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T h e A d v e n t u r e s o f C h i c a g o J o

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Pride Fest -- It's Both In *and* Out

2003-06-30� � 4:41 p.m.
Check out the previous entries:

Drinking My Friday Away

I Dis Oz Because I�m a Drunkard


I managed to finally get outta bed at about noon, and I stumbled my sleepy and hung-over self to Belmont. I squeezed my way to the designated corner, and found Sara perched on top of an ice cream truck and Brian shirtless, wearing my J-Lo sunglasses, and enjoying the attention his six-pack received.

I, on the other hand, noted that there were so many pretty, pretty boys and no one wanting to get inside my pants. It made for a pleasant afternoon, ogling the guys and not giving the wrong impression. And, really, some of those drag queens were so amazingly beautiful. One winked at Brian, he giggled, and I told her that I�d kill for her long and perfectly sculpted legs. She got quite a kick outta it.

The costumes were indeed awesome, but the turn out was what was most amazing.

Austin is very liberal -- I�ve not only gone to the nude beach on multiple occasions, but I�m to the point that I no longer noticed if Leslie the infamous bum was wearing his pink or his neon green thong bikini. However, my Southeast Texas hometown wasn�t the most accepting atmosphere for any so-called alternative lifestyle. I can only think of one person who was openly gay during high school, but that one case was so glaringly obvious from the time we were in the fourth grade that no one was surprised by time he made his announcement.

From a place where the graduating high school senior boys get recruitment letters from the KKK, I never gave thought to community involvement and the different ways to demonstrate to the younger ones acceptance of what is different from you. There were so many families with kids and straight people among those openly celebrating their personal freedom to have this choice, to be who they are, to be proud that they live their lives exactly how they wish to be, that I had to sit to the side and just appreciate what I saw. It was truly an amazing site.

On the other hand, I did encounter a small group of protestors. It�s people like these that keep me from ever being a church-goer. There were shouts of burning in hell, the gestures were obscene, and the bible-throwing was ridiculous. When one nut shouted, �God hates gays,� a straight woman standing next to me shouted back, �God hates bigots too!�

On the other side of things, I had to admire the churches marching in the parade. One Methodist church had signs with slogans like, �All are free to worship,� and �God made us all.� That, like the families gathered to partake in the celebrations, was quite moving.

After nursing my hangover with Gatorade and some peanut butter crackers while sitting in the shade and smiling to myself, we headed to the lake to finish off the day. �



Miss something?

Moving Day - 2008-02-15
Working from Home is Glorious - 2008-02-13
Speaking in Tongues - 2008-02-07
I Have My Reasons - 2008-01-25
Got an Itch, Fix it, Shine it Up, Sing it Out - 2008-01-23

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