The Big Five-Oh.
With my friend, Milton, I attended Worldwide Pride, an honor bestowed on New York City to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising that occurred on June 28, 1969. This event was spearheaded when a courageous group of LGBT people was congregating at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. They reached a boiling point because the NYPD conducted yet another raid. The Stonewall patrons, fed up with police harassment, retaliated against the cops for days, furious that the police could invade their space at will.
A member of New York’s Finest circa 2019. Milton loved her hair.
The Stonewall uprising is seen as the birth of the gay rights movement, what is now known as LGBTQ Pride. Unrelated, June 28th is also Milton’s birthday, but in 1969 he was seven, and living in Iowa. I happened to be ten and living in San Francisco. It would be 35 years before a completely un-seminal event in LGBTQ history would occur: Milton and I would cross paths here in New York City and become great buds. The only downside to him being male and me, female, is that sometimes people erroneously assume we must be straight, and even more insulting, married. Aghast, Milton has wondered aloud:
Milton: I didn’t realize we look miserable.
Milton and I skipped Pride in 2017 and 2018 because in 2017, I had just started a Serious New Job and had anxiety being utterly clueless about the industry I had entered. In 2018, he had a sore knee; standing for long hours was out of the question for him. By 2019, I’ve re-mastered the art of being busy while bored at work and after investing mega hours at the gym Milton can stand again, so hey:
Milton and Me: Let’s attend Worldwide Pride!
Happy to see you!
Unlike years past, we did not take hundreds of pictures this time. Milton could not find his camera’s charger, but he located an errant grape when we reached Fifth Avenue. He stepped on it promptly. It remained crushed and slippery under his sneaker for the entirety of our stay. He declared that he hated that grape as much as a certain politician that will remain unnamed.
Makeup table to go.
Fortunately, we achieved our goal: we stood and watched Worldwide Pride unfold for a few glorious hours while basking in the energy of the crowd on a near idyllic summer’s day. When the countdown clock exceeded three hours I felt on the verge of collapse, so we continued celebrating with frosty libations at a nearby watering hole that had Pride tuned into every widescreen TV. You could not escape the festivities and that was wonderful.
These stilts were made for walkin’. Who knew?
Lame Adventures 
OMG … She lives in the Land of Blogs!!! …. and the King of Quips remains in normal form! Great to see you again. I’ve thought about you many times over the past three years.
NYC is the epicenter of a movement that has spread to most (if not all) cities. Always loved your report on this parade.
No more time at The Grind. Is the new place Grind II?
V – It’s great to see you again.
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Hey Frank! Milton said over suds, that later made his silent GERD scream, that he’s glad he’s lived this long to share in this momentous occasion.
Yes, I’ve moved on from The Grind. Two years ago, I accepted an offer I couldn’t refuse to work under the fluorescents in a carpet-walled cubicle with the huddled masses in Midtown. The pay’s good, the people are witty and the commute is fast, so Milton and I could easily catch 57 shows on and off Broadway last season. Not much to complain about!
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57 shows? Wow … good for you … then again, you love theater – so do it while you can!
Hooray for the new workplace and its positives. The last I heard, you had just moved (or were getting ready to move) – hope that’s worked out for you.
Still a cycling animal?
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I still have the spin bike, but this year I got a step machine, so I’m now a stepping monster first thing in the morning. Where I live now is an oasis. I’m very content here and I have a fabulous low hum a/c AND a terrific ceiling fan: perfect air temperature all year long!
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Glad the new place has worked out. Now a step monster – cheers to that, too! Returning to the blogging scene”
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Frank, I don’t think I’ve exactly returned to the blogging scene. I see this post as a “special appearance” post. My night owl days of writing into the wee hours of the morning and power sleeping the weekend away are over.
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Fair enough! Good to touch base with you again. I see myself on the downside with an end coming – but I just don’t know when.
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I didn’t plan an end, why I never wrote an “end post” but my life has gone in a direction where I don’t have the time to invest in it anymore. Cutting back wasn’t working for me. I’m an all or nothing type. Good to touch base with you, too!
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And I assume the direction is a good one!
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Great to see you again. We attended our Pride Parade in Iowa City. On the way, it rained cats and dogs, not literally. As parade time came, the rains stopped and the sun tried to shine. All had a wonderful and excellent time. Btw…where in Iowa was Milton as a youth?
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Davenport. It’s been 50 years since he was last there, so his memories of it have faded. That’s great that you attended Pride in Iowa City!
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I’m so glad you did it!!!!!!
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Yay!!!!
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Nice to see a post from you, V. I was beginning to think the earth was flat and that you had wandered off the edge.
A small, but festive Pride parade was held in Fayetteville. I didn’t attend, but my daughter said it was one of the best in recent years.
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You are always reliably witty, Russell! Rest assured, that I’ve been safely ensconced in a cubicle in Midtown Manhattan. I’m glad that your daughter enjoyed her Pride, too!
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Huzzah! You’re back and so is Milton! As someone said earlier,I’ve wondered where you’d disappeared to and if you’d ever come back and now, here you are! PRIDE was fantastic here (we’ve moved back to Los Angeles and left the south for G O O D!) This was the perfect parade to use as your return to blogging. All the best to you in the new gig, sugar! xoxo
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Thanks Savannah! I hope life is treating you well in Los Angeles. I think that this post might be more of an isolated occurrence, than a return. But, this was a major event, Milton and I were there, and it was wonderful.
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Wow, you’re back! I was just thinking about your blog the other day, wondering whether you had forgotten your log-in credentials (I guess I’ll discover if mine still work shortly).
Down here, Pride is in August, because, I suppose, there is not a hotter, more miserable month…
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Jeremy, I remembered how to log in, but where I drew a blank was figuring out how to post. Possibly, I should not have waited over a thousand days in-between posts.
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The best surprise evah after an epic tease this week. I hope this means you might come back every now and then. I had several cleansing chuckles over your comments, just like old times. Thanks for making the day and inviting me to live, in a brief moment of time, where everyone is happy with who they are and are living it out loud.
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My returning to the blogosphere will likely be much more then than now, but you did motivate me to write this post. Milton was very happy about that. He loves it when I flaunt our pride.
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Hey Virginia! Nice to see you back! Hope all is well and you are enjoying a relaxing holiday from whichever Grind iteration!! Leo still high flying at 10.5, seems time flies too! Many cheers, Bill
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Hey Bill, tell Leo that 10.5 is really the new 5.25! Thurber hits 13 in September, but we’re still letting him think he’s 6. I wouldn’t say I’m back. I consider this post more of a special appearance than an actual return to blogging. A real return would kill me!
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Yep, Leo thinks 10.5 is the 2.5 and so keeps me on the Mt. Tam trails every day! Do hope you do keep posting from time to time, always fun to read! Being the theatre guru, have you seen To Kill a Mockingbird? Thinking of trying to see that, or having to stop reading the NYT where the full page ads never cease 🙂
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We saw Mockingbird. It’s a decent play. Jeff Daniels will play Atticus Finch through 11/3. Starting 11/5, Ed Harris will take over the role. Our favorite productions last season were two musicals: a brilliant re-imagining of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and a completely original, new musical, Hadestown. Those are must-see shows that blew us both away, and I had actually seen Hadestown for free when it was still in development off-Broadway (that was a fortuitous ushering gig). Our favorite play from last season was the revival of Boys in the Band, but that closed almost a year ago. Ryan Murphy is adapting it into a film for Netflix. He is also adapting the new musical, The Prom, with a big Hollywood cast. We loved that one, too. It’s closing in August. The Ferryman, which won the Tony (Mockingbird was not nominated) was my favorite new play. It has already closed.
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Thanks for your reviews!! Ed Harris as Atticus Finch might be pretty interesting. I have heard of many of your favorites. Too bad it’s a bit of a trek for me to see them. Am going to see Hamilton here in a few weeks at long last. I have no idea how that cast has been recycled, but looking forward to it! There was a crazy lottery system forever to get SF tickets for H., waited until demand settled down. Cheers!
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Hi LA… good to see you again, even if for a fleeting visit!
Another fine report of your Pride celebrations here – sounds like you had a lovely day, grape or no grape.
Is it too late to congratulate you on your new job? Congrats anyway… I’ve been in my new job since 2007 and I’m still ‘learning’, although the bored look settled in on the second week.
Happy theatregoing!
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Ha! Thanks Tom!
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HEYYYYY! Great to hear from you again. You and Milton! I didn’t realize we looked miserable. HA! I was cracking up. Ahhhh Milton best bud. Love that you enjoyed the energy of the crowd during that awesome parade. That always adds extra awesomeness. Plus those pics are pretty sweet. I think about you every year when I see the Tony’s or can escape long enough to catch a play at my local theatre. You’re probably rocking the Broadway and off-Broadway scene. It’s sounds like you’re doing well. Glad for the update! Hope to hear from you again soon 🙂
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It’s a pleasant surprise to hear from you, too, Guat! Yes, Milton and I are planning our 2019-2020 theater season. This past season was excellent and we’re looking forward to many shows coming up on Broadway including a stage version of the film, Moulin Rouge!, and a completely revamped version of West Side Story. As you know, we love to watch.
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Happy Thanksgiving Eve Virginia, aka Lame Adventures. I am worried for your big parade tomorrow but I know you’ll handle whatever happens with grace and fortitude…..but if the parade goes on in spite of the weather please watch out for giant flying Snoopy and Elf on the Shelf. Freed from their handlers they could inflict some serious bodily harm. Cheers!!
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Pride is back after a two year hiatus. Did you go? Are you going to update? We had a Pride Fest here in Rochester MN which was fun but nothing like NYC (obviously). Hope you got to go and had a good time. Hope Milton is well and went with, even tho last time he had that unfortunate grape incident. Be well and safe. Times are insane.
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Yes, Milton and I were lurking. The crowd was very energized, which is encouraging. It was also sweltering. We exited the heat quickly to celebrate over sangria and tapas. We take being senior citizens seriously! Let the youngsters do the leg-work!
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