Out and About - November 2009

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Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky,
how beautiful it is?
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness
there is a poem, there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring.
When the spring comes, it again fills the tree with
the music of many leaves,
which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life.

– Krishnamurti

Above: On the evening of Tuesday, November 3, I hosted a “dinner and movie night” for my friends (from left) John, Rick, Brian, Jairo, and Bob. It was actually the first of two dinner and movie nights for this month! On November 3 we watched that perennial gay favorite, Auntie Mame.

And why is Auntie Mame a “gay favorite”? Well, I think the film’s camp sensibility is particularly appealing to many gay men. It’s a sensibility conveyed through over-the-top outfits, sets, and situations. (Hmm . . . Catholic High Mass, anyone?). And then there is Mame’s efforts to remain ever open, accepting, loving, and defiant in the face of individuals and societal forces that seek to restrict, censor, and pigeon-hole out of ignorance and prejudice. I think gay people can definitely relate to such efforts, to such resistance.

I appreciate Gary F. Taylor’s Amazon.com review of this classic film:

The Patrick Dennis novel was a runaway bestseller – and it was soon followed by a stage version starring Rosalind Russell, who was born to play the madcap Mame in this story of an eccentric, fast-living society woman of the 1920s who “inherits” her nephew when her brother died. Determined to “open doors” for her adoring nephew, Mame exposes him to everything from bootleg gin to oddball characters – all the while doing battle with her nephew’s ultra-conservative trustee, who is equally determined that the boy’s life remain free of “certain influences.”

This is a knockout show, and Rosalind Russell delivers a knockout performance in it – easily her finest comedy performance since 1939’s “The Women.” She is extremely well supported by the sadly under-acknowledged Coral Brown in the role of Vera Charles, an actress who passes out in Mame’s apartment with considerable regularity, and Forrest Tucker as the Southern gentleman who becomes her knight in shining honor; the supporting cast, which includes Fred Clark, Peggy Cass (particularly memorable as Agnes Gooch), Jan Handzlik, Roger Smith, and Joanna Barnes is equally flawless.

The infamous “production code” was still somewhat in force when “Auntie Mame” was filmed, and consequently several of the play’s most famous lines had to be re-written – but this scarcely gets in the way of Russell and company, and director DaCosta offers a brilliant compromise between the art of cinema and the “set piece” nature of the stage show. The production values are rich, the score is memorable, and everything about the show is a tremendous amount of fun; by the time it ends, you’ll wish that Auntie Mame was yours.

Indeed! (Although, truth be told, my friend Jairo wasn’t in the least bit enamored by the madcap comic style of the film!)



Above: Standing at left with (from left) Philip Lowe, Jr.; Dr. Simon Rosser; and CPCSM co-founder David McCaffrey at the November 17 CPCSM event “Holding the Courage Apostolate Accountable: The Catholic Church, Homosexuality, and Reparative Therapy.”

For more about this event (and the brouhaha over a quote attributed to me in the Star Tribune article about it), see the previous Wild Reed posts:
Gay Catholics, the Courage Apostolate, and Reparative Therapy
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Courage
For the Record
My Response to Archbishop Flynn




Above: My friends Phil (right) and his parents Noelle and John, with whom I shared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on the evening of November 26.

Left: Phil putting the finishing touches to the delicious dessert he made.

My meal with Phil and his parents was actually the second Thanksgiving dinner I enjoyed! On Thanksgiving eve I shared a great meal with my friends Ken and Carol; Paul, Carrie, and Cass; and Kathleen, Sue Ann, Tom, and Marianne at Ken and Carol’s home in Minneapolis.



Above: The inspirational Polly Mann at her 90th birthday celebration in Minneapolis on November 28, 2009.

Right: With friends Mary and Rita at Polly’s birthday party.


My dear friend Polly is a longtime justice and peace activist and co-founder of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) – a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling systems of militarism and global oppression, and one of the most active and influential justice and peace groups in the Midwest. Not surprisingly, she’s been described as a “relentless speaker of truth to power.”

For more images and commentary on Polly and her 90th birthday celebration, click here.



Above: My Christmas Tree, which I put up the night after Thanksgiving.



Above: The second “dinner and movie night” I hosted this month took place earlier this evening, November 30. From left: Freeman, John, Bob, and Brain.

We watched tonight the 1961 British film Victim, starring Dirk Bogarde. It’s notable in film history for being the first English language film to use the word “homosexual.”

Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video notes the following about Victim.

A landmark film for its bold, complex, and sophisticated treatment of homosexuality, this exceptional thriller was quite controversial in its day and was instrumental in changing the existing British law that made being a homosexual a criminal act. Bogarde stars as Melville Farr, a married homosexual barrister who risks his reputation by confronting a gang of blackmailers responsible for the death of his former lover (Peter EcEnery). Sylvia Syms is also remarkable in the role of Farr’s supportive wife. Bogarde, whose matinee idol reputation was shaken by the portrayal, always maintained that accepting the role of Melville Farr was “the wisest decision I ever made in my cinematic life.”

For more about Victim, see the previous Wild Reed post:
Dirk Bogarde (Part III)

Recommended Off-site Link:
The Private Dirk Bogarde, Part 2 [1/8] - Arena (YouTube.com).



Above: Bob, John, Freeman and me - November 30, 2009.

Above: Phil.

I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and it’s content.

– Lin Yutang

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.

– Andrew Wyeth

Out and About - October 2009

On Friday, October 2, I accompanied my friends Kathleen and Joey to Trempealeau, WI.

On the way we paused along the mist-enshrouded shoreline of Lake Pepin (above), and while at Trempealeau, we visited nearby Perrot State Park and hiked to the summit of Brady’s Bluff (left).







Above: The view of Trempealeau Mountain from Brady’s Bluff.

For more images of our time in Trempealeau, click here.



Above: With Ruth Kyle - October 3, 2009.

Ruth is the mother of the late Scott Kyle, whose memorial services were planned by CPCSM co-founder David McCaffrey.

Although I never knew Scott, who died unexpectedly in June, I was honored to help David prepare the two memorial services for him. The first of these services was held shortly after his death, in his hometown of Baldwin, WI. The second was held in Minneapolis on October 3 for his Twin Cities friends.

In the process of helping prepare these two services I got to know Scott’s family, including his wonderful mother Ruth. I also learned that for the last 25 years of his life Scott had played competitive softball in the Twin Cities Goodtime Softball League (TCGSL) and elsewhere in the U.S., in leagues and national tournaments sanctioned by the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA). Among his greatest softball accomplishments, Scott was a key player on the A-level team that represented the Twin Cities in the 1987 and 1988 NAGAAA World Series and took 1st place both years. The same team, with Scott as a member, also took 2nd place at the 1992 World Series and 3rd place three other times. Scott’s impressive softball career was honored this past summer when he was inducted posthumously into the NAGAAA Hall of Fame at the World Series in Milwaukee.



Above: My friends Dan and Stephanie at the October 3 exhibit of Dan’s artwork.

For more images of this event, click here.



Above: On Sunday, October 4, I hosted a “dinner and movie night” for my friends (from left) John, Rick, Brian, and Bob. This month we watched the great gay film, The Boys in the Band (1970). Previously we’ve watched Valley of the Dolls and Advise and Consent.

Why do I refer to The Boys in the Band as “great”? Well, primarily because it provides such an illuminating look at a certain time in American gay history. And although most of characters are depicted as tortured souls and/or bitchy queens, the film nevertheless has some very funny moments (primarily provided by the character of Harold), and serves as a timely reminder of just how far we’ve progressed in a relatively short period of time. After all, society is now more accepting of the range of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Notes Wikipedia:

In a San Francisco Chronicle review of a 1999 revival of the film, Edward Guthmann recalled, “By the time Boys was released in 1970 ... it had already earned among gays the stain of Uncle Tomism.” He called it “a genuine period piece but one that still has the power to sting. In one sense it's aged surprisingly little — the language and physical gestures of camp are largely the same — but in the attitudes of its characters, and their self-lacerating vision of themselves, it belongs to another time. And that’s a good thing.”

My favorite character in the film? Well, I have to say I found Robert La Tourneaux’s portrayal of “Cowboy” quite irresistible! Here’s what Wikipedia says of La Tournaux and his character in The Boys in the Band.

Robert La Tourneaux (1945–1986) was an American actor best known for his role of Cowboy, the good-natured but dim hustler hired as a birthday present for a gay man, in the original Off-Broadway production and 1970 film version of “The Boys in the Band.”

. . . The openly gay La Tourneaux’s initially blamed being typecast as a gay hustler for his inability to receive worthwhile roles, stating in a 1973 interview, “Boys was the kiss of death for me.” In the 1978 anthology “Quentin Crisp’s Book of Quotations,” La Tourneaux compared his career to another gay actor by saying, “Charles Laughton played every kind of part, but never a homosexual. People knew he was gay, but his public image [which included a wife] never betrayed his public reality. So he was safe. I wasn’t safe.”

Sadly, La Tourneaux died of AIDS on June 3, 1986. Boys in the Band co-star Cliff Gorman and his wife cared for him during his illness up through to his death.



Above: The second joint meeting of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform’s Work/Study Groups - Minneapolis, October 7, 2009.

Left: With my friend Ronnie Angelus. I first met Ronnie when preparing for the CPCSM-sponsored Vigil of Solidarity with LGBT Catholics, December 2, 2007. Ronnie was one of a number of inspiring speakers at this event.

For more about the October 7 joint meeting of CCCR’s Work/Study groups, click here.

For the latest report on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Work/Study Group (the group that I’m facilitating), click here.



Above: On October 8, 2009, I was honored to be part of a group of local religious leaders that gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol to speak out in support of marriage equality for same-gender couples.

At right, I’m pictured with Retired Bishop Lowell Erdahl of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and Pastor Doug Donley of University Baptist Church of Minneapolis.

For more images and commentary about this special event, click here.



Above: Snow in October!

For more images, click here.



Above: My friends Jairo and Gloria - October 14, 2009.

I accompanied Jairo and Gloria to El Nuevo Rodeo Nightclub and Restaurant (reputedly the “hottest Latin venue in the Twin Cities”!) for an entertaining drag show (left) that served as a benefit for local efforts focusing on HIV prevention and safe-sex educational initiatives within the Latino community.



On October 23 I turned 44! I had two great gathering of friends to celebrate the occasion. In the photo above I’m pictured with my friends Daniel and Bob.

For more images, click here.

To read my October 23 birthday post, click here.



Above: With other members of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform’s Work/Study Group on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - October 25, 2009. From left: Mary Beth, me, Joe, and Henry.

To learn about what we’re all about, click here and here.



Above: Autumn in Minnesota.

For more images, click here.



Above: Standing at left with my friends Randy, Terri, Bryon, Cathy, and Angie.

We’re pictured celebrating Halloween in Benson, MN. Stay tuned for more photos!

In the meantime, to read my “Halloween Thoughts,” click here.

Out and About - September 2009

Above and right: On the afternoon and evening of Thursday, September 3, my friend Kathleen and I took in the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Minnesota State Fair.

For more images and commentary on our time at the “Great Minnesota Get-Together,” click here.



Above and left: On the evening of September 5 I accompanied my friends Kathleen and Joey to the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

For more images of our “river walk,” click here.









Above: With my friend Phil in Northfield, MN - Sunday, September 12, 2009.

I accompanied Phil and his parents to Northfield for the town’s annual “Defeat of Jesse James Days” celebration (right).

For more images and commentary on this event, click here.






Above: Standing at right with Fr. Robert Caruso and his partner John Webster - Saturday, September 19, 2009.

Robert had just delivered an informative lecture on Old Catholicism. For more images of this event and to read an excerpt from Robert’s recently released book, The Old Catholic Church: Understanding the Origin, Essence, and Theology of a Church that is Unknown and Misunderstood by Many in North America, click here.



Above: With (from left) John, Robert, and Rick - who, along with our friend Brian - gathered on the evening of Sunday, September 20, to watch the broadcast of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.

It was a fun night, though I was somewhat pissed off that my favorite TV show, True Blood, was pretty much snubbed.



Above: On Sunday, September 27, we experienced our first evening of real fall weather here in the Twin Cities. Yes, it was cold, dark, and windy: the perfect night to enjoy a hot roast dinner! And I did so with Phil and members of his family. It was lovely.



Above and below: Tuesday, September 29, was not only Michaelmas, but the birthday of my dear friend Brigid McDonald, CSJ (second from right). Our friends Theresa O’Brien, CSJ (second from left), and Rita O’Brien, CSJ (right) had also recently celebrated their birthdays. Accordingly, I hosted a little party for the three of them at my home.



Above: With my friend Jane McDonald, CSJ - Tuesday, September 29, 2009.



Above: My friends Brian, Kathleen, and Rick - September 29, 2009.



Above: My friends David McCaffrey and Rita McDonald, CSJ.

As I’ve mentioned previously, Rita and Margeurite Corcoran, CSJ (left) were my “companions” during my journey to becoming a CSJ consociate.









Above: Jane, Kathleen, and Colleen.





Above: Autumn comes to the Twin Cities.

For more images of my “September garden,” click here.