby, ‘I see them at BI-LO all the time.’ And so, we did a couple of shows with Bobby at the weenie roasts in Daddy’s backyard. Daddy would move his car out and let Bobby park his Cadillac in the driveway, as he was the star.”

Roger also told how a member of one of the pre-eminent brother acts in country music kicked him in the ass.

“We even got to sing on the Midnight Jamboree in Nashville at the Ernest Tubb

Record Shop near the Grand Ole Opry.

Then we went to Hardy, Arkansas, to do a gig for Charlie Louvin of the Louvin Brothers.”

“We rode to Arkansas with, what do you call them little hard biscuits, a bagel?

We rode there with a bagel stuck on the hood of that truck and that bagel never did fall off. We got there and was trying to rehearse, and Charlie Louvin came up and said, hey boys, the concert ain’t here, it’s down at the fire station, and he kicked me in the butt and said get going. Now that’s a treasured memory, like being kicked by Elvis or Michael Jordan.”

Between Sing the Hits of Webb Pierce in 2000 and 90 Proof Whiskey: Under the Influence of Hank in 2009, the True Brothers recorded ten albums. Roger said there’s unlikely to be any more, due to his brother’s health and what will soon be literal distance between them. He also said he’s known it was over for a while.

“Most of the clubs died, and those that have hung on don’t want us no more.”

Jacky has lived in Summerfield for decades, but Roger stayed in the Santa House and tried to keep its tradition alive, only giving up when the crumbling house almost killed him.

“Remember that heavy sheetrock they used to hang on houses? I came in one night from working crazy hours and laid on the couch, and that stuff came down and I thought I’d been hit in the head with a sledgehammer.”

He’ll be 61 soon and is taking early retirement, quitting his longtime job working security at the Coliseum.

“I draw my best original paycheck from there on Tuesday, the same day we’ve got to be out of here by, so I’ve been trying to sell some stuff and make ends meet, so we have gas and everything to get to Pennsylvania. Might have been different if we didn’t get hardly nothing for the house. They promised us first $81,000, but knocked it down to $67,000, and took $1,000 from that to make us pay rent. I didn’t want to go to Matt Brown at the Coliseum for help, as I don’t like doing that.

But we got a real good deal on the house my wife purchased in Farrell, Pennsylvania. Was the closest place we could find anything we could afford, what with nothing being available here, as crazy as Greensboro’s prices and rents are. I know we need to get used to it being real cold where we’re going, but I got memories to keep me warm.”

He said the most important ones were of his father.

“That’s what shouldn’t be forgot. What he did here all those years, and how mama was the one who told him to do it, and the life they had together.” !

IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

WWW.YESWEEKLY.COMW

From Winston, with Pride: Pride WS prepares for 2022 festival Pride WinstonSalem returns with plans to take over Winston-Salem from June 12 to June 19 with several events.

Following a brief and safe hiatus, Pride Winston-Salem is back in full swing Chanel Davis as the LGBTQIA community celebrates Editor coming out, figuratively and literally.

Pride WS President Jerry Morin said there are a lot of emotions ahead of this year’s festival. With this being the first time that the city celebrates during June, the festival would coincide with national Pride Month. Typically the organization holds

the event in October. In 2019, the festival brought an estimated 35,000 people to downtown Winston-Salem.

“We want to make sure everything is just right. There are a lot of details left to handle this year and our volunteers have been working nonstop to do that,” he said.

With new sponsors and partnerships in play, it was important to Morin and others on the board to go ahead and hold the festival, having not held one since 2019 due to COVID. “We had postponed it twice and didn’t want to go another year without one,” Morin said. “We had a lot of people asking when we were going to do it and the overall theme was the sooner, the better.”

This year’s event kicked off with its annual Mister and Miss Pride Winston-Salem pageant held on May 22, 2022, at Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, located

at 420 High St SW, and sponsored by the new Pulse Vodka. The title “requires titleholders to engage the community, be a leader, and do the work; remembering that Pride Winston-Salem is a year-round organization that keeps a full schedule of events,” according to the organization’s pageant information.

This year’s Mister and Miss are real-life couple Macximus P. and Jazmine Monet Cassidine. Both will be in attendance at the parade and festival on June 18.

“She’s performed at pride several times and Mac also has a band that performs at pride. They did work out that he could do both.”

This year’s parade and festival will feature some familiar faces and some new sites. The festival is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the parade will begin at Spring and Fourth Streets at 11 a.m. There will be a

food truck rodeo on-site offering everything from pizza and burgers to Italian ice.

The organization is still accepting applications for the food truck rodeo. There will also be Free Mom Hugs available.

“Right now we have six trucks that have committed. In 2019, we had 12 trucks and 10 of them sold out of food. We try to make it worth it.”

Safety is still a top priority for Morin and the Pride WS team. There will be masks available for those in need, there are hand washing and sanitizing stations and the Pride WS tent will be full of all those necessary items.

“I’ve been working with the WinstonSalem Police Department and they’re on it. They have a lot of things in place, stuff that festival-goers won’t see, that will be PAGE 16]

Pride Winston-Salem 2018

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JUNE 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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Pride Winston-Salem 2016 FROM PAGE 15

there,” he explained. I’m fully confident that they will protect us. We are just trying to make people safe in a lot of different ways.”

In years past, the parades have consisted of walking groups or people riding in vehicles. This year’s parade will feature at least six floats.

“The whole float thing is new for us.

Normally people are walking so they can interact with the crowd. The floats need safety personnel and pacers, so we’re trying to accommodate that,” Morion said.

The parade-reviewing stand will be in front of Camino Bakery, a sponsor for the event. Always a fan favorite, according to Morion, the stand will be emceed by former television news anchor Brent Campbell and drag queen CC Labrie.

“They will be calling the parade from that spot. We get bios from our participants, they basically write their own story, and CC and Brent read them as they go YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 1-7, 2022

by,” Morin explained. It’s quite fun actually.”

Morin and his vice president, Kandi, have been instrumental in organizing the festival for the past 10 years and have tried to make it a little different from the last. He still suspects there to be new attendees this year.

“Winston-Salem has seen a surge in queer programming which just adds to the demographic. I think we’re going to see a lot of different attendees and groups at the festival. Our festival has always been open to everybody and we’ve always had great support from the community at large. The city is a great support to us.”

He said that in the past few years, more

families were attending the event, both traditional and not, especially since marriage equality happened.

You’re just seeing different families made up of different people. That’s what we want. We try to keep it family-friendly so people would feel comfortable with their kids. It’s worked for 10 years so I hope it continues.”

A proponent of marriage equality and having participated in numerous marriage equality actions across the state, Morin said he’s glad to see the evolution and takes into account the children of the LGBTQIA community when planning.

“The people that used to be running around with wings and leather underwear at these events now have families. They

now have children - because they can get married and they can adopt,” he said.

For Morin and the Pride WS board, the event is much more than a person’s sexual orientation. It’s about inclusion and acceptance.

“It is a pride festival but more pride about our community at large. WinstonSalem has always been so diverse and inclusive. I’ve personally never had any issues. I just want people to come and have fun, and that’s what it’s about. It’s not that he’s gay or she’s a lesbian. It’s not about that. It’s about people out having fun. It’s for the kids that are questioning their place in the world. They get a chance to see other people that are like them and that it is ok. That’s what makes it worth it for me.” !

CHANEL DAVIS is the current editor of YES! Weekly and graduated from N.C. A&T S.U. in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s worked at daily and weekly newspapers in the Triad region.

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photos

VISIT YESWEEKLY.COM/GALLERIES TO SEE MORE PHOTOS!

[FACES & PLACES]

by Natalie Garcia

ROAR

AROUND THE TRIAD YES! Weekly’s Photographer

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Tracks At The Stacks feat. Ben Singer @ Revolution Mill

5.28.22 | Winston-Salem

5.26.22 | Greensboro

JUNE 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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hot pour PRESENTS

[BARTENDERS OF THE WEEK | BY NATALIE GARCIA] Check out videos on our Facebook!

BARTENDER: Savanna Vongphakdy BAR: Electric Tequila

Rody’s Tavern feat.

Second Glance Band

AGE: 26

5.28.22 | Greensboro

WHERE ARE YOU FROM? Rhode Island HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BARTENDING? 1 year HOW DID YOU BECOME A BARTENDER? It was always a passion of mine.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT BARTENDING? Meeting a lot of cool people and seeing different colors of the drinks I make.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO MAKE? Liquid marijuanas and strawberry Hennessy margaritas WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK TO DRINK? Corona with lime and a hint of salt WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS AN AFTER-DINNER DRINK? Jameson orange with pineapple juice on ice

YES! WEEKLY

JUNE 1-7, 2022

WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN WHILE BARTENDING? Being involved as a bartender in a movie scene.

WHAT’S THE BEST TIP YOU’VE EVER GOTTEN? $300

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tunes

HEAR IT!

Drag for Pride: Underground Presents features special edition

C

alling all freaks!

Underground Presents brings its original cast together for a special Pride edition of the “Freaky Friday” drag and variety show, on June Katei Cranford 17 at Monstercade in Winston-Salem.

Aiming to “put on Contributor the freakiest Pride event WinstonSalem has ever seen!” organizers look to expand boundaries and raise funds for worthy causes — with door proceeds from the evening going to the 5th Ave Alliance’s LGB-Transgender Stability Assistance Project.

Underground Presents, a traveling troupe of performers based out of Greenville, maintain strong ties to the Triad through their “Freaky Friday” monthly series; with founders Hysteria Cole and Ellis D (a drag mother-and-son duo) pushing the needle of entertainment while pushing inclusivity throughout the queer and performer communities.

“We open the doors of all forms of drag and queer art including, drag kings, burlesque, and non-binary performers who more often don’t get enough spotlight,” said Ellis D., a drag king with the charming wiles of a “sleazy goblin boyfriend.”

But it’s a sweet sort of sleaze. “We want to make something truly special,” they added, turning to the Monstercade show, one of four charity shows the troupe is hosting this month.

“The Underground Presents family is filled with Pride this season,” they continued. “June is a time we especially like to give back to the community.” Purposed to “make sure queer money gets back in the hands of queer people, to help people in the queer community,” Ellis D.’s pride extends to the cast, and “everyone who has been a part of this experience.”

The cast itself includes: fellow drag kings, Roy Fahrenheit and Star Sirius; drag queens Crystal Violet Van Dank (a “drag super monster”), Persephone 5000 (a self-proclaimed “TS stripper hoe”) and burlesque artist, Mona Loverly. Hysteria Cole and Andy Drodge will serve as hosts for the evening.

Fahrenheit (a Triad-based king) sees Drodge as her drag father, adding a family special element amongst the freaks and WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATIE MURAWSKI

From left: Lola Lastrange, Ellis D., Star Sirius, Hysteria Cole, Andy Drodge and Roy Fahrenheit (center) sleaze of the evening. By day, Fahrenheit is better known as former YES! Weekly editor, Katie Murawski, who credits Drodge and the Underground family for instilling confidence and a sense of belonging.

As Roy Fahrenheit, Murawski melds a love of camp and rhinestones into a mustached sleazebag persona. With a backstory as a valet in the 1980s, Fahrenheit relished “joy rides in rich people’s cars while lip-synching to Queen.” A fateful drag above 88MPH in a 1981 DeLorean shot him into the future of 2019; where he stayed to serve the freaks. And has been serving a glittered brand of “boylesque” ever since.

Inspired by a “plethora” of pop culture — from Elton John to “the Wedding Singer,” to the Sultan of Sleaze himself, Mr. John Waters — Murawski’s act leans heavily on the 1980s for more than character development and Back to the Future references. “It was the time of excess and the Reagan-era really reinvigorated the queer rights movement because that administration was actively killing our community and acting like it was divine intervention,”

she explained. “The energy of the music at the time, coupled with the political climate is just really inspiring. Especially coming out of the Trump era. It’s almost like time is repeating itself.”

Channeling that inspiration to build herself and the community, Murawski embraces her own vulnerability while projecting experiences engrained throughout the patriarchy. “Seeing myself transformed into this sexy, yet silly, macho persona gave me hella confidence,” she said. “As a feminine-presenting woman, I’ve always been told to not take up space, to be meek and polite — sweet. But when I saw Roy in the mirror for the first time, all of that shit went out the window.”

“Being Roy not only encouraged me to take up that space I am denied as Katie, just like ALL white cis men do, it also helped me cope with that annoyance and frustration of noticing all the blatant sexism and misogyny, and allows me to poke fun at it, to show the absurdity of it all.”

High Point dancer, Mona Loverly, agreed. “Without Underground Presents or the Freaky Friday group, I wouldn’t have

enough courage to start hosting shows,” she explained. “While I’ve been in the burlesque scene for nearly 15 years, I’d never hosted until I started working with them.”

The pair is excited to exude that confidence on stage to support the 5th Ave. Alliance, a local non-profit operated by trans performer Flex Jonez, that offers financial stability, resources and services to members of the transgender communities across the Carolinas.

As one of four charity shows Underground Presents will host for Pride, Murawski is proud of her cohorts for working to push inclusivity and freaky good vibes help, while pushing out negative aspects that continue to permeate the drag community. “It all just boils down to how misogyny, racism and transphobia still reign,” she said, alluding to pervasive elements existing even in queer spaces.

“Drag kings, hyper queens, and trans performers are devalued and looked at as less than,” she continued, relaying the booking preferences given to cis male drag queens. “We don’t get invited or paid to perform at so many major drag shows, and the folks that book those shows only showcase a certain type of queen that narrow minds deem acceptable.”

“And spoiler alert,” she added, “they all look the same.”

Drawing on words from her “drag idol,” Tenderoni (a Chicago king who won the 2021 “Drag Queen of the Year Pageant”): “Drag is a buffet. I don’t need to be the main course — I just want to be included.”

Praising the NC drag king and alt drag communities, Murawski points to “comrades” Eryn Hillburn, Ciara Kelley and The Artist Bloc in Greensboro; Carolina Creepshow and DKO Entertainment in Charlotte; and Ruby Deluxe’s Lilith Flair in Raleigh. “They’re all actually doing the work to make drag more inclusive and showcasing all different kinds of talent,” she said. “It’s what Underground Presents and Freaky Friday strive to do.”

Pushing the needle through the year, Underground Presents has a full “Freaky” forecast for 2022; with monthly Triad shows, every second Friday, at Monstercade in Winston-Salem. The June edition, a Pride special benefitting the 5th Ave. Alliance goes down on June 17. Fahrenheit and Loverly will also be at Etc.GSO for a drag show on June 10. !

KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.

JUNE 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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Submissions should be sent to artdirector@yesweekly.com by Friday at 5 p.m., prior to the week’s publication.

Visit yesweekly.com and click on calendar to list your event online. home grown music scene | Compiled by Austin Kindley

ASHEBORO

Four Saints Brewing

218 South Fayetteville St. | 336.610.3722 www.foursaintsbrewing.com Thursdays: Taproom Trivia Fridays: Music Bingo Jun 4: William Nesmith Jun 5: Randolph Jazz Band Jun 11: Noodlin Blues Band Jun 18: Kelsey Hurley Jun 19: Mark Dillon & Friends Jul 2: Jamie Trout

Charlotte

Bojangles Coliseum

2700 E Independence Blvd | 704.372.3600 www.boplex.com Jun 1: Bonnie Raitt Jun 24: The Masked Singer Jun 29: Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening Jul 7: Celeste Barber Jul 9: El Gran Combo Jul 15: Tribute to Biz Markie

CMCU Amphitheatre

former Uptown Amphitheatre 820 Hamilton St | 704.549.5555 www.livenation.com Jun 5: Barenaked Ladies Jun 8: Russ Jun 9: Ben Rector Jun 10: Flogging Molly & The Interrupters Jun 14: The War on Drugs Jun 16: Maren Morris Jun 17: Cody Johnson & Friends Jun 23: H.E.R. Jul 3: Five Seconds of Summer Jul 8: Whiskey Myers Jul 16: Big Time Rush

The Fillmore

1000 NC Music Factory Blvd | 704.916.8970 www.livenation.com Jun 1: Jesse McCartney Jun 3: Lil Xan Jun 4: Chvrches Jun 5: GWAR Jun 6: Still Woozy Jun 8: Babyface Ray Jun 15: Tove Lo w/ Noga Erez Jun 15: Coi Leray Jun 16: Japanese Breakfast Jun 17: Role Model Jun 20: As I Lay Dying Jun 22: Pusha T Jun 24: Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls Jun 24: Mephis May Fire YES! WEEKLY

June 1-7, 2022

PNC Music Pavilion

707 Pavilion Blvd | 704.549.1292 www.livenation.com Jun 2: Morgan Wallen & Hardy Jun 8: The Doobie Brothers & Michael McDonald Jun 9: Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin Jun 13: Tears for Fears & Garbage Jun 17: Kid Rock & Grand Funk Railroad Jun 24: Backstreet Boys Jun 30: Train, Jewel & Blues Traveler

Spectrum Center

333 E Trade St | 704.688.9000 www.spectrumcentercharlotte.com Jun 11: Legends of The Streetz: Jeezy, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Jarule, & Trina Jun 16: Ana Gabriel Jun 21: Machine Gun Kelly Jun 24: James Taylor Jun 26: Dude Perfect Jul 12: New Kids On The Block Jul 22: Shawn Mendes

clemmons

Village Square Tap House

6000 Meadowbrook Mall Ct | 336.448.5330 www.vstaphouse.com | www.facebook. com/vstaphouse Jun 2: JVC w/ Stewart Coley

durham

Carolina Theatre

309 W Morgan St | 919.560.3030 www.carolinatheatre.org Jun 3: Robert Earl Keen Jun 4: Ray LaMontagne Jun 5: Empower Experience Jun 9: Happy Together Tour Jun 12: Mandy Moore Jun 17: Marc Maron Jun 22: Home Free Jul 16: Nimesh Patel Jul 31: Tim Heidecker

DPAC

123 Vivian St | 919.680.2787 www.dpacnc.com Jun 7: Bonnie Raitt Jun 8: Chris Rock Jun 11: Chelsea Handler Jun 14-19: Jesus Christ Superstar Jun 22 : Puscifer Jun 24: Air Supply Jun 25: Amos Lee

ELKIN

Reeves Theater

129 W Main St | 336.258.8240 www.reevestheater.com Fourth Thursdays: Old-Time Jam Jun 2: TMBS - Joe Topping, The Resonant Rogues, Klezmer Local 42 Jun 3: Paul Thorn Jun 4: Reliably Bad Jun 9: Blues Jam Jun 16: TMBS - Dana Cooper, Wendy Hickman, William Hinson Jun 17: Hollowfade Jun 24-25: Elkin Roots Music Fest ‘22 Jul 2: EmiSunshine Jul 7: TMBS - Ben de la Cour, Angela Easterling, Jodi Burns Jul 8: Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys

greensboro

Arizona Pete’s

2900 Patterson St #A | 336.632.9889 www.arizonapetes.com Jun 4: Nuclear Assault, Incantation, Demolition Hammer, Nasty Savage, Mark Price, First Jason, False Prophet, Shed The Skin, Eldritch Horror

Barn Dinner Theatre 120 Stage Coach Tr. | 336.292.2211 www.barndinner.com Mar 14-Jun 25: Groovin’ Jul 8-Aug 6: Soul Sistas

Baxter’s Tavern

536 Farragut St | 336.808.5837 www.baxterstavern.com Jun 4: Southern Sounds Band Jun 18: Shoot To Thrill Jul 2: High Fidelity Jul 3: Cory Luetjen & The Traveling Blyes Band Jul 10: The Pink Slips Jul 15: Spindle 45 Jul 16: Killing Fiction

Carolina Theatre

310 S. Greene Street | 336.333.2605 www.carolinatheatre.com Jun 4-5: Spring Concerts 2022 Jun 9: JJ Grey & Mofro Jun 17-26: Shrek The Musical

Comedy Zone

1126 S Holden Rd | 336.333.1034 www.thecomedyzone.com Jun 10-12: Ryan Davis Jun 17-18: James Murray Jun 24-26: Luenell

Cone Denim

117 S Elm St | 336.378.9646 www.cdecgreensboro.com Jun 10: Nightrain Aug 12: Ying Yang Twins

Flat Iron

221 Summit Ave | 336.501.3967 www.flatirongso.com Jun 2: 2nd Today & Come Clean Jun 3: Tyler Meacham Jun 4: Chuck Mountain Jun 5: Only1Theory w/ DJ Jai Syncere Jun 9: The Minks Jun 10: Abby Bryant & The Echoes Jun 17: Seth Walker Jul 14: Tea Cup Gin Jul 21: Tyler Nail

Greensboro Coliseum 1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Jun 8: Chris Tomlin Jun 11: Keith Sweat, Monica, Tevin Campbell, Tamar Braxton, Silk Jun 24: Hank Williams Jr. Sep 10: Alan Jackson

Little Brother Brewing

348 South Elm St | 336.510.9678 www.facebook.com/littlebrotherbrew Jul 29: Paleface

Rody’s Tavern

5105 Michaux Rd | 336.282.0950 www.rodystavern.com Jun 4: Simerson Hill

South End Brewing Co. 117B W Lewis St | 336.285.6406 www.southendbrewing.com Tuesdays: Trivia Night Jun 4: Jon Ward Beyle Band Jul 14: Decades

Steven Tanger Center

300 N Elm Street | 336.333.6500 www.tangercenter.com Jun 1: Chris Rock Jun 4-5: Harry Potter In Concert Jun 8: Bonnie Raitt Jul 5: The Masked Singer Jul 7: Vince Gill Jul 9: Unity Jul 23: Jeezy & K. Michelle Aug 5: Southern Soul Summer Explosion

www.yesweekly.comw

ThE IdIoT Box ComEdY CluB

503 N. Greene St | 336.274.2699 www.idiotboxers.com Jun 4: Kevin mcCaffrey Jun 11: danny Whitson Jun 25: Trenton davis

WhITE oaK ampIThEaTrE

1921 W Gate City Blvd | 336.373.7400 www.greensborocoliseum.com Jun 18: Crowder

high point

afTEr hourS TavErn

1614 N Main St | 336.883.4113 www.facebook.com/AfterHoursTavernHighPoint Jul 9: living Temptation

GoofY fooT Taproom 2762 NC-68 #109 | 336.307.2567 www.goofyfoottaproom.com Jun 4: Stewart Coley

hIGh poInT ThEaTrE

220 E Commerce Ave | 336.883.3401 www.highpointtheatre.com Jun 4-18: recital 2022 Jun 23: miss nC outstanding Teen

SWEET old BIll’S

1232 N Main St | 336.807.1476 www.sweetoldbills.com Jun 2: Zach Smith and davis Tucker

jamestown

ThE dECK

118 E Main St | 336.207.1999 www.thedeckatrivertwist.com Jun 2: The miller Brothers Jun 3: The plaids Jun 4: Gipsy danger Jun 9: Bradley Steele Jun 10: men in Black Jun 11: The finns Jun 16: Corky Jams Jun 17: vinyl Tap Jun 23: Ethan Smith Jun 24: Smerson hill

kernersville

BrEaThE CoCKTaIl lounGE

221 N Main St. | 336.497.4822 www.facebook.com/BreatheCocktailLounge Wednesdays: Karaoke fridays: dJ Jun 10: Stone parker Band Jun 11: dJ mike lawson Jun 18: vinyl Tap www.yesweekly.com

KErnErSvIllE BrEWInG CompanY 221 N Main St. | 336.816.7283 kernersvillebrewing.com Thursdays: Trivia Jun 11: Taylor mason

lewisville

old nICK’S puB

191 Lowes Foods Dr | 336.747.3059 www.OldNicksPubNC.com fridays: Karaoke Jun 18: Carolina pines

liberty

ThE lIBErTY ShoWCaSE ThEaTEr

101 S. Fayetteville St | 336.622.3844 www.TheLibertyShowcase.com aug 20: Gene Watson

raleigh

CCu muSIC parK aT WalnuT CrEEK

3801 Rock Quarry Rd | 919.821.4111 www.livenation.com Jun 3: morgan Wallen Jun 10: maverick City music x Kirk franklin Jun 11: The doobie Brothers Jun 18: Kid rock w/ Grand funk railroad Jun 25: Backstreet Boys

LIVE MUSIC AT ROAR Thursday 6/2

Trevor Gabriel | 6pm | Fords Food Hall Daniel Snipes | 6:30pm | Est! Est!! Est!!!

Salsa & Sangria | 7pm | The Mayfair Club

Friday 6/3

Camel City Blues | 6pm | Fords Food Hall Santo Chessari | 6pm | JL Caspers DJ Fish | 8pm | The Mayfair Club DJ Chubbs | 10pm | Fords Food Hall

Saturday 6/4

DJ Chubbs | 8pm | Mayfair Club Santo Chessari | 6pm | JL Caspers Watchtower DMB | 6pm | Fords Food Hall The Catalinas | 7pm | Roar Brands Theater DJ Richy B | 10pm | Fords Food Hall

lInColn ThEaTrE

126 E. Cabarrus St | 919.831.6400 www.lincolntheatre.com Jun 3: applied Science, War Within a Breath, make Yourself Jun 4: Buried alive & moon Water Jun 10: pinkest floyd - Tribute to pink floyd Jun 11: abby road Jun 17: mariah The Scientist Jun 18: Garcia peoples Jun 24: The Breakfast Club: 80’s Tribute Band w/ phat albert

rEd haT amphIThEaTEr

500 S McDowell St | 919.996.8800 www.redhatamphitheater.com Jun 4: parker mcCollum Jun 9: maren morris w/ Brent Cobb Jun 10: Ben rector Jun 11: rebelution Good vibes Summer Tour 22 w/ Jp Saxe, Jordy Searcy, & Stephen day Jun 12: flume w/ Tinashe and Jim-E Stack Jun 13: The War on drugs w/ lo moon Jun 14: Belle & Sebastian and Japanese Breakfast w/ los Bitchos

2022 KEY WEST IN WINSTON-SALEM AFTER PARTY Saturday, 6/4 11pm-1am

SALSA AND SANGIRA WITH LISA KONCZAL Thursday, 6/2

The 2022 Key West in Winston-Salem party will take place at a private home in Winston-Salem. Wristbands from the main party will be your admission to the after-party. If you only want to join the after-party, tickets are $5.

7-10pm

Dance with Winston-Salem native, Lisa Konczal, as seen dancing in the Grammy award-winning music video for Old Town Road and singing on Shark Tank. Come solo or with friends no partner is necessary.

Beginners welcomed.

Or just come to be entertained.

633 North Liberty Street | Winston-Salem, NC 27101 www.roarws.com | www.roarbrandstheater.com June 1-7, 2022 YES! WEEKLY

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Jun 15: GOOSE Jun 16: Cody Johnson Jul 21: Flogging Molly w/ The Interrupters, Tiger Army, The Skints

PNC ArENA

1400 Edwards Mill Rd | 919.861.2300 www.thepncarena.com Jun 22: Machine Gun Kelly w/ Avril Lavigne & Iann Dior Jun 25: James Taylor Jul 22: New Kids On The Block Jul 23: Shawn Mendes w/ Dermot Kennedy Jul 31: rage Against The Machine w/ run The Jewels

winston-salem

BuLL’S TAvErN

408 West 4th St | 336.331.3431 www.bullswsnc.com Wednesdays: Karaoke Jul 2: viva La Muerte

EArL’S

121 West 9th Street | 336.448.0018 www.earlsws.com Jun 2: Will Jones Jun 3: Jason Leak Band Jun 4: Aaron Hamm & The Big river Band

Jun 9: Will Jones Jun 10: Jack of Clubs Jun 11: russ varnell & His Too Country Band Jun 16: Will Jones Jun 17: The Saints Jun 18: Billy Creason & Damn Fi Know Band Jun 23: Will Jones Jun 24: Flat Black Cadillac Jun 25: The Hollirockets

FIDDLIN’ FISH BrEWING COMPANY

772 Trade St | 336.999.8945 www.fiddlinfish.com Jun 3: Pat Bourque Jun 10: Hot Wax & The Splinters Jun 17: Susan B.B. Jun 24: Kris Atom Jul 8: Chuck Dale Smith Band

FOOTHILLS BrEWING 638 W 4th St | 336.777.3348 www.foothillsbrewing.com Jun 1: Carolina Clay Jun 5: Sunday Jazz Jun 8: Banjo Earth Jun 12: Sunday Jazz Jun 22: Colin Cutler Jun 26: Sunday Jazz Jun 29: Discount rothko

Jul 3: Sunday Jazz Jul 6: Hotwax & The Splinters

MIDWAY MuSIC HALL

11141 Old US Hwy 52, Suite 10 | 336.793.4218 www.facebook.com/midwaymusichallandeventcenter Mondays: Line Dancing w/ Denise Jun 3: Sidekix Jun 4: Sidekix Jun 10: Zack Brock and Good Intentions Jun 11: Jimmy Shirley Jr and The 8 Track 45 Band Jun 17: Jimmy Shirley Jr and The 8 Track 45 Band

MuDDY CrEEK CAFE & MuSIC HALL

137 West St | 336.201.5182 www.muddycreekcafeandmusichall.com Thursdays: Open Mic Night w/ Country Dan Collins Jun 18: Muddy Creek Band Jul 16: Aaron Burdett, Jess Klean, Abigail Dowd, Tyler Nail

THE rAMKAT

170 W 9th St | 336.754.9714 www.theramkat.com Jun 1: Bombino Jun 2: Dirty Logic - Steely Dan Tribute

Jun 3: Them Pants, It’s Snakes Jun 4: robert Earl Keen Jun 9: runaway Gin: Tribute to Phish Jun 10: Jesse Jones Jun 11: Smyle Band reunion Jun 16: Will Easter & The Nomads, Migrant Birds Jun 18: 1Love Festival

SECOND & GrEEN

207 N Green St | 336.631.3143 www.2ngtavern.com | www.facebook.com/ secondandgreentavern Jun 3: Men In Black w/ Punk Floyd Project

WINSTON-SALEM FAIrGrOuND

421 W 27th St | 336.727.2236 www.wsfairgrounds.com Jun 17: Classic Country Concert Jun 25: Charlie Wilson Jun 25: Indoor Concert Series

WISE MAN BrEWING

826 Angelo Bros Ave | 336.725.0008 www.wisemanbrewing.com Thursdays: Music Bingo Jun 3: Time Sawyer Jun 10: Gipsy Danger Jun 11: William Hinson Jul 16: Love & valor

980am 96.7fm

Winston-Salem’s Hometown Station

The Sportscenter Athletic Club is a private membership club dedicated to providing the ultimate athletic and recreational facilities for our members of all ages. Conveniently located in High Point, we provide a wide variety of activities for our members. We’re designed to incorporate the total fitness concept for maximum benefits and total enjoyment.

We cordially invite all of you to be a part of our athletic facility, while enjoying the membership savings we offer our established corporate accounts.

3811 Samet Dr • HigH Point, nC 27265 • 336.841.0100 FITNESS ROOM • INDOOR TRACK • INDOOR AQUATICS CENTER • OUTDOOR AQUATICS CENTER • RACQUETBALL BASKETBALL • CYCLING • OUTDOOR SAND VOLLEYBALL • INDOOR VOLLEYBALL • AEROBICS • MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM WHIRLPOOL • MASSAGE THERAPY • PROGRAMS & LEAGUES • SWIM TEAMS • WELLNESS PROGRAMS PERSONAL TRAINING • TENNIS COURTS • SAUNA • STEAM ROOM • YOGA • PILATES • FREE FITNESS ASSESSMENTS F R EE EQUI PM E N T O R I E N TAT I O N • N U R S ERY • TEN N IS LES S O N S • W IRELESS I NTERNET LOUNGE

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YES! WEEKLY

June 1-7, 2022

the good guys

Playing the Greatest Music of All Time Local News, Weather, Traffic & Sports

stream us at wtob980.com PROUD SPONSOR OF The Checkup with Dr. Jon - Mondays at 7pm Don Mark’s Surfside - Saturdays at 3pm Piedmont Opry with George Hamilton V TBD

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last call

[THE ADVICE GODDESS] love • sex • dating • marriage • questions

WAIF WATCHERS

I’m a 33-yearold woman, and I’ve always been thin. I lost about 12 pounds after a tough breakup. I’m working on getting back to a healthier weight.

However, people Amy Alkon keep making cutting remarks about how Advice thin I look. Yesterday a friend said, “You’re Goddess so skinny it’s gross!”

I’d noticed that she’d gained quite a bit of weight, but I didn’t say anything...because that would be rude!

She made other digs about my weight, and upon hugging me goodbye, she said, “Eww, is that your shoulder bone?!” What’s with this double standard? There’d be hell to pay if I said the slightest thing about anyone’s weight gain. — Tempted To Lash Back It is more taboo than ever to make cracks about a woman’s weight — that is, unless she doesn’t have a whole lot of it.

Then it’s open season: “Wow, what happened to you? Forget where the supermarket is?”

However, it probably is not “people” but “people who are female” who are thin-shaming you. Welcome to female intrasexual competition — competition between women — which is covert and sneaky (and thus poisonous) in a way male-on-male competition is not. Men, who evolved to be the warriors and protectors of the species, tend to be openly aggressive. A guy will give another guy a

beat-down or publicly dis him: “Yeah, bro, sure you can get a chick to go home with you — if you’ve got five grand for a sex robot.”

Psychologist Tracy Vaillancourt explains that women seem to have evolved to avoid physical confrontations (and inyour-face verbal attacks that can lead to them), which jeopardize a woman’s ability to have children or fulfill her function as an infant’s principal caregiver and meal provider. Women instead engage in “indirect aggression” to “reduce the mate value of a rival,” like by “disparaging the competitor’s appearance ... or using derisive body and facial gestures to make the rival feel badly about herself and thus less willing to compete.” (Yeah, that’s right. It seems “Mean Girls” was a documentary.)

The tricky thing about these indirect attacks is the plausible deniability they confer. Call a woman out for thin-shaming you and she’s likely to duck behind “I’m just worried about your health!” So instead, simply tell her that remarks about your weight hurt your feelings. Speaking up like this says that you aren’t likely to let any future digs slide, yet you remain on moral high ground — instead of giving back in kind: “Wow, looks like you’ve been exercising a lot. Do you do the backstroke in frosting?”

crossword on page 11

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GOT A PROBLEM? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave., #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or email AdviceAmy@ aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com). Follow her on Twitter @amyalkon. Order her latest “science-help” book, Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence. ©2022 Amy Alkon. Distributed by Creators.Com.

YOU HAD ME AT HELL

I’m a married gay man, and I hate my in-laws. They were disgustingly abusive to my husband when he was a child. They’re in failing health now, and it’s important to him to visit them a couple of times a year.

How do I get through these mandatory trips? — Dreading It

answers [CROSSWORD]

when you’re on one of these visits, you can shift your focus from hating your in-laws to showing your love for your husband.

Listen. Tell him, “I know this is really hard for you.” Hug him. Rub his feet. Once you’re out of the inlaw inferno, you might discuss trying to make a habit of this sort of thing — really being present for each other in the numerous “unimportant” moments of life.

This will keep you from being one of those couples frantically trying to plug gaping holes in their relationship with extravagant gestures. Typically, these are ultimately futile — too little, too late — and tend to not come off as planned.

For example, if you’re having 150 doves released over you as you renew your vows, you’d better see that they’re all wearing tiny gold lame diapers. !

It’s probably tempting to buy his family the sort of classic furniture you think they deserve. Unfortunately, they only ship that model of chair to prisons with a death row.

There is actually opportunity within this biannual awfulness you two have to go through. In the movies, people show their love through grand gestures: “We’ll always have Paris!” In real life, according to psychologist John Gottman’s research, the strongest, happiest relationships are made up of constant mundane little loving interactions: “You were so sweet to me in Costco.”

Gottman finds that the key determinant in whether a relationship succeeds or fails is the ability to trust one’s partner. This means not just trusting that they won’t cheat but trusting that they’ll continually make you and your needs a priority, on a moment-by-moment basis. For example, as Gottman puts it: “Can I trust you to be there and listen to me when I’m upset? ... To choose me over your mother, over your friends? ... To help with things in the house? To really be involved with our children?”

So, though you can’t undo the past,

TR ASURE The

CLUB

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS BAR & CLUB

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