Q ATLus Magazine |December 9, 2021

December 9, 2021

c i t e Her Forever

a Gay f o s r 30 Yea ta Legend Atlan

Big Gay Wins & Losses In Local 2021 Runoffs

Atlanta Earns Perfect LGBTQ Equality Score

Husband Won’t Let Me Help Him Help Himself

Making

HISTORY

MILESTONES AND MILE MARKERS make this issue of Q ATLus special as gay Atlanta marks the progress through its politics, parties and people.

Atlanta elected not only a new mayor this year, but three LGBTQ city council members. That’s the most openly queer candidates to ever serve at the same time, and that’s just one of the historical records set in stone by the Nov. 30 runoffs. We meet the winners.

Atlanta also recently bested even itself in the movement for equality. We review its best score ever in the Municipal Equality Index, as well as ten other Georgia townships and counties.

As if all that history wasn’t enough, Heretic turns 30 this week. True to form, they do it with a dance party. The celebration includes two DJs and a famous club singer.

Of course, that party is just one of Atlanta’s best LGBTQ events this week. We deliver the holiday homo happenings in Q Events. This issue wraps with Q Shots, the Q Map and Q Advice. Since you’re insatiable, we return in print next week and online every day at theQatl.com.

MIKE FLEMING EDITOR & PUBLISHER MIKE@THEQATL.COM GRAPHIC DESIGN DECATUR ATLANTA PRINTING JOHN NAIL, DESIGNER DECATURATLANTAPRINTING.COM

LOCAL ADVERTISING INFO@PROJECTQATLANTA.COM RIVENDELL MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM 212-242-6863 theQatl.com 5

INSIDE THIS ISSUE V O LU M E 5 I S S U E 2

D E C E M B E R 9, 2 0 2 1

TO DO

Week’s Best LGBTQ Events

COVER

18

21

It’s Fire

Always Hot at Heretic

8

13

POLITICS

COMMUNITY

Election Made Atlanta Gayer

LGBTQ-ATL Giving Guide

Winning

Help!

Q Politics..........................8

Q ADVICE

Q News..........................11 Q Community................13

Take Two

Q Nightlife.....................18

Hus-Bear Paths Diverge

Q Events........................21 Q Shots..........................23 Q Advice........................29 6 theQatl.com

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Q

POLITICS

Q ueer Keisha Waites

Liliana Bakhtiari

Bakhtiari, Waites wins make LGBTQ Atlanta history

By Mike Fleming ATLANTA GETS THREE OPENLY LGBTQ City Council members in the New Year after Liliana Bakhtiari and Keisha Waites won their Nov. 30 runoffs.

Former state Rep. Waites and queer community organizer Bakhtiari both led their fields with margins just shy of winning outright on Election Day, and both dominated their runoffs. Waites beat Jacki Labat for the At-Large Position 3 seat with 53% of the citywide vote. Bakhtiari won the District 5 seat with a whopping 68% of votes against Mandy Mahoney.

The two join councilmember-elect Alex Wan, who with nearly 80% of the vote on Election Day won back the same District 6 seat he vacated in 2017. He became the council’s first Asian American and first out gay male member in 2010.

The three newly elected members make up the most openly LGBTQ councilmembers to ever 8 theQatl.com

serve on Atlanta City Council at the same time.

Lesbian members Cathy Woolard and Anne Favre served together in the early 2000s.

As of this writing, neither new candidate made a direct public statement declaring victory, though Waites tweeted a meme that says “To God Goes the Glory” late on Tuesday night.

MAKING MORE HISTORY

Bakhtiari becomes the first openly LGBTQ Muslim elected official in state history. She is one of just five out queer Muslims ever elected to public office in the United States. She relished the opportunity to represent Atlanta’s diversity on the council.

“Atlanta is supposed to be the gay mecca of the South,” she told Project Q in July. “If we don’t have representation on council – the very body that has the ability to affect the LGBTQIA population,

COUNCIL that proposes the budget that goes into serving the LGBTQIA population – then we are failing as a city, and we’re failing as the leader of the South that we’ve always claimed to be.”

Bakhtiari also campaigned on homelessness and infrastructure in District 5, as well as reform for the city’s beleaguered HOPWA funding program for AIDS housing.

“We have no complete streets in our district, so we need to work toward complete street design – paving and repaving roads, providing lanes with sidewalks,” she said.

“Council getting involved and engaging the public in what’s going on helps break down silos,” she added.

Waites is no stranger to history making either. She

is the first Black lesbian on the council, and she was the second Black LGBTQ woman elected to the Georgia state legislature in 2012.

“We need to start electing people that bring a level of competency and compassion to the conversation,” she told Project Q in August. “I understand how to move policy through all levels of government.”

‘GOOD MORNING, SOUTH FULTON’

South Fulton City Councilmember Khalid Kamau beat incumbent Bill Edwards in that city’s race for mayor. The win means Kamou is the city’s first LGBTQ mayor and the sixth openly gay mayor in Georgia.

“I think [becoming mayor] will just send this signal about how progressive South Fulton actually is and what our priorities really are,” Kamau told Project Q in August.

Kamau, 44, is a democratic socialist who was a delegate for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. He was also an organizer for the Atlanta chapter of Black Lives Matter and a field organizer for the Georgia House Democratic Caucus.

As a South Fulton councilmember, Kamau amended a nondiscrimination resolution to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

On Wednesday, he tweeted a celebratory though vague nod to his win with a video clip of “Everybody Rejoice” from The Wiz. “Good morning, South Fulton,” he wrote.

Khalid Kamau

In Tucker, Imani Barnes lost her runoff bid to be that city’s first openly LGBTQ black lesbian council member. Cara Schroeder won that race 53% to Barne’s 47%. theQatl.com 9

NEWS

Q

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms

We Built

THIS CITY

Atlanta earns perfect-plus score on LGBTQ equality

By Mike Fleming

THE CITY OF ATLANTA ONCE AGAIN EARNED a perfect-or-better score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index for 2021.

Other Georgia cities made big jumps in the right direction, while others failed to improve their flunking grades.

HRC released the ninth annual report last month.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms celebrated the city’s highest-ever score of 109 in a Facebook post.

“Our administration has made it a priority to ensure Atlanta is a more equitable and inclusive

city for our LGBTQ community,” Bottoms said in a prepared statement. “Thank you to HRC for recognizing our efforts, and thank you to our City officials, LGBTQ Advisory Board and partners for their counsel and support in moving equality forward for LGBTQ Atlantans.”

This is the ninth consecutive year that Atlanta scored 100-or-better on the MEI. HRC gave Atlanta an 82 when the MEI started in 2012. The city then started a streak of perfect scores in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The MEI rates hundreds of cities across the country in five areas. It rewards points in non-discrimination laws, city policies for its LGBTQ employees, municipal services, law enforcement Antonio Brown and relationship with the LGBTQ community.  theQatl.com 11

MEI SCORE continued Doraville is not included for 2021, despite spearheading the movement for LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances across Georgia in 2018. It is home to one of the state’s only openly LGBTQ mayors and only openly transgender elected official.

Athens-Clarke County’s score, which fell dramatically in 2020 for not reporting its 2019 hate crime statistics to the FBI, rebounded to gain its highest score ever. Now in addition to Mariah Parker as the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Athens-Clarke County Commission, Jesse Houle became its second in 2021. Both pushed passage of the city’s new non-discrimination ordinance in August.

Georgia Equality Director Jeff Graham

The 2021 report included 10 Georgia cities and geographic areas. Four of those improved on last year’s scores: Athens, Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Savannah. Atlanta’s individual report stands at 112, up from 109 last year.

A falling grade came for one more. Columbus, Ga., is down only slightly from last year.

HRC counts Atlanta and Decatur among its “All Star Cities” because they rate above 85 in a state that struggles overall with LGBTQ equality.

Georgia Equality’s Jeff Graham lauded the upward movement of some cities on the report.

“The increase in scores from several municipalities shows the progress that is being made to protect LGBTQ Georgians against discrimination around the State of Georgia,” Graham told HRC. “Local advocates and elected officials should be commended for their work on this issue. Until we have laws on a state and federal level that provide these protections, it is crucial that municipalities step forward to fill this gap.”

STATEWIDE UPS AND DOWNS

The average score for cities in Georgia is 48 out of 100 points, which falls 19 below the national average of 67. Georgia’s 2021 scores (2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 scores if available): Athens-Clarke 68 (29, 40, 28, 33, 21) Atlanta 112 (109, 107, 105, 104, 104) Augusta-Richmond 28 (28, 28, 33, 14, 12) Avondale Estates 18 (18, 18, 18, 24, 41) Columbus 58 (61, 61, 36, 34, 38) Decatur 86 (86, 54, 45, 51, 21) North Druid Hills 7 (7, 7, 0, 6, 12) Roswell 5 (5, 5, 5, 11, 11) Sandy Springs 33 (21, 21, 17, 22, 22) Savannah 80 (78, 40, 40, 44, 44)

Other Georgia cities show no movement on the report. Some with LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances may be too new for this year’s survey. Augusta passed its non-discrimination ordinance just last week.

Several more Georgia cities did not participate in HRC’s survey but do have new, inclusive policies on the books. Brookhaven, East Point, Smyrna, Hapeville, East Point and Statesboro passed NDOs in 2020 and 2021.

The number of cities in the state participating in Jennifer Coolidge the survey is down — from 11 in 2019 and 2020.

Visit theQatl.com for more on this story and other news of local LGBTQ interest.

12 theQatl.com

GIVE

COMMUNITY

Q

a little

Local LGBTQ causes need the gift actually keeps giving all year

By Mike Fleming WHILE YOU’RE BUSY MAKING a list and checking it twice, don’t forget that there are worthy non-profits making life better yearround for local LGBTQ people.

Non-profits always need benefactors. In 2021, multiply reasons to give by 1,000.

Sharing with organizations that make Atlanta a better place is also a year-end tax break, so giving back in some ways is like doing yourself a favor, too. Not to mention juicy, delicious queer karma.

Do it for them, do it for you, but just do it. Here are a few of our favorite local non-profits for your consideration this year.

AID Atlanta Known for its AIDS Walk Atlanta & 5K Run, AID Atlanta started providing HIV/AIDS-related services and education at the beginning of the crisis in 1982. Since then, it evolved to serve a broader range of clients. In 2014, it became an affiliate of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. aidatlanta.org  theQatl.com 13

GIVING continued Georgia Equality

Atlanta Pride The largest festival in the Southeast is free to all comers thanks to donations and sponsorships. The committee officially donates to other LGBTQ causes and other non-profits in the equality movement. atlantapride.org

If it’s happening in LGBTQ rights in Georgia, these activists have a hand in it.

From lobbying in the legislature to grassroots initiatives, these dedicated staff and volunteers are busy year-round. georgiaequality.org

Positive Impact Health Centers

Counter Narrative Project Under the watchful eye of director Charles Stephens, CNP builds power among black gay men, working in solidarity with all movements committed to racial and social justice to amplify black gay male voices through media, advocacy and political education. thecounternarrative.org

HRC Atlanta The host of HRC Atlanta Dinner & Silent Auction supports local and national LGBTQ initiatives with year-round fundraising. hrcatlanta.org

Client-centered care to give the HIV community a life worth loving on a sliding scale of fees. Services include HIV specialty medical care, dental referrals, testing, risk reduction, mental health counseling, psychiatry and substance abuse treatment. In 2020, they added a pharmacy. positiveimpacthealthcenters.org

Pets Are Loving Support

Joining Hearts Prolific in giving against HIV for more than three decades, this group throws Atlanta’s largest queer pool party and scores of satellite events. joininghearts.org 14 theQatl.com

PALS was founded at the dawn of the AIDS crisis. It helps critically ill and elderly people keep and care for their pets.

Fundraisers include Drag Bingo games at Lips. palsatlanta.org

SnAP The Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative is a black, trans-led, Atlanta-based coalition to build a black, queer, trans, feminist movement toward practical abolition. snap4freedom.org

Southerners on New Ground SONG is a regional queer liberation organization made up of people of color, immigrants, undocumented people, people with disabilities, working class and rural and small town, LGBTQ people in the South. southernersonnewground.org

Thrive SS This group led by black men supports health equity for people living with HIV through lessening gaps of disparities. thrivess.org

Southern Fried Queer Pride A springtime event series and year-round party crew is just the beginning. Few other, if any, organizations in town reach directly into the day-today lives of young and disenfranchised LGBTQ people of color. southernfriedqueerpride.com

Trans Housing Atlanta Program THAP connects transgender and gender nonconforming people in metro Atlanta directly to available safe housing and supportive services. transhousingatlanta.org Someone Cares, Inc. Since 1996, Someone Cares offers a holistic approach to fighting HIV/AIDS to LGBTQ, marginalized, indigent, homeless and high atrisk populations. Services include primary care, addiction counseling and treatment, mental health counseling and treatment, and drug screening collection. someonecaresatl.org

Voices of Note Through the combined efforts of Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus and Atlanta Women’s Chorus, performances promote equality to diverse audiences, serve as a catalyst for social change, inspire hearts and minds to change and embrace each other. voicesofnote.org theQatl.com 15

Dirty T Q

NIGHTLIFE

Heretic fires up 30th anniversary with gay dance legends

By Mike Fleming AS ATLANTA’S GAY NIGHTLIFE LANDSCAPE and the scenery on Cheshire Bridge Road constantly morphs, one LGBTQ spot remains constant. The city’s longest-running home of gay male dance parties, Heretic turns 30 this month.

When Bev Cook opened the place in 1991 in the former home of lesbian bar Sportspage, no one could predict 2021 and all the changes the bar has seen — least of all current general manager Alan Collins.

“Insert Head exploding emoji here,” Collins laughed. “I don’t think any of us imagined we would last this long. It’s a big deal for any business to be open after 30 years, but a gay bar? Incredible.”

With an open door policy to LGBTQ party planners of every ilk, serving as a special event hub and huge collaborator with other bars, as well as being home base for Atlanta bears, Heretic is one of the longest lasting gay bars in Atlanta.

Only a blowout party would do to celebrate that kind of longevity and commitment to community.

Naturally, Collins pulled out the stops for the Big 3-0. DJ Joe Gauthreaux headlines with local favorite Mike Pope opening. To top it, Kristine W. flies in to perform her a set of her club hits.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have Joe and Mike spin for our anniversary party the last several years, and they are both are so talented,” Collins

18 theQatl.com

said. “And I’ve been a Kristine W fan as long as I can remember. We’ve all danced to her hits on the Heretic dance floor over the years.”

Collins wasn’t even sure he could get the singer to come before a happenstance last year.

“I’ve been a Kristine W fan as long as I can remember,” he said. “We’ve all danced to her hits on the Heretic dance floor over the years. I never thought in a million years she would actually perform at Heretic.”

In 2020, DJ Tony Moran got her to perform a pandemic lockdown-era benefit for displaced Heretic employees. That event, which raised an amazing $15,000 for out-of-work staff, also included singer Debby Holiday.

“After working with Kristine on that event, I promised myself I would hire her one day,” Collins said. “ Well that day has come, and it’s our 30th Anniversary. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

Just as excited as he is about the event, he is as touched by the customer loyalty that the bar inspires. He said he owes customers “a huge heartfelt thank you.”

“Our patrons are the reason we do what we do, the reason I get out of bed every day,” Collins said. “ I am humbled every day knowing, after 30 years, people still consider Heretic one of their top nightlife destinations.”

Visit hereticatlanta.com.

Thirty

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Q Events

The Best LGBTQ Things to Do in Atlanta This Week

Gag the Grinch

THURSDAY, DEC. 9

and his Whoville Boys @ The Hideaway, 8:30 p.m.

Miss Future Atlanta 2022 Awarding a newly minted title, downtown Atlanta’s gay showbar crowns a

queen @ Future, 9 p.m. future-atlanta.com

SATURDAY, DEC. 11

The only holiday toy drive where you don’t sit on Santa’s lap but pose with a distinctly sexy Grinch facebook.com/atlantahideaway Unholy Night

RPDR in the house! Tammie Brown headlines the Wussy holiday party @ My Sister’s Room, 10 p.m. wussymag.com

Heretic 30th Anniversary Three decades of dancing queens, bear brigades

and queerios welcome Joe Gauthreaux and

Kristine W. @ Heretic, 10 p.m. Read our pre-

view in this issue. Get there

early for Armorettes Trailer Park Christmas, 8 p.m. hereticatlanta.com Atlanta Santa Speedo Run

SUNDAY, DEC. 12 Tammie Brown’s

Do barely there, but make it Santa. Teams and

Holiday Brunch

individuals race through Midtown in teeny

The RuQueen follows up on

tiny swimwear for charity @ Politan Row Col-

the previous night’s perfor-

ony Square, 12 noon. atlantasantaspeedorun.org #DadsAgainstDeplorables

They’re big. They’re burly. They’re posing boudoir

mance as part of a killer brunch

cast @ City Winery, 12 noon.

wussymag.com

style to raise money for progressive causes @ Woofs,

TUESDAY, DEC. 14

woofsatlanta.com

With “ChristmaHanaKwan-

1 p.m. dads.GDLiberals.com, Miss Ruck N Maul

Members of Atlanta

Bucks Rugby compete for a camp title under this year’s “Caught in

the Headlights” theme @ Future, 5 p.m.

atlantabucksrugby.org

PALS Holiday Drag Queen Bingo zaMas” as their guide, the Pets Are Loving Sup-

port gang hosts a festive edition of monthly

bingo @ Lips, 7:30 p.m. palsatlanta.org

Find the full weekend calendar of LGBTQ events each Thursday at theQatl.com

theQatl.com 21

22 theQatl.com

BEARRACUDA ANNIVERSARY AT HERETIC

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

Q SHOTS

PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD

theQatl.com 23

Q SHOTS

PHOTOS BY RUSS BOWEN-YOUNGBLOOD

24 theQatl.com

NEW FACES PAGEANT AT FRIENDS

Full gallery on Project Q at theQatl.com

on tA ve .N E dm Pi e

4

9

11th St. NE

8

10th St. NE

Amsterdam Ave.

Dr. N E

Piedmont Park

14th St. NE

12th St. NE

12

Mon roe

West Peachtree St. NE

E

75

t. N eS tre

85

ach Pe

Spring St. NW

Q Atlus Map

10 5

Virginia Ave. NE

1 9th St. NE

227 10th St. NE 2. Bulldogs Bar 893 Peachtree St NE 3. Friends on Ponce 736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE 4. My Sister’s Room 84 12th St 5. X Midtown 990 Piedmont Ave. NE 6. Atlanta Eagle 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE

26 theQatl.com

 Bars

 Restaurants North Ave. NW

North Ave. NW

 Clubs  Retail/Services

Not Shown

Future 50 Lower Alabama St SW, Suite 180

8. Henry’s Midtown Tavern 132 10th St NE

Mary’s 1287 Glenwood Ave SE

9. Joe’s onRalph Juniper McGill Blvd. NE 1049 Juniper St NE

Sister Louisa’s 466 Edgewood Ave SE

10. Zocalo Mexican Kitchen & Cantina 187 10th St NE Highland Ave. NE 11. Barking Leather After Dark 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE (inside Eagle) 12. Urban Body Fitness 500 Amsterdam Ave NE

The T 465 Boulevard SE Swinging Richards 1400 Northside Dr NW Lips Drag Show Palace 3011 Buford Highway NE Lost ’n Found Youth Thift Store 2585 Chantilly Dr NE

Ponce De Leon Pl. NE

3

Key

Ponce De Leon Ave. NE

7. Flex 76 4th St NW

Ponce De Leon Pl. NE

r. NE roe D Mon

Charles Allen Dr. NE

11 6

St. Charles Ave.

Glen Iris Dr. NE

1. Blakes on the Park

NE

NE

Piedmont Park

Piedmont Ave.

Spring St. NW

7

2 Juniper St. NE

85

Peachtree St.

75

West Peachtree St. NE

8th St. NE

Lin

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Dr.

1 Piedmont Ave. NE

Rd. N

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11

ulk

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Manchester Rd. NE

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Alco S t. NE

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Key

 Bars  Restaurants  Clubs  Retail/Services

Cheshire Bridge Road 5. The Heretic 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

9. Gravity Fitness 2201 Faulkner Rd NE

2. Tripp’s Bar 1931 Piedmont Circle NE

6. Las Margaritas 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

10. Southern Nights 2205 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

3. Woof’s Sports Bar 494 Plasters Ave NE

7. Roxx Tavern 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

11. Tokyo Valentino (Cheshire Bridge) 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

4. BJ Rooster’s 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

8. 2Qute Hair Salon 1927 Cheshire Bridge Road NE

3

5

4. Oscar’s 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

tA ve .N E on m ed

Dr. NE

Pi

5. Barking Leather 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 6. Boy Next Door 1447 Piedmont Ave NE

Monroe

Piedmont Park

1. Felix’s on the Square 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

3. Midtown Moon 1510 Piedmont Ave NE

8

6

Ansley Park 2. The Hideaway 1544 Piedmont Ave NE

E

4

Morningside Dr. NE

Pied

r. N eD

7

ro

n Mo

2 1

mon t Ave. NE

1. Sequel Bar 1086 Alco St. NE

Key

 Bars  Restaurants  Clubs  Retail/Services

7. Brushstrokes 1510 Piedmont Ave NE 8. Equilibrium Fitness 1529 Piedmont Ave NE

theQatl.com 27

Q Advice

2 Tons of

FUN

Both husbands put on pounds, but only one wants to change

Q

My husband and I have struggled with our weight for years. We both gained a signif-

icant amount of weight since we got married, but

I’m trying to mitigate mine with diet and exercise.

He isn’t. Every time I try to talk with him about it, he makes me feel like I’m the bad guy for bringing it up.

We’re both approaching 40, and I know we’ll

never be the “twinks” we were when we met, but I’d like to be better than I am, and I find it very

difficult to get healthy without his support. He’s pre-diabetic. He has sleep apnea. His sex drive is nowhere near what it was when we met. It’s frustrating that he doesn’t even try. It’s like he doesn’t care.

I will never “fat shame” him, and I know my weight struggles aren’t his issue. But I would find it easier

to tackle this if he were more supportive and tried

to be healthier. I even considered an ultimatum: me or the sugar.

Dear Big Guy: Every queer in the LGBTQ village has choices

they want to reverse, demons they need to face and habits that die hard. Your situation is relatable.

Talking with your husband about his weight is a great first step, assuming it’s done with love

and concern instead of nagging. As his partner,

you have a stake in his health. But in long-term

relationships, the road to ruin is trying to change people besides ourselves. It builds resentment, and it doesn’t work.

You can’t care about it for him. You already know this as a spouse. “Making him” do things might

work temporarily, but rarely for the long term. If he’s not ready, you have to discuss it and drop it.

Upsetting him won’t motivate him.

If your husband was writing in for ways to make

positive changes, that’s where we’d focus. But this

is about what you can change: yourself. You’ll set a

good example and gain knowledge to pass on if and when his time comes.

The sugar-or-me ultimatum is ill-advised. Surely,

it’s not worth losing him in your effort to keep him.

Laying down the law comes from being frustrated — with him and with yourself.

Making changes might be easier with an accountability partner, but that’s not your reality. Just like

him, you have to do it for you, and being upset isn’t going to help you to keep up the good work.

The Q is for entertainment, not counseling. Send burning Qs to mike@theQatl.com.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRAD GIBSON

theQatl.com 29