RFD Issue 50 Spring 1987

MANAGING EDITOR: OFFICE MANAGER: ASSISTANT: ART DIRECTOR:

Ron Lambe Big Stone Charles Simpson Dwight Dunaway

VOLUNTEER DEDARTMENT EDITORS: As you can tell, this is a big issue. And, it has taken longer than usual to get it put together. I have had virtually all my time distracted to nuclear and other concerns, but fortunately Light, Charles and Tom have put this issue together almost by themselves. These magazine gnomes have worked like Santa's helpers the week before Christmas and crafted this full issue. It's the biggest since #26, so I hope the weather will not be tempting you to get out and start planting just yet. Take a couple more days by the wood stove and read to your heart's content.

The feature we had planned fell through, but we were able to use the space to bring you more articles, fiction, and health. We chose the title "Re­ joicing in Flamboyant Diversity" because we think it is a sub-theme in this issue. At least we want to affirm and celebrate our own diversity. Some of the criticism in Letters has been good, like pointing out that sources should be cited. On the other hand, I detect sometimes a notion that we should only publish material that has been ratified by some "official" agency. I feel it is RFD's responsibility not to deliberately mislead or misinform; however, it is also important that RFD remain an open forum for new ideas and personal testimony.

I don’t feel that presenting personal testimony of health victories outside of mainstream medicine is offering "false hope" to readers. Indeed, if in­ dustrial medicine had come up with a workable way of "curing" AIDS, then we would not be so inclined to search elsewhere for leads. I personally feel that there is too much reliance on government and other institutional au­ thorities for our thinking, and that is a part of the reason we are in the mess we are in this country.

We all need to take more responsibility for our own lives and make our own decisions.

If more of us did that, then we might have less government in­ terference in our lives. I think it is important to remember that the au­ thority of government is lent to it by its citizens. We all agree to co­ operate with the authorities, and that is how they operate. Gandhi showed the people of India that they had only to stop cooperating to disempower the Imperial government.

In my work with the environmental organization I have been associated with for the past few years, I have seen this principle developing across the land. All over the country people are slowly waking up to the disillusion­ ing fact that our government very often does not function for the benefit of the people or the land. It certainly comes as no surprise to most RFDers, but can you imagine how frightening and disorienting this revela­ tion must be to the TV generation? So much in our lives is based on trust, and when that trust is broken, the effect can be devastating. I was re­ cently in the Texas panhandle at a Department of Energy public hearing on the siting of a high-level nuclear waste dump there. I was most moved when a Texas veteran stood up and stated, in tears, that he wouldn't fight for this country again because of the way it was treating people and operating this program. That is pretty radical from middle America. Maybe there is hope for us all. If the sleeping giant of middle America can wake up and kick out the profiteers and despoilers, then maybe we can get this country back on track with "liberty and justice for all."

Well, I've sermonized enough--especially for a spring issue. In many ways this is a rather somber issue. But like most issues, I believe that this is a reflection of the times we are living in. I’ve added a new heading in Announcements, "Homophobia," because there is just so much of it! And, so many of our brothers have succumbed to AIDS. These are all things that we don't have much choice in dealing with. They follow us like shadows on a late afternoon. But, we do have some choices about how we celebrate our lives and affirm brothersister)hood with all creatures. We ca_n celebrate by showing respect for all life. Indeed, let us celebrate our diversity!

It is the only way we can all be free.

ARTICLES/ESSAYS: Richard Chumley, TN BOOK REVIEWS: Open PP"S. BEHIND BARS: Len Richardson, OR CONTACT LETTERS: Gary Wilson, MN COUNTRY KITCHEN: Buddy May, NC FEY ARTS: Franklin Abbott, GA FICTION: Randy Conner, CA GARDENING: Scott Tuzzolino, DC GATHERINGS: Sundance, CA HEALTH: Pat Browder, NC HOMESTEADING: Kim Grittner, WI POETRY: Franklin Abbott, GA POLITICS: Stuart Norman, CA PROFILES: Warren Potas, DC SPIRITUALITY: Gerry Kamp, NY RFD is a reader-written journal for gay men which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. Articles often explore the building of a sense of community, radical faerie consciousness, the caring for the environment, as well as sharing gay men's experiences.

Editorship responsibility is shared between the Department Editors and the Managing Editor. The business and general production is centered at Running Water in western North Carolina.

Features are often pre­ pared in various places by different groups.

RFD is published quarterly on the equinoxes and solstices at Running Water, Rt. 1 Box 127-E, Bakersville, NC 28705. One year's subscription is $12.00 by second class mail; $18 for first class mail. Foreign subs (including Canada) are $14.00/year.

Tel: (704) 688-2447.

ISSN #0149-709X USPS #073-010-00 Non-profit tax exempt status under #23-7199134 as a function of Gay Community Social Services, Seattle, Washington.

MEMBER: CCLM (Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines) C0SMEP (The International Assoc. of Independent Publishers) GLPA (Gay/Lesbian Press Assoc.)

IGLA (Int'l Gay & Lesbian Assoc.)

INDEXED by Alternative Press Index P.0. Box 33109 Baltimore, MD 21218 MICROFILMED by Alternative Media P.0. Box 1347 Ansonia New York, NY 10023

LABOR D A Y ’86 GATHERING by Big Stone

Frankl in Abbott................ 16,28 Karl Ahlers........................66 A11adres........................48-51 Jim Andrisse.......................18 Big Stone........................1,20 Randy Brieger......................48 Pat Browder................. 53,57,60 Larry D. Burke.................... 50 Sue Burke.......................... 70 Richard Chumley................... 80 David Chura........................50 J. Michael Clark.................. 40 Louise Coggins........ 32,34,35,68,69 Paul Corager...................„...72 Thomas R. Crowe................... BC M.A. Define........................38 dwatt.............................. 50 Bru Dye............................ 48 R.T. Edwards.......................74 Peter Flatzek..................... 73 Carl Vaughn Frick....... 29,40,42,58 Daniel Garrett.................... 51 Kevin Girard...................... 93 Anthony Gresham................... 77 Michael Hathaway............... 17,49 Louise Hay......................... 52 Li Min Hua.........................49 Scott Humphries................... 45 Jim Jackson........................76 Keith Johnson......................76 John Jones..........

50 Ken Kildare........................79 Joe Lawrence Lembo................ 80 Light.................... FC,36,53-56 j .w.m.............................. 48 Michael Mason..................... 51 Michael and Jim............

23 Michael of Oregon................. 37 Sr. Missionary Position........... 78 Carl Morse.........................49 David Myers........................46 Stuart Norman......................68 Richard Oloizia................... 79 Nancy Packes.......................51 John Ritter........................62 Bradley Rose.......................31 Billy Russo........................61 Assotto Saint..................... 43 Mike Shearer.......................82 Joel Singer........................ 16 A1 len Small ing.................... 81 Richard Smith......................26 Winthrop Smith.................... 50 Michael Swift..................... 46 Robin Walden.................. IRC,57 Andy Wicker........................18 Christopher Wiley................. 51 Will.............................. .30 Raven Wol fdancer.................. 79

P

A _ £ o u « f « r y

At—

C ontributors

roduction

Big Stone Dwight Dunaway Ron Lambe Charles Simpson Photos by Kwasigroh Cover designs by Light

Tr V.

R ejoicing

in

F lamboyant

ANNOUNCEMENTS ARTIC LES & ESSA YS

Federation of Southern Co-ops Gay Farmer-Activist Faces AIDS Gaymyth Ireland/Kairos; Eternity/Now 1986 Great Plains Regional Rodeo Of Intermediate Concern A Positive Time Response to the Response Why I Pander Wild Lavender Update Write for the Fun of It

C

o n ten ts

BOOK R E V IE W S

78 79 80 81 80 79 78 81 79

[>

Molesting the Molested

Of Poets, Periodicals,

i v e r s i t y

63 62 40 28 25 31 45 36 82 30 74

Blackbird (L. Duplechan) Calamus Lovers (C. Shively, ed.)

Green Politics (Spretnak and Capra) Herbs and Medicinal Plants (M. Hooper) Meditations with Animals (G. Hausman) Psychoimmunity and the Healing Process (J. Serinus. ed.)

The Spiritual Dimension of Green Politics (Spretnak) Worlds Apart (Decarnin, Garber, Paleo, eds.)

Index

BROTHERS BEHIND BARS Joint, venture

D

6

Bradley Rose Scott Humphries Light Mike Shearer Will Richard Thomas Edwards Ken Kildare Joe Lawrence Lembo A1 len Smal 1 ing Richard Chumley Raven Wolfdancer Sister Missionary Position A11en Smal1ing Richard Oloizla

65 65

66

CONTACT LETTER S 83 FEY A R TS 16 16 Singers, and Fancy Dancers FICTION

The Blacksmith's Tale The Masque of the Nuclear Death Which Way You Going Billy?

A Terrible Longing

John Ritter Michael Clark Franklin Abbott

Karl Ahlers

Franklin Abbott

26

Richard Smith

38 46

M.A. Define Michael Swift

20 Big Stone

GATHERINGS 1 1 HEALTH 52

Blue Heron Labor Day 1986 Gathering

Pig Stone

AIDS Education or Conversion AIDS Update Heal Your Body Letters The Third Stage of the AIDS Epidemic

57 53 52 58 61

Pat Browder Pat Browder Louise Hay

Bird Mythology Blue Shift Boys Will Be Boys Cornbread and Lipstick A Fairy Prayer for the Mothers of Abominations Ice Cube Poem In the Name of Sex Modern Mode Entertainment Promi se Some Men Something Else Something Just Meant To Be Sunday School To the Rhythm White

50 48 50 48 49 49 51 51 50 51 50 48 49 51 48

Larry D. Burk Bru Dye David Chura Randy Brieger Carl Morse Li Min Hua Daniel Garrett Nancy Packes dwatt Christopher Wiley Winthrop Smith Assotto Saint Michael Hathaway Michael Mason j .w .m .

Amerika vs. Latin America Politics Isn't What You Think

68 68

Stuart Norman Stuart Norman

Gay Business Survival in a Rural Setting On the Road Tasha Crystal Moonfeather

72 23 70

Paul Corager Michael and Jim Sue Burke

Chernobyl Prayer The Whole Earth Project

77 76

Anthony Gresham Keith Johnson

PO ETR Y 48

POLITICS 68

PROFILES 70

S P IR IT U A L IT Y 76

Billy Russo

and stuck in l e f t fie ld in games we didn’t wxmt to play but were given no choice?

Where were you la t e r In high school when a l l the big event.s required a "skirt" on your arm and male-female rela tio n sh ip s were the only option?

Where were you when 7 had to explain why 7 was c la s s ifie d 4-F by the Country's figh tin g machine?

Vear friend**, Voun w inter is s u e icas ins p irin g and pnovocative. 7 es p e c ia lly enjoyed Jame^> Martin' s a rtic le , on healing with fresh green s.

There i s one general philosophical point that I 'd lik e to address.

Many Gay men in our growing nature/ sp iritu a l movements b eliev e that we. crea te our own illn e s s e s , that we are "JOOt responsible /or every ex ­ p erien ce in our liv es" [quote /torn Louise Hay). Without wanting to in ­ validate such a philosophy, my own experience has taught me, something e ls e .

While love, p o sitiv e a ttitu d e s , and openness play an important part in our physical health, they are not the onto fa c to rs . Is a Jewish baby who is being knifed to death by a Nazi responsible /or her own ex­ p e rie n c e ? And, there are v iru ses.

7 assure you that if, syphilis germs are put into your bloodstream you w ill get syp h ilis. There may be a few isolated individuals who can transmute d isea se, but most of us w ill become sick . Viruses and bacteria play an important role in d isea se.

We seem to be on the verge of a new truth. Vet in our eagerness to cast o ff the Western, rational theories of d isea se, we arc also throw big out the elements of truth in those sys terns.

tia n ity for no good reason, other than i t does not allow you to engage in your sexual a ctiv ity [ i t d oesn't allow heterosexuals to , e it h e r ).

RFP seems to judge C hristian ity based upon those who p ra ctice i t : fundamentalists who, in l i t e r a l l y in terp retin g the B ible, have ac­ quired a decidedly anti-homo sexual o rien ta tio n, desp ite what RFP may think, God is not a monster or, at lea st 7 hope, down on gays, sin ce He made them! God made everybody for some purpose, this 7 firm ly b e lie v e .

God is love and God is l i f e . As such, He has ordered the world to a ct out its dance--the seasons, the Sun, moon, the s ta rs, birth and death. Nature is not an end in i t ­ s e l f , but merely a manifestation of God. Likewise, d espite His being portrayed as male, God Is without gender. Indeed, God is without, physical form, at lea st one that humans can conceive.

God is love. The Lord loves all. be­ in gs, even that which we wjould con­ demn as e v il and d estru ctiv e and s e lfis h . We are merely human, but cannot we possibly Cove also? Lash­ ing out against various groups c r e ­ ates sectarianism--Us and Them.

How can there be love and unity i f we are judging by the Us/Them measure?

Where were you when 7 was 25 and not married yet and an embarrassment to my parents?

Wherever you were, Mr. Johnson, 7 s ee l i t t l e reason why 7 should care where you are now.

Vours in Gay Pride, A sensual Gay man with no In clin a ­ tion fo r women, B ill K elly, California Vear Readers-J'v e noticed many le t t e r s to the ed­ it o r that complain about the con­ te n t of RFP C riticism of the con­ tent. Is understandable, but to ad­ monish RFP for printlyig certain opinlons over others Is missing the point of th is journal. RFP Is a "reader-ienltten journal.'1' There is no e d ito ria l stance, as such. RFP Is "traditiona lly " country, a lt e r ­ native, fa e r ie , and marginally radi­ cal.; however, we do not s o l i c i t any m aterial, nor do we e d it submissions based on our own c r it e r ia or be­ l i e f s . Our readership Is diverse and e c l e c t i c ; t h e re fo re , so Is the jo u rn a l„ We o f f e r a ltern a tiv e "opinions" to spark your c u rio s ity , not to take a stand. Every voice has a rig h t to be heard.

In ever expanding love,

In S in c e rity and S erenity,

freight Vunaivay, a. k.a . Llght RFP Art Vln.ec...

D ifferin g philosophies can c o - e x is t , but it seems that the philosophy of "we create 1001 of our rea lity " is taking root in our community with no c r it ic is m . Long live d issen t.

Andrew S h a ffer, Oregon

Vean Good People a t RFP:

Hear RFP

Love,

J o hn so n' s letter on the op pr es si on of bisexuals, issue #49--Ed.] When

Moonbeam La Tour, C alifornia

he has grown up gay in a so ciety that has only occasionally to lera ted and never accepted us gays, then he can talk to me about tolerance and acceptance.

. . . Most publications deal with news or entertainm ent only, RFP has seen f i t to deal with more. Real l i f e , that Is what RFP represents to me, not ju s t neios on bar show neviej.es, but people liv in g th eir liv es f nom day to day and trying to kelp others out in whatever way they can. 7 tru ly enjoy youn jounnal good people--keep up the good

To the T d itcr: Although RFP is an e x c e lle n t journal as far as environmental stands and acceptance of s e lf goes, I am very disturbed and disenchanted by the negative view i t takes toward C hris­

How Vare Mr. Terry Johnson demand acceptance; how Vare he? [See Terry

Where were you, Mr. Johnson, when I approached sexual awakening and we gays were cu lled to be la st chosen 4

iconJz.

Many unarm negands, Kevin A. Glnard, V irginia

Vear Foiks, I'm renewing my su bscrip tio n to RFV, but T had to thtnk about i t a t i t t l e . RFV is an excellen t. 60 ua.cz of Information, presented from a unique p ersp ectiv e, but the a r t ic le s aAe of mixed q uality. I appreciate the minimization of e d ito ria l censor­ ship, yet T f e e l that some of your contributors could do b e tte r quality work with a f e e more g u id e lin e s .

Too often th e n o n -fictio n a r t ic le s are dragged down by ranting, raving and mumbo-jumbo. "Healing Outside the System" by James Martin, in issu e 49, is an example of an a r t i ­ c le with points of in t e r e s t awash in a sea of rumors and speculation.

I would lik e to urge RFV co n trltu tors to come down from your soap­ boxes and think more about whom your audience i s .

Increase the scholarship of your a r t i c l e s , and leave room for others to build on your thoughts. When p o s s ib le, c i t e re fe re n c e m aterials. Remember that for a rea d er, u n v e rlfia b le informa­ tion must be considered opinion and rumor.

My thanks go out to those who work so hard to make th is a quality' pub­ lic a tio n .

S in cerely , John Boguard, Pennsylvania dear RFV, . . . Listening to the babble of the Mew Christian Right, I noticed the words and phrases were very sim ilar to the tenets of the ea rly Nazi party in Germany. So I 'd l i k e to quote some of those Nazi ten ets for comparison to the babble of th e New Christian Right (the New Right Fun­ dam entalists): "The in te rla c in g of the socio-economic stru ctu re with the sexual s tru c tu re of so ciety and the s tru ctu ra l reproduction of s o c i­ ally take place in the f i r s t four or fiv e years and in the author! tarian family. The Church only contenues this function l a t e r . Thus, the authoritarian sta te gains an enormous in t e r e s t in th e authori­ tarian family. I t becomes the fa c ­ tory in ivhich th e s t a t e 's stru c tu re and ideology are molded." Notice the Neu) C hristian Right wants tax concessions fo r the church schools, and wants prayer in public schools.

They are always spouting about the tra d itio n a l family, but what kind of family--a female s e r f for breeding kids, man the m aster?. . .

Now to continue: "The moral in h i­ bition of the c h ild 's natural sexu a l­

it y , the la s t stage of which is the sev ere impairment of the c h ild 's ge.nltal sex u a lity , makes the ch ild a fra id , shy, fe a rfu l of authority, obedient, "good," and "docile" in th e authoritarian sense of the words. I t has a crip p lin g effect, on man's re b e llio u s forces because every v ita l life-im p u lse is now bur­ dened with sev ere fe a r; and sin ce sex is a forbidden su b ject, thought in gen era l and man's c r i t i c a l fa cu l­ ty also become in h ib ited .

In short, m orality's aim is to produce acqui­ escen t su b jects who, d esp ite d is ­ t re s s and hum iliation, are adjusted to the authoritarian o rd er. " [This and the e a r lie r quotation are taken from The Mass Psychology of Fascism,

by Wilhelm R eich.]

We are f i r s t in the world in teen b irth s . The New Christian Right wants to keep children ignorant in sex . Sex is e v il unless i t is done fo r breeding. We wondered i f these people were mad in th e ir outlook.

No, t h e ir in ten t is to co n tro l. Is ■ this the N azification of America in the gu ise of God and morality? . . . Well, as a pagan fa e r ie , I loved this is s u e . I mean one should not insult, the s p ir it s of the mods or mountains, and they are trea ted with re s p e c t in RFV. Like the. story "The Stag's V o ic e d and "Wings."

That death wish re lig io n is doing harm to humans and Mother Earth.

Now she is figh tin g back, because look at. the weather . Her volcanoes are erupting, which w ill change the weather more. To remedy the s it u a ­ tio n , we need a so cia l revolution.

Any t r e e that has to be cut down, they should say a prayer for the s p i r i t of the t r e e . I f they mine in any area, a medicine man or woman should be consulted f i r s t . People should wwfee up. Poisoning Mother Earth w ill ju s t end up k illin g us a ll. . .

In Gay Liberation, Jude Ryan, New Jersey Vear RFV: In PFV #49, Stuart Norman surmised th a t the anti-porn campaigns "keep the p o lit ic a l energies of the people d istra cted and d irected aioay from important is s u e s ." While I'm not certa in what, the situation is in the United S ta tes, in Canada anti-porn le g is la tio n is being used to s ile n c e the lesbia n and gay communities and the is s u e of our freedom to read, s e e and talk seems paramount at the moment.

There are very few lesbia n and/or gay publishers in Canada, and the 5

majority of ero tica is produced in the United S ta tes. Our Customs o f­ f i c i a l s are waging a campaign to stop lesbia n and gay lit e r a t u r e , ero tica and video from crossing the border, and the fu tire s of Canada's la rg e s t lesb ia n and gay bookstores are being threatened. Both Glad Vay Bookshop in Toronto and L ittle S is ­ t e r 's Book and Art Emporium in Van­ couver have been harassed with s e i ­ zures of imported shipments since May of 1985.

At that time, Canada Customs began operating under an in tern a l Memo­ randum which o utlines what can be deemed obscene; included in th is l i s t are descrip tio n s and depictions of anal in terco u rse and anal pene­ tra tio n . These gu id elin es have been used to censor sa fe sex information from gay g lo ssies and an in creasin g ­ ly long l i s t of lesbian and gay t< t ie s have been added to Canada Cm toms' prohibited importations lo s t, including two issu es of The Advocate and The. Joy 0 ($ Gay Sox. Lesbian and gay community groups and civil, rig h ts organizations have b e­ gun the lengthy and co stly process of court ch allenges, but these take time, and in the meantime the book­ stores are losing thousands of dot tars in shipments sent o ff to Cana­ da Customs' furnaces.

The future d o esn 't look g rea t e ith e r, as our fed era l government, under pressure from rig h t wing re lig io u s groups, is about to mount a major defensive, against pom . Legislation is expected to come down this sp rin g, a ft e r an anti-fxirn b i l l tabled la st June died and went to le g is la tiv e limbo. The government has promised to reta in the s p i r i t and p rin cip les of the former b i l l which would have crim inalized a ll representations of lesbian and gay s e x . . . .

C ertainly there are other important is s u e s --is s u e s which a f f e c t more people than lesb ia n s, gay men and others carrying on the discussion around sexu a lity . Our environment is being poisoned, people are b e­ coming in crea sin gly powerless in con tro llin g th e ir own liv e s and the m ilitary/ in d u stria l complex p r a c t i­ ca lly controls our c u ltu re . Censor­ ship, however, is a powerful tool and I dodbt'that the sta te w ill stop a t 's ile n c in g queers and p erv erts, as i t has s ile n c e d more people than that in the past.

Ken A n d erlin i, B ritish Columbia, Canada

WASTE FROM ABROAD 474 spent nuclear fuel rods and twenty-eight tons of radioactive material from Taiwan, slated to be delivered to west coast ports until protests forced the Dept, of Energy to reconsider, have been re-routed to Portsmouth, VA, then to be shipped by trucks to Aiken, SC. There, the waste will be processed to extract the plutonium and radium for use in nuclear weapons.

NUCLEAR

DRUM FULL OF TROUBLE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has moved to upwardly revise the radiation exposure standards for the public, despite mounting scien­ tific evidence that the current standards are already too high. Socalled "low level" radiation has been shown to be more dangerous than was thought some years ago, but ac­ cording to Robert Alvarez, member of the Environmental Policy Institute, the nuclear industry is afraid low­ er standards would be too expensive to comply with and, in fact, want higher standards to increase their profit margin. The U.S. government is afraid lowering standards would be an admission that past standards were too high, implying liability for radiation-related injuries to nuclear workers, "atomic veterans" who participated in nuclear experi­ ments and citizens who live close to nuclear power plants.

TROUBLED PLANT The Fernald uranium processing plant near Cincinnati has been the site of several "small" accidents. On Dec. 30, 1986, a fire caused "slight" contamination outside the building, and on Jan. 7, 1987, about 500 pounds of radioactive magnesium flouride powder were spilled inside the plant. In both cases, no in­ juries were reported. The latest U.S. government budget proposal in­ cludes an increase in funding to clean up the plant.

The U.S. Navy uses at least two civilian cargo ships to transport nuclear missiles across the Atlan­ tic. The missiles are submarinelaunched ballistic missiles, shuttled between Charleston, SC, King's Bay, GA, and Holy Loch, Scotland. Up until now, the common­ ly held perception was that the Navy's nuclear weapons were handled only by active-duty personnel, not untrained civilians.

MORTON THI0K0L BOYCOTT

N N O U N C E M E NTS

HIGHER STANDARDS

HANDLE WITH CARE

On Sept. 18, 1986, physicists con­ ducting an inventory for the Air Force inadvertently opened a drum of americium-241 powder, contaminat­ ing one worker. Clean-up of the spill was completed Jan 6th, but there was no explanation of what the americium, a highly toxic transuranic element, was being used for at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

A strong alpha-particle source, americium-241 is commonly used in smoke detectors.

NRC TO CUT EMERGENCY PLANNING With the example of Chernobyl clear­ ly before their eyes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is try­ ing to 1essen emergency planning requirements for evacuating areas around nuclear power plants in case of an accident. Whereas the area within twenty miles of Chernobyl is now uninhabitable, the NRC wants the evacuation area around a plant to be only a two mile radius.

NUCLEAR UNEMPLOYMENT Environment vs. jobs is an old dilemma, but a report put out by a Chicago group suggests that, at least where nuclear energy is con­ cerned, you can lose both jobs and the environment. Completion of three unfinished nuclear power plants will entail rate increases, which will lead to the loss of an estimated 12,000 jobs, as businesses close when they find they can no longer afford the power bill.

6

Nuclear Free America has called for a boycott of Morton Thiokol, makers of salt, space shuttle booster rockets, and nuclear weapons. 38% of the company's profits come from making components for Minuteman, MX, Pershing and Trident missies, and the company is doing contract work on Star Wars. Write: NFA, 325 East 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.

8 NUCLEAR PLANTS DECLARED UNSAFE The Union of Concerned Scientists has called for the shutdown of all nuclear power plants built by Babcock and Wilcox (the builder of the Three Mile Island plant). The B&W plants are said to be "plagued by frequent and complex accidents."

The eight plants are Arkansas 1, Russellville, AR; Crystal River, Crystal River, FL; Davis-Besse, Toledo, OH; Oconee 1, 2, and 3, Greenville, SC; Rancho Seco, Sacra­ mento, CA; and Three Mile Island 1, Harrisburg, PA. Two other B&W plants are under construction: Bellefonte 1 and 2, Huntsville, AL.

NUCLEAR POLLUTION Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) simply walked away from its reprocessing plant in West Valley, NY, and left to state and federal agencies the task of cleaning up 560,000 gallons of highly radioactive wastes. In the 70's this cost $400 million.

NFS moved to Erwin, TN, and prompt­ ly began to repeat its mistakes. A federal investigation of the Erwin plant has found "oozing radioactive contamination [working its way! into work areas, . . . lunchrooms and other non-working areas, and into the soil outside . . . [to] off­ site railroad land." Even parts of vending machines had to be disposed of as radioactive waste.

"JUST GIVE ME A SUBMACHINE GUN AND I'LL TAKE CARE OF THAT PROBLEM." -A.A. PIERCE

HOMOPHOBIA

VIOLENCE AGAINST GAYS IN BOSTON The mayor of Boston recently went "undercover" to find out for himself how bad it was for gays in Boston.

Walking with a plainclothes police­ man through certain districts, he was verbally abused with the usual anti-gay epithets. He is reportedly much more supportive of gay rights now. A test of that new found re­ solve was not long in coming. Three off-duty firemen harassed and chased a gay man and two lesbians, actually throwing one against a police car.

Policemen at the scene refused to take the victims1 statements. The firefighters were subsequently iden­ tified by the victims and are facing criminal charges. A billboard was later set up opposite the fire sta­ tion where the three alleged fagbashers worked, listing the statis­ tics of anti-gay violence in Boston.

The statistics were released Feb. 5, 1987, by a coalition of gay and non­ gay organi zations.

Of 135 cases of anti-gay and anti­ lesbian violence in Boston in 1986, 33% (45) involved verbal harassment or threats of violence; 42% (56) involved physical assault; 17% (23) involved gays and lesbians being chased, followed, or spat at; 4% (5) involved police abuse; 1% (2) involved vandalism; 1% (1) involved bomb threats; 2% (3) involved homi­ cide. In 13% (18) of the cases, AIDS-related comments were made in the attack.

DELTA REPENTS In august 1986, after refusing to seat a man with AIDS on a flight he had a ticket for, Delta Airlines became the target of a national boycott organized by Mobilization Against AIDS. In early February 1987, Delta gave in to the San Francisco based organization’s four demands and MAA called off the boy­ cott. Delta agreed to publicly apologize for statements to the ef­ fect that the lives of gay persons, because of AIDS, have less value than those of straights; to guaran­ tee PWAs free access*to Delta flights; to educate Delta person­ nel about AIDS; and to support the national struggle to end AIDS as a means of offsetting the efforts and funds expended to correct Delta's atti tude.

WHITE PAPER ON VIOLENCE The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has published a white paper: "Anti-Gay Violence: Causes, Con­ sequences, Responses." Originally presented as testimony to a Con­ gressional hearing on anti-gay vio­ lence, this report is now offered to the public at $5.00 a copy. The NGLTF also offers other reports of interest to the gay community.

Write: NGLTF, 1517 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009; (202) 3326483.

HOMOPHOBE BLOCKED California Gov. George Deukmejian's choice for director for the Dept, of Motor Vehicles, A.A. "Del" Pierce, has run into opposition over his anti-gay sentiments. Ac­ cording to William Garcia, former deputy director of the State and Consumer Affairs Agency, Pierce had this sparkling gem of wisdom to pass on about gays: "Just give me a submachine gun and I'll take care of that problem." California Sena­ tor William Craven questioned wheth­ er that remark could justify ruin­ ing a twenty year career in public service.

ODD QUESTIONS The Cincinnati fire and police de­ partments have been criticized by gay and other civil rights groups for questions applicants for jobs on the forces have to answer. Re­ cruits are required to answer such questions as: whether they have engaged in gay sex, sex with a minor, or committed a rape. Also, there is the intriguing essay question: "Describe your most out­ rageous sexual experience." Of­ ficials have agreed to review the questions but don't see any im­ propriety in asking them.

7

OLYMPIC BIGOTS NIXED San Francisco's gay Supervisor, Harry Britt, has introduced legis­ lation to the Board of Supervisors to prevent SF from being proposed as the site of the 1996 Olympics.

According to Britt, until the Olym­ pics Committee stops harassing Gay Games (originally Gay Olympics) founder Dr. Thomas Waddell and stops their blatantly bigoted op­ position to the use of the word "Olympics" by Gay Games, SF should not be welcoming them. The Olym­ pics Committee has not harassed such events as the Dog, Rat, Crab Cooking, Armenian, and Special Olympics for the use of the word "01ympics."

KKK OUSTED IN NC TOWN Tryon, NC, is a retirement area with lots of Republican, northern ex­ executives who will not tolerate KKK activity. When the KKK an­ nounced it was going to march in Tryon and nearby Columbus, the local paper was inundated by ant.iKlan letters. When the march did happen, the predicted 150 marchers shrank to a mere twenty, due to pub­ lic opposition. Afterwards, the Tryon Friendship Council was or­ ganized to cement working relation­ ships between the black and white citizens of Tryon and has been a major "success.

CHICAGO POLICE HARASSMENT On Sept. 12, 1985, the patrons of Carol's Speakeasy in Chicago were terrorized by a group of drug en­ forcement agents operating under the auspices of the Illinois State Po­ lice. Approximately fifty people were surrounded by ten to fifteen gun-wielding strangers who did not identify themselves as police offic­ ers or produce search warrants. The victims were made to lie on the floor and were searched and ques­ tioned as to names of relatives and employers; bank account and credit card numbers were taken down. They were verbally abused, "faggots" and "queers" being hurled at them while members of Chicago's regular police force stood by and watched, not even interfering when those men who lift­ ed their heads from the floor were beaten. The men were allowed to leave only after being photographed.

The ACLU has filed a $15 million suit against those officers known to have been present, charging them with unlawful detention, search, and interrogation.

REAGAN'S PRIVATE ARMY?

EARTH RI PRESENTATIVES

In response to some state governors' objections to their states' Nation­ al Guard units being sent to Hon­ duras for training, Congress has taken away the governors' powers to prevent their states' Guard from being sent overseas. The president is now the commanding officer of all the National Guard units and could, through a legal loophole, wage war with them without Con­ gress's approval, which is needed for regular units of the armed forces but not for the National Guard.

Global Citizens has suggested that a "lower house" o f the U.N. be created and members be directly elected by citizens of the various U.N. countries on the basis of one representative per ten million citizens. This new addition to the U.N. is considered necessary because national sovereignty, on which the U.N. is based, is no long­ er valid for ari interdependent planet. Global Citizens can be contacted at Box 94, Stanstead, Quebec, JOB 3E0, Canada

GAY AND LESBIAN CIVIL RIGHTS SODOMY STATES On Jan. 21, 1987, fifty members of the House and six members of the Senate joined in co-sponsoring the Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights Bill.

Hearings on the bill have been scheduled, and in the new reality of the Democratic Congress, supporters of the bill are more confident than ever of passage.

MINNESOTA vs GRAY In the first round of Minnesota's version of the Hardwick sodomy case, District Court Judge Pamela Alexan­ der ruled the state's sodomy law unconstitutional. Minnesota has taken the case to the state Supreme Court, where it is currently on appeal.

GAY RIGHTS IN ARGENTINA Gay and lesbian Argentinians have reason to celebrate, as government officials there have promised to repeal a 1946 law which denies vot ing rights to homosexuals. As the minister of government for Buenos Aires province said, "What was im­ portant in 1946 doesn't have the same relevancy now."

REAGAN'S PAST Last June, the California Supreme Court ruled on a fourteen year old court case that sounded like an echo from the past. In 1972, thengovernor Reagan and aides Ed Meese and Michael Deaver were sued for diverting Health Care funds to a tax reform "task force" that the legislature had refused to fund.

Perhaps tens of thousands were di­ verted, but were paid back once the suit was filed. The court ruled the diversion "erroneous," but did not hold Reagan or his aides per­ sonally accountable.

In a deposi­ tion, the man who got the funds and who dealt only with Ed Meese, said he couldn't tell when Meese was "talking for himself and when he was talking for Gov. Reagan.

But fit) was clear . . . the gover­ nor . . . wanted to . . . give all possible support to what he con­ sidered to be a very important initiative.” Sound familiar?

The following states consider sodomy a felony: Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missis­ sippi, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Michigan. Sodomy is a misdemeanor in Montana, Utah, Ari­ zona, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida. The rest of the states have no sodomy laws.

EXPENSIVE DRAET A recent Pentagon study has found that a return to the compulsory draft would cost about $1.5 billion more than continuing the present volunteer armed forces. A group of "moderate" Democrats has been pushing for a return to the draft anyway, arguing that pay levels will force out the volunteers with­ in five years. So instead of rais­ ing the pay, the U.S. government is contemplating brinqing back compul­ sory service at low wages.

THE FAIR ELECTIONS BILL An independent presidential candi­ date must gather thirty times as many petition signatures to get on the ballot as a Democrat or Repub1 ican--750,000 as compared to 25,000. In ten states, require­ ments are so steep no independent candidate has gotten on the ballot for years. H.R. 2320, the Fair Elections Bill, seeks to do away with these unfair laws and allow for true multi-party democracy in the U.S. Rep. A1 Swift (D-WA) has the bill bottled up in committee, refusing to allow hearings, which is the next step in the lawmaking process. Letters to Swift and/or your congresspersons in Washington would help.

8

MINNESOTA GAY RIGHTS Minnesota's Democratic governor, Rudy Pbrpich, has signed an execu­ tive order protecting gay and les­ bian state employees. Minnesota thus becomes the eighth state to prohibit discrimination in state em­ ployment on the basis of sexual pre­ ference. Said Jim St. George, chairman of the Minnesota AIDS pro­ ject, "...he signed it quietly and I'm sure in the dead of night, but he signed it." The executive order was signed as the result of a polit­ ical deal in which gays supported Perpich's re-election in return for the job protection. Perpich won the election with 57% of the vote.

NATIVE LAWSUIT A first amendment (freedom of reli­ gion) lawsuit has been filed to stop the forced relocation of Dine (Navajo) and Hopi people from their sacred lands. As their land j_s their religion, Public Law 93-531, which requires hundreds of people to leave their ancestral homeland, is unconstitutional. Congressional hearings have been set in Arizona this spring. Write: In Defense of Sacred Lands, P.0. Box 1509, Flag­ staff, AZ 86002; (602) 779-1560.

COMPUTERIZED BIGOTS

LEONARDO'S LAST LAUGH

A new white supremacist computer bulletin board is operating out of North Little Rock, AR. Gays, Jews, His panics, and liberals are vili­ fied, and plans are suggested for these groups' eventual elimination.

Under "Queer Watch" it is suggested that the names and addresses of known gays be entered into the com­ puter. The info will be "acted upon when deemed expedient." The pass­ word to get on the restricted system is "Free America from the Zionist Occupational Government."

A computer specialist at Bell Labs found that facial features of the "Mona Lisa" and Leonardo da Vinci's only known self-portrait match so closely that it is self-evident that Leonardo painted himself as a woman when he created the "Mona Lisa."

Historians agree that Leonardo was gay, living in a household composed of young men and being twice brought before authorities in Florence for gay-related incidents in 1476. The "Mona Lisa" was one of only three paintings Leonardo kept with him until his death.

AUSTRALIAN COMICS CALLED COMMIE PLOT "Streetwize," a series of cartoons designed to inform young people on a variety of topics, including homo­ sexuality and AIDS, has been blasted

by Rev. Fred Niles of the Festival of Light as a "red ploy." Victoria officials likened its effects to the activities of the Viet Cong.

The Federal Minister for Health and the National Advisory Committee on AIDS, however, have endorsed the comics.

BANNED BOOKS Loompanics Unlimited offers hun­ dreds of books the U.S. government wishes it could ban. Available are books on espionage, setting up drug labs, making weapons and bombs from comercially available substances, breaking in computer systems (hack­ ing), strategies for paying less to the IRS, and more. Write: Loompanics, P.0. Box 1197, Port Town­ send, WA 93368.

UNDERAGE SEX HYSTERIA The Parent Sig wants to warn parents that most of what they read about child porn, children and sex, homo­ sexuality, and pedophilia is pro­ paganda intended to create hysteria.

The media does not inform, it sen­ sationalizes, exploiting issues to boost ratings. The Parent Sig pro­ vides books that address society's stickiest issues in a sane and scientific manner. Write: The Parent Sig, 2483 Emerson Dr., Corona, CA 91720.

CANADIAN GAY AND LESBIAN MAGAZINE Epicene is a new Canadian lesbian and gay news magazine from Toronto, covering political and cultural events and acting as a forum for gay communications. Write: Epicene, Lambda Resources, Box 460, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 2S9, Canada.

FORAGING NEWSLETTER

TRAVEL BROCHURE The International Gay Travel Asso­ ciation is offering a free brochure about its goals, activities, and services for the gay travelling pub­ lic. Write: IGTA, P.0. Box 18466, Denver, CO 80218-0466.

KINK MAGAZINE Kink Confidential is a quarterly publication for those who are into head and body shaving, enemas, S&M, etc. Privacy guaranteed. Write: K.C., 41 Bonaire Drive, Toms River, NJ 08757.

Col tsfoot is a journal of wild plant appreciation and foraging.

Edibles, medicinals, mushrooms, and more; articles, letters, reci­ pes, and events. Sample issues are Si.50. Write: Troy, Rt. 1 Box 313A-mp, Shipman, VA 22971.

NEWSLETTER FOR OLDER GAY MIN Super Sixty is a new newsletter for senior gay men seeking lifemates or friends of similar age for caring, sharing, housing, hobbies, travel, correspondence, etc. Super Sixty is bimonthly and a nationwTcftr ser­ vice. Send $1.00 and SASE to: Super Sixty, Box 103, 606 West Barry, Chicago, IL 60657.

HOMESTEADER NEWS

COUPLES MAGAZINI

Self-Reliance Magazine covers a w73ir range of topics: berries, log cabin building, long-term food stor­ age, four-season gardening, food drying, solar power, greenhouses, etc. Sample issues are Si.00.

Write: Sherrie and Norm, Box 517P, Naples, NY 14512; (607) 522-3324.

Partners is a new monthly news­ letter for gay and lesbian couples, providing resources, forum space, ideas, and info on building and maintaining successful relation­ ships. Write: Partners, Box 9685, Seattle, WA 9810<r

GLADIATORS MAGAZINE Katharsis Magazine is a publication that explores the erotic aspects of gladiatorial life and other exotic aspects of Roman culture. Write: K.M., P.0. Box 2266, Daytona Beach, FL 32015-2266.

"HOMOSEXUAL PROPAGANDA" A children's book about a girl who lives with her father and his male lover, Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin, has been called "homosexual propaganda" and is slated for re­ moval from the English school cur­ riculum of the city of London, On­ tario. The book, originally pub­ lished in Danish, was re-issued in English by Gay Men's Press as sex education material.

9

ORGANIC MEAT Back-To-The-Landers with useless surplus male animals usually over­ come their qualms and start enjoy­ ing organically grown meat. Geeta Dardick's handbook, Home Butchering and Meat Preservation, is a handy do-it-yourself guide on how to dis­ patch everything from rabbits to bulls and get all you can out of the animal. Write: TAB Books, Inc., Blue Ridge Summit, CA 17214.

ARTS MAGAZINE Amethyst is a magazine of poetry, prose, and photography produced by the Southeastern Arts, Media, and Education Project, Inc. To subscribe or submit material, write: Rebecca Ranson, S.A.M.E., 183 Sisson AVe., Atlanta, GA 30317.

"...take charge of your own heal­ ing and wellness."

-Sr. Missionary Position

HEALTH

IS THE HIV A MANUFACTURED VIRUS? According to a story run in the British paper Sunday Express, three international experts working in­ dependently have come to the con­ clusion that the HIV had its origin in an American genetic engineering disaster, and that a massive coverup has kept the accident secret un­ til now. The researchers are com­ piling separate detailed reports on why they are convinced the HIV is a non-natural organism.

One of the experts believes the HIV was made at Fort Detrick, head­ quarters of the Army Medical Re­ search Command, by combining parts of the Maedi-Visna virus (which is found in sheep) and Human T-Cell Leukemia virus Type 1 during the mid-70s. The creation was injected into volunteer prisoners who had been promised their freedom, and they were released when no signs of ill ness appeared.

Another of the experts believes an American scientist, doing cancer research, combined the Maedi-Visna virus and Bovine Leukemia virus, which is similar to HTLV-1. Con­ sidering that there can be a seven year lapse between infection with the HIV and onset of symptoms, the researcher notes that the scientists who created the virus would not have immediately known that anything was wrong.

The third researcher points out that no known animal virus produces all the symptoms of AIDS. His research indicates that the HIV was genet­ ically engineered, almost certainly in the U.S., from Maedi-Visna virus and Bovine Leukemia virus.

A French doctor previously had noted that genetic experiments at the Primate Center in Davis, CA, had produced a virus similar to the HIV that wiped out 40% of the primates there. This was in 1969.

Other experimental "manipulation of retroviruses" at the center pro­ duced Pneumocystis Carinii, which escaped from the lab. He theorized that the HIV originated at Davis, which would tie in with its ap­ pearance on the West Coast.

U.S. officials have questioned one of the researchers and may be keep­ ing tabs on the others.

AIDS QUILT One of the highlights of the planned March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights (Oct. 11, 1987) will be the unfurling of a mammoth quilt across the Capitol Mall. The quilt will be made up of panels made all over the country, bearing the names of AIDS victims. Write: The Names Project, P.0. Box 14573, San Francisco, CA 94114; (415) 626-5725.

LESBIAN AIDS

ORAL SEX OKAY? A researcher with the CDC has dis­ covered at least two components of human saliva which block the HIV's ability to reproduce itself. Other tests showed that saliva blocks the virus's ability to replicate inside of infected cells and severely in­ hibits the HIV's ability to infect healthy cells.

CATHOLICS AND AIDS According to the San Francisco Exam­ iner , Catholic leaders and AIDS caseworkers report that at least a dozen priests and monks across the U.S. have AIDS. The church has tried to keep the issue quiet be­ cause of its stand on homosexuality.

One of the victims says the church is denying reality and knows "darn well" that members of religious or­ ders "aren't always celibate."

Victims have been reported in New York, California, Missouri, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. DO THEY REALLY WANT A CURE? Craig Reed, who has lived nine years longer than the average suf­ ferer of cystic fibrosis and credits his survival to a Chinese breathing technique, has walked from Ithaca, NY, to Seattle, WA, to inspire others to fight their disease. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was upset that Craig "was not conducting his marathon as a fundraiser for a na­ tional organization" and ordered local chapters not to help him in his travels.

HEALTH NEWSLETTER Healinq AIDS is a new newsletter devoted to reporting on holistic healing tools, resources, AIDS, and alternative therapies for PWAs and those with ARC. Write: Healing AIDS, 3835 Twentieth St., San Francisco, CA 94114; or call (415) 864-6870.

10

The first confirmed case of female to female transmission of AIDS has been reported. One woman had been an IV-drug user and several years earlier had had AIDS-like symptoms.

Both women practiced hand and mouth contact with the vagina and mouth contact with the anus. They also had sex during their menstrual periods.

AIDS HOUSING FOR THE HOMELESS The AIDS Resource Center of New York, in cooperation with the city, has refurbished the former River Hotel and renamed it the Bailey House. The Bailey House will pro­ vide a residence for homeless peo­ ple with AIDS and ARC, as well as food, counseling, and a wide range of other types of support.

CDC UNSUPPORTED The CDC found little encouragement and lots of criticism for its recent suggestion that all persons admitted to hospitals for whatever reason be given a mandatory HIV-antibody test.

The proposal was roundly condemned at a public meeting held in Atlanta, GA, Feb. 24-25, 1987. Over three times as many people as expected attended the meeting and supported safe sex/AIDS education and confi­ dential antibody testing. Gay and lesbian groups and their supporters showed rare cooperation on this Issue.

TASTY CONDOMS A Tasty Kind of Love, a flavored gel designed to eliminate the harsh rubbery taste of condoms for those who enjoy safe oral sex, is being introduced during National Condom Week, February 1987. The waterbased gel is intended only for ora) use and not as a lubricant for intercourse. Tubes cost $5.95 each, plus $1.50 shipping, and are available from A Tasty Kind of Love, P.0. Box 2596, Muhlenberg Station, Plainfield, NJ 07060-0596.

MONKEYS PROTEST REMOVAL Preparation for the site of an up­ coming summit of South Asian na­ tions included the forced removal of monkeys from their homes in the Nandi Hills of India. The monkeys protested by destroying local crops and attacking four persons.

FAUNA

WHALE SACRIFICE

OSTRICH TRAMPLES COWBOY While loading thirteen ostriches for transport to the 4-C Ostrich Farm in Lawton, OK, an Idaho cow­ boy was trampled by a nine foot, 400 pound ostrich. The bird deft­ ly avoided the cowboy's lasso and ran over him in a bird escape.

BOAR DESTROYS F-16 A wild boar charged the front wheel of a Pakistani Air Force F-16 as it was taking off, tearing the wheel from the plane. The $30 million F-16 blew up as it skidded along the runway, the two crewmen eject­ ing safely.

DEER FIGHT BACK Last November, an eight point buck wounded by a bow hunter managed to catch up with his assassin the next day and pinned him to the ground, only slightly wounding him. The buck's wounds had weakened him though and the hunter managed to free himself and kill the deer with a knife.

PRIMITIVE PIGS Except for the Arctic and extreme deserts, pigs can thrive anywhere that humankind can. Simple ways of turning them into a source of food and profit are detailed in the book Raising Healthy Pigs Under Primitive Conditions, by Dr. D.E. Goo’cfman.

Write: Christian Veterinary Mission, Box 33000, Seattle, WA 98133.

BLACK PUMA THREATENED The Point Reyes National Seashore in California is the home of a rare black mountain lion. It has been photographed for the first time recently and seen by tourists on several occasions. A park ranger has said that in the 79,000 acre park, "a few [lions] may be too many," suggesting that the puma will be shot or captured and re­ moved. Maybe what the pumas really need is less people.

KANGAROO ROBS AUSSIE A motorist struck and apparently killed a kangaroo recently. Think­ ing a photo of the animal in his Gucci jacket would look funny, the driver dressed the kangaroo up and took the picture. At this point, the stunned animal came to and took off--with the man's car keys and wallet that were inside the coat pockets. Police are still looking for the fashionable marsupial.

"GOD MADE WILD ANIMALS, CATTLE, AND ALL REPTILES, EACH ACCORDING TO ITS KIND: AND HE SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD."

REVENGE OF THE COWS Another possible cause for ozone depletion is the release of methane gas into the atmosphere. Methane is the simplest form of chloro­ fluorocarbon and its major sources are the earth's interior, decaying garbage, and cattle flatulence.

Yes, the cunning bovines' subversive farts are threatening to bring down man's civilization!

MOOSE STOPS SKI AREA

ANIMALS REBEL IN JAPAN

Parker's Gore, a 3000 acre wild area in Vermont, is in danger of being transformed into a ski resort. En­ ter one lovesick bull moose who lives in Parker's Gore and is (so far unsuccessfully) trying to woo a Hereford cow who lives on a near­ by farm. The comical situation has been used by environmentalists to get lots of petitions signed to stop the destruction of the smitten moose's home.

A colony of Japanese ants managed to bring all commuter train service in Wakayama City to a standstill when they invaded a signal cable box and caused a short circuit by chewing the insulation off the wires. Not to be outdone, a gang of mice attacked a signal control station two days later, chewing wires in two and stopping all trains between the cities of Kobe and Port Island.

11

In return for agreeing to provide a location for the failed summit meet­ ing between Ronald Reagan and Mik­ hail Gorbachev, Iceland has been allowed by the U.S. to hunt whales in U.S. territorial waters and to sell up to 49% of their catch to Japan without U.S. interference.

Reagan shot down a proposal to in­ flict heavy sanctions on Iceland and several other countries that continue to hunt whales, saying he would never impose sanctions against a NATO ally. In ancient Rome, a pig was sacrificed to seal alliances --is the whale today's substitute?

HUMAN! RULING APPEAL!D Calling the argument that medical research on animals is humane "al­ most a blasphemy," a circuit court judge ended Florida's Hillsborough County's twenty-six year policy of allowing use of pond animals for medical research. "Humane has a meaning. It doesn't have one mean­ ing for four-legged animals and an­ other for two-legged animals," said Judge Vernon Evans. The ruling was promptly appealed by pro-vivisec­ tion is ts.

AN IMAI ACTIVISTS PERSECUTED On Monday, Jan. 19, 1987, five people were arrested while alleged­ ly spray painting a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Toronto, Ontario.

What should have been simple mis­ chief charges has turned into a situation where many, and more serious, charges have been laid against the five by the police de­ partment's Criminal Investigation Division. This is part of the cur­ rent police intimidation campaign directed at squashing animal activ­ ism. As a result, top lawyers have had to be hired, and much money is needed to help defend these people.

One of the defendents is a wellknown Toronto faerie and an occa­ sional Short Mountain Sanctuary-ite, Kenn Quayle.

For more information, write: Animal Liberation Front Support Group, P.0. Box 915, Sta­ tion F, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2N9, Canada. Donations should be sent to: Mary Bartley, Barrister and Solicitor, 11 Prince Arthur Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M5R 1B2, Canada; and this should be specified on your check: Toronto Animal Rights Defence Fund, In Trust.

ECOLOGY COURSES The Institute for Social Ecology will be offering courses this sum­ mer that bring the human place in nature into perspective and show ways humankind might reverse the damage it has done to the planet and deal more gently with the en­ vironment. Write: The Institute for Social Ecology, P.0. Box 34, Rochester, VT 05767.

ENVIRONMENT

PESTICIDE PLAGUE Pesticides banned in the U.S. are routinely used in Third World coun­ tries, usually to guarantee Ameri­ cans cheap tomatoes and other pro­ duce year-round. Citizens of those countries are being poisoned at a rate of one per minute, resulting in over 9000 deaths last year as estimated by the World Health Or­ ganization. Although banned in the U.S., prohibited pesticides are still made and exported. A boom­ erang effect has been detected in that Mexican produce is loaded with these toxic chemicals and U.S. shoppers are not likely to know where the produce they buy has come from, its country of origin not usually being indicated.

RAIN FORESTS According to John Seed's World Rainforest Report (P.0. Box 368, Lismore, NWS 2480, Australia), the big multinational corporations in­ volved with rainforest destruction are giving ground as protests mount against tropical forest logging and cl earcutting . Unilever and EMAIL, both with big tropical logging operations, have shut them down, and Volkswagen is facing stock­ holder reaction to its involvement in Amazon rainforest destruction.

BETTER LIGHTBULB Theodore M. Williams has patented a new steady light Xenon liqht bulb that is 6900% more effecient than ordinary bulbs. The extremely low power demand makes the new Xenon bulb ideal for use with solar photovoltales. Mr. Williams can be reached at 1360 Keneid Place, Hilo, HI 96720.

GREENPEACE QUESTIONED

In an article by Paul Watson print­ ed in the Yule edition of Earth First!, it is intimated that the Greenpeace organization does not really have its heart set on ending the slaughter of whales around the "AMI RICAN WAY" WRONG FOR AGRICULTURE world. "After all," Mr. Watson points out, "there are more anti­ Research into higher farm productiv­ whalers employed in the world than ity has driven American agriculture there are whalers, and shucks, be­ ahead--to the brink of bankruptcy. ing serious about actually ending Only 2% of the U.S. government's whaling might lead to, "shudder," budget for agriculture is spent try­ no more work for anti-whalers. One ing to alleviate the farm crisis, has to feel sorry for all the Green­ while the USDA has acknowledged its peace Fuller Brush men who would programs have aggravated soil erosion suffer. They have a good thing goand other natural resource problems. ing--hundreds of salesmen knocking on doors throughout North America, peddling eco-business for 35% on OUT Of CONTROL the take. I say, throw the bums out."

Ohio Is the second leading state in the U.S. for transportation "inci­ ECO-TERRORISTS IN ICELAND dents" where hazardous substances are released. Franklin Co. alone After Iceland refused to abide by had forty-six spills of toxic chemi­ the International Whaling Commis­ cals caused by transportation acci­ sion's total ban on whaling, two dents in 1985. Ohio is fourth in men managed to bring the Icelandic the country in train derailments whaling industry to its knees. On and in the top five states with the night of Nov. 8, 1986, the the most miles of railroad track.

Hvalur of Hvalfjordur Whaling Co. Ohio is also home to a huge chemi­ suffered $4.6 million in damage to cal industry employing 45,000 their processing plant and whaling people and doing $10 billion in fleet from the activities of these business annually.

In view of all daring men using just sledgehammers, this, a state commission appointed monkey wrenches, and acid. The news to look into the chemical accidents of the raid was greeted enthusias­ could only offer this feeble com­ tically, except by Greenpeace, which ment: "The transportation of called the raid "terroristic, fool­ hazardous substances is and will ish, simplistic" and a bunch of continue to be a great potential other adjectives.

In the meantime, danger to the citizens of Ohio and Iceland's illegal whaling has been their environment." stopped.

12

BIG MAC ATTACKS OZONE As scientists probe deeper into the mystery surrounding the disappear­ ance of the earth's ozone layer, a major new and previously unsuspected source of chiorofluorocarbons ("CFC1s"--which attack and destroy ozone molecules) has been found in the polystyrene foam food containers used by MacDonalds and legions of other fast food joints. It seems that CFC's, while banned from aerosol cans, are perfectly legal in a whole range of other products, from egg cartons to backpacker's sleeping pads. Meanwhile, the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is getting bigger . . .

TIMBER INDUSTRY-1, TREES-0 Thanks to a determined effort by Sen. James McClure (R-ID), the U.S Forest Service was given $229 mil­ lion to be used for road building in our national forests, $51 mil­ lion over what had been requested, and this at a time of shrinking federal resources. The roads will benefit the timber industry, by opening up for logging huge areas of what was previously wilderness.

As a Sierra Club member said, "We lost big."

CONTAMINATED HERBS In the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, the estimated contamina­ tion area has been expanded to 650 miles in all directions from the accident site. Many herbs and spices are grown in this area and companies are diligently monitoring their crops for radiation damage.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administra­ tion has set up very conservative guidelines for radiation levels in food, assuming 100% of Americans' diets are already contaminated to some degree by radiation.

U.S. vs YAKIMA NATION In the early 1980s, a U.S. agency noted that 40,000 salmon had "dis­ appeared" between the Bonneville and McNary Dams on the Columbia River.

It was decided that the fish were "poached" by members of the Yakima Nation, and an undercover operation entrapped several native fisherman.

The same agency later found that the fish had died as a result of flouride contamination from an aluminum smelter, but the agency prosecuted the Indians anyway, getting thirteen of them sentenced to terms of one to five years. In June 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the convictions, and the terms were set to begin Aug. 8, 1986. The Yakima Nation decided to exercise its powers of sovereignty and try the "lawbreakers" itself. In re­ taliation U.S. marshals attacked and harassed relatives of the defendants in an attempt to forcibly take them to federal prison. The defendants are in the custody of the Yakima Nation. Support is needed. Write: Columbia River Defense Project, P.0.

Box 14044, Portland, OR 97214; (503) 289-4585.

BANK FAILURES CONTINUE The dark side of "Reaganomic Pros­ perity" is shown by the 105 bank failures which occurred in the first three quarters of 1986. Forty-seven of those banks were classified as farm banks. Officials say there is no sign that this failure rate will go down during the next couple of years. The FDIC's list of problem banks has reached 1400, and farm loan write-offs are running about 20% above 1985 levels, when $1.3 billion was written-off by banks. farm loses

Thirty-six states lost farms be­ tween 1985 and 1986; thirteen states held steady; and Arizona alone gained farms during that time.

Texas lost the most farms--15,000 of them. Minnesota and Illinois came next, followed by Virginia, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

THE PROPHET SPEAKS! Attorney General Edwin Meese ad­ mitted that he has read Playboy and Penthouse magazines and that he does not consider them obscene. It was only seven months ago that a U.S. District Judge found that a letter from Meese's porno commission was a blatant attempt to coerce dis­ tributors into refusing to sell those same magazines.

CIRCLE SANCTUARY UPDATE Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan group with IRS religious status, wanted their local government to give them a zoning change to erect a building.

When hysterical Christians forced the county to deny the zoning change, Circle prepared to go to court, as their request was per­ fectly legal and being denied on religious grounds. The county promptly "reconsidered" its refusal when they heard Circle was prepared to go to court, and then tabled the zoning change, thus leaving the matter in a legal limbo. Help is still needed. Write: Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary, Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572.

The attempt to buy the ghost town of Rhyolite, NV, has failed due to lack of funds. However, a lesbian living in Pershing County, N V , has sold her farm to the Stonewall Park Corporation for $20,000, a $4000 downpayment already having been made. Seven residents have begun the work of realizing the dream of a "lesbian and gay homeland." The new site is located near Mill City, NV, along interstate highway 80.

Your support is needed. Write: Stonewall Park, 350 S. Center St., #350, Reno, NV 89501; (702) 7475323.

NOMENUS LAND Nomenus, the San Francisco based land purchasing circle for west coast radical faeries has bought Creek!and, 80 acres outside of Wolf Creek, Oregon for $80,000. The land had been in the family for quite ?ome time as it was the site of the Faggots in Class Struggle conference ten years ago. RFD was also publish­ ed In Wolf Creek~Tn the 70s. The overseer of the new fairy sanctuary is Sister Species of Crow (Asunta).

BIG MOUNTAIN UPDATE NAMBLA vs NY GAY COMMUNITY CENTER NAMBLA has decided to file a com­ plaint against the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center of New York with the city's human rights commission. NAMBLA is claiming that the center violated the city's "gay rights" lciw which prohibits discrim­ ination on the basis of sexual orien­ tation when it refused to rent meet­ ing space at the center to NAMBLA. Rumor has it that the city is pres­ suring the center not to rent to NAMBLA and threatening a cut-off of funds if they do. Mayor Koch is known to be an enemy of NAMBLA and may also be involved.

RIGHTEOUS OR RELIGIOUS The Interfaith Service Bureau of Sacramento, a charities-coordinating organization for the city's church­ es, has accepted the local chapter of the predominantly gay Metropoli­ tan Community Church as a member.

In response, the Capital Christian Center has pulled out of the ISB. Said Rev. Glen Cole of the CCC, "We can no longer stand by while reli­ gious activity takes the place of righteous behavior."

13

Potential bloodshed was avoided last July when the U.S. government backed off on its threat to force Dine (Navajo) and Hopi families off their ancestral lands. Government pressure continues, however, and families are being moved. New houses are being built elsewhere in the expectation that the resisters will be forced off the "disputed" lands, so called because a war be­ tween the Ding and Hopi was sup­ posedly being fought over these lands. Many suspect that the con­ flict is being engineered by a Mor­ mon publicity agency in behalf of Mormon mining companies that want access to coal and uranium deposits in the area. They influenced enough Congresspersons to get Pub­ lic Law 93-531 passed, which will force hundreds of Dine and Hopi off lands their people have lived on for centuries. Resisters are hold­ ing on, despite continued govern­ ment activity, survey and fencing crews, fighter jet and helicopter flyovers, livestock impoundment, and bureaucratic harassment. Sup­ port is needed. Write: Big Moun­ tain (JUA), Legal D/0 Committee, 2029 Center St. N., Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

NEW AGE TOWN "IE THERE IS NO COMMUNITY FOR YOU, YOUNG MAN, MAKE IT FOR YOURSELF." -PAUL GOODMAN

Cerro Gordo is an attempt to build a town that will explore and demon­ strate viable new approaches for a sustainable future. A symbiosis of village, farm and forest on 1200 acres of land near Eugene, OR, Cer­ ro Gordo welcomes inquires from the public. Write: Cerro Gordo Town Forum, Dorena Lake, Box 569, Cot­ tage Grove, OR 97424.

TRUE FRIENDS Friends of the Trees Society is a network of individuals, local groups, and international organiza­ tions working to preserve forests and plant trees. Strongest support is found in the Pacific Northwest, but the network embraces all of Canada and the U.S., with increasing international participation. News­ letters and an annual publication are offered. Write: F0TTS, P.0.

Box 1466, Chelan, WA 98816.

TEXAN GROUPS In the aftermath of Baker vs. Wade, the court challenge to the Texas sodomy law that failed, four new gay organizations have arisen in Texas to fight for gay rights. They are the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby; Texas Human Rights Fund, Lesbian and Gay Tejanos (a Hispanic organi­ zation) and a planned state-wide lesbian network.

BROTHERPEACE The National Organization for Changing Men, through the Ending Men's Violence Task Group, spon­ sored an international demonstra­ tion Oct. 18, 1986, to voice out­ rage at men's violence and their commitment to work to end it.

Demonstrations were held across the U.S. and in England, Germany, Norway, Columbia, Sri Lanka and Nicaragua. For info on other BrotherPeace events, contact: Jon Cohen, 6612 Clemens #1W, St. Louis, M0 63130.

GAY CATHOLICS Dignity, the organization of les­ bian and gay Catholics, has issued guidelines for dealing with church officials who deny the use of church facilities and/or the ministry of diocesan clergy to chapters of Dig­ nity. Dignity has 103 chapters in thirty-six states. The guidelines are necessary, as five dioceses have moved to deny Dignity access to church resources. They are Atlanta, GA, Brooklyn, NY, Buffalo, NY, Pensacola, FL, and Vancouver, BC. Write: Dignity, 1500 Massa­ chusetts Ave. NW, Suite 11, Wash­ ington, DC 20005.

GAY RESERVATIONS

WORLD HEALING Healing Our World is a new or­ ganization encouraging spiritual growth, community, and global ac­ tion. Write: HOW, P.0. Box 867, Boulder Creek, CA 95006.

Lambda Host is a gay and lesbian accomodation reservation network, acting as an umbrella booking and publicity agent for accomodations all over North America. Lambda Host grew out of an effort to pro­ vide gay and lesbian visitors to Expo 86 with an alternative to local hotels and motels. The idea has now expanded and can find gays and lesbians accomodations almost anywhere in North America. Write: Lambda Host, #3-1170 Bute St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 1Z6, Canada.

MAGIC ASPIRANTS The Franz Bardon Foundation is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to disseminating informa­ tion on Hermetic (Egyptian) positive magic to the public. Inquiries wel­ come. Write: P.0. Box 4869, Den­ ver, CO 80204.

TEL-A-FAERIE Baba Rom Ram's now 24-hour faerie message hotline can let you know what's new in faeriedom. Call for the latest in faerie news and events, or leave your own message to be added to the tape in twiceweekly updates. Tel-A-Faerie is sponsored by Touch Circle, P.0. Box 3350, Berkeley, CA 94703. Tel-AFaerie's number is (415) 648-6064.

Call anytime.

GAY POETS NETWORK Gay Connecticut poet seeks known or unknown, closeted or "out" gay poets living in Connecticut to net­ work their talents. The network may remain as a simple list avail­ able by mail, or it may develop in­ to local workshops and meetings, possibly into a book of collected works published for the benefit of another gay organization. Write: Winthrop Smith, Apt. 827, 91 Straw­ berry Hill Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902.

14

GAY OUTDOORS The Great Outdoors is a non-profit organization with chapters through­ out the western U.S. A new chapter is being formed in Reno, NV. Ac­ tivities include hiking, volleyball, day trips, hot springs, river raft­ ing, etc. To contact the Reno group call (702) 322-5127.

GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH Gay and lesbian youth, thirteen to twenty-one years old, can meet for talk and peer support at Gaytalk, a service of the Albany, NY, Community Center, 332 Hudson Ave., every Thursday, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

The Center offers other gay and lesbian activities also. Write: Albany Community Center, P.0. Box 131, Albany, NY 12201; (518) 4626138.

MARRIED GAY MEN PROJECT Dr. George Deabill is seeking con­ tact with married gay men and their wives as part of a research pro­ ject. The wife must have known about her husband's gayness for at least two years and the couple must be committed to their relationship.

If anyone would like to respond, call (408) 947-3234, or write:, Dr. George Deabill, P.0. Box 60363, Palo Alto, CA 94306.

MIDWEST MEN'S FESTIVAL

GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS

The sixth annual Midwest Men's Festival is scheduled for August 6-17, 1987, at Camp Ananda Kanan, near Willow Springs, MO. Please contact Festival Registrar Gabby Haze, Belly Acres, Rt. 1, Dowelltown, TN 37059, for info.

The eighth annual Conference of Les­ bian and Gay Parents Coalition In­ ternational will be held in Atlanta, GA, June 5-7, 1987. Write: GLPCI, P.0. Box 50360, Washington, DC 20004.

GAY SPIRITUALITY SISTERFIRE A two-day womyn's music festival, Sisterfire, will be held June 27-28, 1987, at an eleven acre Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD (about twelve miles outside Washington, DC). Over eighty performers are scheduled to appear, as well as around a hundred craftswomyn offer­ ing their work.

F.l _F. CARAVAN Although the site and time of the 1987 Rainbow Gathering is in doubt as the Spring RFD goes to press (rumor has it that North Carolina officials are balking at issuing the necessary permits and an alter­ native site in Virginia is being considered), the festival has not been canceled and the ELF Caravan from California is still looking for people to join their cross­ country trek to the gathering.

Write: Rainbow '87 Caravan Network, c/o Lyle Badger, P.0. Box 3108, Santa Clara, CA 95055.

PHOTOVOLTAIC CONFERENCE The nineteenth IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference, to be held May 4-8, 1987, will feature a special workshop on photovoltaics for development. The conference will be at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA.

MEN AND MASCULINITY The twelfth national Conference on Men and Masculinity will be held June 24-27, 1987, in Hartford, CT. Write: c/o Donald Romanik, 155 Linnmoore St., Hartford, CT 06114.

VIRGINIA MEN Softening the Stone--a celebration of otirselves--men's gathering will be held May 22-23, 1987, at Twin Oaks Community in Louisa Co., VA. Write: Matthews, Rt. 4 Box 169, Louisa, VA 23093.

The second annual Gay Spirituality Conference will be held May 22-24, 1987, at Hummingbird Music Camp, sixty miles northwest of Albuquer­ que, NM. Write: New Mexico Founda­ tion for Human Enrichment, 1104 Stanford Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106.

PRIDE INSTITUTE The Pride Institute is America's first inpatient treatment facility for gay men and lesbians with chemi­ cal dependency problems. Write: Pride Institute, 14400 Martin Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344.

THE SHAMANIC EXPERIENCE Oh Shinnah Eastwolf will present a program on shamans and the shamanic experience at Rowe Center in Massa­ chusetts, April 24-26, 1987. On June 5-7, a program on the raising of consciousness will be given by David Gershon and Gail Straub.

Write: Rowe Center, Kings Highway Road, Rowe, MA 03167; (413) 3394216.

GRASSROOTS GAYS AND LESBIANS A leadership conference for grass­ roots gay and lesbian movements will be held May 1-3, 1987, in Minneapolis, MN. Write: P.0. Box 300171, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (612) 377-5462 or (612) 377-8116.

RUNNING WATER GATHERING The Summer Solstice Gathering for gay men at Running Water in the mountains of North Carolina will begin June 13 and last through June 21. The suggested donation is $20 plus $5 per day for vegetarian meals. Write: Running Water, Rt. 1 Box 127E, Bakersville, NC 28705.

SHORT MOUNTAIN GATHERING The Short Mountain Spring Gathering will be held April 24-May 3, 1987.

This is a radical faery gathering for men, wimmin, and children. On April 26, the annual corporation meeting will also be held. Write: Short Mountain Sanctuary, Rt. 1 Box 84-A, Liberty, TN 37095.

15

DFSERT STATES CONFERENCE The Third Desert States Lesbian and Gay Conference, "If Not Now, When?," will be held April 10-12, 1987, in Albuquerque, NM. Featured speakers, workshops, and more will be offered.

Write: TDSLGC, P.0. Box 26836, Albuquerque, NM 87125.

PAGAN SPIRIT GATHERING The International Pagan Spirit Gathering will be held June 16-21, 1987. Sponsored by Circle, the festival will be held in a secluded natural campground and will feature many activities for young and old alike. Write: Circle, Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE The twelfth annual Southeastern Conference for Lesbians and Gay Men will be held May 14-17, 1987, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Write: P.0. Box 22508, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33335.

ARTEMIS WILDERNESS TOURS Artemis Wilderness Tours is a licensed State of Colorado out­ fitter, a member of the New Mexico River Outfitters Association, and has been in business since 1977.

They offer whitewater rafting ex­ peditions on the Rio Grande, Dolores, and other western rivers.

A gay whitewater adventure on the Dolores is planned for June 7-13, 1987. Artemis also offers birding trips in Mexico and Costa Rica, hiking in the Andes, and sailing in the Sea of Cortez. Write: Artemis Wilderness Tours, P.0. Box 1178, Taos, NM 87571; (505) 758-2203; message service, (505) 758-9522.

Joel Singer

Singers 0 Fancy Dancers 16

The foundation for the idea of The Kindred Spirit was laid when I was in high school in the late 1970* s .

Ninety-nine percent of the poetry in the high school lit books left me bored and unimpressed. So did the very small conservative collection of poetry books in our city library. If it hadn’t been for the e. e. cummings poem in the lit book and the small collec­ tion of Sylvia Plath poems that I found in the li­ brary, I might have closed the door on my interest in poetry. As far as I was concerned, poetry in SmallTown, Kansas USA was in the last state of rigor morti s .

That merry old soul, James Broughton, poet laureate of fairies and fetishists, has done a most wonderful thing. James has recorded his "greatest hits/all-time favorites" on four cassettes just released by Syzygy Press. The best of Ecstasies, Graffiti for the Johns of Heaven, A Long Undressing, and True and False Uni­ corn are at last available to a listening audience.

Poetry as an ancient art was always spoken/sung. Put­ ting it print to page isn't anything awful though the reader should be aware that s/he is reading words without the music. For those fond of James' words, hearing the music of his voice adds that dimension of song. For those unable to relate to poetry flat on the page, hearing it may help enliven it to a point of understanding why poetry is written: it is written to be spoken, sung, chanted. James' en-chant-ment of his poems, whether tender or ribald, is spell-casting at its finest--good for wooing a lover, dreaming past a dragon or tickling the funnybone of even the most prudent prude. The tapes may be obtained for $9.95 a piece or $29.85 for all four from Syzygy Press, P.0.

Box 183, Mill Valley, CA 94942 (add $1.00 per order for postage and handling).

X

O

In July 1981, at age 19, I began working as a type­ setter for The Great Bend Tribune. Two months later, after becoming familiar with typesetting machines, the idea for publishing The Kindred Spirit was born.

I was vaguely familiar by that time with the small press world and knew hundreds of poetry mags existed and decided to experiment with one of my own.

I wrote many of my friends, relatives and pen pals and said, "SEND POETRY!" They did, and by February 1982, the first Isstre was complete. Tt was not the qreatest maq in the world. Perhaps it was the WORST mag in the world, but experience-wise, it was a good solid start.

►---------------------

— 11 »ihthnwa.v.,is, n aay„poet who lives with lots of cats in rural Kansas where he puhirstre^ The Kindred Spirit, an unusually sensitive little poetry journal.

I asked Michael, whose poetry appears in this issue as well as #47 and #49, to introduce his gentle jour­ nal to our gentle readers:

Somehow The Kindred Spirit got listed in the Sma 11 Press Review and its yearly directory, and then the submissions came pouring in. This is when I dis­ covered that poetry DOES have a pulse, it has all kinds of life flowing in It. Humor, passion, social commentary, compassion, power, protest, love, and

the story of THE KINDRED SPIRIT

r

The Kindred Spirit is a quarterly 16-page tabloid magazine of modern poetry, art, fiction, and has published some of the most talented, inspiring, in­ novative and sometimes bizarre poets and poetry of our time. Each issue features several poets. Each feature includes several poems by the poet and usual­ ly a photo and short biography. Also included in each issue is fiction, reviews of new poetry books/ mags and market news and other items of interest to today's poets and poetry readers.

much of it well-crafted besides! I encountered such awe-inspiring talents as Ruth Moon Kempher. Lyn Lifshin, Rochelle Lynn Holt, Tony Moffeit, Sue Saniel Elk1nd, Patrick McKinnon, B. Z. Niditch and Padi Har­ man, to name only a few. With this encouragement I continued publishing this mag.

I like to operate The Kindred Spirit on an informal basis, with as little censorship/editing as possible and as few rules as possible. I believe all poets have something worthwhile to say and they deserve to be heard. And though I have to reject a lot of poet­ ry, I try to steer the poet toward some other mag that might be more appropriate for their work.

In 1985 we hit some real lean times and at one point I decided to give up The Kindred Spirit altogether.

Very soon after deciding that, I realized that The Kindred Spirit is as much a part of me as my arms or legs or my type-happy fingers, and that I would not be happy without it. After some heavy soul-sorting and some serious hard work, I got The Kindred Spirit and myself back together and we have been growing stronger ever since.

There was little organization in the first few issues.

They were haphazardly slapped together, but something new and useful was learned with every new issue.

All poetry, art, review submissions or review mate­ rials that are accompanied by a SASE are welcome.

Short unrhymed poetry, mostly avant-garde, experi­ mental , surreal , haiku is preferred, but any style and subject will be considered if it is good. The Kindred Spirit is also in need of seasonal material.

The most important function of The Kindred Spirit is to act as a forum to present some of today's most original/innovative/colorful poets. I hope that The Kindred Spirit gives them a little extra recognition, and finds them a few more fans and readers. Most im­ portantly, I hope it gives them a bit of extra en­ couragement.

The Kindred Spirit copyrights in the poet's name, and all contributors get a free copy of any issue with their work in it. Xeroxes, previously published and simultaneous submissions are acceptable. A year's subscription (4 issues) is $4.00. A sample copy (current issue) is $1.00. All correspondence is wel­ come. Write: The Kindred Spirit, Michael Hathaway, Rt. 2 Box 111, St. John, KS 67576.

A secondary purpose of The Kindred Spirit is to pro­ mote freedom/peace/tolerance/nonviolence. All of God’s people and animals deserve to be treated with compassion, and they deserve to have dignity in life and in death. Poetry is the best medium to communi17

,ese Ideas. More love, thought and feeling can ♦ced in an 8-1ine poem than can be expressed in ,e full-length book. s important ,e ideas. I e ideas that jnet. Poetry ,st that.

to use the methods available to consider it a responsibility to could improve peace and life on mags have a perfect opportunity

« O

relay proour to do

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United Fruit Company was born in the spring of '85 as an affinity group of gay men inspired by the national "Pledge of Resistance" to resist U.S. intervention in Central America. There were about 14 of us, mostly friends, all of us acquaintances. Our goals were multi-faceted: 1) we wanted to get support for poli­ tical activism from other gay men; 2) we wanted to increase awareness of radical Dolitics in the munity around issues that are n o y "gay"; 3) we wanted to bring a visible gay male presence/involvement in leftist politics on a local level (our motto became "Never another boring rally").

V Jim Andrisse of St. Louis has recorded a cassette tape of his songs called I*m Always Facing Rainbows.

His songs both soothe and stimulate and are welcome additions to the growing body of gay men's recordings.

Of himself , Jim writes: "I have taught at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville for 15 years, where my current responsibilities include managing computer resources in the School of Education. During the 70's I was an avid gay activist at the local level. Among my accomplishments are a still-standing non-discrimination clause at SIUE for reason of sexual orientation or political or religious beliefs, a year­ long radio series called "GayTalk," and presidency of the St. Louis chapter of the Gay Academic Union. Dur­ ing the 80's I have settled a bit, concentrated on my music, and am comfortably enconced in a third-floor walk-up in the Central West End with my lover of years, Stephen."

I think we've done a decent job of all three. The group has remained fairly stable. There are 11 of us in the group now, all of whom are charter members.

We've also become rather well-known in both gay and leftist scenes (this made easier by the fact we are the only gay men's affinity group in Boston). We've participated in civil disobedience to protest U.S. meddling in Nicaragua--several in UFC have been arrested--and usually show up with our "big banana" ban­ ner for demonstrations/marches in Boston (ranging from Gay Pride to abortion rights). And we are one of the few creators of leaflets that people actually come up to us and ask for rather than being immediately dis­ carded. We infuse everything we do with humor (and style).

Shortly after the group's formation, five of us decid­ ed we wanted to do some outrageous street theater for the upcoming Gay Pride March. We were incensed by the march organizers' editorializing in the local gay press, in which they opined that during the march we should make ourselves presentable/respectable (i.e. act straight) so that straights would embrace us. We were so offended by it that we wanted to be as dis­ respectful as possible, and within two weeks developed five skits that we performed during the march and ral ly.

I'm Always Facing Rainbows can be ordered for $8 from 7Tm Andrisse, 4 % 1 -E McPherson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108.

« o

r

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Who says the street theater of the sixties is dead?

That ain't necessarily so--especially in Boston, home of United Fruit Company, a gay men's affinity group fond of going public about the most private things.

Recently written up in Mother Jones for their "hunks of Nicaragua" calendar ("mixed sexual innuendo with facts about the Contra war against Nicaragua"--an attempt to mobilize gay men against the U.S. role in Central America), the group is often out at rallies and marches in the Boston area bending genders and politicizing the innocent (as well as the guilty).

In an exclusive to RFD on the Fruits, Andrew Wicker , tel Is all:

The theater group has also made UFC significantly more visible. Other actions of the larger group have been: organizing/sponsoring parties that have benefited material aid to Nicaragua, Gay Community News, and Mel King's (local radical black politician who has been marching in our Gay Pride March for the past 10 years-he's an extraordinary man) campaign for Tip O'Neil's seat in Congress. We've leafletted gay men's bars, participated in "Pledge" actions, attempting to develop 18

a coalition of progressive gay and lesbian groups in Boston; currently some members of the group are organ­ izing a jack-off party a la San Fran and NYC (which will be quite a shock for uptight Boston).

We were so well received that we decided to stick with it. Abe Rybeck, Stephen Dragons, Read Weaver and I have been in the group from the beginning. Wes McLaren abandoned us for the streets of San Francisco last spring, and John Griffin has joined the group.

John, Abe and Wes all had some background in theater; the rest of us had none. Abe currently writes most o f our material--skits that range from 3 to 20 minutes, and our humor and flamboyance sustains the attention of people who may not otherwise be drawn to our poli­ tics. I am constantly surprised how much people rave about us.

It's unlikely you'll find the following fellow any­ where near the ones described above. Knowing our readers love a good giggle, we thought we'd give you a glimpse at just one of the strange things to come to the RFD mail box: Michael Dudikoff, star of Cannon's recent "Avenging Force" and it's upcoming "Amer­ ican Ninja 2", has been voted the Most Sexy Macho Star of 1986 by Cine-Revue, the leading European film magazine,” as announced by Menahem Golan, Chairman of the Board of the Cannon Group, Inc., and Yoram Globus, President.

The results of the reader-based poll are announced in Cine-Revue's current December issue.

Dudikoff placed first among the top five finalists, beating out Arnold Schwarzeneg­ ger , Sylvester Stallone, Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris. Other male stars voted upon were Dolph Lundgren, Lou Ferringo, Christopher Reeve and Kurt Russell.

Dudikoff previously starred in Cannon's 1985 release "American Ninja" following roles in "Tron", "The Black Marble", "Radioactive Dreams" and "Uncommon Valor".

He is currently filming Cannon's "American Ninja 2", which is slated for release in the spring of 1987.

19

fell iM*

he 'Nuclear Death' had swiftly devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal or so hideous. Cancer was its Avatar and its seal - the blackness and rot of cancer. There were attacks of vomiting, a burning thirst, a fetid stench, and then degeneration of the flesh, with dissolution* The malignant sores upon the body and especially upon the ^ace of the exposure victim were the marks of death which shut him out from the aid and sympathy of his fellow men, who would not waste time or scarce medicines on the walking dead. And the whole seizure, progress, and termination of the disease was the in­ cident of half a year, ending in screaming pain which many thwarted by committing suicide.

by Big Stone with apologies to Edgar Allan Poe

ut Prince Ray-Gun was happy and dauntless and sagacious. Long before his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand conservative and hard­ hearted friends from among the toadies and bootlickers of his court, and with these he retired to the underground seclusion of Camp David.

This was an expensive and magnificent structure, the creation of his civil defense planners' own eccentric, yet radiation-conscious tastes. A massive and lofty mountain covered it on all sides and the only entrance had thick gates of titanium steel, impervious to any force.

20

cork and white gloves, much of yellow skin dye and little red books, much of eagles' feathers and war paint. In short, the unrepentant remnant of the white race cast snickering derision upon all the races they had dominated and exploited up until the advent of the 'Nuclear Death.' Thus the bizarre com­ pany did as they writhed and gyrated to the not in­ appropriate music of the 'Neutron Dance' by the Pointer Sisters. Some had objected to the song be­ cause of the singers' color, but the prince overruled them again.

he prince's bureaucratic followers having entered the shelter, they were sealed in electronically by the prince himself and with his own hand he smashed the controls.

Prince Ray-Gun had resolved to leave means neither of ingress to the irradiated, des­ pairing masses without or egress to claustrophobic frenzy from within. Camp David was amply provisioned.

With such precautions the bureaucrats might bid de­ fiance to the atomic fallout that was sweeping across the earth. The external world would recover from the man-made plague someday. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think (a thing already foreign to the prince and his followers). Prince Ray-Gun h3d pro­ vided all the appliances of pleasure. There were elec­ tronic games, there were video cassettes, there were compact discs, there was good food, there was beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within.

Without was the 'Nuclear Death'.

e can afford to be tolerant now, since we no longer have a race problem," Prince Ray-Gun reasoned to the bureaucrats' de1ight.

ut ever and anon the atomic clock would strike the hour and then for a moment, all is still and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The mockeries are stifffrozen as they stand.

But then the echoes of the chimes fade away they have endured but an instand - and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now again the music swells the mockeries live, and they writhe to and fro more merrily than ever. But none cares to 1inger too near the atomic clock, lest it sound upon him a peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches the ears of those who are at a more remote distance.

t was toward the end of the sixth year of seclusion, while the radiation continued to rage most furiously abroad, that Prince Ray-Gun entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence. t was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade.

The only discordant note was struck by the atomic clock, the digital face of which glared down on the revelers like some harbinger of doom. Its electronic chimes re­ minded the bureaucrats that the timepiece was driven by the very force that kept them all prisoners in their lux­ urious stronghold. Some had protested earlier that the clock should be re­ moved, but the tastes of the prince were peculiar. He vetoed the proposal and so the matter was resolved none dared to gainsay his decisions. There are some who would have thought the prince mad. His followers felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be sure that he was not mad.

Among those who had done this however, there were a few who doubted the prince's sanity all the same.

ut between the hours the heart of life beat feverishly, and the revel went whirl ingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock.

And then the music ceased and the evolu­ tions of the dancers were quieted and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before Rut now there were twelve hours to be sounded by the atomic clock. Thus it seemed to happen perhaps that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the few thoughtful among those who revelled. It could have been that then their guilty thoughts turned to the impropriety of their derisive buffoonery, but no one can be sure.

rince Ray-Gun had di­ rected, for the most part, the embel 1 ishments of this great fete and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure that they were gro­ tesque. There was much of sarcasm and denigra­ tion of the people whom the bureaucrats had left forever to fend for themselves outside.

Senators' wives dressed as bag ladies and welfare queens, Congressmen as hoboes and bankrupt farmers. There was much of burnt

e that as it m a y , it happened that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, that there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single reveller before. And as the rumor of this new pre­ sence spread itself 21

whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of dis­ approbation and surprise - then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.

hen, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revellers threw themselves upon the ghastly figure and gasped in unutterable horror to find the pussmeared rags untenanted by any tangible form.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the 'Nuclear Death.' He had come like a thief in the night, and now the rev­ ellers dropped one by one in the now radioactive halls of their revel. And the li*e of the atomic clock went on long after the last of the bigots had expired. And the nuclear power plant kept the lights burning Tong after the last of the corpses had crumbled into dust. And radiation and decay and the 'Nuclear Death' held il­ limitable dominion over all.

n such an assembly, it may well be sup­ posed that no ordinary apparition could have excited such sensation. In truth, the figure in question had gone beyond the limits of even the prince's indefinite decorum. The figure was tall and gaunt and dressed in tattered rags. His mask was made to mimic the chancred visage of a victim of radiation ex­ posure and so skillfully was it made that the closest scrutiny had difficulty detecting the cheat. It was obvious to all that he had assumed the type of the 'Nuclear Death.' The flesh that showed through his costume was covered with the suppurating wounds o f skin cancer and the distinctive scent of the living rot clung to the disgusting figure.

ow when Prince Ray-Gun saw this apparition (which stalked slowly amid the bureaucrats as if totally oblivious of them), he was convulsed by a strong shudder either of terror or distaste. But regaining his composure, he became exceedingly angry.

The thing represented grim reality, a concept repug­ nant to the prince.

ho dares?" Prince Ray-Gun demanded hoarse­ ly of his cronies who stood nearest him, "Who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize and unmask him - that we may know whom we have to execute at dawn!"

BODY ELECTRIC SCHOOL of MASSAGE and REBIRTHING Ilc a lc r ^

t was from the opposite side of the great ball­ room from the atomic clock that the prince spoke and all there heard him. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing move­ ment of this group in the direction of the intruder who at that moment was also near at hand. But then, with a deliberate and state­ ly step, the figure made a closer approach to the speaker. A nameless awe gripped the mob and none dared touch the stranger, so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince and walked through the crowd towards the atom­ ic clock. Tt was then that Prince Ray-Gun, maddened with rage and the shame of his own momentary coward­ ice, rushed after the horrid figure while all the others stood transfixed by terror. He pulled his Smith A Wesson .357 from his coat and approached the stranger with murder in his heart while the latter, having attained the spot directly beneath the awful clock, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer.

There was a sharp cry - and the gleaming gun clattered to the floor, upon which instantly fell prostrate in death Prince Ray-Gun.

G a y m e it.,

^ '

W e at this fa e r ie -o p e r a te d s c h o o l in v it e y o u t o c o n ic a n d • c e le b r a te y o u r b o d y , • s t u d y t h e la n g u a g e o f t o u c h , • e x p e r ie n c e t h e h e a lin g p o w e r o f b r e a t h , • le a r n t o h e a l w i t h e r o t ic e n e r g y .

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For brochures and class schedules write or call:

Joseph Kramer, Director Body Electric School o f Massage and Rebirthing 6527 A Telegraph Avenue • Oakland, CA 94609 • (415) 653-1594 WE OFFER DISCOUNTS FOR VOLUNTEERS IN AIDS AGENCIES.

22

ON THE ROAD

by M ichael & Jim Whatever humiliation we suffered at Toys 'R ' Us was magnified a thousand times as we bounced from one situation to another in the city.

W H A T H A P PEN E D ?

It all started in a Toys *R ' Us outside Sacramento. I was hung up on the tinker toy building blocks, Jim was into the fairy tales and Nurse was on his new leash out in the parking lot.

Our first appointment was at I Magnin in Union Square.

We were invited to document the manicure of Ms. Feld­ man, a founding member of The Monk. Smelling of ageold cat urine, we donned oUr favorite white outfits and created quite a ruckus searching for The Manicur­ ist. Embarrassed as ever, there she was having her Orange Dayglo nails applied. Not to be outdone, we did ours in shades of blue. And together we prowled out the store, with Jim leading the way, zapping shoppers with our newly painted fingers.

I spotted the peppermint hula hoop first. While I was sniffing the peppermint and Jim was giving the hoop a few twirls, she appeared. Without delay she took the hoop out of my hands, slid it around her neck and had that thing spinning circles in no time.

A A* Ar

This girl knew her hoola hoop and she wasn't going to let us make a bad name for the sport. After about 100 twirls, she thrust the hoop back into my hand and walked off into the assembled crowd.

Since invitations were not pouring in, we took to camping on city streets, but that wore thin pretty fast. Yet, considering the horrors that awaited us once indoors, it was a tough choice.

Out in the parking lot it was business as usual: where to park, where to sleep, what to eat. Three months into this journey we at least had our prior­ ities straight. *

*

Our first invitation failed mierably. We don't know who broke Jason's favorite blue bowl, Mike or Nurse.

Rut it definitely wasn't cool to embellish the dinner we cooked for him with a sculpture made from all the broken pieces. Nor was it "cool” to make love in the Zen Center while everyone was downstairs cooking. But it was a warm place.

*

In late August we were sitting in the Hudson's dusty schoolhouse looking at Harlow's atlas. Kathryn had inspired us with tales of warmth in Lewiston, Idaho.

And besides, our Monk of the Month was over there. So when we left Eugene last Fall we planned to go north around Idaho and Vancouver and down again through Washington and eastern Oregon. Instead, we hightailed it south. Winter was approaching. And the great southwest was calling.

While often driven by our search for warmth, we had taken to swimming in ice cold waters. Someone told us it cleans our "aura." What it really does is freeze our thinking for awhile! *

*

*

With the kind help of White Horse Graphics and East Bay Macrobiotic Center we traded computer services for enough food and money to head further south.

But California had other plans . . . ★ ★ ★

In Half Moon Bay we rendezvoused with Tiger Eye Haw­ thorne, who thought he wanted to do a video of our journey. The glamour was so great we spent the next two weeks rehearsing our favorite scene, fighting over sex and money. As fate would have it, the video had to wait for financing, and we were getting very cold.

This is a slow state to cross when going lengthwise.

And, of course, there are the people. Most have split personalities, such as our friend John and Georgette.

So each person has multiple stories to tell. And we had to hear them al1 .

The San Francisco Bay Area was our first hurdle. We thought we would make a nice, discreet entry, stay seven days and then politely move on. Seven weeks later we were still there.

The first signs of warmth appeared while visiting Hearst Castle. We learned a great deal then. Fs23

pecially how not to decorate a castle. The tourist bug had hit us. Why resist? It looked like such a solid stretch of city, might as well blend in and follow the crowd.

cookie and pie business and holding weekly whole foods extravaganzas in the heart of the Castro. At last our yearning for Green Acres could no longer be denied. So in late March of 1986 we left our beautiful 7-room ur­ ban home for the peace and quiet of a friend's back­ yard in Paradise, California.

But we're not too good at blending. By now we had both Nurse and Nurse's Aide on leashes. And generally looked half mad with shaven heads and those huge work boots Mike wears. Of course, we were right at home on our visit to the caveman room at the Madonna Inn, the citadel of low camp.

In April we began compiling a "newsletter" called The Monthly Monk. Our purpose was to keep friends and followers informed of our latest and greatest per­ formance, a pilgrimage through America. We set a goal of traveling the entire continent searching for the reclusive visionaries, masters and healers of "the New Age." Only three months into the journey our "newsletter" had blossomed into a 24 page tabloid supported by growing subscriber interest. We soon renamed this publication The Monk.

This finally brought us to our last hurdle before the great southwest--El Cajon. Things are very basic here. There is the track home, the trailer park, the mini-mall and certain obligatory codes of conduct, such as TV-viewing, smoking, nouvelle microwave cui­ sine and a strick avoidance of feelings and touching, especially in front of the children.

As we began traveling throughout Oregon and California the magazine began to take on a power of its own. It became clear that we were being directed to extend the publication into the community at large. So in Decem­ ber, 1986, we decided to make The Monk a widely cir­ culated free publication, supported by both advertis­ ing and subscriptions.

By now, there's no denying it. Our environment shapes our reality. Though lost in a sea of smog, we still manage to create The Monk, breathing light and life into the darkest TornersT of America.

‘T HE MONK* is a quarterly magazine dedicated to people on the path of peace. It is written and pub­

STYLE Though we are based out of San Francisco, The Monk is written while "on the road." In each issue we de­ scribe the latest segment of our travels and inter­ views with a wide range of people, from performance artists to real live monks. Though we are not ex­ clusively a "gay magazine," the playful tone and direction of our writing clearly reflects our chosen 1 ifestyle.

lished by two gay men using a Macintosh computer while roaming the continent with their two cats (Nurse and Nurse's Aide) in their 1972 Ford van.

We are not traditional monks. We represent a new style of spiritual warrior, who is not bound by reli­ gious forms, though we respect and use the best in each of them. Our daily practice is centered around simple, right livelihood and a spirit of direct com­ munication and expression. We report candidly on who we see and what we feel. And we're led by intuition to appropriate people, places and events.

We print our publication in California and distribute by mail and through regional distributors. The magazine is now printed in an eight and a half by eleven format with a bookstock cover. But the maga­ zine is just the hard copy you'll receive four times a year at the solstices and equinoxes. In a bigger sense The Monk is our living cells interacting with each other, the environment and the fellow beings we meet on our journey. We are a traveling show, a publishing house and an electronic monastery all rolled into one.

H ISTO RY Michael Earl Lane and James Marshall Crotty met on the eve of April Fool's, 1985, at San Francisco's Barefoot Boogie, a smoke and alcohol-free weekly dance cele­ bration. We spent the next day together in costume, traipsing through the financial district celebrating the birth of St. Stupid. This set the tone for the many wild and wonderful capers still to come. These included donning the role of Gay Upwardly Mobile Pro­ fessionals for a new age record company, launching a

We welcome the opportunity to meet with individuals or organizations as we travel. We are currently travel­ ing in Southern California and the Southwest (Arizona 24

and New Mexico). Our journey will eventually lead us through most of the U.S. so please contact us so we may see you when in your area. Our mailing address is: The Monk, 2966 Diamond St.. Suite 171, San Fran­ cisco, CA 94131 . . . meow! ___

1986

GREAT PLAINS REGIONAL RODEO [Reprinted from The Ga y l y O k l a h o m a n , P.O. Box 60930, Ok l a h o m a City, OK 73146.

The ar ti cl e is taken from th ei r Se ptember 1986 issue.]

{‘Welcome to

C

owboys and cowgirls from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Utah. Colo­ rado, Nevada, and of course, the hosting states of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, all gathered August 15th through 17th, for the first Annual Great Plains Regional Rodeo to compete for the title of All-Around and All-Around Cowgirl. Dancers and entertainers from around the country joined them to perform and party with them. Spectators from even more states came to watch them. Together they brought the largest gay event in the history of Oklahoma.

a continuing saga

ffh e uHld adventures o f

two nun, their two cats, 9fprse and 9furse s Aide, and their Macintosh Computer as they roam the continent reporting on ad o f the extraordinary people they meet along the way.

From Santa Rosa, California, came All-Around Cowboy Lee Kittleson. From San Antonio, Texas, came AllAround Cowgirl Laura Lee. Competition included Bull Riding, Bareback Bronc Riding, Wild Cow Riding, Calf Roping, Team Roping, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, and much more.

*They are witty. ■■■‘Jhey are tender... and they are hilarious as they make their w ay into the homes o f 9fgw Age leaders and visionaries

to expose the fft£gkg.d ‘Truth,'

It's a magazine for the camp bodhisattva.

A "National Enquirer" for the New Age. A guide to healthy living in changing times.

A huge success! That is the only way to describe the 1986 Great Plains Regional Rodeo. Month after month of planning and it went off with only a few minor pro­ blems. Not even the planning committee realized the magnitude of this event until it was well under way.

The success of it all can only be attributed to the many people behind the scenes who worked putting it together, the dancers and entertainers from around the country who performed, the contestants from 11 states who competed, the businesses (gay and straight) who supported it, and the spectators who cheered them all on. Together they all made it fun for everyone.

It's A bsurd...It's heart breaking...It’s informative... and It can be yours. cut here

You'll receive your If not satisfied, you may cancel your subscription within 30 days under no obligation. Otherwise, we will bill you with two months to pay.

The Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association, along with their co-hosts, the Kansas Gay Rodeo Association and the Missouri Gay Rodeo Association, would like to thank everyone who participated in and supported their first rodeo. When asked what they would like to seek in the way of improving this year's rodeo, the consistent comment was "Spectator support from Oklahoma City."

Published quarterly, we are a subscriber jased publication supporting World Peace.

One year subscription $15.

Return form to The Monk, 2 9 6 6 Diamond, #171 San Francisco, CA 94131

Next year will be bigger and better. And when the Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association says that, you can be­ lieve them. Look at the growth the association and the two Country/Western Extravaganzas have enjoyed in one short year. Next time you talk with an OGRA mem­ ber, it is to your benefit to listen. If you don't, you may miss the best time of your life. fHP\

A Y es. I’ll subscribe. Send me my Free issue and bill me later.

A Yes. I'll subscribe. Payment enclosed, (pay to The Monk) Nam e___ Address^ City ,State,Zi p____________________________________________ 2 year subscriptions S25 5 yr. subscription S60 10 yr. subscription $ 1 0 0

25

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H

I T U

n the shore of Italy was a beautiw ful young kingdom, Atharia was its name. And on the i.

J edge of the king­ dom by the ocean lived a hum­ ble blacksmith who worked for the comnon people to obtain his modest wage. The folk all loved him and knew him to be a man of honour. "Honest he is and chaste, not a lech­ er," they would say. He was tall and handsome. A capa­ cious chest and legs and arms as strong as oak had he. Al­ ways able to rise to the job he had to do. Illario was his name.

Long ago in an island near Greece a prophecy of doom was discerned by the passing of a fire in the night sky, fore­ telling the fall of a kingdom in Italy for the love of a humble man. This prophecy proved to be authentic, based on a love of great joy and of despair too. But such is love, like the tree and its shadow which cannot be parted.

This is the story of which I will speak. And if it offends you be certain to note that it's only a tale that I learned by rote. Though Moses may calleit an abomination, the heart speaks a language of its own nation. And if I should slur or be crude in my offer­ ing remember that you have all implored me in proffering my tale to you. Now then I will start without further delay.

As it happened this fine young blacksmith, having finished his work one spring day, had taken a respite by swimming in the azure sea. After soaking his hearty body in the water for a goodlytime, he fell into sweet sleep on the sand. With a breeze that carried the ocean spray onto his breast he awoke and stood tall and stretched his limbs and surveyed the horhorizon around him. When his gaze rested on the dis-

O 26

fell again to kissing his feet and thanking him say­ ing, "I am forever at your service. Your slightest whim, it is my greatest desire to fulfill."

tant cliffs to the west, he beheld a figure that pricked the beat of his heart. He dashed into his house and found an old spyglass and returned to the beach. At the base of the cliffs stood a man of stature not unlike his own. He was the most beautiful man he had ever seen. His eyes were deep, discerning, brown jewels. A proud heart adorned his strong and tender face. The gentle curves of his naked body, as he waded to his waist in the sea, seemed to flow like an entrancing river. Illario's heart was taken. Love filled him with elation. And yet as this happiness flowed through his veins, fear gripped him, for he knew it was forbidden to love another man. Still his love knew no bounds and beckoned him to go and meet the object of his hope and passion.

From that time on Illario was the happiest man alive.

(You see Ontaro was the man he had seen on the beach, his own true love.) This blacksmith's work yet im­ proved in quality and quantity until all who knew of his crafts were amazed. Some even said that he must know mystical spells to produce such abundance. But enough of Illario for now.

Ontaro, being a wise and discerning king, had per­ ceived the depth of Illario's mind. And as this blacksmith's strength and goodness were continually apparent and praised by all, the king also began to love him, until he desired him above all others. So Ontaro planned to take Illario with him on one of his clandestine journeys to the cliffs by the sea, under the pretense of testing the newest horseshoes Illario had created for the king's great horses.

But it came to pass that as he walked along his love vanished among the rocks.

Illario began to run, and soon he reached the place where one set of footprints ended in the sparse grass. There was no one in sight. He then fell to his knees and prayed to the god of love. "The wish for my love fills all my heart, and yet if it cannot be so, then only grant that I may know his smile and serve him in some way.

This is my heart's desire--reveal my love to me."

Such was his prayer that day, and the god heard him and pitied him. But now let me turn my story from Illario and his sad plight.

As it happened the day arrived with clear skies and rolling green summer fields. As inviting a day as the earth had ever made for two lovers. So off they rode among the hills, these two men of stature, side by side. And when they neared the cliffs near Illario's old home where he had first seen his love, he looked into Ontaro's eyes and the king spoke say­ ing, "come, let us walk together down to the sea," and so they did. Then Ontaro clasped Illario's hand and said, "I have seen the depth of love in your eyes and I return it now, though it be a sin and no one can ever know." And so upon disrobing they fell into the water together. Propriety limits me from further re­ lating what they did, but to say that all lovers do.

Atharia was ruled in kindness by a sagacious king.

His hand was gentle but firm, and all the people knew of his kindness and loved him. The wife of the king was most beautiful, but she did not love her husband, she was the lecherous kind, a lover of wine and deceit. Still the king was good to his queen and diligently sought to keep her in good stead with the people, veiling her indiscretions and working to minimize them. The king was named Ontaro and his queen was called Penalia.

So their secret love went on and on throuqh the sum­ mer and it seemed their bliss would never end. But all things change. Take Heraclitus who said, "every­ thing flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed." So the secret happiness of Ontaro and Illario could not endure forever.

In the waning springtime it happened that the servants of the king were accosted by a deadly plague. A score of them died and were given a fitting burial and mourning. But Ontaro's household now lacked for many hands, so a team of counsellors was sent throughout the kingdom to find adequate replacements, and restore the king's house to harmony. A cook and five -cook's helpers, a page and two maidservants, six stable ser­ vants and other such members were found until only one position was lacking, that of a blacksmith. Then a poor old miller told the counsellors of Illario, say­ ing that he was a blacksmith of high calibre, strong and honest. So Illario was absorbed into the king's house. Poor Illario who for so many days had returned to the beach by his house hoping again to see the one he loved, and now he could return no more. Neverthe­ less Illario did fine work, and his fame began to spread through the king's house.

In the last part of fall it came to pass that the queen turned her desire towards Illario. In the dark of the early morning she came to him and demanded his favor. But Illario was true to one only and spurned the queen, refusing to plumb her as she wished--like Joseph who turned away his master's wife. And like the master's wife in the old story, Penalia was loth and ran out from him accusing him of lechery. She called the palace guards and had him locked away in prison until her sentence of death could be carried out. The very next day good Illario met his fate-a swift death. And Ontaro, who loved him so, was so overcome with grief that he cast himself from a precipice onto the rocky shore near where he and Illario had spent so many blissful summer days. So ended the reign of Ontaro the king. And soon there­ after a neighbouring king, who was a tyrant, scourged the kingdom, killing Penalia and many others in battle. Thence the prophecy was fulfilled and love-the most beautiful folly of man--brought ruin to those who had shared it. Thus ends my storv. May God protect this company and bring wisdom to all of us.

After many weeks the king himself began to hear of Illario's prodigious work and one day he summoned him to give thanks and a magic salve to comfort his chafed hands.

Now when Illario heard that the king had summoned him, he dressed in his finest clothes and went to meet him. But when Illario saw the king, his eyes grew wide and he fell onto Ontaro's feet and kissed them saying, "0 greatest of kings, most handsome and merciful of men, my heart's only desire is to serve you." Ontaro smiled and presented the salve to Illario with his thanks and his love. Then Illario 27

meet then and did we ever wander hand in hand the paths by the gentle river where swans swim and the leaves of the trees make a dome of numinous green7 The stone circle in Kenmare in County Kerry is called the nruid's Circle and is a wheel that spins for those with patience to see. The wheel is turned by the movement o F the stars in the sky above it. Inside the circle the ground moves with you or without you. went to Ireland to end my exile from a magic as native to my knowing as the blue of my eyes and the red of my hair. As I rode through rounty fork on my way to Gugan Bara, an ancient forest unmolested and enchanted, the deepest green I've ever seen, I heard these words in melody:

A passageway to inner space, a way out of body, a way out of mind. This is the dolmen that stands in the wilderness called the Burren. Burren in Gaelic means rock. This rock is permeable to soul force. It is a portal to deeper dimension, a way out of body, a way out of mind.

back back back through the tunnel of, my birth back back back through the middle, o& the hourglass back back back rooted deep into the earth J am dreaming In the darkness dreaming in the lig h t dreaming p o s s ib ilit ie s opening my ti{\C.

I cross on a stone bridge over the river and enter the village of Clonegal. In the village I turn up a hill and through a grove of ancient yew, find Clonegal Castle which is watered by a spring that flows from the river in rock far below. The spring is said sacred to Brigid, the Trish Goddess of fire and poet­ ry. The water from the spring is very cold and tin­ gles in your mouth and belly.

In County * e r r y un Knocknadobar I find a stone set in holly, heather, fern and gorse. Further up the moun­ tain is a holy well of visions, higher up, a cave per­ haps at times a hermitage. In its entrance grow sham­ rocks. And as I climb further, up through the heath­ er, I can stand on the ridge where the Celts lit bon­ fires to the old God Lugh. They lit fires in the night after gathering their crops, fires in the night atop the mountain sacred to Lugh, the God of the sun's greater fire, the fire that warms the fields and brings forth flower and fruit and grain.

I enter the stone hut centuries old that sits near the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, An Daingean, the Irish say--it is a finger into the sea, and I wonder what were these people like? What did they believe? If I fall asleep and dream in their house would I dream their dreams and share my own with them? Could we dream together outside of what we know as the passing of time?

When in Cong Abbey I walk in the cloister. I am only a man inside stone walls, only a man among the spirits of men who had walked here before me. Mad I walked here too, same soul, different body? Did our eyes 28

I am back in Dublin's dirty city walking in Dame Street looking for Fowles Street, looking for pink triangle sign above the doorway of Hirschfeld Centre where I will read my American poems and find an Irish lover who will take me home in a taxi, make tea, make love and begin to make sense of all the bits and pieces I've collected as I wandered round this island looking for an answer to a riddle of the soul. We would become tor each his other, I his future, he my past. We would circle round that intersection like the wheel of the old faith suspended in time and space, *our quadrants calling four directions specify­ ing a place as sacred. We would become for each his other, I his future, he my past. For many months when I said you I meant him, when he said you he meant me. Like a wheel we spoke round and round, four quad­ rants calling four directions, specifying a place as sacred and in that sacred place I prayed, dear Sean, I

miss you more than ever it is so strange to be so far apart___ and in that sacred space his prayer, dear rranklin, I think about you all the time, it is so hard to be so far away from one I feel so close to....

He would cross the ocean twice looking at places he might have lived had his Fitzgerald ancestors traded places with my O'Sullivans on some vessel bound from Galway Bay two hundred years ago. And I would cross the grey Atlantic twice again. Once to look for faeries and amethyst crystals in the heather wilds of Ac hill Island's sea worn western face. And once again to travel inland to meet at home a family that might have been my family had Fitzgerald traded places with O'Sullivan on some vessel bound from Galway Bay two hundred years ago. This is a story about what hap­ pened. Bear in mind as I tell you I had come again to say goodbye:

our mother picked primroses from her garden Christmas Day and that night the snow came wet and heavy making all green things white. We went to Mass on Christmas Eve with your brother and your brother's wife. The priest told a story of a man whose cherished grudges were like "a cold slab over his heart," then asked the congregation For forgiveness for each other and donations for the church. At midnight, he led us all outside where he placed a plaster figure of the infant Jesus in a still empty crib.

Your mother picked primroses from her garden Christmas Oay and the in-laws came fierce with appetites and noisy children. We all sat down to the home grown turkey killed in the barn with a broomstick and baked by the turf fire in the old green oven. The turkey's breast was white and fine grained, stuffed with bread and butter and parsley and served with a brown gravy and potatoes grown in a field by the old, old house where we sat by the smoky fire of turf that you and your brother cut from the living bog that makes your father's farm and the farms of his neighbors an island in the roll­ ing Irish midlands.

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In the cold, cold wind we would walk and you would talk of the ferns and the lichens and the streams that flowed under the roads and through the fields green still green in win­ ter's ghostly mists. Six pheasants flew low across the road in front of us and you told me how to cook them in red wine but only after they are nine days dead and start to decompose, you said the smell of them cooking was a sweet, sweet smell that made you sick and we walked on to the churchyard where your ancestors rested under Celtic crosses and mossy marble slabs. We couldn't find your great-great-aunt whose feuding daughters dug her body up in secrecy of the deep dark Irish night rather than leave her on one side of her husband whose second wife, despised by them, was buried on the other side. We walked back to your father's farmin the cold wind and you saw snow on the Slieve Bloom Mountains forty miles away and said it would come in our direction and it did that Christmas evening.

It came wet and heavy, white over green while the in-laws made their noises and the turf you and your brother had cut from the living bog smoked the house warm and the snow stopped, A m

29

the In-laws left and we all went to bed exhausted and full of tea and Christmas pudding your brother's wife had boiled for six or seven hours on the old green stove, that your mother had served with cream and apple tart made of apples from trees that grew in a field by the old, old house where we all slept and dreamed through the deep dark Irish night.

of time together one more time helping one another to remember the future, remember the past. If Fitz­ gerald sailed in O'Sullivan's place would I have left my family farmhouse in the rolling midlands for a flat in Rathmines' acrid Dublin air? Would you have trav­ elled back across an ocean looking for your genesis outside of homogenized future tenses full of the sameness of suburbs and the rootlessness of a culture of wanderers still in search of a promised land?

The next morning we were fed and blessed and driven to the grey stone railway station at Port Arlington where a cold train carried us out of Offlay, across Kildare to Dublin City's icy chilled still Christmas empty streets and we slept all afternoon.

In the taxi I took alone--we were both too terrified of a public parting at the airport--I remembered you once told me it occurred to you as you stood almost a thousand feet above the sea on the Cliffs of Moher that the eternity of these rocks cares nothing for your personal woes. In my mind's eye I can see sil­ houetted against the deepening amethyst dusk the stone face of crone, hag's head they call her, a rock of ages past and ages yet to come. The sea washes her face, the sun slowly warms her and the night cools her sleep. She heard only the wind and the waves that break and what she beholds is horizon as true and un­ changing as anything any one of us could ever hope for or imagine.

The weather went mild and mild it stayed until the day of the year that's called the last and the eve of the year that's yet to come. I went to the market, bought French champagne and daffodils and tangerines from Spain. There were roses still blooming in Palmerston Park, white roses and roses the color of salmon. In the midafternoon the light went out of the sky, the moon was half full and half empty and I wait­ ed for you to return from your work with stories and questions, cream cake and the Irish Evening Herald.

We would not celebrate that night with friends but laugh together at the New Year through the TV's eye on the passage of time and we would cross the bridge

WILD LAVENDER UPDATE

W

Wild Lavender Co-op 34 Queensdown Road Hackney Downs London E5 8NN

ild Lavender is a gay co-operative in Eng­ land. Our members are spread over two houses, in Leeds and London, with most of us part of a wider group of gay men who are working towards setting up the rural community and holistic centre we've been talking about for ages. Both houses live communally.

The Gay Men's Week which we've organised at Laurieston community in Scotland is also part of our dream of a nurturing and outgoing gay men's community.

We are registering as a charity, which we hope will be called the Edward Carpenter Community Trust. (Ed­ ward Carpenter set up a gay men's rural community near Sheffield around 1900 and was a pioneering utopian anarchist and writer on sexuality.) And we are work­ ing on a "glossy" leaflet and business plan to take to grant-giving bodies - this is how we hope to raise the money to buy our fairy palace in the woods! We're hoping that by the end of this year we will have someplace.

The rural project seems to be reaching a stage where we expect a lot to happen quickly - this is after about 18 months of 2-monthly weekend gatherings, most­ ly at different communities, and more frequent busi­ ness meetings in London. We have agreed to a com­ prehensive list of aims and objectives. As openly gay men, we want to live communally in a rural setting, accessible to London, where we can support each other and learn to grow closer.

In keeping with our desire to take greater control over all areas of our lives, we take a holistic view of health, and will grow our own organic veggies, and eat vegetarian/vegan food.

The building needs to be big enough to fit in at least 20 visitors and 10 residents and to have space for a large vegetable garden.

In England, this will pro­ bably cost around £300,000. Any help would be greatly appreciated - either financially (cheques payable to Gay Men's Rural Project), or information from any of you involved in similar projects. We are open to people visiting us in our present houses (write first please). We have a bi-monthly newsletter which can be subscribed to.

Apart from all this work - which is sometimes frustrat­ ing but mostly exciting - most of us in London are involved in other activities, like Feeling Good, a gay men's health group that meets at the London Les­ bian & Gay Centre. We also enjoy Circle Dance and have managed to be dancing on Hampstead Heath most of the past few solstices - luckily it hasn't rained.

Our intention is to establish a centre, a place where gay men in particular can come and stay, either for scheduled events or for more open-ended periods. Be­ tween us, we've been developing skills in quite a lot of therapy/health areas, and the centre should provide a place for people to experience these, with the em­ phasis on self-healing, and also creative activities like music and dance. We're beginning to establish links with other groups who work with people with AIDS and those who are HIV-antibody positive, and we expect them to be major users of our facilities.

The next Gay Men's Week at Laurieston will be on Duly 23rd to 30th, and we've information on that too. Any RFDers would be very welcome.

by W ill 30

OF INTERMEDIATE CONCERN

by B radley Rose [This essay was first published by Vortex Media in dune 1986, as the first in a series called "A Radical Fairy's Seedbed." This and other Vortex publications --and a catalogue--can be obtained from Vortex Media, P.0. Box 11622, San Francisco, CA 94101. Of Intermediate Concern is $3.00, plus $1.00 for postage and hand!i ngTl

When he established the heavens, I was there, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was by him, as a master workman, and I was his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in his habitable earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.1

he right relationship between Man and Woman has in all ages and all over the world been a prime subject of religious doctrine and inquiry. The matter is of central importance because Man and Woman represent more than just men and women: they are two principles which are seen to underlie all Creation.

The complementary yang-yin relationship has been the archetypal symbol of Cosmic Balance. But in the Modern world, that relationship is uneven, and our human existence is threatened. Religious guardians and mystics warn that the Modern world is dangerously out of Balance. The over-masculinization of the world, the refusal to acknowledge our unconscious motivations, and the continuing rape of the Great Mother confirm their warning. The great spiritual dilemma now faced by humankind is, How can we work and live in Balance with our Modern World?

In Oriental mythology, a masculine and a feminine principle - "yang" and "yin" - are said to be present in all things. Nearly every origin myth begins with some primordial Duality, which is the essence or origin of everything subsequent. Thus, in the Bibli­ cal account of Man's creation, both Adam and Eve were formed from God's single clay figure. And C. G. dung, in Answer to Job, points out that even God "himself" was origmaTly androgynous; for, according to Prov­ erbs, Sophia existed coeternally with Yahweh:

Religious wisdom from around the world shows us that opposites are balanced through the mediation of a third something, which is neither the thing nor its opposite, but a little of both.

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

We will examine here some spiritual approaches - taken from various peoples and ages - to the problem of Balance. Our hope is to Call forth a religious ap­ proach appropriate to our Modern situation, 31

The villagers began to consider the "spirits" not as spirits themselves, but as Intermediaries between the known Sacred World and the unknown World Beyond. The Intermediaries lived just beyond the walls of the village proper, as archaeologists and anthropologists have discovered the world over. In ancient Greek towns, the Intermediaries' precincts were called "temenos," from "temnos," "cut off."3

O

e of the outstanding characteristics of traditional societies," wrote Mircea Eliade, "is the opposition they assume between their inhabited territory and the unknown and indeterminate space that surrounds it.

The former is the World (more precisely, 'our world'), the cosmos; everything outside it is no longer a cos­ mos but a sort of 'other world,' a foreign, chaotic space, peopled by ghosts, demons, 'foreigners' (who are assimilated to demons and the souls of the dead)."^

The "temenos" were sanctuaries where the Intermediar­ ies practiced the arts, crafts, and rituals of the World Beyond. Some of these, when Time proved their usefulness and harmlessness, were introduced into the adjoining villages or towns as marvelous inventions.

In other times, the secret practices of the Inter­ mediaries resulted in sickness or accidents which, be­ cause the "temenos" was cut off from the village prop­ er, brought no harm to the village people.

In many traditional societies, a male youth attained to manhood by completing a Vision Quest, in which he was sent by his community out of the known Sacred World into the unknown and friqhtening World Beyond.

There he was to endure untold trials and to return with a vision - an image, symbol, or token - of his suc­ cessful transition into manhood. The vision would in­ dicate the name by which he, as a Man, would be re­ born to his village and the traits he would bring to his role as hunter and warrior. A man might, for ex­ ample, return with the head of a long-tusked boar, or he might tell in a story how he wrestled free of a bear.

Where the entirety of Creation is comprised of the known Sacred World and the unknown World Beyond, it is imperative that traditional societies develop ways to integrate the two realities. The two worlds are, aft­ er all, really one world. The Sacred World cannot forever contain itself against the World Beyond.

Through the Intermediaries, traditional societies around the world and through various ages were able to live in Balance with the "out-there," to safely in­ tegrate the unknown into the known.

But others who were sent beyond the Sacred World never returned. Some undoubtedly were victims to their travail. Others received a "wrong" vision - that is, a vision of attributes or character that were in­ appropriate to the roles of hunter or warrior. Such an initiate might, for example, nurture the abandoned young of an animal; or see himself reflected in a pool, dressed in female attire.

The Intermediaries risked their well-being for the benefit of the village people. But, it should be noted, they were innately equipped for the task, as their Vision Quest revealed to them. For their vision revealed that their loyalty was not to the particular institutions of their tribe, but to the Fecund Source and Tuberous Root of humanity itself.

Believing, according to the honored tradition of the tribe, that their Vision Quest revealed their Inner Essence, initiates who received the "wrong" vision knew they could not return home. They knew their Be­ ing was inappropriate to the roles of hunter and warrior that they would be expected to assume. Their former community considered them to be dead.

The village people, in any case, received the benefits of this peculiar loyalty. In return for the benefits provided them, the villagers allowed the Intermediar­ ies to live by their own customs, which were not al­ ways understood in the village. Happily (for the villagers), the Intermediaries confined the more "noisome" of their customs to the "temenos."

We may imagine these liminal Beings wandering or settling as hermits, if they did not starve or die of exposure. Some, chancing upon each other,formed small communities. Hunters from the village, if ever they chanced upon these changelings out on the edge of the known world, would have considered them to be spirits or demons.

v*

Louise Coggins

Eventually, most traditional societies instituted customs by which the "spirits" could return to their communities, as intermediaries between the sacred and profane worlds. This happened in two ways. In times of great need or danger, the village people sought help from the "spirits" who lived around the fringes of the Sacred World and who, therefore, possessed supernatural powers. Then also, there were times when the "spirits" came to the village. Living free of social restrictions and left to their own re­ sources, the "spirits" made wonderful discoveries which they could offer the village people in exchange for food or the security of living near the village.

New plant foods and medicines, animal knowledge, un­ known arts and crafts would be among the discoveries which made themselves known to those few who made their home beyond the edge of the Sacred World.

Thus, villagers and "spirits" around the world found it mutually advantageous to abide near each other.

32

wears woman's dress and is referred to as the Ko-lhamana [divine "lhamana"], meaning a man who has permanently adopted female attire.

T h e following example discusses the situation of the Zuni of present-day New Mexico, where another reli­ gious figure mediates a sacred Duality - this time, between the Sexes.

The custom of youths donning female attire at puberty, which exists to some extent among the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona has given rise to conflicting statements.

An assertion made, not only by the writer after her first visit to Zuni, but also by others, was that these persons were herm­ aphrodites.

The Zuni inherit a culture that is 2,000 years old.

Their origin myth accounts for all their institutions and customs. The myth, or portions of it, is recited at sacred times of the year. The validity and sacred­ ness of the origin myth is attested, for the Zuni, by the fact that their customs are established by the myths themselves, which were given them by their Gods.

One is led into this error by the Indians, who, when referring to men dressed as women, say, "She is a man;" which is certainly mis­ leading to one not familiar with Indian thought---

The origin myth establishes the traditional sexual division of labor among the Zuni. Men build the houses but women plaster them. Men grow the corn but women store and distribute it. Men weave only on the large blanket loom but women weave on both the blanket loom and the smaller belt loom. Only men engage in the hunt and in war. Only women bear children.

And though the women of the family joke the fellow, they are inclined to look upon him with favor, since it means that he will re­ main a member of the household and do al­ most double the work of a woman, who nec­ essarily ceases at times from her labors at the mill and other duties to bear children and to look after the little ones; but the [man-woman] is ever ready for service, and is expected to perform the hardest labors of the female department.^

Despite the divinely ordained division between the sexes, it is very important for the Zuni men and women to cooperate in order to survive in their harsh coun­ try. Because of the division of labor, the Zuni are concerned lest they become too much divided, thereby threatening their cooperative relationship. And they are also concerned lest one sex prevail over the other and upset the delicate Balance.

(Stevenson's Zuni informant was herself a "lhamana," and is the focus of a scholarly and entertaining pre­ sentation by Will Roscoe, to whom we owe our informa­ tion on the Zuni "man-woman.")

A story in the origin myth deals with this concern.

The story describes a battle between two god peoples, which are analogized to men and women. In the battle, the Kianakwe (representing the women) are led by Chakwena, or "Big Woman."

Through the religious institution of the "mart-woman," sanctified by its position in the origin myth, the Zuni prevent their community from splitting apart.

They know they can depend upon the man-woman to settle and resolve village disputes, for her loyalty and devotion is to the entire tribe; her interests are not allied solely with the men or the women. Not only are her loyalties undivided, so too is her wisdom.

The battle begins because Chakwena has overstepped her bounds by confining the wild animals to a corral so that the male gods, the Ashiwi, cannot hunt them. But Chakwena has only responded to the Ashiwi, who have overstepped their bounds by hunting without modera­ tion. Chakwena then aggravates the imbalance by charging into battle (though warfare is strictly for­ bidden to women) against the Ashiwi. The presence of Chakwena at the fore of the battle illustrates the danger of the world out-of-balance. For having gone this far, there's no telling where, or if, the chaos will end.

The Zuni "lhamana," or "men-women," are very much like the Intermediaries discussed in the previous section.

Both are boys who do not complete the initiation into manhood. Both are made aware, through the natural unfolding of their character, of their inability to live in their community as Men. Both make themselves known to their tribe, not as Men, but as liminal In­ termediates between the Two Natures of their world.

Both serve the entire tribe in a religious capacity, and are not aligned in favor of any particular clan, sex, or party. Both are necessary to the Balance, and viability, of their people.

The battle between the Kianakwe and the Ashiwi occurs over four days. During the battle of the third day, which ends in stalemate, Chakwena captures three of the Ashiwi god people. That evening, during the thanksgiving dancing, one of the captives is unable to control his anger. This is seen as inappropriate be­ havior for a man at a religious ceremony. Chakwena, to temper his immoderation, puts a dress on him, say­ ing, "You will now perhaps be less angry."

The White man's culture has introduced among the Zuni a flood of novelty, which threatens to become a more palpable reality than that revealed by the sacred origin myths. Today, the low profile of the "menwomen" in Zuni society reflects the-encroachment of White values and gender expectations. A man who wears a dress is for no other reason an object of great ridicule in White society; therefore, the "lhamana," in order to avoid bringing the White Men's censure upon her people, no longer plays a conspicuous part in Zuni society. It is a curious fact that some "lhama­ na" have left their community to live as "gay" people in the larger American cities. Others, perhaps, yet identify themselves in their village as "lhamana," but discreetly.

Without unraveling the many fine and esoteric intri­ cacies of this sacred story, we may note that this portion of the origin myth accounts for the presence among the Zuni of an intermediary role, which they call "lhamana," or "man-woman."

About the Zuni "lhamana," Matilda Coxe Stevenson, one of the first anthropologist to study Zuni, wrote: In the Zuni dramatization of the Kianakwe dance of thanksgiving for the capture of the gods the one personating the ["lhamana"] 33

[The tendency of the intermediate type] led to a distaste, on the part of those in­ dividuals or groups who were affected by it, for the ordinary masculine occupations and business of the world, and to an in­ clination to retire into the precincts of the Temples and the service of Religion which, of course in primitive days, meant not only the religious life in our sense, but the dedication to such things as Magic, learning, poetry, music, prophecy, and other occupations not generally favoured by the normal man, the hunter and the warrior.

There are also some considerations which go to show that the Intermediate did actual­ ly tend to develop faculties like divination, clairvoyance, ecstasy, and so forth, which are generally and quite naturally associat­ ed with religion.5 The Intermediate Type, studied under the term "berdache," is now an open and exciting field of re­ search for the anthropologist as well as the historian of religion, on which many works are now appearing.

But we may ask, How are the Intermediate Types rele­ vant to the present situation of our Modern, Scienltific, and Civilized Society?

Traditional societies, in fact, furnish innumerable examples of the religious role assumed by the Inter­ mediary. One of the first works on this subject was Edward Carpenter's Intermediate Types Among Primitive folk. Like many a seminal work, its particulars here and there want refinement, but the import of the book and its general conclusions are being substantiated by further evidence.

V |n traditional societies, the origin myth supplies the model for behavior. People act in such-and-such a way because "thus did our ancestors." The models of ac­ ceptable behavior are remembered, recited, and ritual­ ly re-enacted according to the society's sacred myths.

Carpenter wrote: That between the normal man and the normal woman there exist a great number of inter­ mediate types - types, for instance, in which the body may be perfectly feminine, while the mind and feelings are decidedly masculine, or vice versa - is a thing which only a few years ago was very little under­ stood. But to-day - thanks to the labours of a number of scientific men - the existence of these types is generally recognized and admitted: it is known that the variations in question, whether affecting the body or the mind, are practically always congenital; and that similar variations have existed in considerable abundance in all ages and among all races of the world. Since the Christian era these intermediate types have been much persecuted in some periods and places, while in others they have been mildly tolerated; but that, they might possibly fulfil a posi­ tive and useful function of any kind in society is an idea which seems hardly if ever to have been seriously considered.

We, on the other hand, are a Modern society precisely because we are breaking free of our former traditions.

It is not possible to say exactly when we began to make this Break. Perhaps it began with the invention of writing, or perhaps in the adoption of an apocalyp­ tic worldview, or perhaps with the beginning of our dependence on "nonrenewable" resources.

Whenever it began, our breaking away from tradition is currently the major feature of our culture. We are Modern because novelty everyday invades our culture.

Fad and fashion dictate taste and morality. And no one explains his behavior by saying, "Thus did our ancestors."

Our social evolution is truly phenomenal. Our growth has touched regions heretofore untouched by Man. And we have encompassed the entire Globe with an un­ precedented network of communication and sensitivity.

We have grown in ways which cannot be undone, except through calamity. Our best hope is to be able to stabilize our growth...

Such an idea, however, must have been familiar in pre-Christian times and among the early civilisations, and if not con­ sciously" analysed or generalised in philo­ sophical form, it none the less underran the working customs of life of many, if not most primitive tribes - in such a way that the intermediate people ... played a distinct part in the life of the tribe or nation, and were openly acknowledged and recognized as part of the general polity---

But we have lost our former Balance. In our hand we hold the awesome and horrible power - which no tradi­ tional society has gripped - to destroy all Humankind.

The Great Mother increasingly fails to nurture us, be­ cause we have polluted her waters, stripped her top­ soil, and fouled her air. Like Kronos, we monstrously devour Rhea's creations; and, like Kronos, we may find ourselves deceived into swallowing a stone that causes our demise.

34

Where Modern society is most imbalanced, is in its knowledge of itself. By trying to conceal from itself what it may fear to know, our society is greatly en­ dangered, and excruciatingly tender. What we fear to know is that we can never satisfy our curiosity be­ cause every discovery discloses more that we don't know. If we are mad^y rushing to unlock the Great Mother's secrets, we may now rest, for we know now that she has more of them than we can ever hope to pry.

Meantime, let us continue to meet and work, to invent and imagine solutions to the Spiritual Problems of Modern Man. Let us gather the tools and magicks of our Fairy heritage, and let us gather together in "temenos" of our devising, that we may contribute to all humanity the gifts of our subject-SUBJECT con­ sciousness.

San Francisco May 26, 1986 1:48 a.m.

What we also 'ear to know, is that the discontinuities we have for too long perceived between us and the rest of the world, between myth and reality, between the real and the imagined, between the conscious and the unconscious, are obsolete.

(We fear to know these things bcause to acknowledge them means to acknowledge we did not know who we were and we were not who we thought we were.)

NOTES 1Dung, Carl G. The Portable Ounq.

1976.

New York:

^Eliade, Mircea. Man and the Sacred.

Harper & Row, 1974.

Up until now, our Scientific Spirit has expanded our consciousness and our power. Up to a point, the in­ ventions of our Modern world have improved our lives and facilitated the spiritual growth of humankind.

But now we are like the rummaging child who discovers in the closet the father's loaded pistol. How can we be made to understand that our wonderful curiosity may outdistance our ability to understand the dangers involved?

3Hay, Harry.

Penguin.

New York:

Unpublished research.

4Stevenson, Matilda Coxe. In Twenty-third Annual Report of the Bureau of American ethnology, 1901 1902. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, (Trans! iteration of Zurii terms has been modernized.) ^Carpenter, Edward. Intermediate Types Among Primitive Folk. London': Mitchel 1 Kenner'ley, 1921.

VI A CALL Dear Radical Fairies, The adult Men and Women of the World are in a desper­ ate plight, which is itself a Call for our aid, or at least for Divine Intercession. As is instinctively human, they look around for solutions. Some pray to God. Others wait for UFOs. Still others have aban­ doned Hope. How can we reveal ourselves to them, that the Servant they seek lives among them already?

Tree Catalogue of magickal books, tapes, & other items from Circle is also available.

Their persecution and misunderstanding of the Inter­ mediate Type has much relevance to the spiritual im­ balance of Modern Man, but is a subject so productive of discussion as to require its own issue of A Radical Fairy's Seedbed.

P - 0 . 5 0 X 219

cnr. hoRC D, lu i 5 3 5 7 2 U .S .A .

35

esponse to the respons A N A N SW ER TO THE AN SW ERS TO ‘A CALL TO FA ER IE A R T IS T S , ACTO RS, M USICIANS, DANCERS, W R ITE R S , POETS, COM POSERS, M ED IA M A K ERS ETC .’

by Lig ht Issue 48 page 53 of "those people," of adver­ sary, of enemy, of outside forces. Our world seldom, if ever, goes beyond our skin, and within our fortresses of skin we have lost the ability to know "other" people, "other" creatures, "other" worlds.

"Thene on e thoA e

Who want to Act fin e to the wonld.

We one in danger.

TkeAe it, only time To wonk Alowly.

The/ie L6 no time not to lo v e."

- C h a n lie Hunphy

D

The key to these other worlds is love. The glue to connect these worlds is compassion.

Not the love of emotional bond or the compassion of empathy rather the love that is the knowing of all things and the compassion that is the becoming of all things, the state of love in which all "things" no lonqer exist and there is only all .

ear Gentleones In a world 1 ike ours every sound becomes a sign.

_________ The evidence is clear • change - growth transformation has got to hap­ pen soon, flh! soon.

This is a call to artists be­ cause we speak a language that is still free. A dancer can dance anyway hir body can move - an artist can create a visual (etc.) image from any available material - a musician can take the voice, the hands beyond the normal and create worlds of sound. . .

fiur compartmental language has fragmented love and compassion into stages and types and de­ grees. In our shattered aware­ ness of love and compassion we cannot see the whole of either.

New languages will have to be created to speak of a new hu­ manity. Our present modes of communication were developed to profess our current state of awareness and are limited by the same shortsightedness that is taking away our life.

"The wonld l 6 now too dangenouA fon anything leAA than utopia."

- SuckminAteA F u lle n My dream of community is not one of communes or collectives or nations. The closest form that I have experienced would be a faery gathering, a com­ munity that is a gathering that doesn't end.

Our present languages tell the story in bits - in passages 1n separate individual pieces with beginning and end. Our songs no longer (or never have) wheel - our speech is of us to them, them to us - our dance is too often one or two dancing as units or those on stage showing us.

T dream of a place where people gather, people who Aee the need

ion. u n ifie d undeAAtanding ok the univenAc - who know uncon­ d itio n a l love and want to be theAe. alu)aya - and just be to­ gether: without "goal," with­ out "action," without "Aystern" on. "intention" othen than to "know thya e l f and a l l elA e,"

Me have either lost or have yet to gain mutability - ebb and flow - connection/col1ection.

We think of ourselves as ouA bod y and all else as o u t b id e oua body.

This lack of con­ nection gives rise to thoughts

and wait . . .

'Soular Flare,

36

calligraphy by Light

. . . wait until unconditional love is a continuous experience. Then, and only then, the appropriate lan­ guages, actions, intentions will be known.

B

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Up until now I have moved toward this understanding alone with occasional couplings and groupings. A group moving in the same direction magnifies the move­ ment o f the individuals exponentially. A good analogy would be the difference between laser and ordinary 1 ight:

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When they do so, th ere is a tremendous Increase in the In ten sity of the lig h t produced.

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Wish the Sun to stand s t i l l Reaching out to touch a l l being Past the mortal as me Here we can be.

d ec a y

B A N IS H E D

AGE

Since putting out this call in August my friends and I have noticed a flowering in the heart department.

Last fall and this winter have revealed an accelera­ tion toward "the turning point." We're not there yet, yet it's now only a matter of time. It is happening.

I watch in delight as I see young stars assemble.

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- Peter R ussell, In The Global. Srain

Michael of Oregon

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e 37

AND

WHICH WAY YOU GOING BILLY ?

Their mutual truce holds up through the meal but that is due to the constant chatter of Bridget, who at six, dominates the conversation with a detailed report of Mrs. Marinara dropping her groceries on the street.

"The controversy over the gay rights bill in New York.

Coming up when News 4 continues" sings the TV in the living room and, as if on cue, father and son gravi­ tate to the couch, almost a symbolistic boxing arena.

Last week's match had ended in a draw. Tim, at eight­ een, is lighter and quicker. Bill has experience in his corner. Briefly Bill considers leaving now, going down to O'Hara's for a beer, but Kathleen does not ap­ prove of that and, in truth, Bill is a little afraid of his wife. Bill also wants to reassure himself that the argument last week over this gay issue was merely philosophical on his son's part and not an indication that Tim is like that. Bill has confided his worries about this to Kathleen and although her words were reassuring, the worry has stayed in his head. "If he wasn't one of them why would he care if that stupid ordinance passed? Why would he have questioned the opposition of the Catholic leaders and Hassidic Jews?"'

Bill has thought to himself all week. Tim had said that he believed all persons have a right to equal protection under the law. Didn't Tim understand that these people were perverts, that what they did was un­ natural, and that they gave up their right to be treated equally? If they wanted to be treated the same as everyone else than they had to be like every­ one else. Bill remembers the time when he was eight­ een and went, with three of his buddies, to that queer joint in Greenwich Village. He remembers the way the sissies looked at them, their eyes a mixture of envy and fear. For an instant another memory steals into his mind but he shuts it out as he has done countless times before.

'a hen we first see Bill Cassidy he is run­ ning up the porch steps on his way home to supper. Bill has inherited his fath­ er's stockiness and his mother's red hair. He has also inherited a jovial Irish personality so when he is stopped by a local merchant three blocks earlier to sign a petition, Bill says sure and scribbles his name on one of the smudged sheets. Bill writes neatly, a testament to the nuns in the Catholic schools he attended.

"Bill, did you remember the bread?" his wife calls out as he opens the door to the apartment.

"Yes, dear," Bill replies as he scoops his youngest child into his arms and kisses her on the top of her carrot colored hair.

As he watches them now he thinks about how much things have changed, how these people look normal for the most part, how the envy and fear are no longer.

"Daddy, why did somebody tell Mommy she could sell the Brooklyn Bridge?"

"I still don't understand why these religious groups are so self-righteous, so intent on making others live by their rules," Tim says quietly.

"That's just an expression, honey," Bill replies dis­ tractedly as he glances around the living room for a sign that his son is home.

"Because they're the right rules. What would happen if everybody was like them? There wouldn't be any world to worry about, that's what! And I don't want some sicky teaching my children!" Bill feels the anger beginning.

"Kathleen, where's Tim?" he asks as he walks into the kitchen where he kisses his wife and samples the stew.

"He better not be with those hoods who hang out behind the warehouse."

"Bill, why do you always assume the worst about him?"

Bill senses the subtle anger in her tone. "He's at the school with Father Foley working on that float for the parade. He told us last night he might be late for dinner." Kathleen is better educated than Bill and she has insured that her children know the differ­ ence between dinner and supper even if her husband does not.

"Oh, come on. Not even you are so blind as to think that out of three children, not one of them has ever had a teacher who was gay." Tim has an underlying note of sarcasm in his voice now.

"Well, if they were, they were smart enough to hide it which is what these people would be doing if they had any sense."

"Mom, I'm home!" Tim yells as he races towards his bedroom with an armful of green and white bunting. He does not acknowledge his father. They have grown apart during the past few years and, in the best of times, there is only an uneasy truce between them.

Neither of them is objective enough to see that this is a normal thing, a part of the process involved with growing up on the one side and letting go on the other.

"Why?" Tim asks. ings?"

"Why should they hide their feel­

"So that normal people don't have to face their per­ version."

"Why shouldn't you so-called normal people have to face the fact that your fear and ignorance is per­ verted?" Tim challenges.

38

"You know damn well whose perversion I was referring to," shouts Bill losing control of the situation again. He jumps up abruptly and forgetting his jack­ et, slams out the door.

"Jesus, if I didn't know better," Art begins. The pain behind Bill's eyes is unbearable. He thinks he might throw up any minute like he did that day. He stumbles out of the bar into the street. He makes it to the gutter where he vomits uncontrollably. Some teenagers, standing a few yards away, watch. "Another Mick who can't hold his liquor," says a black fourteen year old.

O'Hara's is every neighborhood bar in every city in the country. As Bill ducks in from the chilly night air he sees two of his cronies from the fire depart­ ment playing pool and he thinks of how stupid that remark of Tim's had been. The idea that one of the guys in here might be gay. Bill laughs out loud as he looks around at the regulars.

Inside O'Hara's, Jimmy the bartender asks Art what's wrong with Bill.

"Christ, it's the strangest thing," Art says. "The guy in that picture looked just like Bill's older brother. He died over twenty years ago. He was at the same seminary this guy is from. Christ!" Art says again.

"Hey Bill, what's so funny?" yells Art from his bar stool. Bill nods to a couple of guys as he walks in Art's direction. Jimmy already has a beer for him.

"By the way, the wife was saying at supper how it's about time the four of us went out on the town. And thanks for signing that petition today," Art says be­ tween gulps.

"How'd he die?" Jimmy asks.

"Appendix burst or somethin'. Nobody ever really knew. The whole thing was pretty hush-hush. Probably somebody fucked up in the seminary kitchen or some­ thin'. He was a hell of a guy. Best athlete around here. All State everything. They say Bill's mother died of a broken heart. And the old man drank himself to death. Jesus, that son of a bitch up there looked just 1 ike him. Jesus!"

"What's the petition for?" Bill asks as he thinks that Kathleen will be less than overjoyed at the prospect of spending an evening with Art and his wife. Kath­ leen considers both of them a little too "shanty" for her taste.

"It was to inform our councilman that he Goddamned well better not support that bill the queers are try­ ing to get passed," Art says. "All those faggots should drown themselves in the East River." For a minute the memory pops up again behind Bill's eyes.

He laughs along with Art to dispel it.

Bill doesn't get home urtil well after midnight. He walks around for hours trying to get the smell off of him. As he is sneaking in the front door he prays Kathleen is asleep. Something draws him over to the picture. Even in the dark he can see his brother John as he was that day so long ago. Proud and strong with his arms around Ma and Pop. "Who could have known, John?" Bill whispers to the picture. "You killed Ma, do you hear me? You broke her heart and she died.

You killed Pop, too. After it happened, after the truth came out, he tried to drown his shame in booze.

Why couldn't you have lied about it, John? Why'd you have to be that way, anyway? In high school you had more girlfriends than you knew what to do with. Why'd you have to be that way? Oh, we kept it hidden. We covered it up, covered everything up for you. Not even Kathleen knows the truth. The high school named a scholarship after you.

In memory of their great hero. Their all-American. And my son wonders why I think I'm such an authority. Why'd you have to be that way? Why couldn't you have lied? And where'd you get the Goddamned rope? I was only there to bring you some stuff from Ma that morning.

I was just a kid, John. A kid who had to look into the eyes of his dead brother. Eyes filled with fear and envy.

You took away my whole family, John. But you're not going to get my wife and kids. I'm not going to lose them like I lost you." Bill wipes the tears with the back of his sleeve.

"Hey Jimmy, how about another one?" Bill signals to the bartender. "My son has given me a hell of a thirst," he confides to Art. "Be grateful you have one," says Art. "All I have is five girls. Jesus, we worry about one or the other of them getting knocked up all the time. But I tell Betsy we brought them up good and they know they bet­ ter not come home with a bun in the oven."

Bill refrains from mentioning that Art's oldest was at least six months when she got married and the next in line could open her own abortion clinic. The people we invent to gloss over the people we know, thinks Bill.

It's now that a news bulletin interrupts the ball game.

The demonstrations at City Hall have heated up. There has been a shot. A pro-gay demonstrator has been hit.

Details are sketchy. The camera crew on the scene is rushing back to the studio with a videotape. The station will be showing it momentarily. More details are coming in. The demonstrator who has been shot is a young man. His condition is unknown. He is be­ lieved to have been wearing some kind of clerical collar. A priest or minister, eyewitnesses speculate, although that information is unconfirmed. Another announcement. The hospital has now given the identity and condition of the man. He is Michael Downing, a third year seminarian at St. Thomas's. He is in good condition with a bullet wound in his right leg.

"Why'd you have to be such a coward, John? Why couldn't you have held on?" Bill whispers. "And where were the gay activists then? Why'd your people have to be twenty years too late?"

"Bill, come to bed. Tomorrow's another day and I think maybe it's about time you started getting to know your son. It isn't often we get another chance in life," Kathleen says somewhere in the shadows.

"Serves him right!" says Art. "l/hat the hell was a future priest doing on their side anyway?" A picture of the twenty-six year old seminarian is flashed on the screen.

39

ung described an archetype as a "primor­ dial imaqe," formed of common group ex­ perience, implying that there should be shared, suprapersonal images for gays over time.1 He went on to say that "a primor­ dial image is determined as to its content only when it has become conscious and therefore filled out with the material of conscious [in this context, gay] experience."2 In other words, we are in part responsible for how an archetype or image means. Maud Bodkin took this further, saying, "I shall use the term 'archetypal pattern' to refer to that within us which . . . leaps in response to the effective presen­ tation in poetry of an ancient theme."2 From June and Bodkin emerges the methodology of these reflections: reading mythology and taking responsibility for inter­ preting that which "leaps out" to gay consciousness.

Beginning with literary myth, I simply want to de­ scribe the origins, heroes, and types of gaiety most explicit in story. From that I shall turn to inter­ preting the implicit in the mythic work of the Jungians, in the hope of beginning a dialogue as to gay mythic possibilities both in subculture and literature.

GAYMYTH REFLECTIONS ON MALE HOMOSEXUALITY IN MYTHOLOGY

by J. M ichael C lark ,PhD. C o py ri gh t by J. Michael Clark,

fine of the functions of myth as plot or story is the explanatory function. That most often explained is the origins of the cosmos and those beings and phe­ nomena with which the cosmos is filled. A second function of myth is to validate a socially accepted mode of being. Plato provided the classic myth of gay origins in the Symposium: gay men are halves of the primordial male; lesbians are halves of the primordial female; and heterosexuals arp halves of the primordial androgyne, or hermaphrodite.

Plato's myth carefully explained why gays existed (as halves naturally seek­ ing an appropriate wholeness) and evaluated male gaiety positively. Socrates and Plato are example types from antiquity of the gay male, preferring homo­ sexuality and generally disdaining procreative hetero­ sexual ity.2

Ph.D.

That homosexuality was so prevalent in Greece depend­ ed. according to the myth, upon a particular hero, Orpheus, who "soothed the Argonauts with means other than music, having introduced homosexual love into Greece, and . . . was in turn soundly hated by Aphro­ dite who considered him a competitor and rival."® 40

Orpheus had twice lost his wife; journeying into Hades, he emerged from the death/rebirth experience as a gay man.7 Heterosexual women were encouraged by Aphrodite in their anger at Orpheus to the extent that he was finally "attacked by Thracian women during a Bacchic orgy because of his coldness to them. They tore his body to pieces and threw his head into the ri ver.

Other matriarchal images emerge of a more valueneutral nature. Neumann describes the womb arche­ typal ly as anything enwrapping or surrounding, such as a city, a "gay ghetto," a gay bar (N 158). Uroboric incest, then, is symbolic re-entry into the womb, into death (N 17) wherein the gay male heroically unites life, death, and rebirth by consciously pene­ trating the dark, unconscious world of bar time and re-emerging to rejoin dayworld activities as dis­ cussed below (N 23, cf. 145, 165). Not only gay bars, but also gay promiscuity, reflect the archetypal mother. Neumann indicates that patriarchy and know­ ledge required the "development of opposites and the differentiatfion of! themselves from the original promiscuity" (N 109). The gay male, as son/lover of the unconscious, in actual promiscuity, penetrates the illusion (N 111). Insofar as males are distinc­ tion makers, the gay male, whose "principle of broth­ erhood" is in the resolution of opposites, becomes a slayer of distinctions, hence, scapegoat material (cf. N 147, 181).

Erich Neumann sees homosexuality as present: in other figures in myth: the homosexual relationship between Zeus and Ganymede aided Eros (Zeus' son) in the "war of liberation against the domination of the Great Mother," freeing him from his status as son/lover (oedipal homosexual) to relate freely with Psyche, a woman.9 With Neumann the transition from story and myth to psychology and the mythic begins. In making that transition, it is important to note other charac­ terizations and images in the story which will also have mythic import: the Outcast or the figure of the outsider, the criminal, as gays as a group are outside the moral order (as in John Rechy novels); the Scape­ goat , as a threat to a society unprepared for alternatives of sexuality and valuing (as in the Holo­ caust); Narcissus, as wrestling with self-love and death (as in The Picture of Dorian Gray); and the Hero, as one journeying through the death and rebirth of the self, transcending social values and achieving self-acceptance in "coming out" (as in Patricia Nell Warren n o v e l s ) . 10 These several types encourage the transition Neumann makes from actual narrative to the mythic archetypes which shape it.

That the gay male transcends oppositions is shown as increasingly positive. The Mother archetype also corresponds to the anima, internalised in gay men as wisdom, nurturance, insight and sensitivity, and ex­ ternalised in the seductions of womb-like bars.13 Jung himself reiterates the importance of the matri­ archal influence for these gay male possibilities, also discussed below.^ In this context it is impor­ tant to note also that "the relationship to the earth and to matter is one of the inalienable qualities of the Mother archetype."15 By implication the gay male has an arduous task of balancing to perform. As a homosexual he is tied to Mother, to earth; as a male he is tied to Father, to sky. Negatively, the male homosexual is a victim of the earth/sky, female/male conflict. Positively, he is an androgynous possibil­ ity. It is a difficult line to walk. Neumann in­ dicates that complete severance from the mother typi­ cal of heterosexual men requires violence, Girardian rivalry and doubling. The heroic gay neither "slays the mother" nor is he sacrificed to her (N 121, 168, 184). James Hillman has said that "the deliverance from the Mother occurs each time we can move through to a less personal . . . less moralized . . . concep­ tion,"!^ a transcendence achieved by the gay male not in violence to the mother but in uniting opposites, in both/and thinking (H 76), in non-procreative generativity and in the confusion of socially enculturated sex roles (N 14, 112). The gay hero remains son/lover neither losing his masculinity in extremes nor his consciousness in orgiastic unconsciousness, risking impotence, madness, and death as balancer (cf. N 60-61, 88, 91, 160).

In his major work Erich Neumann makes only one direct reference to homosexuality, but that single footnote in The Origins and History of Consciousness!1 opens the door to a gay reading of the entire mythic pan­ orama he describes. He says, "even today we almost always find, in cases of male homosexuality, a matri­ archal psychology where the Great Mother is uncon­ sciously in the ascendent" (N 141n). Foregoing nega­ tive pre-evaluations of either the archetype itself or of the homosexuality thereby signified enables re­ flections upon the Mother archetype to yield both positive and negative gay images.

From Oedipus to Freud and Jung the gay male is seen as the son/lover of the mother. As such he stands at the point of conflict between the matriarchal and the patriarchal in epic history (cf. N 82). He stands especially close to the feminine, maternal unconscious (N 47). The negative side of this conflict is re­ presented by his own death or impotence. In the case of Orpheus, "scorned Aphrodite . . . represent^] the Great Mother who amorously pursues the son and kills him when he resists" (N 91-92). Or in the case of Narcissus, the gay male who is unable to achieve suf­ ficient distance from the feminine, maternal uncon­ scious ends in suicide (cf. N 96, 121). Similarly, extreme machismo, symbolized by a "butch" shaved head, may indicate emasculation as much as "femme" trans­ vestism: "not only is the male sacrificed to the Great Mother, but he becomes her representative, a female wearing her dress. Whether he sacrifices his masculinity in [Delilah-style] emasculation or in male prostitution [transvestism, hustling! is only a variant" (N 59, cf. 91, 1 5 9 ). The gay male may re­ late to women as mother/sister and therefore sexually taboo. The "devouring mother" thus appears, termi­ nating lineage insofar as most gay men do not re­ produce .12

The gay hero also has a relationship, albeit far less complicated, to the Father archetype. Although he falls short of slaying the mother, he does slay the father by cutting short lineage and insofar as being gay stands in contrast to paternal, cultural values (N 172-174). In this role, he is a "socially valuable reformer" (N 176). In the non-procreative role, the gay male is the extreme father slayer and rebel. He thus becomes another type, the "perpetual youth" (N 160).

Through the "dragon fight" of mother and father emerges the heroic gay, "when he feels himself a stranger among women and at home among m e n (!]" (N 140). Neumann "indeed enables a gay reading of the 41

hero. The treasure of the heroic quest need not be a literal female. It may rather be the synthesis or integration of the self, freeing the inner captive, the feminine psyche, and wedding that captive in "coming out" (N 196, 198, 204, 210). As such, the marriage of the gay male to this internal feminine in integration yields a generative rather than a procreative creativity, still enabling a shift in in­ fluence from the devouring female (Mother) to the fruitful female (Psyche) and a shift in attitude from the female as mother to the female as equal partner, as sister (rather than as a subordinate, heterosexual wife; N199, 201, 211-212). The gay hero experiences rebirth through the synt

"there will always be a going downward, first with feelings of hopelessness, then, as the mind's eye dilates in the dark, with increasing surprise and joy" (H 191). Indeed, the entering into darkness and descending onto dance floors indicate reentry into the womb, the underworld, while the predominance of reds and blacks in crowded, squared-off, music-filled spaces suggests Dantean chambers. Moreover, anxiety precedes joy because ego is turned upside down in the underworld.

It is threatened by so many other equally attractive bodies and dissolved in the frenzy of drugs, alcohol, dance, and orgasm--"the heroic becomes

wife; N199, 201, 211-212). The gay he­ ro experiences rebirth through the syn­ thesis, becoming Neumann's third type of hero (N220, 243, 251). Summarily then, the gay male may go the way of Orpheus or Narcissus of he may venture into the promiscuous underworld and emerge as balancer of opposites and in­ tegrator of earth and sky, female and male. The latter aspects of the mother archetype require further delineation.

The most intriguing of these is that of thematernal unconscious and how the gay male archetypally experiences the un­ derworld.

James Hillman has indicated that myth is vividin the conceptual systems of fantasy--and gay men are notorious fantasizers--and is, moreover, inter­ changeable with psychology: "Myth­ ology is a psychology of antiquity.

Psychology is a mythology of modernity" (H 23). Implicit in this is that pen­ etrating the mythic yields psychologi­ cal understanding.

If the most vivid archetypal image for the gay bar cul­ ture is that of the Underworld, then exploring the archetype should yield an understanding of the phenomena; accord­ ing to Hillman, "entering the under­ world (gay bars] is like entering the mode of reflection, mirroring [a posi­ tive narcissism!, which suggests we may enter the underworld the bar] by means of reflection [narcissism!" to achieve understanding, at a preconscious level, of what it means to be gay (H 52).

To enable this reflective move, then, Hillman first seeks to restore positive evaluation to the mythology ofthe underworld, usually found only in dreams. Arguing against Christian moralizing of the underworld [read, gaysl, which denial creates disbalance, he says, "the house of Hades is a psychological realm now, not an eschatological realm later" (H 30, 84-86, cf. 1-22).

My contention is that, this psychological realm lies not only in dreams but in the peculiar awake state of being in gay bars. This nightworld is indeed co­ terminus with the dayworld, and its pluralism, honored by being lived, can yield wholeness for the bar fre­ quenter just as dreams do for others (H 30, 31, 42).

the psychopathic: an exaltation of activity for its own sake' (H 111, 102); "In niqhtlife it is not meet to act and speak like men awake . . . the villain in the underworld is the heroic ego, not Hades. It is the ego who does the damage" (H 113). Hence, only relinquishing self-consciousness, ego, and the heroic parading of self enables one to submerge oneself in the psychically healing orgies of dancing and cruis­ ing, enjoying without the necessity of ego-gratifica­ tion, transcending the need for a "trick" to join in the spectacle. Hillman even goes so far as to indi­ cate that relinquishing the ego enables the psychic openness which allows love then to happen (H 196, 200). In other words, ego or self-consciousness in the underworld or the bar prevents the very love it seeks as the dynamics of the underworld seek to de-fuse ego--"in the underworld all is stripped away,

Hillman's descriptions may simply be read from a bar perspective rather than a dream perspective. The moods of entrance anxiety and release are the same, 42

As mentioned above, it is the presence of the anima which enables gentleness and receptivity in men.

According to Jung the anima is the feminine aspect of masculine consciousness, which, if repressed in child­ hood, may emerge as homosexual inclinations.^7 In fact, acting out homosexuality may be one means for restoring an otherwise culturally discouraged balance; certainly resolution of the male and female within is r e q u i s i t e . T h i s reunion of opposites for Plato's hermaphrodite halves requires heterosexual mating.

The male must project his anima upon a female and mate with it.

In many ways homosexuality seems an almost healthier functioning. For the gay male the reunion of opposites occurs in the owning and integra­ tion of self as well as the interchangeability of gender role in sex. As such male homosexuality re­ flects the internalization and acceptance of the anima, the feminine attributes, enabling a self-con­ scious, generative creativity and a freeing love without projection. Thus integrated, the homosexual male may better appreciate female heroes and better sympathize with the feminine in fantasy.

The more a harmonious balance is internalized, the less need distorts external females.

That the anima is part of an internalized balance in the gay male suggests the other archetype, the homosexual androgyne.

and life is upside down" (H 43). Sex role, form and expression are confused and interchangeable in this "imaginatively fertile" realm (H 45).

Reading the underworld from a gay bar perspective thus begins to penetrate its functions. It begins by dis­ solving the ego. In the end, however, relinquishing ego enables participation, love, and healing of the ego. Hillman says, "depression in our civilization is partly a response of the soul to its lost under­ world" (H 74). Regaining the underworld in gay bars assuages the grief--"the images made in dreams [in the bar/underworld] fulfill the desires of instinct" (H 120). Indeed, bar/underworld images are erotic and sexual in function; polyvalent--uniting opposites of male and female, workaday facade and bar self; and anti-rational and polygamous--embodying a different logic than in non-bar life and a greater multiplicity of likenesses and possibilities (H 57, 60, 125-126).

Ultimately, the bar/underworld images move the cele­ brant through sensuality to psychic insight, to a different kind of self-knowledge, more felt than verbalized (H 192).

Importantly, the images Hillman describes as part of the Underworld archetype which lead the celebrant through ego loss to participation, sensibility, and healing have an exact correspondence in the bar scene: The gates of initiation are guarded by doormen and card checks (H 180 f). Blackness, representing the Mother, the unconscious, and death, is the temporal location of bar life in the night as circles and con­ tainers, representing the death/rebirth cycle and the unity of opposites, describe the physical space and the psychological function (described above) of the bars (H 145, 160-162, 189). Liquidness and fluidity, representing the move away from literal reason to reverie and reflection, is found in the alcohol and frenzy of the bars (H 152). Forgetting the dayworld to make other kinds of associations is literalized in couplings which have no need for continuity into the dayworld (H 154-155). The absence of time is en­ gendered by the bar itself, removed from the world bv the music, drink and sex (H 156 f). De-structurinq is given a-moral , promiscuous enactment (H 163). Revel­ ry is the very nature of bars, particularly discos, in which the gay male is trickster and masked cele­ brant in either gender guise (H 175 f). Mud, diarrhea, and piss as great levelers and equalizers appear in anal sex, rimming, and "water sports"; levelling occurs according to the truism that even­ tually "everybody fucks everybody" (H 183-184).

Finally, smoke and smells, "the undersense," are evident in the odors of poppers, cologne and sweat, as well as in the musky mists created by disco smokemachines (H 187).

The archetype of the androgyne points back to the dual sexual nature of Plato's hermaphrodite before Zeus' splitting created either heterosexuality or homo­ sexuality. It indicates a perfect, pre-sexual state where the opposites of masculine and feminine are fused (N 8, 13). This primordial fusion of opposites is creative and generative, not genital or obscene.

The active influence of the anima in the gay male en­ ables a gay form of androgyny. June Singer describes the homosexual androgyne as "conscious of the ebb and flow of energies, the need for experiencing both kinds of movement: that which was active, progressive, and tended toward order; and that which was passive, re­ gressive, and tended in the direction of creative chaos. Both are necessary to the dynamic of liv­ ing."22 Combing Jung's gay tenderness and receptivity with Hillman's underworld traveler in a gay male yields such an androgyne.

The archetypally gay is, above all, one of whom bal­ ance is demanded. He is a tightrope walker, forced to live between and connected to both poles. He must balance maternal unconsciousness and self-conscious­ ness, youth and maturity, nightworld a-morality and dayworld morality, masculinity and femininity. He must live not only in edenic beginnings and one night stands but also facing outward to the vorld in con­ tinuous relationships. His is a polytheism of sex­ uality. As balancer he must seek integration through a chaos of options and a richness of experience. He relinquishes control of the tightrope to experience mythic, archetypal complexity, yielding personal wholeness. The validity of these reflections may be illustrated by a brief myth-critical review of gay male fiction popular during the 1970s.

In short, the archetype of the Underworld is asso­ ciated with the archetype of the Great Mother. Hill­ man argues that the psyche requires the chaotic un­ reason of the underworld to balance the expiatory reason of the dayworld (cf. H 57). In the underworld ego must be relinquished to instinct and sensuality; only then is love and reintegration of the ego possible. The correspondence of images between the underworld and gay bars suggests the possibility that gay men have a waking means for entering the under­ world and emerging differently self-known. In life outside dreams, then, the gay male becomes a balancer of night and day. This demand for balance is also evident in two other matriarchal archetypes, the Anima and the Androgyne.

While it is not within the scope of this essay to write a thorough myth analysis of any one gay novel, citing several post-Stonewall examples may point a direction for future examination. Sandra Scoppettone's Trying Hard to Hear You contains a devouring mother or "dragon lady" and her double, crowd homophobia, as well as both homosexual failure (suicide) and success (coming out). John Reid's The Best Little Boy in the World illustrates the journey, the parental dragon fight, and self-transformation/acceptance. Patricia 43

Nell Warren's The Front Runner is a similar panoramic review in which a literal death and rebirth reflect the dying to heterosexuality and guilt and the rebirth to open, gay self-acceptance and integration of the hero. Edmund White's Nocturnes for the King of Naples explores the hero's relations to the gay underworld and to the father/lover en route to integration in middle age. Larry Kramer's Faggots, Andrew Holleran's Dancer From the Dance, and John Rechy's The Sexual Put!aw and Rushes, explore without apology the gay un­ derworld of bars and orgiastics in terms reflective of the Hillman reading above.

N O T E S ]C. G. Jung, "Psychological Aspects of the Moth­ er Archetype," in Four Archetypes, trans. by R. F. C. Hull (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970), p. 12.

21b i d . , p . 13.

7Maud Bodkin, Archetypal Patterns in Poetry (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963), p. 4.

A similar review of pre-Stonewall fiction is possible, the best study of which is Steven Adams' The Homo­ sexual as Hero in Contemporary Fiction.23 Adams'” con­ cern to depatriarchalize evaluations of homosexuality leads him to elucidate certain types in gay fiction which take on archetypal proportion Insofar as they contradict the nelly, lisping, limp-wristed stereotype (A 12, 19, 105). Enculturated polarization of gender identity creates both edenic picaroes and underworld types (A 16-19, 27, 129). The defiance of extreme machismo, of the cowboy-outlaw-hustler in works such as Rechy's (Ity of Night as well as in the fascination with 1eather and'"a"u'thoritarian uniforms, reflects the latter (A 20-21, 24-36). The other extreme is equally defiant. The "queen," as challenger of the old moral order (fathers) pierces through facades of virility and relativizes gender lines as in the work of Jean Genet (A 188, 190-192). As slayer of distinctions and taboos (fathers) gays are scapegoats (A 47, 57). Homo­ sexuality Itself is depicted as a foreign land and as the journey through an underworld to transformation of the self in the works of James Baldwin (A 38-43). The homosexual becomes heroic when he integrates his gaiety into his personality, wedding masculinity and feminintiy, acting and reacting, dayworld and nightworld, and when he transcends society's values in self-affirmation and the achievement of an integrity of personal valu­ ing, able to live on the tightrope (A 51-52, 174-175).

^Plato, The Symposium, trans. by W. Hamilton (New York: Penguin Books, 1951, pp. 59-62.

5Ibid., pp. no, 1 0 2 . ^Martin Greif, compiler, The Gay Engagement Calendar 1981 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980), 30 January 1981.

70vid, "Metamorphoses X:l-B5," trans. by R. Humphries, in David Burrows, et al., eds., Myths and Motifs in Literature (New York: Free Press, 1973), p. 203.

O "Burrows, et a l ., p. 459.

9Frich Neumann, Amor and Psyche (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971), pp. 104f.

10Burrows, et a l ., pp. 225, 357, 403, 458. ^E r i c h Neumann, The Origins and History of Con­ sciousness (Princeton! Princeton University Press, 1970). Hereafter noted parenthetically as N plus page number. ~7Jung, pp. 16, 19. n Ibld., pp. 15-16, 19, 28.

The movement is thus possible from story to archetype to story. The self-knowledge gained through the archetypal journey is self-acceptance and integrity.

Plato offers a summary lesson, "the way to happiness for our race lies in fulfilling the behests of love, and in each finding for himself the mate who properly belongs to him; in a word, in returning to our primor­ dial condition."*-^ Homosexuality is one such mythic mode of being.

141bid ., pp. 20-21.

15Ibld., p. 42. ^J am es Hillman, The Dream and the Underworld (New York: Harper and Row, 1979), p. 74. Hereafter noted parenthetically as H plus page number. i7E. A. Bennet, What Jung Really Said (New York: Schocken Books, 1967), pp. 120, 122.

18Ibid., p. 123.

I9Ibld., pp. 124, 126.

Ac kn ow le dg em en t

•-^Robert May, Sex and Fantasy (New York: Norton and Co., 1980), pp. 29, 200-201.

The material in this paper was or ig i n a l l y presented, in a slightlv di fferent format, at the F o ur th Annual S y mp os iu m on Appr oa ch es to Interdisciplinary' Studies, The Gr a d u a t e Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, 17 Fe br ua ry 1982.

It represents one of a va ri et y of sources with wh ic h the au thor is seeking to de v e l o p a "post-Christian" spiritual or theoloqical stan dp oi nt uniq ue ly appr op ri at e to and i n ­ deed deri ve d from qay ma le ex pe ri en ce (for a n ot he r example, that of the na ti ve Am er ic an berdache, see RED, issue #40, pp. 22-30).

W. W.

2^Bennet, p. 128.

22

June Singer, Androgyny: Toward a New Theory of Sexuality (New York! Anchor Books, 1977), p. 286, cf. pp. 278-295.

23

Stephen Adams, The Homosexual as Hero in Con­ temporary Fiction (New York: Rarnes and Noble, 1980).

Hereafter noted_ parenthetically as A plus page number. ™ Dlato., p. 66.

44

A POSITIVE TIME

by S cott H um phries

M

ith the advent of AIDS we entered the darkest time in modern gay history. Yet this is a very positive time as well. We are presented with the rare and vital opportunity to re-examine our lifestyle, values and morals as gay men in modern

news are so similar day after day, year after year?

We need to replace the news with books and video tapes, TV shows and movies that affirm that the planet is healing. Certainly the world's prospects look bleak but we need only recognize that there is an op­ portunity to learn and to heal from any circumstance no matter how dire it may seem. This is how we will begin to shift the negative tide of awareness sur­ rounding ATDS. AIDS is a tremendous opportunity and challenge for individual and cultural growth and needs to be recognized as such.

society.

We have gone within, a quiet time of introspection and meditation. We often fail to see this and say instead that we have gone back into the closet or have been forced back there by a hostile society who, like us, does not understand AIDS and who, again like some of us, blame gay men for the disease.

4

•

Spoken or written individual and group affirmations are one way to set our thought and speech in a more positive direction. There are many courses and books that offer guidance on the design and use of this powerful tool. Specifically for the recovering body, especially in the instance of AIDS, You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay is recommended. An audio tape, AIDS: A Positive Approach!, is also available.

How can we be forced back into a closet when it is doubtful that a closet exists? Consider, if each of us is on a personal path of self-discovery and if we find ourselves attracted to the same sex we can either act on this, deny it or hide it— just like we can act on, deny or hide any ot^er aspect of life. Our know­ ledge and actions exist at the proper degree for us in this incarnation and we need not hold our own level of growth, being or sexuality against ourselves. So being "in a closet" is a negative and useless descrip­ tion that has no bearing. We are humans on the plan­ et, learning our life's lessons. Somehow, in the course of language, we have come up with negative phrases such as "building up walls," "burning our bridges," "living in closets," etc.

For us as gay men to begin to see the light and regard this time in our history as positive, we need to keep in mind that we are not going back into a fictional "closet." We are simply entering a quiet time of re­ flection and meditation. This time is ripe with in­ sights and lessons vital to our growth and evolution as individual gay males and as a gay subculture. Our own positive growth as a fraction of society will have a healing effect on the whole. With this type of energy spiraling outward, AIDS and the planet can be healed.

Society as a whole often perpetrates these negative thought and speaking patterns without encouraging a balance of positive counter thought. We are taught as children by the adults around us to complain, to not say how we really feel and to negate ourselves and our experiences. Gay men, as part of society, may fall prey to the same pattern of thought but there really is no "closet" to return to. Our prior history has been established. We already exist.

Positive growth is also a result of personal examina­ tions of individual behaviors and motivations. Selfexamination can be painful. It is often overwhelming when thoughts or feelings surface that we are not sure bow to deal with. We fear the hurt of such a confron­ tation without realizing that to go beyond the imme­ diate pain will bring relief and tremendous freedom.

We also fail to realize that life itself is a balance of joy and sorrow and to deny one for the other is to only be half alive. Enjoy your discovery--the laugh­ ter, tears and lessons of this vital time of transi­ tion. In the midst of any "dark age" are the seeds of a sparkling renaissance. And ours has already begun.

To defuse the patterns of negative thought we have been taught, we need only to reprogram our mental and vocal faculties. A good way to begin is to throw out the old habits that continue to support negativity of any sort. We can begin with the televised and printed news, especially the media reports on AIDS. Journal­ ism is designed to record breakdowns in the natural flow of events. The news is therefore tragic and creates a negative affirmation that perpetuates more of the same. Have you noticed how the stories on the 45

ark looked at the peaches resting on the ledge of the picture window above the stereo as he put Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto on the turntable. His father had brought them home the day be____________ fore from a fruit stand in a neighboring town. His mother had told his father he was a "fool" to make the mistake of purchasing peaches that were so hard and unripened. Mark shivered as he recalled how his mother had acidly spat out the word "fool."

He sat down on the red wing chair next to the stereo and pulled open the tab from a can of Coors. He took a large gulp of the beer and swished it around his mouth. It tasted terribly bitter. He wished he were drinking smooth Johnnie Walker Black instead, but, un­ fortunately, he could not afford such expensive drink.

He knew he was going to think about the young husband on the beach at Westport, and he feared that would depress him. He had been up all day, and he sensed that thinking about the young husband on the beach would cause him to crash. He tried to concentrate on the Tchaikovsky. How dramatic the opening measures were. He thought of Mary Astor as the concert pianist in Jhe Great Lie, one of his favorite dopey flicks.

WouTd’n 't. it be swell to have Mary Astor sitting in his suburban living room playing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Number One at the Steinway, her hair flying, her demeanor proud and imperious and very camp. Rut. there was no Steinway in the living room, and Mary Astor was probably dead.

He thought of the young husband. Had he known the man during the New York years, and had he had sex with him? He looked most familiar.

If only he could be having sex with the man now. if only he could be hold­ ing his muscular, salt-encrusted body. Mark wondered if the man was making afternoon love to his wife in Westport at this very moment. Not that it would be passionate lovemaking, Mark was certain. The man's wife had such a spare, unattractive body and in general appearance seemed totally cold and frigid.

The couple had hardly spoken to each other all after­ noon. No wonder the young man had cruised so indis­ creetly. Most likely he was desperate. Possibly as desperate as overweight, overwrought Mark.

"I'm so tired all the time.

"It's the medication," Mark's mother said wearily.

Mark's sister came into the living room.

Susan shuffled off to her bedroom. Mark was relieved.

He felt guilty about the way he often snapped at her.

She couldn't help being crazy.

It was in the genes.

That's what a supercilious doctor had said on tele­ vision the past Sunday morning. Some very "elegant" research had been done in Sweden recently.

It was all due to a flaw in the genes; all the craziness in the world was due to that.

"Why doesn't Eddy call me anymore?" she asked his mother, who was standing at the stove in the adjoining kitchen boiling two beef weiners. His mother was on a high protein diet.

"I don't know.

Perhaps he's been ill."

"No one calls me anymore."

Mark got up from the wing chair and went to the stereo and turned over the Tchaikovsky record. He walked into the kitchen and popped a valium behind his moth­ er's back. He got another Coors out of the refrigera­ tor. He came back to the wing chair and sat down on it. He opened the beer. He felt a terrible longing.

Susan had been restless the past few days. She had been home from the psychiatric hospital for three weeks, and each day she seemed to grow more restless.

It was hard on Mark, this restlessness of Susan's, her complaining, her being so childlike. He really had to escape it all, had to return to New York, the city he'd fled when the drinking got so bad.

A terrible longing for what? The handsome young fath­ er on the beach, of course.

If only he ___ That's all my life is, Mark thought bitterly, an unending stream of "if onlys." He jumped up and went to the picture window which overlooked the development. All the houses were so banal, their design so uninspired.

They just didn't "go" with the Tchaikovsky.

"I think I'll lie down for awhile."

"You do that, Susan," his mother said, sounding as if she were thinking of something else.

46

I

And so Tony had taken the safer course and had married the woman on the beach. Mark felt sad when he thought of how cruel Tony's wife had been to their children, the boy and the girl. That was after Tony had told her he was going for a "long swim." Tony's son had accidentally kicked sand in his mother's face. She slapped the boy swiftly and with considerable force.

The boy whimpered, but she ignored him. Then she reprimanded her daughter for some imagined offense.

Then she lay down on her beach mat and pretended to sleep. Mark saw that her eyes were half-open, and that they were focused on her husband who was now at the water's edge.

He was wearing a navy blue tank suit. He dove into the cold water of the Sound and swam far out. When he had passed by Mark on his way to the water, he had smiled ironically and had almost spoken. Mark's moth­ er remarked that the man looked "strange." Mark want­ ed to choke his mother when she said that.

Mark had thought of following the man into the water.

Maybe they could make love under the sea. Rut, of course, it was impossible. The man's wife was so pregnantly there; Mark's mother and Susan were there; there was the crowd on the beach. Maybe they could meet in New York someday. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

Mark turned away from the picture window and moved to the stereo. Tired of the Tchaikovsky, he shut it off.

He went to his bedroom. He closed the door. The bed was unmade. He lay down on the bed. He decided to masturbate. He would masturbate with the image of Tony before him. He would try to bring it all back, try to make it happen again. But as he furiously mas­ turbated he couldn't remember what Tony looked like.

Instead, he thought of an ugly old man who had abused him in the baths one night.

L o n g in g M IC H AE L S W IF T

He climaxed.

He felt empty.

He felt alone.

He cleaned himself, pulled on his pants and zipped up his fly. He went back to the living room. Susan was now sitting at the dining room table painting some shells she had brought home from the beach with red fingernail polish. She looked up blankly at Mark as he entered the living room. He turned away.

The husband on the beach. Had Mark slept with him once? And it suddenly came to Mark. The man's name was Tony. Yes. Tony! Tony something it was.

He took off the Tchaikovsky Number One and put on the Tchaikovsky Number Two~] The recordsTad come as a set. The Second Piano Concerto was more subtle than the First, he thought. Wouldn't it be lovely to hear it performed live. Maybe he could go into New York for a concert. But that cost money.

They had met at Julius's, a gay bar in Greenwich Village one winter night. It was snowing heavily that night and there weren't many men in the place. Just as he and Tony were leaving the bar the snow stopped falling and the moon came out. It had been magical.

Mark was trying to become an actor at the time, but it was hard, especially if you couldn't pass for straight. He forgot about how hard it was when he drank and went to bed with men he met in bars like Julius's.

He went to the wing chair and sat down. He took a sip of beer. It was lukewarm. He lighted a ciga­ rette. He coughed on the smoke. He listened to his sister mumble to herself in the dining room. Suddenly he felt exhausted. He began to doze. He crushed out his Marlboro in the plate from France which his mother used as an ashtray. He began to dream. The dream images were indistinct. He thought he was performing a pas de deux with a muscular young man in navy blue tights, and there was applause in the distance.

Tony. He had an ingratiating, boyish, butch voice.

He worked for an advertising agency. He was a copy­ writer, a job Mark had thought about getting someday if acting didn't work out. Tony had graduated from the top of his class at Yale; he had been a scholar­ ship boy. He was going to be a great success, he was sure. That is if they didn't find out he was queer.

Mark remembered how he had turned Tony on to poppers that night in the apartment on West 55th Street. Tony went crazy. The sex had been fantastic.

47

draw in gs by Alladres

i4 1

s a

)OT T*

by Assotto Saint

It's about preparation and Preparation H, appropriation committees and procreation duties.

I t ' s about insurance and hospitalization, ruropean ghosts crammed tight in a Calvinist closet, insulation and latex protection, keeping the 1 id on and turning the lights off, getting control of yourself and covering your ass.

It's about what you got, got the taxman in the mailbox and ice cream in the freezer.

It’s about hoods and hooks, crosses and knives, keeping the shades down to keep out of sight.

It's about white rights law and order ford fairlanes and barbed wire borders, us and ours me and mine, fences, defenses, offenses and IRA's.

'Bout who's to say who'll p’ay, who made the eight hour day.

It's about camps and prisons, wards and pensions, race issues, blood tissue, and family conventions.

'Bout trust funds and blood lines and first things first, privilege and honor and who got there first, first national first family first baptist first choice, who has the power has the voice.

When the time comes the tough keep time the rest get going, a life don't rhyme.

It's about mothers and babies nature and nurture, fucking the neighbors and fucking the future.

often trying to rid myself of this black gay image i kept galloping after an alternative reality like a horse with blinders/ at times collapsing in the act excuses & apologies foaming bitter at the mouth/

one morning on a camping trip in the Catskills i opened my eyes & looked at the skies i looked at the sun i looked at the mountains i looked at the birds i looked at the trees i looked at the grass i looked at the river somethings just meant to be/ i 1ooked at myself...

eversince 1 applied my mind to ride on life just as 1 am/ there' s much magic in this black gay nitty gritty/ hungry for qround i eat its every possibility whol e with the agony & the glory/ something just meant to be/ ■—A"

it takes more than a manicure to unpurple a day's hulling from slender nails meant for curling and perming no Caterpillar cap on that lad more accustomed to mousse than deer hunting getting caught between fried okra and fettucini good ole boys and Chippendales a barefoot Rockette and a harder pace sometimes means living with lipstick on cornbread gravy-sopping white ____ red on the edges and feeling blue inside like all modern rebels do

^7

by Randy Brieger

K

*

V

I spot the first blue jay of spring this morning, March 23.

Grab in my arms this short-haired boy perched at the window in the sun.

He grips all my fingers & toes, rude sap! ings.

I love this boy, love in branches, in the angles of stars as morning fades behind.

In blue eyes I see he joyrides jet trails.

0 transient friend: fly well, stay" cl ear, go home, brave.

by Bru Dye

by j.w.m.

48

CBS Interviewer Barbara Walters: Anita, what would you do if one of your own children came to you and said they were homosexual.

Anita Bryant:

by Michael Hathaway

I would tell them that I love them, and that God loves them, and that they are an abomination.

she told us in heaven there'll be streets made of gold & huge mansions for every one & i said is that all/what do people do there & she said you can do anything you want in heaven & i said do you mean i could ride dinosaurs & sing with mama cass & she said uh 1 guess so

May the man of the house make you suck his cock each day as he lathers and scrapes his face.

May he splash it with Old Spice first.

May Old Spice make you want to come.

May he hum Lead Kindly Light as you comply.

May he leave you trying on your knees to pick the right door on The Price Is Right.

May he call to talk calibers in your mouth and tell you to be on your knees by six.

May you try even harder to make your home a warm and welcoming abode.

May you reach up and turn the knob at six.

May you find out at seven it isn't him.

May and May May May May May

by Li M in Hua (ror My Guest Who Caught Her Rrother Holding My Hand Whilst Her Back Was Turned)

you glance up the rear-end of a Ford see most of your daughter and a friend. the friend have dizzying tits and hair. a big, wet thing slip out and fall. it smell like cloves. the kids be watching from the front. you fight the urge to climb inside.

For 4000 years your turned-up nose licensed funeral pyres, ropes, electric chairs, & gulllotines.

May you read your rangy, wired son the riot act to clean his room.

May he wave a thick one in your face saying Come on, Ma. You know you do.

May you do.

May he keep his headset on.

May the wallpaper pattern look mature.

Fven now, above Lo Wu on ad hoc nights your turned-up nose squeezes snug into armpits to help squads aim when brothers stand too long beyond a final dribble.

May your proud and watchful second son show you the turban he sketched himself.

May his peer group call him Mary Lou. May he love you most of all.

May he run off with strangers and with dogs.

May you always be able to get him back and sign for the best of help with shock if that is what it takes.

May he be cured and keep his whole room clean.

May he try to make it utterly well in the dark with the fishing rods and douche.

May it work.

May it be your fault.

Tonight I'm glad yours wrinkles without a match, switch, or gun; but I'll not push my luck to stick out my tongue because r'0 years ago Mother told me that those who make faces freeze.

Reprinted from Self and Society: European Journal of Humanistic Psycholoav.

Vol. 4, N o . '5, Sept.-Oct. 1 9 8 5 . -----

from the "Ragefairy" section of The Curse of the Future Fairy 49

n

^Ap^y Each morning, mad at God's clumsy hand, he plucks his eyebrows clean to paint instead perpetual surprise,

I°T

""TyJohn Jones

by David Chura

.

~~

No personal mail today, just the weekly circular bringing some color into my 1i fe: PINKY PIG WHOLE BOSTON BUTTS, all kinds of beef franks, SLICED PEACHES 2 for $1 (the cream you pay more for) and a bone-white, bone-dry bank statement.

then shapes his raven hair stiff, wiry as sculptor's armature: some days, ocean's riffled shore, others, brushed back gleaming black like the shoeshine's best, or like, today, an African queen's high piled crown.

And in this Ethiope's ear, a silver crescent.

r

\ i-l»*J4b

>

Once on the street he leans his lean limbed body into whatever music he hears: catcal1s , admiration, cluttered harmony of the world about itself, to boldly dance down his freedom.

Not a circle

by Winthrop Smith point to point returned

^ Y fr

Not a square corner point divided, Not a circle

o e > y ^

seeming seamless track turned Not a square sedentary sided, Not a circle

1f we try, 1 mean really make the attempt to fly, honestly study to find the way; if all of us put our wings together, and flap like there's no tomorrow, if any of us really want to fly, if there's a real bird among us anywhere, we could be the phoenix of this hell fire and escape

swelling welt of stress Not a square soft except the surface, Not a circle rounded off for less Not a square well planned pairs of purchase, Not a circle worshipped night and day Not a square worshipped as the linker, Not a circle faceless facing light Not a square traced to taunt the thinker.

no passengers, just the pack of us pressed upon each other for the strength of numbers feathers rustling in the hot wind, praying to Christ that we've made the phoenix this time, instead of icarus twilight's ass gleaming round and pink in a blue serge sky — sinking down deep entering star-spangled night anus deep dark moan.

by larry d. burk

analese dreams penetrate bittersweet darkness: day, night, dawn, dusk i'll open to you, my sun.

50

r

.. *

.faMUl

(

n

J

In the name of sex he wanted to know me the loss of touch is more cruel than careless touch

I told him

and I cannot get used to being touched warmed into a fucking wildness only to be left alone

You have brought me education You have caused me to school myself: Necessarily.

The why's and wherefore's, where never before I had a thought:

alone and crazed looking for it hungry for it as it was here and gone too soon for me to know what it really was something he took out of his pants and shoved into me like a rushed criminal with a knife taking from the poor what he can't get from the rich rich made him take it he took it and gave it and took it

by Michael Mason

You have brought an education To my smile: Now I can see all the con-men Conning me - their guile gilded with dimples - and nothing is simple I had a thought.

You have brought an education that comes to fruition in its rampant tuition.

Necessarily shed of naivete.

and I don't know I don't know when the loss of touch is more cruel than careless touch

Tonight the crescent of the moon Becomes full too soon.

And in the glow T stand and know The demand and cost of this I live.

The rescinded gift, the braggart loan.

Your voice on the telephone Resplendent with the latent adjectives Of your 1ife with him.

He wanted to know why I suffered so and I answered, No. I have no reason when the loss of touch is more cruel than careless touch

Poetry waits in line to relieve its bladder.

What does it matter just how you dance If you piss your pants -

when lovers are dying of poisoned sex

A slave to the rhythm.... ?

when I dream of men I see on the street my eyes bring them no closer than my need Am I alone because I am different or different because I am alone?

How alone, how different?

by Christopher wiley grow roots, muscle under effeminate hyacinth, brother mandrake, choke lilies in sheer competition or engage in inexorable business of depth in the life garden

Am I to search other men their eyes hands thighs for spirit hiding in form?

like soldiers manuveri ng for moist realty, they are unwieldly growth.

by Nancy Packes Modern mode entertainment Experience intense sensation Divert the conscious stream from intervention Take two pills and seek attention 51

M

T *

eep -bn the heart of my being thane in an i n f i n i t e welt. of Love. I allow thin Love to Alow to the su rfa ce. It _________________ ($ X t& 5 my heart, my body, my mind, my consciousness, my very being, and radiates out from me In a lt d irectio n s' and comen back to me m ultiplied. The more Love I une and g iv e, the more 7 have to g iv e, the supply In endlenn. The une of. Love maken me f e e l good, i t In an expression of my inneri joy. 7 Love mynelf th e re fo re , I take Loving cute of my body. I Lovingly feed i t nouris(ting foodn and bevetagen, 7 Lovingly gtoom i t and dress i t , and my body Lovingly responds to me with vibrant health and energy. 7 Love mynelf therefore^ I ptovide mynelf with a comfortable home, one that f i l l s a lt my needn and is a pleasure to be in . I f i l l the rooms with the vibration of Love no that a l l who e n ter, mynelf included, w ill f e e l thin Love and be nourished by i t . ' I Love mynelf th e re fo re ,7 work at a job that I tru ly enjoy doing, one that uses my crea tiv e talents and a b i l i t i e s , working with people that I Love and that Love me, and earning a good income.

I Love, mynelf therefore^ 1 behave and think in a Loving way to a il people for 1 know that that which I give out comen back to me m ultiplied. 7 only a ttra ct Loving people into my world fo r they are a m irror of what 7 am. 7 Love mynelf th e re fo re , 7 , fo rgiv e and to ta lly re lea se -the pant and a l l fxint experiences and 7 am f r e e . I Love mynelf th ere fo re , 7 Love to ta lly in the now, experiencing each moment as good and knowing that my future i s bright, and joyous and secu re, fo r 7 am a bcLoved ch ild of the universe and the u n iv erse Lovingly takes care of me now and fo rev er.

And no i t in .

Reprinted from "Heal Your Body" by Louise 52

L .

Hay

AIDS UPDATE

by P at B ro w d e r, MD

The patients who benefited most from the drug were those who could withstand its toxic effects, which in­ clude bone marrow suppression with a drop in both red and white blood cell counts and allergic reactions.

Some patients have had to he taken off AZT when they developed an infection requiring medication which could not be given with AZT.

The most publicized and perhaps the most promising drug to emerge from current research in AIDS treatment is azidothymidine (AZT). Classed as an antiviral agent, the drug acts to prevent replication of the AIDS virus in the human host. Originally derived from the sperm of fish, AZT is now produced synthetically by a 16-step process that takes several months, ac­ cording to the manufacturer, Burroughs Wellcome of Re­ search Triangle Park, NC.

R IB A V IR IN

While receiving somewhat less public attention than AZT, ribavirin, another antiviral agent, has also re­ cently made headlines.

Its manufacturer, ICN Pharma­ ceuticals of Costa Mesa, CA, released preliminary re­ sults of a therapeutic trial conducted in HIV + ts patients with lymphadenopathy syndrome, but who did not have AIDS itself. Of 52 patients taking 800 mg of ribavirin, none developed AIDS; however, six of 55 patients who took 600 mg of the drug developed AIDS and 10 out of 56 who received a placebo developed AIDS. Few serious side effects were noted, the most common being insomnia, irritability and intestinal di scornfort.

AZT, to be called Retrovir when it is licensed for prescription use, achieved headline status this past fall when its first successful use in a controlled clinical trial was reported. On September 20, 1086, a national study was halted when it was found that among 145 patients with AIDS/ARC treated with AZT only one death had occurred, compared to 19 deaths among 137 similar patients who were given only a placebo.

Since then eight more people have died in the placebo group. The additional deaths in the placebo group oc­ curred after they were switched over to AZT, the majority occurring soon after the switchover, suggest­ ing that they had progressed beyond the point where AZT could help them.

ICM °harmaceuticals already markets ribavirin under the tradename Virazole for use as an aerosol in the treatment of a form of viral pneumonia in infants.

While the drug in capsule form is not available in this country except in studies licensed by the f'DA, it can be purchased in Mexico, although the reported price is stiff: $30 a box for twelve 200 mg cap­ sules. According to Sam Murdoch, in correspondence to RFD, more information about ribavirin can be ob­ tained through Project Inform in San Francisco (415) 928-9293.

While it is acknowledged that AZT is not a "cure" for AIDS and that its beneficial effects in the individual patient apparently decline over time, there has been considerable pressure put upon the FDA to permit early release of the drug for general prescription use. An FDA advisory panel recommended January 16, 1987, that the drug be put on the market, but there is concern that indiscriminate use will unnecessarily expose persons who cannot benefit from the drug to its toxic side effects. Burroughs Wellcome has tried to re­ assure the FDA that they will release the drug for distribution only to patients who can clearly benefit from it, but the chairman of the advisory panel which voted 10-1 for early release of the drug believes that such a policy would be very difficult to enforce.

(The chairman was the lone dissenter.)

Officials of ICN Pharmaceuticals cited the need to quell unsubstantiated rumors about the efficacy of the drug in defending the early release of data from the ribavirin study. The company's stock, which climbed steadily in anticipation of the release of the ribavirin data, declined in heavy trading the day the data was released.

To date, the drug has only been tested in patients with full-blown AIDS who have survived one episode of Pneumocystic pneumonia and patients with advanced ARC. 53

OTHER THERAPIES Several other drugs that may have a place in the treatment of AIDS or in persons who are HIV+ have also been receiving media attention. IMREG-1, manu­ factured by IMPREG, Inc., of Cambridge, MA, and New Orleans, LA, is classified as a biological response modifier and will soon be tested in 150 patients in seven medical centers. It is designed to restore the ability of damaged "helper" cells to fight oppor­ tunistic infections, the primary killers in persons who have AIDS. Unlike AZT and ribavirin, IMREG-1 is produced naturally by cells of the immune system, although normally in very small amounts. No informa­ tion about toxicity was reported.

1r. Murdoch, who provided RED with information about tibavirin also writes that penicillamine may have a role as a viral grown inhibitor. He states: Penicillamine is an old drug which has long been used for rheumatoid arthritis and Wil­ son's disease. It can cause transient re­ duction of T4+ cells, however, and for that reason is not yet recommended for AIDS patients. In ARC patients or asymptomatic antibody positives it would probably slow down progress of the HTLV3 [HIV] infection, or possibly halt it in some early cases.

2

AIDS PREVEN TIO N VACCINATION EDUCA TION

Immunization against the AIDS virus offers the most hope for eventual eradication of the disease, in the same way that smallpox has become an illness confined to the history books. Up until very recently, how­ ever, researchers were predicting the development of an effective vaccine to be several years away, since the usual sequence in developing a vaccine for human use involves extensive pre-testing in animals.

The most immediately effective as well as the most controversial means of combating AIDS is recognized by almost all concerned to be education. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop made headlines this fall when he called for explicit sex education, including in­ formation about the use of condoms, in the nation's schools, beginning as early as the third grade. Under fire from conservative Republicans and members of the religious right for advocating "promiscuity," Dr. Koop issued a partial retraction of his earlier state­ ment, recommending that explicit educational efforts about AIDS should not begin until junior high school.

Because of the urgency of the need for a vaccine and the expense of animal testing, some researchers are urging the FDA to permit testing in humans as early as this year, or as soon as enough vaccine can be manu­ factured for the stody to be done. Because of the long incubation period (five years or more) for AIDS to develop in HIV+ individuals, it may still be years before it can be conclusively determined if any vac­ cine is effective, although it should be relatively easy and quick to determine if the vaccine is capable of stimulating an antibody response that might combat the entry of the virus into the host.

In response, school officials and local and state educational boards have started to address the diffi­ cult problem of teaching children about the danger o* AIDS without enraging their parents. A survey spon­ sored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report in January which stated that AIDS education is already being offered to junior and senior hiqh school students in 54? of the districts surveyed. A few cities reported offering such education in grade school.

Of more immediate usefulness are medications that stimulate the Immune response, either to fight the AIDS virus or to prevent or eliminate the infections that are part of the AIDS syndrome. Scientists in "a ire and France are reported to be testing a means of stimulating the immune system in patients infected with the AIDS virus but who do not have the disease.

Neither the exact nature of the stimulant nor the stage of testing has been reported, although the study has been in progress since September, 1986.

Meanwhile, another report issued by the Louis Harris polling group and sponsored by Planned Parenthood, stated that a majority of teenagers surveyed had had sexual intercourse by the time they were 17. Few had ever used any form of birth control. And while 59% had had sex education classes at school , only 39% re­ ported having had instruction that included birth control information.

54

education. The archdiocese of Los Angeles, which has an extensive outreach program to minister to persons with AIDS, announced in December that it would not al­ low an AIDS education group to hold seminars in its churches because the group favored the use of condoms.

Archbishop Mahoney of Los Angeles stated that "in the issue of AIDS, such use [of condoms] implies either heterosexual promiscuity or homosexual activity," neither of which the Roman Catholic Church approves.

The archdiocese withdrew its support from AIDS Project Los Angeles because of the condom issue.

Adult education in safe sex will also move into a new phase as the TV networks and individual stations be­ gin airing condom advertisements. The nation cur­ rently buys $150 million worth of condoms a year, with sales up 10% in the past year. The focus of condom ads will be safety, not birth control, considered to be a more controversial subject. Some ads will tar­ geted toward women, who currently buy AO1’ /, of the con­ doms sold.

Not everyone is happy with the new frankness in AIDS

THE SAN FRANCISCO M EN TS H EALTH S T U D Y

3

A ID S TR A N SM ISSIO N

3. Dildos and Douching. Of several ancillary sexual practices inquired about, only the use of dil­ dos and douching prior to receptive anal/genital con­ tact carried a significantly higher risk of sero­ positivity, approximately one and a half times that of those reporting no such practices. Fisting and finger insertion carried a slightly lesser risk which did not reach statistical significance.

A major stumbling block in AIDS education has been a lack of certainty about how the virus is transmitted during sexual contact, specifically what sexual prac­ tices are "high risk." A recent article in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) reported in mid-January the results of a study of over a thousand single men 25 to 54 years of age living in the 19 census tracts of San Francisco where AIDS has been most prevalent. Specific questions were asked about the number of partners, oral/genital and anal/ genital contact, both insertive (active) and receptive (passive), as well as other practices such as douch­ ing, fisting and the use of dildos. Risk was deter­ mined based on serpositivity (presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus), which was found to be 49% for homosexual men and 46% for bisexual men in the popula­ tion studied. Subjects who admitted to needle-sharing were factored out of the study.

Of some interest in the study are the numbers of men reporting specific practices. Of the 799 homosexual/ bisexual men studied, 312 reported having anywhere from 10 to 49 sexual partners in the previous two years. Only 83 had had one or none in the same time period. Of the 729 on whom there was reliable data about anal/genital contact, 442 reported both recep­ tive and insertive contact, 72 reported receptive only, 116 insertive only, and on reported practicing no such contact. Of the 514 who engaged in receptive anal/genital contact, 44Q practiced finger insertion, loo used dildos, and only 38 engaged in fisting. 39 reported no use of the ancillary practices.

Three factors emerged as having a significantly high risk for AIDS transmission (seropositivity) : 1. Multiple Sexual Partners. There was a strong positive association between numbers of male sexual partners and seropositivity, ranging from I P ’ for homosexual/bisexual men who had had no male sexual partners in the two years prior to the study, to 7 1 ? for those having 50 or more partners.

What can be learned from such a study? First of all, only the sexual practices of the subjects for the two years prior to the study were questioned. In addi­ tion no information was obtained about kissing, generally considered to be low risk, or the use of condoms. Given these limitations, it can reliably be deduced that unprotected receptive anal/genital contact carries the highest risk of any sexual prac­ tice common among gay men and, alonq with the use of dildos and douching, should be avoided entirely. Ad­ ditionally, both the study and common sense indicate that limiting the number of one's sexual partners to the minimum, preferably one, is the safest reasonable option.

2. Receptive Anal/Genital Contact. Among those reporting no anal/genital contact or only insertive contact, the seropositivity rate was less than 27%, whereas those reporting receptive anal/genital con­ tact had a seropositivity rate of greater than 45*.

When adjusted for the number of male sexual partners, the relative risk of receptive anal/genital contact was found to be more than twice that of those report­ ing no such contact.

55

Even while the study was being conducted, an intensive educational program in the bay area to encourage homosexual/bisexual men to limit the number of sexual partners and the practice of unprotected anal/genital contact was underway. The authors of the current study state that the effects of these changes on HIV seroconversion rates since 1 will be reported in a subsequent communication.

was capable of infecting cells taken from the colon and rectum but not those taken from lung, ovary or pancreas. °ecause the virus can also be transmitted during vaginal intercourse, the researchers speculated that cells of the vagina or uterus are also capable of harboring the virus, although no research has been done to test this hypothesis.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has made head­ lines recently not for its research but because of rumors of sabotage and low morale. Federal investiga­ tors who were appointed to look into charges of mis­ conduct at the CDC reported in December that they found possible minor tampering with experiments, but nothing which would seriously hamper the agency's work. Poor staf morale was also found and was at­ tributed to a lack of team spirit, inadequate leader­ ship and demands and pressures which led to internal competition rather than cooperative efforts.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE HE ALLrRGY AND INEECTIOUS DIS^AS^S The findings of the $ p Men's Health Study reported above are supported by some basic research sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Its researchers reported in Decem­ ber that the HIV virus is capable of infecting cells which are part of the lining (mucosa) of the rectum and colon. Prior to this it was thought that the virus infected only cells of the immune system and that trauma to the mucosa was necessary for infection to take place. This new information suggests that the HIV virus first infects the mucosal cells which then are capable of transferring the virus to cells of the immune system.

In response, the CDC reorganized its AIDS research program, returning two researchers to their original positions with the Division of Viral Diseases. They had been working under the Director of the AIDS pro­ gram, Dr. James Curran, who has been the target of criticism by several scientists.

The studies were done on mucosal cells removed from the body and grown in tissue culture. The HIV virus

A variety of instances of discrimination against pW A ’s has been reported in the past several months, most recently a move by Cook County officials in Chicago to prevent a physician with AIDS from prac­ ticing medicine at Cook County Hospital. Under fire from the AMA and other medical groups for caving in to ill-informed public sentiment, the county's of­ ficials agreed to allow the physician to continue to be employed at the hospital as long as he did not have direct patient responsibilities. Legal action is be­ ing considered by the physician against the county.

PWA's. Pne business, a Sunset Boulevard nail salon, has already been charged with violating the law for refusing to give a Dedicure to a person with AIDS. In Florida, the ACLU announced that a PWA who was fired from his job with Broward County because he had AIDS has been reinstated as a county employee with all benefits, including the county health insurance plan, and been awarded S1QD,000 in compensation for medical expenses, personal injuries sustained and attorney's fees. The decision reached in federal district court also requires the county to pledge to follow federal civil rights laws in dealing with other employees with AIDS-related problems. The Florida judgment follows similar rulings in Massachusetts and California affecting a telephone company employee and a school child, respectively.

More positively, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission banned job discrimination against PWA's, stating that AIDS is a physical handicap and that employers can be required to pay damages for dis­ missing PWA's from their jobs. In addition, the rul­ ing prevents employers in the state of California from using AIDS as a reason to refuse to hire someone who is able to work. The ruling puts into effect statewide a similar anti-discrimination law enacted

by West Hollywood, CA, which discourages businesses from denying employment, housing and services to

On the negative side, Senator Jesse Helms with seven other congressmen has filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court saying that federal law does not protect PWJA's from being fired. The argument was filed in a Florida court case involving a school teacher with tuberculosis. A federal appeals court has ruled in 56

groups. Helms and Dannemeyer were among a group of lawmakers who this past summer introduced legislation to kill a District of Columbia bill banning insurance discrimination against PWA's and persons who were HIV+. The six lawmakers who filed the brief with Helms and Dannemeyer were Robert Dornan (R-CA), Farl Hutto (D-FL), Helen Rentley (R-MD), James Hansen (R-tIT), Larry Craig (R-in), and Joe Rarton (R-TX).

tuberculosis. A federal appeals court has ruled in the case that contagious disease is a "handicap" and that the teacher could sue the school board which dismissed her. A spokesman for Rep. William Dannemeyer, one of the congressmen who joined Helms in filing the brief, stated that the Florida case was an opportunity for defenders of the homosexual community to use this as a loophole in their defense of these

AIDS EDUCATION OR CON­ VERSION; IS THIS A DILEMMA't

by P at Brow der,M D

We in the gay communities have allowed the religious right to monopolize the word "conversion" and re­ strict it to its own distorted meaning. But what is currently taking place within our communities is a genuine conversion and worthy of the name. Gay people are changing their behavior: witness the decline in other STD's, such as gonorrhea, among gay men in metropolitan areas. The free-wheeling gay 1ifestyle stereotypical of the 70's is becoming a thing of the past, and we are better for it. And not just because we are reducing the spread of AIDS. To be sure, fear of AIDS is a powerful incentive and, like the fear of being hanged, "concentrates the mind wonderfully."

Fear of hell does the same for the religious right but seems to be its primary motivation.

We have, on the one hand, the Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. C. Fverett Koop, calling for pre­ ventive education regarding AIDS even among school children, and on the other hand, religious fundamen­ talists calling for complete abstinence from sexual relations outside of (heterosexual) marriage, tanta­ mount to a call to religious conversion. But are they necessarily talking about two different things?

There is solid evidence that gay communities in several locales have responded to the threat of AIDS by a kind of conversion, if not religious in belief, at least religious in fervor and constancy. Gay people have heard the word preached that indiscrimi­ nate sex is a threat, if not to their souls, then to their lives, and a genuine conversion of morals, that is, of behavior 1n sexual relations, has occurred.

And this happened not in spite of education, but be­ cause of it.

What gay people can take pride in is that we have moved beyond fear to an appreciation of some very positive human virtues that have always been a hall­ mark of civilized societies: fidelity, self-control , the right use of pleasures. AIDS, despite the rantings of the fundamentalists, is not God's punishment visited on perverts; it is rather nature s not-sosubtle reminder that the virtues of civilization have very definite survival value for all persons, gay or straight.

VV 7

What interests the religious right is a conversion limited to sexual abstinence except for those legally married. Tt is not so much interested in stopping the spread of AIDS as it is in using the threat of AIDS to muster support for its own fundamentalist agenda. This explains the opposition of the reli­ gious right to AIDS education, whose primary goal is combating the spread of AIDS by whatever means are safe and practical.

57

ear RFV, T lave on a fianc.li in the. l u l l countsin o f Texas and 7 ivas most in te re s te d in your wsnter 1985/6 issu e dealing with A7VV.

Carl Va ug hn Frick

7 am a pro fessio n a l with a background in national health care and in 1984 7 sta rted 6omc o4 the f i r s t "independent" research p ro jects going, using rib a v irin and iso prrnossne. _ Since then 7 have d istrib u ted a la rg e quantity and va riety of s c i e n t i f i c litera tu re, to doctors, resea rch ers, A7VS organizations and pa­ tie n ts around the country. Where we are in a general sense is t h is : Anyone with an HTLV3 in fe c tio n has a very good chance (q u ite possibly a strong p ro b a b ility ) of eventually d eclin in g to the advanced stage of the disease syndrome ca lled A7VS. Anyone with an HTLV3 in fe c tio n should be on a v ira l growth in h ib ito r known to be e f f e c t iv e aga in st that v iru s, which is re la tiv e ly sa fe for most people.

At p resea t, I can only recommend th ree such drugs: rib a ­ v irin , AIT and penicillam ine. All th ree block rep lica tio n d iffe r e n t mechanisms and can y ield "negative" on v ira l iso la tio n testi) in some cases. Only penicillam ine is approved and available in the United S ta tes, and is r e la tiv e ly inexpensive. In ARC patients most have shown complete suppression of HTLM3 a c tiv ity on this drug, la stin g as long as 6 weeks a ft e r discontinuance of therapy. Penicillam ine is an old drug which has long been used fo r rheumatoid a r t h r it is and '-’ils o n 's d is ­ ease. J t can cause tra n sien t reduction of T4+ c e l l s , however, and fo r that reason is not yet recommended for A7VS p a tien ts. 7n ARC patients or asifmptomatic antibody p o si­ tiv es i t would probably slow down progress of the HTL1/3 in fe c tio n , or possibly halt i t in some ea rly ca ses. The e a r lie r an HTLV3 in fe c te d person gets e f ­ fe c tiv e thera­ py, the b et­ ter.

58

R ib a v ir in i s a v a i l a b l e in Mexico bu t TCM (the. manu­ f a c t u r e r in South ern C a l i f o r n i a ) ha 5 r a i s e d th e p r i c e 60 much, t o ovqa $30 a box {ox. t w e lv e 200mg. c a p s u l e s , t h a t t h e o n ly p r a c t i c a l and a v o i d a b l e way t o g e l I t i s th ro u g h P r o j e c t Tnform In San F r a n c is c o . T h at o r ­ g a n iz a t io n can a l i o g iv e you d e t a i l e d in fo r m a t io n on drugs and t h e r a p y r e s u l t s .

P r o j e c t In b orn (415) 9289293, Tom J e i f e r s o n , Kdmi.nl6tA.aton..

Many di.6ea.6e6, and a v a r i e t y o f u n h e a lth y c o n d it io n s and p r a c t i c e s , can b e im m u n osu p p ressiv e and h en ce c o f a c t o r s In t h e d i s e a s e syn drom e. But t h e r e a l l y im ­ p o r t a n t o n e s , in a g e n e r a l 6 e n s e , a r e CMU (c y t o l o m e g a lo v ijw s ) and EBV ( E p s te in - B a r r v iA u s ). B oth o f t h e s e a r e s o common a s t o b e u b iq u it o u s and a l l ARC and AIDS p a t i e n t s h a v e t h e s e v i r a l I n f e c t i o n s .

A n or­ m a lly fu n c t io n in g immune sy stem w i l l k e e p them In c h e c k b u t when HTLV3 I n f e c t i o n has p r o g r e s s i v e l y d e s t r o y e d immune fu n c t io n in g and has t a k e n i t down t o a c e r t a i n lo w l e v e l o f co m p eten cy , b o th CMU and EBV w i l l a u t o m a t i c a ll y a c t i v a t e .

In t h e p r o c e s s o f a c ­ t i v a t i o n e a c h w i l l c a u s e I n v e r s io n o f t h e h e l p e r s u p p r e s s o r c e l l r a t i o and fu r t h e r d e s t r u c t i o n o f T4+ c e lls .

T h e r e f o r e ARC and ATVS p a t i e n t s , who by d e ­ f i n i t i o n h a v e lo w immune c a p a c i t y and h e n c e have CM!/ and EBV a c t i v i t y , m ust b e on a drug (e . g . o r a l a c y c l o v i r or i t s d e r i v a t i v e , VHPG) w hich I n h i b i t s CMV. Tn a d d i t i o n , an yon e w ith a dam aged immune s y s ­ tem ivould h ave to b e on an immune s t im u la t o r ( e .g . i s o p r l n o s i n e , VMCB and o t h e r s ) In o r d e r t o a t t e m p t t o a s s i s t t h e immune s y s t e m ' s n a t u r a l fu n c t io n in g in b a t t l i n g CMV and o t h e r o p p o r t u n i s t s . And t h e r e a r e su ch a w id e v a r i e t y o f v e r y n a s ty o p p o r t u n is t s - - v i r a l , b a c t e r i a l , p a r a s i t i c a l , and fu ngal..

P a t ie n t s m ust b e t r e a t e d f o r e a c h on e a s i t a p p e a r s .

Tmmunostimulants s h o u ld g e n e r a l l y n o t b e ta k en w ith o u t t a k in g an HTLV3 i n h i b i t o r , how ever.

I n c u r a b le p la g u e s have b een arou n d in human h i s t o r y f o r a v e r y lon g tim e and t h e an sw er f o r t h e u n in fe c t e d has alw ay s b een e s s e n t i a l t y w hat i t i s now— i f y o u 'r e s t i l l u n in fe c t e d , g e t o u t o f t h e c i t y and s t a y o u t u n t i l t h e p la g u e i s o v e r .

C o n s id erin g th e p e r s i s t e n t and c o m p e llin g n a tu r e o f th e m ale sex d r i v e n o t many a r e g oin g t o b e a b l e t o s t a y In t h e c i t y f o r y e a r s on end and not. h av e t h o s e few moments o f u n c o n t r o lle d p a s s io n w ith an i n f e c t e d I n d iv i d u a l w h ich r e s u l t s in I n f e c t i o n w ith a f a t a l d i s e a s e .

S a fe s e x i s g r e a t and has In f a c t r e s u l t e d In m arked r e d u c t io n o f t h e r a t e a t w h ich t h e d i s e a s e i s s p r e a d in g in t h e a f f e c t e d p o p u la tio n o f h om osex u al m a le s . But w e 'r e n o t t a l k i n g a b o u t m onths. W e're t a l k i n g a b o u t y e.ars.

It is n ’ t j u s t a few o f t h e urban gay men who a r e I n f e c t e d - - i t ' s most, o f them . A-i tim e g o e s by t h e p e r c e n t a g e s o f gay men In Mew Y ork, San F r a n c is c o a i d o t h e r urban c e n t e r s who a r e I n f e c t e d g e t s h ig h e r and h ig h e r .

T h is means t h a t v i r t u a l l y e v e r y g ay man a v a i l a b l e f o r s e x w ith som eon e new in t h o s e a r e a s i s l i k e l y t o b e i n f e c t e d w ith a f a t a l d i s e a s e . Most guys who t h in k t h e y can s t a y In t h e c i t y and come ou t a l i v e , In t h e lo n g ru n , a r e k id d in g t h e m s e lv e s .

A bout t h r e e y e a r s ag o I had d in n e r w it h a p r o f e s s i o n a l f r i e n d in Mew Vork C ity .

7 t o l d him T d i d n ' t s e e how he c o u ld s t a y t h e r e and a v o id i n f e c t i o n .

He c o u ld n ' t l e a v e , he s a i d , fo r a l l th e p r e d i c t a b l e r e a s o n s a fa m ily to s u p p o r t and a p r o f e s s i o n a l p r a c t i c e he c o u ld n ' t l e a v e .

I t t a k e s so long to b u il d one up.

"Oh," s a i d T, " y ou 're l i k e a l l th e o t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l s T know. You can s t a y and d ie bu t you can't l e a v e . " Y e s te r d a y (and t h i s m orn in g ) he c a t t e d up to sa y he has ATVS and w an ted an u p d ate o f th e l a t e s t drug th e r a p ie s .

He has to t e l l h is w i f e , move o u t o f th e h o u s e , make arran g em en ts f o r h is p r a c t i c e , g e t on the b e s t t h e r a p y a v a i l a b l e and p r e p a r e fo r e v e n t u a l d e ­ c l i n e and d e a t h .

T h is has becom e such a common s t o r y .

Hone o f t h e s e drug c o m b in a tio n s h a v e b een shown t o b e a c u r e b e c a u s e none has r e s u l t e d In t h e f i n a l e r a d i ­ c a t io n o f HTLV3 I n f e c t i o n .

A " cu re" f o r ARC and AWS p a t i e n t s w ould a l s o n e c e s s a r i l y I n c l u d e r e s t o r a t i o n o f immune co m p eten cy so as t o e n a b le t h e p a t i e n t t o r e s i s t o p p o r t u n i s t i c I n f e c t i o n s , and f u r t h e r immune sy stem dam age w hich som e o f t h o s e o p p o r t u n is t s can c a u s e , su ch a s CMV and EBV. T h ese drugs do r e s u l t In im p rov ed c l i n i c a l c o u r s e s f o r m ost p a t i e n t s .

P ro b a ­ b ly t h e e a r l y s t a g e c a s e s h a v e t h e b e s t c h a n c e o f a r r e s t i n g t h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e d i s e a s e syn drom e. They m ust s t a y on m e d ic a t io n , m ore o r l e s s , c o n t i n u a l l y , h ow ev er, b e c a u s e when t h e y s t o p , t h e b a r r i e r t o HTLV3 r e p l i c a t i o n i s rem oved and t h e v i r a l I n f e c t i o n p ic k s up w h ere i t l e f t o f f , e n l i s t i n g t h e s u p p o r t o f w hat­ e v e r " a l l i e s " may b e p r e s e n t , In t h e form o f o t h e r d i s e a s e s o r im m un osu ppressing c o n d i t i o n s . O b v io u sly , on e h as t o be t e s t e d t o know w h e th e r h e has an HTLV3 I n f e c t i o n o r n o t , an d t o be in an In fo rm ed p o s i t i o n s o he can d e c i d e w h eth er he ua n t s t o a t t e m p t t o s lo w o r a r r e s t t h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e d i s e a s e syn drom e.

T 've s p e n t t h e p a s t s ix months h e r e in th e c o u n tr y .

L earn in g how t o s u r v iv e in ways c o m p le t e ly ne.w to me.

T l i k e I t much b e t t e r than a l l t h o s e y e a r s in t h e c itie s .

I l i k e t h e s o l i d , p r a c t i c a l s t u f f in your m ag azin e su ch a s Jim S k ip k e y ' s a r t i c l e "Homes le a d i ng A d v ic e ." T h e r e ' s b een a l o t o f t a l k l a t e l y a b o u t ur ban g ay men le a v in g c i t i e s t o liv e , in r u r a l communes o r g rou p s on r a n c h e s and fa rm s.

T h e r e 's n o t much rea son t o le a v e I f y ou 're a lr e a d y in fe c t e d , b ecau se o f th e l e v e l o f m e d ic a l c o r e y o u ’ r e l i k e l y to have to r e q u i r e , b u t fo r t h o s e who a r e n o t y e t i n f e c t e d , fo r most, o f u s , i t ' s a b o u t th e o n ly way w e 'r e g oin g to be a b l e f o come o u t o f t h i s p la g u e a l i v e .

B e s t w is h e s , Sam Murdoch o t h e E d it o r :

The CVC and o t h e r r e s e a r c h e r s a r e moving t o expand t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f AT VS. U is f e l t th a t th e p resen t de­ f i n i t i o n i s much t o o r e s t r i c t i v e and c a u s e s p u b li c r e p o r t in g o f c a s e numbers t o b e m is le a d in g . A ll r e ­ s e a r c h e r s a g r e e t h a t the. t r u e number o f c a s e s o f HTLV3-caused i l l n e s s e s and f a t a l i t i e s a r e v a s t l y g r e a t e r th a n t h e o f f i c i a l l y r e p o r t e d f i g u r e s s o o f t e n r e p o r t e d in n eicsp a p ers.

Mo on e knows t h e t r u e f i g ­ u r e s , b u t I w ou ld t a k e a g u ess t h a t t h e c a s e s a r e a t l e a s t 10 tim e s t h e numbers r e p o r t e d .

V ir g in ia A puzzo, d ep u ty d i r e c t o r o f t h e M.Y. S t a t e Consumer P r o t e c t io n B oa rd , sa y s t h e m y s t e r io u s , e p id e m ic and d e a d ly ATVS i s t h e p e r fe c t d is e a s e fo r qu acks: "Any time, you h av e a d i s e a s e su rro u n d ed by ig n o r a n c e , f e a r and no c u r e , y o u ' r e g o in g t o g e t a p r o l i f e r a ­ t i o n o f p r o d u c ts and 'sn a k e o i l ' t h a t w i l l e x p l o i t t h e c o n c e r n s and f e a r s o f a w o r r ie d p u b lic .

The ATVS e p id e m ic w i l l p r o b a b ly m atch a r t h r i t i s in g e n e r a t in g q u a c k e r y ."

M oreo v er, t h e CVC i s p r o b a b ly c o r r e c t when it. p r e d i c t s t h a t u U thln a few y e a r s t h e e p id e m ic w i l l b e more th an 10 t im e s w o rs e th a n i t i s t o d a y .

(from The A t l a n t i c P r e s s , A t l a n t ic C ity , Mew J e r s e y , Ja n u a ry S, 19&7, p a g e 2) 59

I t Mould be a p p r e c i a t e d i f t h i s q u o t a t io n w ould be p r in t e d in th e n ex t issu e, o f RFV_. As a lo n g tim e su p ­ p o r t e r o f th e p u b l i c a t i o n , T am c o n c e r n e d a b o u t th e numerous r e f e r e n c e s to th e "cu re" o f A TVS by means o t h e r th an m e d ic a l w hich a p p e a r e d in i s s u e #49. On p age S, t h e r e is r e f e r e n c e to "A c o u r s e o f l i g h t . . . f o r th o s e With MVS/ARC." I t i s p u r p o r t e d t o b e ”. . . i n s t r u c t i o n on a p o s i t i v e s e l f - h e a l i n g f o r t h e body and mind . . . " On page. 10, t h e r e i s l i s t e d a s e t o f c a s s e l t .e s c a l l e d " T h resh o ld o f Power" a l l e g e d to t a k e t h e ATVS v ic t im throu gh t h e r a p e u t i c p ro g ram s, im plying c u r e .

On page 22, more ta p e s a r e o f f e r e d t o b rin g a b o u t a c u r e f o r A TVS b a s e d on su ch d u biou s s t a t e m e n t s l i k e " a l l i l l n e s s i s s e l f - c r e a t e d " and "we a r e ea ch 100% r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e v e r y e x p e r i e n c e . . . " T here i s an ech o o f Coue ("In e v e r y d ay in e v e r y way T am getting b e t t e r and b e t t e r " ) .

immune system, and their ability to muster adequate defenses against AIDS and cancer are well-known, if not very wel1-understood. Norman Cousins' book, Anatomy of an Illness (New York: W.W. Norton, 1979), is a thoughtful and balanced exploration of this subject from the perspective of a patient, albeit one who is unusually perceptive and articulate.

The currently accepted Western model of disease with its solid roots in 19th century physiology has its most notable successes in illnesses whose causes are well-known and whose mechanisms of disease production are both wel1-understood and susceptible to bio­ chemical manipulation. The problem is that only a limited number of illnesses fall within the narrow boundaries of this description, many of them in­ fectious in nature. Even a disease, such as tuber­ culosis, for which we have highly effective drugs, succumbed not to conventional medical therapeutics, but to public health measures such as adequate sani­ tation, good housing and nutrition.

In a d d i t i o n , t h e r e a r e many q u e s t io n s r a i s e d by Jam es M a rtin 's a r t i c l e "H ealin g O u tsid e t h e S y stem ." With r e g a r d s t o th e cu rin g o f ATVS, he p rop ou n d ed a " b lo o d c le a n s in g p r o c e s s " - - a p r o c e s s w hich in c lu d e s such d i v e r s e th in g s as en em as, l o o s e f i t t i n g undyed c o t t o n c l o t h i n g , c r y s t a l s ( o f w hat v a r i e t y ? ) , t h e n o n -a b ­ s o r p t io n o f u l t r a - v i o l e t ra y s and Norman V in c en t P ea l i s m - - t h a t w i l l u l t i m a t e l y l e a d to t h e cu rin g o f A lp s.

I t i s c r u e l to l e a d v ic t im s o f t h i s d i s e a s e to b e l i e v e t h a t o u t la n d is h d i e t s and th e pow er o f p o s i ­ t iv e th in k in g can r e a l t y h e a l them.

I agree with Mr. Spangler that the number one concern ought to be "tender, thorough, complete and sympa­ thetic care" for persons with AIDS. That, combined with vigorous educational efforts as well as basic research, will some day allow us to look on AIDS as a disease of the past. But "complete" care means a willingness to look beyond conventional therapy at newer (sometimes actually older) therapeutic and supportive approaches which complement what conven­ tional therapy has to offer, which we must admit at this stage is not very much.

U'e a l l w ish fo r r e l i e f from th e sc o u r g e o f ATVS upon i t s v ic t im s .

E d u cation on sane and s a f e s e x p r a c ­ t i c e s w i l t stow t h e grow th o f new c a s e s e v e n t u a l l y .

C on tin u ed r e s e a r c h to fin d a l l t h e p i e c e s o f t h i s m e d ic a l p u z z le i s a b s o l u t e l y v it a l ,.

T en d er, th o r o u g h , c o m p le te and s y m p a th e tic c a r e o f th e v ic t im s i s th e Number One im m ed ia te c o n c e r n .

This, however, does not mean it is easy for the in­ dividual person with AIDS or cancer to figure out what to do in his or her own unique case. Certainly the most hassle-free option is to leave the decisions to the experts in conventional medical therapeutics, asking only that they keep interested parties fully informed of what is going on. Indeed, since a major portion of the therapy currently used for these diseases is experimental, informed consent is a re­ quirement backed up by federal regulation through Institutional Review Boards. But in my opinion, this is not the only option, and looking to alternative therapies, while troublesome to the medical pro­ fession and a cause of concern to interested friends and relatives, may be the most rewarding choice.

H owever, we ca n n o t a l lo w ou r ru sh t o c u r e and com­ passion to cause us to support, to o f f e r , and p erh a p s a p p e a r to s a n c t io n , th e " p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f p r o d u c ts and 'sn a k e o W " t h a t m e r e ly e x p l o i t s th e ATVS v ic t im s and to o f f e r , f o r a p r i c e , f a l s e h op es o f g e t t i n g cu red.

I f th e v a r io u s sy stem s w r it t e n up in th e r e c e n t REV w ere o f su ch g r e a t v a lu e , why a r e th ey n o t r e c o g n iz e d f o r t h a t v a lu e and u sed m ore e x t e n ­ s iv e ly ?

And p l e a s e , do n o t g iv e me th e an sw er, "b e ­ c a u se th en a r e o u t s id e th e sy stem ."

Very t r u ly y o u r s ,

Such a choice, however, is hampered by a serious lack of information about alternative therapies. While it is probably too much to expect existing medical jour­ nals to take an interest in publishing such informa­ tion, there is no reason why persons interested in these therapies could not form information networks locally, perhaps including even regional hotlines analogous to the Cancer Information Centers funded by the federal government a few years ago. Where local AIDS information services are in existence, it would be logical to include information about alternative therapies as part of their service to the community.

P i l l S p a n g ler HEALTH EDITOR'S RESPONSE Unfortunately, despite Mr. Spangler's objections, the answer often is "because they are outside the system."

As a card-carrying member of the system, I know how hostile and unreceptive many physicians are to alter­ native therapies, often for very good reason. They (we) see our patients given false hope and offered very little in exchange for their limited time and money. But to lump all non-conventional therapies in the same bin and label them "quackery" is carrying the censure too far. Some distinctions have to be made.

Conventional medical therapeutics has gotten away with a kind of tunnel vision regarding its treatment options, forgetting much that was commonplace in ancient medicine regarding food, drink, sleep, exer­ cise, sexual practice and emotions (the six funda­ mentals of Greek dietetics). In a direct analogy to conventional thinking about military superiority, conventional medicine assumes that all one must do is marshal enough firepower to overcome the enemy we call disease, and the patient will be cured. "Cured" perhaps but, unfortunately, not well cared for.

For example, "positive thinking," however arrived at, is something most physicians wish their patients could be blessed with, especially those with diseases, such as AIDS and cancer, which have limited respon­ siveness to conventional therapy. The links among the psychological/emotional state of persons, their 60

It is ironic that, at least in my experience, it is not the proponents of alternative therapies whose battle-cry is "cure," but those committed to conven­ tional medicine. The harsh reality is that in a disease like AIDS the "cure," in reality the desperate struggle in the individual patient for a non-existent cure, is sadly often worse than the disease. Those whose first commitment is to "care," whether physicians or alternative healers, are the ones who get my sympathy and support.

Pat Browder, M.D.

THE THIRD STAGE OF THE AIDS EPIDEMIC evening, but more important a long lasting rapport developed between the gay community and the department.

[This article or i g i n a l l y ap p e a r e d in the Janu ar y 1987 issue of Ju st Out, P.O. Box 15117, Portland, OR 97215.]

It was also the county that sponsored a day-long AIDS seminar at the fairgrounds last January. It was here that police, paramedics, food service workers, ad­ ministrators, etc. were introduced to AIDS. The seminar provided a wealth of information about what was known at that time. Soon local hospitals were offering in-services for their personnel. And all along--in my opinion--the local media reported on the epidemic responsibly.

"From our perspective," says long-time Roseburg activ­ ist Wes Luttrell, "this is the third stage of the AIDS epidemic." The first stage took New York, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles by surprise. Many hundreds died during those first years without ever understand­ ing why; nobody understood. The second stage of the epidemic saw the virus spreading to places like Hoboken, Boise, Houston and Portland before informa­ tion about its transmission was known. The gay com­ munity quickly mobilized in the epidemic's wake. The third stage is just starting. And it is affecting rural communities like Roseburg, Coos Bay, La Grande and Burns. And in Roseburg the larger community is playing an active role in fighting the spread of AIDS.

This spring our task force is organizing another, similar seminar. Besides the county, the hospitals and community college will be asked to play a role.

We are focusing on the importance of education.

Another issue important to our group is emergency care. Presently, medication for PCP (Pneumocystic Carinii Pneumonia), runs between $380 and $540 a week.

This does not include doctor and hospital costs. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA) has a small fund to help individuals with medicine and other immediate needs; however, resources are limited. Other task force members are working with us to help meet this inevitable need.

That the AIDS epidemic has reached the countryside is no surprise to anyone. What was--at first--surprising is how well educated the larger community has become during the past few years. And when a handful of people started talking about forming a task force in Roseburg, it--like most of our community projects-sprang into existence overnight.

Our task force formed last October to address the issue of primary care of persons with AIDS. At that time there were no knowledgeable doctors or dentists accessible to persons at risk for AIDS. Through the efforts of task force members, two dentists agreed to serve as referrals for persons with AIDS as long as their names are not made public. Identifying a physi­ cian who will also serve as a referral has not been so fruitful. Ironically, physicians in this rural com­ munity seem to be the least informed--or the most resistant to being informed--about the epidemic. None of them want to be identified as the local "AIDS doc­ tor." They fear guilt by association. And therefore, they remain aloof.

All three Roseburg hospitals, the Douglas County Health Department and County Mental Health send representa­ tives to the monthly task force meetings. The assisttant pastor of the Roman Catholic Church, the health writer of the daily newspaper, the station manager of a rock station, a local attorney and two therapists in private practice are also part of the task force.

They come together monthly with four GALA members to discuss problems and projects. One member has AIDS. The task force is organized informally. It is a process for addressing AIDS-related issues in Douglas County. And it will provide the groundwork for future AIDS projects.

AIDS was first addressed here by the Douglas County Health Department in May, 1983. The county epidemi­ ologist organized this first interfacing, billed as an "AIDS Symposium," with local gays shortly after the antibody test became available. It was an informative

61

GAY FARMERACTIVIST FACES AIDS

by John R itte r

[Reprinted from Equal T i m e , S e pt em be r 1986]

doing what he does best. He personalizes an issue in a special way so it can be better understood. hen Dick Hanson was told on April 8 that his test for the AIDS virus was positive, a tough year was just beginning. A close uncle died on April 23 and his mother died suddenly on April 25.

His issues have been far ranging--from women's rights and the peace movement to gay rights and the Minne­ sota power!ine struggle. Three years ago, he and Henningson were pictured in Newsweek magazine as "qav farmers in Minnesota."

Continuous rain made planting the crops more difficult than ever. Rut Hanson and his lover of the past four years, Rert Henningson Jr., decided to plant a huge vegetable garden anyway. They called it, appropriate­ ly, the "hope garden."

Today, he is talking about neighbors who are scared to take vegetables from his garden for fear of AIDS, the economic dilemma of being too sick to work, the need for gay men to practice safe sex and the chal­ lenge of red tape in seeking public assistance. "The issues are all interconnected. I'm trying to get my political connections help to deal with it," he said.

After an eight-day stay at Hennepin County Medical Center in late August, Hanson and Henningson went back to the farm near Glenwood, Minn., in time to freeze and can their bounty.

Describing Hanson as kind, gentle and committed, his friends and political associates credit him with building long-lasting coalitions between urban and rural folks that only he, as both a gay man and a farmer, could.

"The normal routine doesn't make sense if it doesn't have much value, but the garden means a lot," said Henningson, "as far as looking ahead to winter and spring. And it is good for Dick — to put back on the 40 pounds he lost."

"He's been able to bridge into areas that we (as ur­ ban gays and lesbians) would not be able to without him," said B. J. Metzger, a lesbian member of the St. paul Human Rights Commission.

"He has had the courage to look in the face of bigotry and live through it."

Hanson, 36, a life-long resident of Pope County in central Minnesota, has never hidden his gayness in a closet--or a cornfield--and he's not hiding his AIDS diagnosis. He has rented a Minneapolis apartment to be near medical care as necessary in coming months.

"He's a reminder that not all gay people live in Minneapolis and St. Paul," said Dennis Miller, a long­ time Minneapolis gay activist. "Dick has been real important in raising people's consciousness."

For him, AIDS is the most pressing, most personal issue he has faced in more than 20 years of active pol1tics.

"He's a person able to wear many hats and they all fit on his head," said Minneapolis City Council Member Brian Coyle. "He's not just a participant, but a lead­ er most of the time. He's never pulled any punches about what he is or what he thinks. The great thing is he is 'just folks.'"

"Acceptance of gays had really improved over the last 10 years," he said last week. "But I'm afraid AIDS may have caused it to slip back."

The local hospital and the city buzzed with fear last spring when he was hospitalized for nine days. "It was quite a test for both me and the staff," he said.

"The reaction of the general public is so far o u t frightened and scared. I'm hoping to go as public as I can to talk about AIDS and help diminish those fears."

D. J. Munro, of St. Paul, said she remembers watching Hanson at OFL conventions where he was one of few gays who wouldn't "ghettoize" themselves.

"He'd be back and forth," she said. "He'd work the gay community for the farmers and the farmers for the gay community. He has a low-key, easy-going attitude.

I've never seen him bent out of shape."

As an openly gay farmer struggling against economic crisis and social injustice in years past, Hanson is 62

Indeed, unlike many political activists who stir up animosity as they push for social change and fight for personal agendas, Hanson has been nearly universally respected and accepted--in the city and in the country.

After years of fighting for troubled farmers, Hanson found himself and his new lover among the victims of the agriculture crisis. The Hanson family was forced to sell their dairy cattle and hogs and has remained on the land in the buildings on a tenuous basis since

Tom Benson, an Appleton, Minn., farmer who met Hanson in the American Agriculture Movement, said Hanson's sexual preference wasn't an issue for him or most others. "That's his business," said Benson. "As long as he's right on the issues that affect the masses, that's his business."

He's been on the wrong side of the lot," said Benson, of Appleton. "He's been on the side that doesn't win very often. Anyone who supports the common people goes through a lot of frustration."

But Hanson's long list of political accomplishments aren't easily measured. He is a founding member of the Farmer Labor Association, a founder of the state DFL Lesbian and Gay Caucus, and a founder of a similar caucus on the Democratic National Committee, on which he has served since 1980. He helped organize the Morris Chapter of the National Organization for Women and he served as the National Farmers Organization state legislative representative.

Nonetheless, in a time when more and more gays were coming out in the more liberal cities, Hanson remained in a class by himself in the conservative countryside.

After years of supporting social justice issues such as gay rights, Hanson finally accepted the meaning in his personal life and came out to family and friends in the early 80's. And he found his family to be generally supportive and his hometown gradually came around.

In 1984, he made a bid for the U.S. Congressional seat 1n rural southwestern Minnesota's Second District. And he's been arrested various times in farm and powerline protests.

"I was deeply involved in farming and politics to avoid dealing with my personal life and sexuality," he said in a 1983 Equal Time interview. "I spent my energy on the farm. It was easier once I realized there was another world--that I'm not the only one."

"To me, Dick Hanson represents a basic decent human being," said Roy Schmidt, a personal friend and political activist. "There's nothing pretentious about him. He is committed to a way of life most urban people don't understand."

"It's in his attitude," observed Munro. "A lot of us don't stake out our home turf and our right to be openly gay or lesbian. It's the reason you find so many Minnesotans living in California."

Schmidt recalled walking down the streets of Glenwood with Hanson and seeing the community pride. "He likes the rural area for its sense of community.

He's well-known and respected, even if people don't agree with him."

The frustration of being gay and Isolated ended for Hanson in 1982 when he met Henningson, who had read a biography about Hanson in a book on the powerline fight. Both had been involved in the National Farm­ ers Organization, the McCarthy campaign and had been students at the University of Minnesota in Morris.

"Where else would I find anyone with the same in­ terests?" Henningson wondered at the time. So, he made a point of meeting Hanson at a district DFL con­ vention, they started seeing each other, and, by the end of the summer, Henningson moved to the farm.

Equal Time is a biweekly news pa pe r published in M i n n e a p o l i s / S t . Paul.

Subscriptions: $30.00 a year.

Sample copies: $1.00.

Send to Equal Time 711 W. Lake St., #504, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN CO-OPS Building on the work of the C1 v1l Rights Movement, the Federation over the past two decades has organized a community based cooperative economic development move­ ment among 30,008 low income families working in over 100 communities in the rural South. The Federation is a non-profit, tax exempt association established to provide services, resources, technical assistance and advocacy to its membership of cooperatives and credit unions and their individual member families.

[This arti cl e orig in al ly a p pe ar ed in Rural Southern Voice for P e a c e , Issue 30, Nov.-Dec. 1986.

Their address is R . S . V . P . , 1901 Hannah Bridge R d . , B u r n s ­ ville, NC 28714.]

* ■ ■ or the past nineteen years, since 1967, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives ■ ■ h a s worked at the grassroots level in rural communities around the South.

Through community based cooperative econnmir development efforts, the Federation and its member cooperatives and credit unions have worked to generate new income, jobs, services, train­ ing, awareness and a spirit of self-help and change for many low income and economically exploited people in some of the most depressed and persistently pover­ ty-stricken rural counties in America.

The Federation works in eleven Southern states, i.e.

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louis­ iana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas. In recent years, funding limitations have forced us to concentrate our resources in four states: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Caro­ lina, while maintaining contact with the membership in other states.

63

Since September of 1984, the Emergency Land Fund has merged its staff and day to day operations with the Federation. The merger has added to the Federation's capabilities in dealing with the problems of small farmers and particularly Black landowners wishing to retain their land and farms.

The Federation working with low income people and through their own self-help organizations, seeks to deal with rural poverty in a regional comprehensive and coordinated approach. We see some of the problems of rural people: substandard housing, low literacy rate, unemployment and underemployment, idle land holdings, poor health care, hunger and malnutrition, as potential opportunities for the development of self-help strategies to change and correct these situ­ ations. Cooperatives which make productive use of land, grow food, rehabilitate and construct new hous­ ing, develop jobs and teach people new skills, are creative people oriented mechanisms, which help grass­ roots people to find solutions to their own problems.

The cooperative movement teaches people to replace despair and depression with hope and positive accompli shments.

The Federation remains a broad-based democratically controlled organization. At every level, members participate in electing their own leaders and manag­ ers. The constituency of the Federation includes: io,goo small plack fanners, organized into T9 agricultural marketing, purchasing and technical assistance organizations; our members collectively own half a million acres of land; over *7 million of vege­ tables, soybeans, livestock, and cotton, were sold through these co-ops last year; the co-ops make it possible for small farm­ ers with an average of less than 50 acres, to retain and make productive their small land-holdings; county associations of Black landowners provide information, legal re­ ferrals and resources to help prevent further Black land loss.

It is difficult to measure, the price of the low in­ come women members of a cooperative, in one of the poorest counties in America, when their quilts win an award from the Smithsonian Institute, for their con­ tribution to the "cultural heritage of America."

Similarly, what value do we place on the community leadership training involved when a co-op board mem­ ber becomes the first Black elected to the School Board in his county; and feels comfortable in his position because he "learned how to make hard deci­ sions and formulate good policies, when serving on the co-op's board." One also cannot calculate the impact of the young veterinary student, who explains, "I de­ cided to go to college in agriculture, because my father was a member of an FSC co-op and he always car­ ried me to meetings with him to read the minutes and other official papers. Through this experience, I came to understand the need for more Black people to take up professional studies of agriculture." Or how do you fully quantify the impact on a 50-year-old Black small farmer with a family of 6, of having the Federation and ELF intervene to prevent a Federal agency and a local bank from foreclosing on his 42 acres and allow him to continue living and farming as he wishes. These true incidents and many more similar occurrences are repeated in countless communities wherever the Federation has operated and worked with local people and their cooperative organizations.

2.000 handicraft producers, find marketing and purcTiasi ng' outlets through 10 producer co-ops that provide half a million dollars in supplementary income to their members each year.

15.000 small rural savers, have built over *4 million of assets, in 20 member commun­ ity development credit unions, since 1970; these community thrift institutions have loaned A20 million to rural and minority people, whose access to conventional financial institutions has been limited. l ,ono housing co-op members, who now live Fn safe, sanitary and decent homes, due to the housing construction and rehabilitation efforts of FSC and its member affiliates.

The Federation has been dedicated to the cooperative principles and operating philosophy as the best means to insure that poor and minorities will share in the economic system and receive an equitable portion of the ownership of resources and distribution of eco­ nomic benefits of our society. The Federation has assisted many local grassroots rural groups to use the cooperative structure to build new self-help institu­ tions to share economic power and progress in their local communities.

“The lames White R n w 's editors arid their contributors together are producing a

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I

^ince its beginnings, the Federation has been multi­ racial and united poor people of different races, creeds and cultures around a common self-help economic development program. Because of the historic problems of racism and discrimination in the rural South, a major appeal of the Federation has been to Black peo­ ple. FSC's constitutency remains clinging to small land holdings, working in seasonal agricultural jobs, suffering discrimination in employment, living in substandard housing and barely surviving in isolated rural communities. Chicanes in the southeast, Appa­ lachian whites and some Native American groups have also joined the Federation to share its dreams and pursue its constructive program of social change.

vaiuable contribution not onlv to the American literate scene,

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The James White Review 1*0 Bov i 55f\ Traffic Station Minneapolis, MN 5540 5

64

Joint Venture REALITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME Even in a conservative decade, there is, left over from the 60s, perhaps, a certain resentment of authority which elevates the criminal to the rank of hero. Those who subscribe to this belief see in every prison situation a struggle between oppressors and oppressed and invariably take the side of the convictâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; he must be right because the system is wrong.

It is a fantasy that we at Joint Venture neither believe nor encourage. Not that we don't think that there are wrongs in the system.

But it is men, not the system, that are the concern of our program. To make the program work, we have to make some hardheaded, realistic appraisals of the men we deal with. We know they are not heroes. Although many are victims, not all are oppressed. Some, in fact, are themselves oppressors, or would be if given the slightest chance.

The simple truth is that most men in prison are there because they belong there.

Our society has no other place for them. And only by isolating them can society be made safe for the rest of us. Some are truly evil. Among them are men who continue to prey on society even though isolated from it. We know them as rip-offs and scam artists. We can deal with them in only one way: we can identify them and warn against them. That is a part of the Joint Venture program.

It is not the only part, by any means. In society's zeal to protect itself, it has made crimes out of acts that do not deserve prison incarceration. Further, in many penal settings, there is a single standard of severity, so that the mildest of offenders are subjected to the same treatment as the most violent. For these men, loneliness and alienation are punishments that go far beyond the needs of society to protect itself.

We try to reach a small minority of themâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; those with whom we can identify because they are either gay or bisexual. We can offer them nothing but friendship. We accept them as JV "insiders" only if they agree that what we offer is enough. They must pass some other tests: We check prison records, court documents, and, some­ times, even FBI files to make sure of their truthfulness. We must be satisfied that they are willing to deal honestly and sincerely with us and with our members. We are intolerant of lying and deceit, and we place on our Caution List the names of inmates who attempt to "get over" on us. There are simply too many men in prison willing to be honest for us to devote our limited resources to those who are not.

We believe that many more RFD readers will join us if they understand just what Joint Venture is. Or perhaps what it is not. It is not an organization dedicated to social or legislative change. It is not a legal aid society. It does not seek to provide financial support for prisoners. Nor does it attempt to find homes and jobs for men released from prison (even though some of its members may, as individuals, undertake such help for certain of their penpals.)

It is a means for gay men to practice the art of friendship. With some limitations, to be sure, but also some unique rewards.

For all, there is the warm feeling of knowing that they have touched deeply the lives of men who are otherwise friendless.

We'll happily mail more information about our program and a sample page of listings if you'll send an SASE to us at the address below.

P. O. BOX 26-8484 65

CHICAGO, I I 6 0 6 2 6

J

BROTHERS BEHIND BARS The Brothers Behind Bars Program is an ou tr ea ch to our gay brothers in prison. it has three major parts: 1) we p r ov id e a de pa rt me nt in the journal as a forum for literary expression by gay p r is on er s and occa ss io na ll y information of interest and concern to g a y prisoners; 2) we enco ur ag e pen pals through Joint Venture, which maintains lists of pr isoners seeking pen pals, offers some screening and forwarding, and gives ad vi ce to people w r it in g prisoners; 3) we offer free subs to prisoners, but we have to limit this offer to what we can afford.

We en courage friends to grant gift subs to prisoners.

The grantors can remain anonymous.

Subs are $12.

MOLESTING THE MOLESTED —

During the latter part of 1983, another case broke in Jordan, Minnesota, and was smeared across the country.

In this case, there were a total of 24 people arrest­ ed in this small town, including a local policeman, a deputy sheriff, a minister, and their wives. They were arrested on "molestation" charges; their children were taken away from them and put into foster homes and institutions.

"If anyone bothers honestly to ask those kids whether or not they really feel molested, isn't it likely that at least some of them will say that their experiences were a dream come true?"1 This is a very thought-provoking statement concerning "minors" who have had a sexual experience or experi­ ences with older people.

Two years passed before they were able to push one man into pleading guilty without a trial. Then one couple was vindicated during a jury trial. A couple of days later, the Prosecutrix, Kathleen Morris, an overzealous crusader against these "horrible" people, dropped all the charges against the other 21 people who had been arrested!

I venture the following: The small minority of kids who have had a sexual experience forced upon them against their will would rightly agree that they were "molested." However, in the vast majority of the cases, where the experience was lovingly and willingly entered into, or where no sexual act had occurred at all, there would be no question of molestation in the minds of these minors--unless the police and other authorities entered the picture. In that case, the people involved, both the adults and the minors, would agree that they were, indeed molested--by the police, not their sexual partners!

These innocent people (for in the U.S. aren't we guar­ anteed that we are innocent until proven guilty?) have had their families split apart, have lost their jobs, have been smeared throughout the country in the media, and have gone through immeasurable physical and mental stress and financial ruin--for what? Some of these people are still fighting to be reunited with their children after 3 years, but the prosecutrix has been permitted to retain her position of power!'1

Since the fact that the occurrence of crime has been decreasing was discussed at a U.W. District Attorney's Conference, and the delegates decided to concentrate on "child abuse" in order to keep their office in the media and to justify their jobs, there has been a spate of sensationalized articles appearing in the media. The subject became so popular that responsible newspapers and magazines brought themselves down to the level of the gutter press in their campaign to outdo each other on the subject.

This same type of thing has been happening across the country. One prison warden recently estimated that approximately 15% of the prison population is now serving time for convictions of "molesting" minors!

Most of them had never been convicted on facts, but on emotionalism and sensationalized yellow journalism.

During the past four years, sentences being handed down for this type of "crime" have far exceeded many sentences handed down to persons who have been con­ victed of forcible rape and violent murder!

A case broke in 1983 in California with national pub­ licity, where the police cried out that pornographic photos (among other things) had been taken of young children at a nursery school. However, months later, $10,000 was offered for copies of any of these photos since, even after the saturated national pub11cIty, not one photo was ever found!?

Not only are the police and the prosecutors able to obtain news coverage of these "crimes," but it is so much easier for them to arrest child-lovers, who are generally known to be gentle people, than 1t is for them to risk going out after murderers, robbers, and rapists, who are usually violent people. Not only that, but facts or evidence is needed to convict a murderer, but hard evidence is not needed when emo­ tionalism fanned by the twisted facts given to the media by the authorities is present, as in the case of child-lovers. "Guilty as charged in the media" is no longer a far-fetched joke as it once was. It is a fact that is being proved in case after case!

After three years of milking this case for all the publicity they could, the majority of the charges were dropped, even though it had not yet gone to trial, and there was serious argument as to the validity of the remaining charges! That same year, a judge in the same state sent a 12-year-old girl to jail for a week to force her into testifying against her step­ father .^ FO OTNOTES

1-Playboy F o r u m , De ce mb er 1985 2 - N e w York T i m e s , Nove mb er 13, 1984 3- Peor>le M a g a z i n e , Ja nuary 30, 1984

456-

66

Ne w York T i m e s , October 11, 1985 "How Ma ny Missing Kids?" in N e w s w e e k , Octo be r 7, 1985 A Witchhunt Foiled: The FBI vs. NAMBLA, 1985

A person has only to be arrested for "molesting" a minor to have his life ruined, emotionally, physical­ ly, and financially. And what is gained or lost by society? The authorities involved became "experts" in the field, and receive advances in position and salary; another prison cell is filled at the cost to the taxpayer of about $30,000 a year; the accused and his family's life is ruined; the lives of the "molest­ ed" and their family's are upset and in too many cases ruined.

The last two of the four that had been threatened in this case were arrested, and the arrest was blown way out of proportion by the media, amplifying information supplied to them by the police. One of these men was able to post bail right away, but the other one suf­ fered a very bad beating by other inmates in the county jail after they had been informed by the police and the media about who he was. He finally posted bail, and, in panic, disappeared to avoid further bloodshed, so now he is a fugitive from "justice."

In the California case mentioned above, a nursery school that had been serving the community for many many vears has been forced to close and the physical plant was vandalized because of the publicity; the children, their parents, and the accused, including the owner who is in a wheelchair, have been forced to sit in court day after day for over 2 years now, etc.

When thp first of these went to trial , he was found guilty of only one misdemeanor by the court, where the judqe stated on record that everything that the media had reported simply did not exist in fact! Of course, the media did not mention this part of the judge's findings, nor did they ever report the real facts in the case. All four of these people were arrested because they stood up for the truth, and they were all arrested on charges signed by persons who were involved in the original case. Michael Kavanaugh, the original District Attorney who was in charge of prosecuting the original case in New York state has now been nominated for the position of Lt. Governor of that state.

In Minnesota, people who were never prosecuted for any crime whatsoever have been forced to sell their homes and move, have lost their jobs, and have had to fight for years to be reunited with their children who were snatched from them by the "do-gooders."

All over the country, children have been and are be­ ing threatened, forced, coerced, and badgered into testifying to things that they do not want to testify to or to things that never occurred, against people who they love dearly. In one case in New York state, a 14-year-old was called "queer" and "faggot" so many times by the police during the prosecution o f the case that he had to go out and prove his manhood, getting a 15-year-old girl pregnant. When the girl's parents decided that she had to have an abortion, the boy became so distraught that he contemplated suicide!

Who could he turn to fo help? In this particular case, the boy turned to the one person who he could trust, the person who the authorities were trying to convict for "molesting" him! His trust was not vio­ lated. His friend was able to help straighten him out. Several months later, the boy found that this same friend was sentenced to a 16 to 48 year sentence in the state prison because the authorities coerced the boy into testifying against the one who he had loved and trusted!

If one could have the time and the funds to do an Indepth study of this type of case, it is obvious that a pattern would emerge closely following the cases that are noted above; that facts and statutes mean nothing at all; that emotionalism overrides every­ thing; and that the authorities are taking advantage of and firing this emotionalism to further their own careers at the expense of other human beings.

There are other facets to this pitiful sideshow, such as the private agencies that have been founded to locate (capitalize on?) missing children. These agencies have released outlandish figures to the media which has amplified and printed them. One example is the figure of "1.5 million children kid­ napped every year in the U.S." that has been promoted by one of these groups and picked up on by the U.S. Department of Human Services. However, what has not been widely broadcast is the fact that the FBI had only logged _67 children as being kidnapped in the U.S. during 1984, the same year that the 1.5 million figure was so widely spread by the media.5

In this same case, 4 people resisted testifying against the "molester" even though the District Attor­ ney told them that he would see that they were "locked up" if they did not testify the way that he wanted them to. Several months later, a warrant was issued and carried out for the arrest of one of them, a deaf, handicapped person. She spent the day in the county jail until friends could raise $1,500 bail for her.

Months later she was released and her bail was re­ turned because the charges that she was arrested for were so weak that it was impossible to prosecute them!

All things point to a semi-organized conspiracy by certain authorities, trying to further themselves and their office at the expense of others, be they the accused or the victims, turning them all into victims and manipulating the mass media in this country into becoming a tool of propaganda for them to use in furthering their selfish goals. Where and when will it end?

There have been several organizations formed to help combat the situation, made up of people who have been falsely accused, victims of false accusations, and other interested people. However, they are having a rough time trying to educate people to the truth of what is really happening, because the FBI, considering them to be "subversive organizations," has been sub­ jecting them to harassment, spying on them, photo­ graphing them, eavesdropping on them, stopping and checking their mail, and releasing false and inflamatory information to the media.6 However, despite all this, their influence may be being felt. During the past few months, the sensationalized news items that the media had been producing have almost dis­ appeared from view. Let's hope that this is a good omen that this country is finally coming to its senses about this horrendous situation,

A 16-vear-old boy who the authorities tried to coerce into becoming a "victim" refused to cooperate with them and he, too, was arrested on a false kidnapping charge because he had brought a 14-year-old friend with him to visit someone. He was arrested even though the father of the boy and the local d o ! ice ad­ mitted that there was no kidnapping, that the boy had M s parent's permission for this visit. The 16-yearold was kept locked up in a county jail in another state for several months, and they refused to allow him to have any contact with anyone other than a court-appointed attorney, who convinced him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in order to gain his freedom.

He now has a "record" and had to serve a year of probation.

67

The people in Central and South America have often lived under feudal, authoritarian, right-wing regimes.

So few of their people can even understand democracy, since it takes an educated populace and social sophis­ tication to function.

In some cases, oppressed people might even be aided by an authoritarian, socialist regime if it follows Marxist theory, makes social change and serves the needs of all the people. A case in point is Russia. It is an oppressive and authori­ tarian nation, having little regard for human rights-for that they can be condemned. But, the poor peassants under the Czars would have given their eye teeth to have the benefits the lowliest Russian citizen now has. The Russian people are cared for from the cradle to the grave. Everyone has a subsistence living guaranteed. But, they don't have freedom.

AMERIKA VS LATIN AMERICA

by S tu a rt Norman

Could the Russian people have handled a democracy, living in a society which was feudal at the turn of the century, having never experienced the cultural awakening of the Enlightenment and Renaissance which occurred in the rest of Europe? The legal and philo­ sophical background needed to establish a free, open society did not exist there. And, it still doesn't exist there today. Can the same apply to the majority of Latin American countries?

At least some Latin American countries have experience with democracy and their cultural background was from European ancestry. The idea of deomcracy does live there.

s it possible for the United States to support a socialist democratic govern­ ment? Vie seem to fear socialism more And with the emerging synthesis of Catholicism and than we do authoritarian regimes. What Marxist theory, known as Liberation Theology, might we wish to preserve is corporate capital­ there be hope for a new way of political organization? ism, not democracy.

If we supported the Could there be the compassion of the truly holy and independence of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, pres­ the idealist Marxist theory of cooperation leading to sured them to establish democracy and an open society, a new society in which people cooperate without the and thwarted Russian influence, what might develop coercion that characterizes most socialist states? there? We're angering their people and pushing them into the sphere of Russian influence. Aiding the The United States is not threatened by petty authori­ Contras is no way to make friends. Yet, it is possi­ tarian regimes.

It is authoritarianism in any form, ble to conceive of a socialist state being truly be it right or left, that is our enemy. And both democratic, free and supported by a written constitu­ Capitalism and Communism cannot exist successfully tion and equitable system of justice. with it.

I

POLITICS ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK

by S tu a rt N orm an

I've been political editor of RFD and writing this column for over three years. But I have yet to speak of what politics really is. So few political writers do. There are vast misconceptions about politics.

People think it is ideology, government, legislation, electioneering/campaigning, underhanded power seeking, etc. But it is none of those things, yet they are all contained within it.

Louise Coggins

One British wag of the last century called politics "the art of the possible." And so it is. Politics is a word that conjures up many emotions. It is not an obscene word, although some people think it is.

The ancient Greeks thought of humans as political animals ("zoon politikon")— that which distinguishes humans from all other animals. Politics derives from the Greek word for city— "polis"; it literally is the life of the city. Thus there is the "body politic," or society. It includes the entire network of social interactions; thus all human interactions are politi68

cal in nature and everyone plays politics. No one can be truly apolitical. There can be private, as well as public, political acts. The personal is political.

And it is an ideological fiction that religion can be separated from culture/society or politics. Religion is culture. It is the myth, the underlying philo­ sophical foundation of any culture. Political beha­ vior is based in cultural and religious beliefs.

Religion is the ritualistic, outward form that reifies and supports culture. Mass pageants and ceremonies unify the people who participate, whether they are called religious or political. So, politics is reli­ gious. Religions operate by political means to achieve political ends. Religion is the prime cul­ tural institution, and it plays in many guises.

One's politics does not differ from another's, but their ideologies, strategies and systems do. When we say we don't like someone's politics, we mean that we don't like the other's ideology, beliefs, actions, or endorsement of a particular politician or political system.

Politics is a reflection of the social structure--the way any given society is organized and functions.

It is ways of achieving goals--practical solutions to social and individual problems--rules and regulations (laws) of social behavior. Politics is simply a way of relating. And, there are many different styles.

By its very nature religion is collectivist--unitying and conformist. The individual is powerless against it unless he/she learns and practices magic. So even magic, by its opposition to religion, is political in nature, notwithstanding the underlying spirituality, which in this analysis is superfluous.

Politics is the attempt to influence others to a point of view and course of action. It functions by favor­ itism. One is more inclined to accept, believe, or be persuaded by a friend or acquaintance than a stranger, unless by an authority figure. Favors are given by friends, who expect them in return. And politics is based in kinship, whether by blood ties (family) or like values (friends). Politics is also based on belonging to the like-minded group who will keep promises. Loyalty to the group is bought by favors and kept promises. Others, strangers, etc., are outsiders; they do not belong, cannot be trusted, and they can be viewed as lesser beings, evil ones, enemies.

For example, a particular denomination of the Chris­ tian church may have been separated from the state in the United States, but the Oudaeo-Christian religion has not. It is our operating system. But because it no longer fits or fulfills our current lives, another religion is growing to take its place. Now we need to develop new cultural myths--more humane myths, myths that can empower everyone, and establish a new political system.

For all the high-minded political ideals humanity has held through the centuries the reality of politics is simply favoritism and kinship--from family to friends to tribe to nation. Either you are friend or foe, you belong or not, you are in a position of privilege or denied basic rights. Such it ever was in all human cultures, and probably will remain so. Only by restructuring cultural myths for dispersal of power can we hope to create a more equitable political system.

But politics has to deal with disagreements. Over the course of human history, politics has become more sophisticated in handling this aspect of human inter­ action. There are ways to compromise, manipulate, negotiate, convince, argue--all to gain an advantage.

And when these break down there is fighting--the escalation of entrenched position vs. opposition--the adversarial relationship taken to its extreme. But politics doesn't necessarily have to be the history of warfare, nor totally adversarial.

Most of the political systems with which we are familiar are hierarchical and authoritarian. As with many animal species, humans have a pecking order of dominance and submission, but we don't have to.

Politics is a way of functioning in a society, a way of jockeying for position and power. Everyone wants power and the prestige that is associated with it.

We want to know and associate with those having power and influence--authority figures--so that some of that power will accrue to us, like mana. We need a sense of power to be fully functioning human beings. We live in fluctuating networks of power in constant flow. And the way to maximize power for individuals, groups and the society as a whole is to be politically astute, that is, to have skills and knowledge con­ sidered to be political. The fastest way up that lad­ der is to offer favors to those in power and hope they will return the favor.

It is that simple.

LIB ER TY TENN. June 20,21.22

We want to belong to the group having the most power, but what if we do not agree with the beliefs and goals of that group? Then we become outsiders, not social­ ly approved, but perhaps tolerated. The adversarial component of politics then arises and the conflict for power begins in earnest. The direct challenge could be resolved by election or be revolution.

*._ 69

TASHA CRYSTAL MOONFEATHER

by Sue Burke

asha Crystal Moonfeather is a lesbian shaman, a healer, and a ritual artist.

Shamans have also been called medicine men or women. Tasha describes shamanism as a concept that describes a person active in the community as a spiritual link. In many tribes and cultures the shaman was the health practitioner as well as the religious figure before segmentation of healing occurred.

When people come to her for healing, she said, they often expect her to do something magic that will work quickly and easily.

"I don't have that power. I listen to the person and listen to their body in a way that most people wouldn't take time to do. I don't look at fixing things. The healing process is a process. My place in that process is to try to integrate."

She may integrate physical, spiritual, and emotional processes as necessary, she said. For example, a woman came to her with physically caused pains, but also with an unresolved emotional question. When the question was discovered and answered, the pain went away.

Raised Catholic, Tasha began returning to Cherokee traditions even before she learned she was part Cherokee. One tradition she practices is smudging, using aromatic smoke to clear energy from a place.

"Thoughts are things. When we think thoughts what we say to ourselves creates our own reality." Dance, theatre, and ritual "express what's inside as an action." tasha said she uses smudging at the beginning of a ritual, carrying the smoke around a circle to imitate the circle of the earth and the cycles of its changes.

She will also offer smoke to the four directions, another Native American tradition.

With an area smudged, she will then use dancing, chanting, or sharing in a ritual. Shamanic rituals "come from within and not from without. There are no rules. When we're planning I might throw out sugges­ tions but everybody would share. Everybody is equal."

At a baby shower, she said, she asked each of those attending to visualize the coming child and to give a gift, drawing the gift on a piece of ribbon. "And 70

"Most of the holidays have come from a pagan tradition and are celebrating the cycles of the year," she said.

The Christmas tradition of bringing an evergreen tree indoors duplicates the ritual of bringing life, in the form of a green tree, back at the end of the year.

Christmas candles symbolize the returning of light after the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

then we ate and drank like anybody else would cel ebrate Another Native American tradition she follows is a vision quest. In it, a person usually goes off alone or with a mentor or teacher as a guide, often fasting, and "taking the time to really look inside and be alone with yourself and see inside."

"What I consider part of my work is bringing back that connection," she said. "The connection is always there. What the rituals do is symbolize the changing of the seasons and bring that connection back."

Tasha, 29, was raised in Milwaukee and spent five years working as a crisis intervention counselor for the Women's Crisis Line. In 1980 she became a trained support group facilitator for women's support groups and for Freespace, a group of women exploring their sexuality. Those groups let to working with more spiritually oriented groups.

Being a lesbian makes her different from other shamans, she said, because she puts women first, and tries to help women be communal in the realm of spirituality. She works for women only, finding men's energy different and difficult.

She was one of three women who organized and coor­ dinated the first Women's Spirituality Conference in Milwaukee in 1982. Out of that came a women's spirit­ uality group that met for 2% years.

"I see myself as a lesbian by choice. I have the potential of loving some other person and chose to love women."

Tasha also holds a degree in nutrition with an em­ phasis on holistic health, and has two years of educa­ tion in psychology and health. Originally working in private practice in nutrition, she became drawn to spiritual healing as her clients came expressing needs that were as much emotional and spiritual as physical.

The process of becoming a the rules of society, she bians and gay men, didn't sexuality, but went on to spirituality.

"I feel like a sponge,, I have learned as many tech­ niques as I can." One skill she has developed is Reiki.

lesbian meant not following said. She, like many les­ stop her questioning at question politics and

For her, that questioning can lead to Isolation. "A lot of times it's been a difficult process. I've had times when I've felt like I'm working all the time.

Sometimes it feels like I'm always fighting. I'm always being different."

Reiki means "universal life energy" and is a 2,500year-old Japanese art. In America it is called therapeutic touch, she explained. Roth work from the premise that life energy flowing through each of us can be focused or channeled, usually through the hands, through one person to another.

Being a lesbian in a largely Christian country is "scary," she said. "My process of really identifying who I am and coming to terms with that has been a process of facing my own fears."

Tasha compared it to a mother kissing a child's hurt.

That act, she said,has been documented to speed up healing. It works by moving the energy of love from mother to child, she said. "Reiki is just a system of being more specific."

Tasha Crystal Moonfeather is not her given name. She chose the name Tasha at age 14. Crystal Moonfeather is an "intermediate" name she uses now to show her life work: quartz crystals, the cycles of the Moon and its connections with the Earth, and the soaring spirituality and softness of birds.

"People can help themselves. All we can do is witness and facilitate. When we call up a friend, often that calling up will speed up the healing process."

Someday, she said, she will choose a different name, probably Cherokee, with quieter symbolism and a more private meaning.

She has spent five years learning, using, and teaching about quartz crystals.

She works at Schlitz Audubon Center, loves her job, and has an office overlooking Lake Michigan, with wild animals outside her window every day. Because it is part-time work, she has time for healing and shamanism.

Crystals are a tool, she said, and are used in watches and other electronic instruments to magnify and in­ tensify energy. They will work with any energy, and "that also means positive and negative energy.

Literally by picking up and holding a crystal it can change your energy," she said, in the same way talking to enother person will change your energy.

She recently earned her certificate as an animal rehabilitator, and works as a volunteer at the Wild­ life Animal Rehabilitation Center with hawks to help them learn to fly and return to the wild.

Deople tend to believe that if something doesn't move it's not alive, she said, but even rocks, like plants, are alive. Often people have trouble with crystals because they do not take the time to meet and listen and learn how to use a crystal.

She lives with a parrot named Isis Aurora and a black cat named Niya in a small flat. Her healing skills have worked to help her own life. "I know I've created for the first time in my life a lot of happiness."

Living crystals "bring it all back to the idea that people are connected to the earth."

Tasha has helped organize a growing winter solstice celebration for women.

71

GAY BUSINESS SURVIVAL IN A RURAL SETTING in t e r v ie w

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by P a u l Corager ingly, Timberfell had 14 of my 15 wants, and even the missing cave exists just 150 feet over our property line.

Timberfell Lodge is a 3 story stone and log building erected in 1979 as a private home located on 244 mountain acres. After a successful experience as a bed and breakfast inn during the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, it was permanently converted to a bed and breakfast inn when its owner looked for a way to save the acreage after splitting with his ex. He did this by adding additional bedrooms, office space, and a 12-man "bunk room" on the ground floor living area.

By advertising in the gay press, its host, David Yoder, has attracted a clientele ranging from gay en­ tertainers to leathermen, nudists, and businessmen.

Its locked gate seclusion draws men from more than 27 states, plus European clients. This interview is intended as an insight into what it's like to run a gay-oriented business in a conservative rural setting.

Enjoy.

PC:

PC:

DY: Yes, including the start of a geodesic dome house near a creek, accessible only by a bridge, which we also built. The dome house, which was also a kit, still sits uncompleted except for the outside shell, awaiting sormr special person who would like to invest in completing it, perhaps as a conference center for gay writers, corporate retreats, or even as a home which could, as my lodge is, be rented out to guests as a b&b inn.

PC:

David, describe your present operation.

PC: What image do you project to the local community?

Any problems in conservative rural Tennessee?

DY My image is that of a straight bed & breakfast enterprise. You have to understand that, unless there are excesses, most people in this area have a surpris­ ing tolerance for diversity, mostly in their attitude, 'we just don't talk about that.'

What makes it so special?

DY: Well, I've always wanted to live in the country.

But in California, where the special person in my life and I were living, land can go for 550,000 an acre. So when I saw an Advocate ad for a 105 acre farm being sold by two lesbians, we cane to eastern Tennessee to investigate. God, I could hardly be­ lieve I could own so much enchanted land for just $400 an acre! Anyway, we were beat out by two Euro­ pean men who bought that farm just two days before we arrived. Fortunately, the realtor handling that sale had another property in mind which would fulfill our needs.

PC:

How's your cash flow?

DY: Well, I'm not solvent yet, but I've brought a business manager and partner aboard who, I believe, will help me make this a going concern over the next few years. Going from a home for two lovers, to a lodge with gay guests, takes a lot of business acumen.

DY: I guess you could say I have a 250 acre Mountain Farm without crops; just three mountain ridges, three creeks, and a pond. While the lodge was being built, we lived in an oak tobacco barn that was acquired with the property, and raised vegetables using nat­ ural organic methods. This is a very spiritual place, where men can share and enjoy a very special atmosphere.

PC:

And you built from scratch?

PC: Doesn't 'who you are' come under stress from liv­ ing as both a gay man and as a straight businessman?

DY: No. That question presumes there's an identity problem. There isn't. I am who I am. But I have a public relations image that discourages harassment, which is meant to protect my guests. So, they come to Timberfell safe in the assurance that my operation is quite tolerated.

PC: Your right ear is pierced, and you have a blue handkerchief in your right rear pocket.

Which were?

DY: Which were privacy, a pond, mountains, wild animals, no house, and a lot more plus a cave. Amaz-

DY: So? If someone wants to pick up on that, fine.

But beyond that 'basic advertising,' I don't give the 72

PC:

Any animals at Timberfell?

DY: Leon is a golden lab retriever with a very in­ quisitive nose--I have to warn nudists about bending over; and there's Col. Cornelius Pickering III, a military cat— the only grey in a litter of calicos-then there's deer, geese, ducks, grouse, foxes.

PC: David, a lot of people fantasize about escaping tc the rural life, and maybe even going into business.

Any advice?

DY: Get a good business partner. I've selected two people whose energies and talents will, I think, have a synergistic effect in helping me realize my own dreams.

PC:

DY: Which are such things a building a Memorial Wall to memorialize deceased lovers, on our highest mountain ridge, facing the rising sun; to build retirement, cottages for the greying of gay, where caring people will check up on why sweet old Mr. so-and-so is late for breakfast, or isn't coming up for his medicine and blood pressure check; and much earlier than all of this, to create Japanese gardens for zen-like medita­ tion, with bridges, Torri arches; to continue to pro­ duce naturally-ferti1ized vegetables for macro-biotic diets; and converting my barn into a 50 man bunkhouse where leathermen can really be leathermen; there's just so much that can be done here, especially the creation of rustic cottages where people such as RFD readers can invest in vacation homes that we can rent out--at a profit to them— when they aren't vacationing here.

That sort of thing, and the list goes on.

fundamentalists in the surrounding area either a reason or an excuse to hassle me. They don't ask, and I don't volunteer.

PC: What made you think you'd be a success at this kind of business?

DY: I like people. And I attract the kind of people who appreciate that Timberfell gives them the space to be what the city restricts them from becoming.

PC:

Any interesting guests?

DY: Yeah, once there was a 'daddy' and his 18 year old 'son' who came here just to sunbathe, swim and fish. God, they caught enough fish from my pond to more than pay for their stay! Another example was a young hairdresser who came here with a sexual identity crisis. By giving him space to explore himself and interact with other caring guests, he left here very clear that he was simply a straight man in a gay pro­ fession, and he left here knowing that he could now interact with gays without being one. I feel he probably left here a better 'straight' for having been at Timberfel1.

PC:

PC: If you could have envisioned your present business 9 years ago, what would you have done differently?

DY: Built a circular driveway for guest parking! We had to dynamite a hillside to get space for my lodge, and its too late to do that again for a parking area.

Then more mundane things, like a double oven, larger dining area, greenhouse. So much to do!

PC:

You advertise in . . .

So you're a closeted gay farmer . . . .

DY: No! I just don't flaunt a lifestyle that would invite tar and feathers.

In my own way, though, I am a gay "presence" which is helping people here raise their tolerance. As one young helper in his early 2 0 's asked me, 'I've been told that an earring in one ear means you're a sissy, and in the other you're gay.

Are you gay?'

I replied, 'Would it make any difference to you if I were?' He '-aid, 'No, I really like you as a person. You've always done good by me.' And that was the end of the conversation.

Do you have any competition?

DY: The closest 'competitor'--and a competitor only in the sense that he advertises a 'stress-free' coun­ try farm experience in many of the same gay publica­ tions as Timberfel1— is about 40 miles away. And as Lee will tell you in a very up-front candid way, the guests who enjoy his place probably wouldn't have liked the Beverly Hillbillies after they discovered oil. He's told callers he has a 'Ma & Pa Kettle' place, a joke which may be lost on younger gays . . .

But anyway, his is not a bed & breakfast place where people can enjoy a wide screen TV, eclectic bric-a-brac, oriental rugs, gourmet meals, videos, and the almost elegant ambience of my lodge. At the same time, leathermen have found my place an unbelievably super place to enjoy a 'bunkhouse' atmosphere, and to create lots of things with, ah, rope and saplings and such.

PC:

Which are?

PC: If RFD readers wanted to vacation at Timberfell, or even invest in your dream, where should they write?

DY: Have them write to me, David Yoder, c/o Timberfell Lodge, Route 11, RFD Box 94A, Greeneville, TN 37743, or call me at (615) 234-9272.

If they write, I always appreciate stamped self-addressed envelopes to send 'em info back in.

.

^ : Ltc., Damron's Guide, This Week in Texas, Drummer, and other such media.

73

WRITE FOR THE FUN OF IT, WRITE FOR THE MONEY IN IT

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When most people think about becoming at writer, they think that it takes a lot of skill, a lot of talent, and a lot of hard work just to get published. This isn't true. As a matter of fact, you can write arti­ cles for fun and for money. If I can, you can; take it to the bank.

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First of all, the essential ingredient is the desire to communicate. Communication is a fancy word for telling others the who, what, when, where, and why-sometimes how--involving a particular subject. Sub­ jects are everywhere. Subjects can be about any­ thing. You can talk about your gay lifestyle or you can talk about the importance of having your car tuned for winter or summer driving. You can talk about photography or you can talk about mountain climbing. Believe me when I say the subjects are limitless! Where the throttle on your train of en­ thusiasm begins is dealinq with the mechanics of writing.

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How would you like to have a job that you can do at home and make from $7000 to $20,000 per year? Sounds like one of those advertisements for some get-rich scheme, doesn't it? Well, the truth of the matter is you can make that $7000 figure in one month and that $20,000 figure in less than 6 months by doing some­ thing that I am doing right now--writing for the fun of it.

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You have to deal with word length, the length of sen­ tences, spelling, grammar, and the rest of the sup­ posedly hard stuff that makes writing "impossible."

Well, it is not impossible. If you can read this ar­ ticle, you can write an article. Remember that story dealing with canoe camping a while back in RFD? Let's take a look at it from this side of the fence.

First of all, that article contained 1500 words.

That's five pages--six if you include the cover-which contained 300 words on each page.

The first page introduced you to the subject. It covered what canoe camping is, how you can enjoy it, where the outdoor activity of canoe camping can take you, and, basically some reasons why it compared bet­ ter in having fun on the weekends or on a holiday jaunt than other forms of outdoor activities. You were involved, introduced, given comparisons, and allowed to either continue reading or drop the arti­ cle completely.

If you read on, you found out how to get ready for a canoe camping trip. Notice the words here: you found out "how to." That's the key. You are being shown. Like right now. I'm showing you "how to" write and make money. How-to articles are not only easy to write, they are easy to sell. I've sold all of mine at least once or twice.

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that $7000 figure. You found out about new ones, used ones, whether it is wise to rent them or own one, what to look out for when buying a used canoe, and some of the safety equipment needed to perform canoe camping safely.

Page three continued with this discussion. Page four went into camping gear versus ultralight camping gear, and whether you should rent or own camping gear. Page five covered food, miscellaneous gear, personal safety and first aid, and planning the trip/s.

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I sold something like 39 articles to one trade publication alone. These were 300-word sketches of a dealer operatinq a bicycle business -- 300 words about one specific aspect of the business or an attitude involving the business. That plus one Polaroid black and white shot netted me $37.50 apiece. There are over a hundred of these types of trade publications either in The Writer's Market or in the Ayers Guide to Publications and Newspapers.

Any will buy from you at least once a year. And all will pay you from $30 to $100 for your efforts.

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Okay, I've explained how a "how to" article works.

Other typical bread-and-butter articles, already writ­ ten for you, can be found in publications which you read. They can all be outlined. An outline isn't dreadful. Rather, an outline is your shortcut to get­ ting what you want to get said on paper in quick and short order.

Like I said before, if you can read this article, you can place 1500 words together and sell the article to a publication.

Now, where.

Up to now I've covered only one type of article.

There are, of course, many. Find the ones you like, would like to write and can use to write your own.

You'll find articles dealing with hard news features, anecdotes, faction features, fiction articles, photo­ features, and photo-essays. You should be able to find enough of these to marry up with publications which you feel will use your work. You will also find The Writer's Market and The Writer's Handbook to be valuable sources of marketplaces"! The ones you need to look for involve markets that buy from 60 to 100 articles per year. Most pay on. publication and buy more than one article from you. A lot of your how-to articles will find homes in lifestyle markets, recreational markets and travel markets.

Travel and other articles will work best when you have something to say which is specialized enough to suit the needs of that specialized publication. If you are any good at this business of matching up ar­ ticle ideas to needs of publications, you will find out right smartly that there is a limit to what you can do within the marketplace. That's why trade publications are part of The Wri ter's Market. If you think it is easy to write for commercial publications based upon what I have already covered, think about this. Make a list of basic business themes, such as: Job satisfaction Advertising Public relations Photography Image improving Business challenges

Customer rapport Indirect advertising Marketi ng 3,6,9 ways of improv­ ing your business Service, it's important Each customer is unique

Listen, I can go on and on and on. All of these are within your grasp. Take one phone book, compare its listings with those in the "Trade" section of the market book. Mix in some of the above topics and you have an almost unlimited amount of articles to write about. Query first; acquire a copy of the publication. See how they put their articles to­ gether, and you are in business. They use basically three from freelancers. The personal profile, the business profile, and, you guessed, the how-to feature.

Does all of this sound too good to be true? Listen, I want to tell you a secret. The main reason why most freelance writers do not make as much money to­ 1 1 1 day as they could or should is because they don't make it as simple as I have made it to you. It is !^2 simple. It is a matter of marketing. Most freelance \ d * writers place such a high emphasis upon the name of n the publication which carries their byline that they forget about the real bread-and-butter money. It could reach out and bite them, they'd never know.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because you can, in fact, enjoy doinq somethinq as simple, and as easy o as I, and I wanted to share the freedom, share the knowledge.

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You can't see the world on today's Income. You can't very well be an individual unless you have more than one income workinq *or you. Anybody can he a writer.

■ <z>rurthermore, you can enjoy Its status. You can find pleasure in seeing your name in print. And you can fa make more money than you care to believe. This one leads upward! Tt doesn't equate to dead-end streets.

It equates to a certain type of freedom few people in this country working for the "man" can enjoy. In 1937, I will make over *inn,non 0 ff writinq. I have fc—4 had that potential for well over five years. It has O taken me this long to figure out how to do It.

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I am at the vertex of seeing writing in a new way.

It goes beyond a simple dream of bylines; it goes in­ to the real world of being someone. There's over 4? 292,000,000 people in this country. Only a small percentage ever make those dream dollars. Believe me when I tell you that writing jfs the way in which one rj. person can single-handedly produce an income in the )❖ six or seven digit zone. And you're not going to get there without working hard for the money. Why not make it fun in the process! i

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fRichard Edwards has written a good number of a r t i ­ cles like this one on a vari et y of subjects.

Several have been pu blished in RFD in recent issues.

Since we can't hope to publ is h them all anywav, he is o f fe ri ng them to you by m a il -o rd er for a small fee.

The articles cover such subjects as Treasure Hunting, Flying, Orienteering, Wind Surfing, Ph ot og ra ph in g the Male Model, Friendship, A p ar tm en t Living, Travel (various l o c a l e s ) , etc.

To receive a price list, please send a se lf-addressed stamped envelope to: Richard Thomas Edwards, 1233 Laurel St., Westlake, LA 70669.]

'Nothing w hatever is hidden; from o f old , a ll is clear as daylight -from The Zenrin

TF WHOLE EARTH PROJECT 76

I'm committed to making a contribution to your lives.

By taking a stand for the quality of our self-ex­ pression, we magnify the effectiveness of our actions in every dimension of life. The field of action we now function within is planetary in size with oppor­ tunities for planet-sized commitments as well as their accompanying earth-scale breakdowns. As a global culture, we face challenges that require us to take a stand which transcends the petty provincialism that blinds us to greater urgencies. We can no longer af­ ford the luxuries of angry adolescent international name-calling, indiscriminate "progress," and casual biological homicide. The "enemy" isn't "out there" anymore. We're "it."

We may be inclined to blame the technological north for these conditions, but such a view would miss the greater picture of events. The people who farmed the southern Sahara, the Sahel, faced with increasingly dry and intense winds, had no option but to move south, and they proceeded, as did their ancestors, to clear the land the only way they knew . . . by burn­ ing. The same winds fanned the blazes until they raged out of control, with fire lines 1000 kilometers long. This added still more CO 2 to an already diffi­ cult situation. Eventually the combination of these variables had another unexpected effects. For thousandsof years, a phenomenon known as the Sahara chimney was responsible for controlling the weather of the African continent. At night, the warmed desert air would rise up into the sky and slowly move southward where it met with cooler, moister polar air fronts forming enormous cumulonimbus clouds that dropped their bounty on the jungles and plains upon which all of Africa thrived. But now, with the massive heat sink settled over the Sahara, the chim­ ney effect has been almost entirely terminated. The continent's weather machine has been effectively turned off! The drought in Africa is no_t a cyclic event, but rather a long-term, human-created shift in the weather patterns of the planet!

As evidence for this declaration, and also to call forth greater commitment, I submit the following recap of a recent talk presented by an astrophysicist friend of mine named Adam Trombly. Drawing on observations and photos from NASA and many other sources, Mr. Trombly shared some startling occurrences: In the early 1970's, Jacques Cousteau found that the sealife in the Mediterranean had almost totally dis­ appeared due to the death of the phytoplankton, tiny organisms that provide the basis of the food chain (being eaten by larger creatures and so on up the line) as well as being a primary mechanism in the transformation of carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, the fuel of the life machine. The cause of their ex­ tinction is simply that they starved when their source of primary nutrients from the Nile was cut off by the construction of the Aswan dam. The Nile delta, the "breadbasket of the world," had, for thousands of years, been blessed by annual flooding and deposition of fresh glacially ground rock mineral sediments that renewed the microbial populations of the soil and sea.

Microbes work to liberate the nutrients locked in these deposits and render them available for higher life forms. What does this mean to us? Just this...

During the summer, C02 from the industrial north is absorbed by the biomass of the forests. However, in the winter, CO 2 moves unattenuated due to the leaf­ less environment and passes over the Mediterranean.

Since the phytoplankton "sponge" is depleted, these gases continue on to the Sahara desert. In recent years even more CO2 is remaining in the atmosphere since acid rain is upsetting the forest ecosystems of Europe. Alkaline minerals are leached from the soil and the loss of their buffering action allows toxic elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium to be taken up by the plants weakening their natural resistance to disease, insects, and fire. Their ability to utilize COo is also drastically impaired as they are starved and poisoned simultaneously. Crops grown on soils undergoing these stresses have lower nutritional value, the same weaknesses, and they diminish the health and strength of animals and people who eat them.

But it doesn't end there. Going back to the Sahara we find another strange phenomenon happening. As heat rises off the desert floor, it is absorbed by the heavy CO2 concentration, causing thermal stress, which is what occurs when air masses of contrasting temperatures interact. The stress produced by the surrounding cooler air masses is released as wind.

These winds have been increasing over the last 20 years and their effects have been observed and docu­ mented by satellite and shuttle photographs. The principle effect has been the hyper-abrasion of the sands of the desert to the point where they become suspendable particles. Tremendous dust storms of growing severity have forced farmers in the surround­ ing regions to abandon their lands as the dry winds suck every drop of moisture from the earth. The desert is growing and 1985 saw the advancement of the perimeter reach as much as 30 miles in four months.

Massive "fronts" (not just clouds) of dust have been photographed moving across the Atlantic reaching Florida, Mexico, and even Hawaii. The warm concen­ tration of CO 2 and dust is perfect for breeding hurricanes, so it comes as no surprise that the last 15 years mark the heaviest storm activity in the Gulf area in recorded history.

Similar dramas are being written all over the globe as we continue to strip the earth of her protective covering of trees at the rate of 50 acres per minute.

This number doesn't include the acreage burnt off or the land covered with roads and consumer shopping wonderlands. With gaping holes in the ozone, record setting forest fires everywhere, dying forests and diseased and dying nations, we have set the stage for the possibility of incredible breakthroughs or terminal breakdowns. We get to choose. Not taking a stand for responsibility is to choose suicide.

I request your support and coaching and invite you to participate in the Whole Earth Project.

Thank you.

Love, Keith Johnson RFD 2, Box 40 Lancaster, NH 03584 (603) 788-3122

CHERNOBYL PRAYER

by Anthony GAesham Fon t h e p e o p le a d j e c t e d by t h e CheAnobyl d i s a s t e r T pAay, t h a t t h e y s h a l l A c a l iz e t h e God hon.ce w ith in t h e m s e lv e s , t h a t t h e y Ah a l l h ave t h e s tn e n g th oh mind t o endune t k e iA t n i a l s , t h a t t h e y S h a l l h av e g oo d hood t o s u s t a in them . T h ese t h in g s 1 pnay hQ*1 The p e o p le oh L ap lan d , oh R av an ia, oh t h e Uknaine and oh a l l la n d s a h h e c t e d by t h e CheAnobyl d l s a s t e n .

Lond, T pAay ho a my e l e c t e d o h h i c ia lA , b o th s t a t e and n a t io n a l .

Open th eiA minds t o th e le s s o n s oh Chenna b y l. Vo n o t l e t them s t a y b lin d e d bn t h e h a t s e pAomi s e s oh n u c le o n powen. Vo n o t l e t them l i e t o th em ­ s e l v e s t h a t i t c a n ' t happen h en e.

S l e s s them w ith und en s la n d in g io n th e y o n e mu le a d e n s and J do n o t w ish t o b e l e d by t h o s e who d e c e i v e th e m s e lv e s .

.................... ........... W

77

Our holistic approach is an eclectic one, eschewing hard and fast rules in favor of honoring whatever seems most appropriate at a given moment to promote balance and har­ mony in mind, body and spirit. With a diet or program of detoxification and healing, the only hard and fast rule is that one takes full responsibility for one's health through honor, love and self-respect.

PSYCHO IMMUNITY AND THE HEALING PROCESS: A Holistic Approach to Immunity and AIDS edited by Jason Serinus Celestial Arts, P.0. Box 7327, Berkeley, CA 344 pp., $9.95 (paperback)

94770

Reviewed by Sister Missionary Position

And true to its claims, the book embraces a wide range of therapeutic approaches, from detoxification diets, colonics and saunas through Chinese medicine, chiro­ practic and homeopathic remedies and on to thymus reparation, thermobarics and creative visualization.

Repeatedly--and the book has a lot of that--the mes­ sage comes through: take charge of your own healing and wellness. Self-empowerment, inner harmony and balance are the refrains.

Tour years ago while Crazy Owl and I were promoting alternative therapeutic approaches to AIDS in San Francisco, we were Invited to participate in a trance channelling with Kevin Ryerson (of Shirley MacLaine and Out on a Limb fame) and a dozen other holistic pract ft loners. ft was an ad hoc research group facil­ itated and hosted by Jason Serinus. Our collective energies were focused on understanding and fighting AIDS. The paper, "AIDS and KS: A Holistic Approach," that came from that and subsequent sessions, and know­ ledge that has surfaced in the intervening years com­ prise the center and prime significance of this re­ cently published volume from the Celestial Arts pub­ lishers in Berkeley. Sister hastens to affirm that I pretend to no objective reviewer's stance. This is a book that is much in accord with my own belief and views on AIDS. And I for one am most thankful that FINALLY messages of hope and higher consciousness have been published.

These people diagnosed with AIDS have re­ placed medical pessimism, chemotherapy, and dangerous experimental drugs with affirma­ tion, self-love, and a determination to achieve a new balance of mind, body, and spirit. Some of them consult nutritionists and psychic healers, while others combine Western and Eastern healing approaches.

Some go to clinics in Mexico, others to yoga and meditation groups; still others choose to go dancing. Whatever their path, they refuse to succumb to the climate of fear and reaction. They listen to themselves. Some have stabilized their conditions or are in remission. Many are in the process of heal­ ing. And more than you will read about in the newspaper have journeyed deep within themselves, on pathways uncharted by medical science, and have found that they have healed themselves.

With patience, persistence and sensitivity Jason has shaped an abundance of material into a readable and Insightful book that offers a potent counterbalance to the prevailing western medical view of PWAs ("persons with AIDS") as "victims" and AIDS as a necessarily fatal disease. The holistic view promulgated is one that sees the person as composed of mind, body and spirit and disease as the result of a disharmony or imbalance in any of these components. While not deny­ ing the reality of the HIV viruses, they are not seen as the primary causes of this degenerative syndrome:

The book also contains interviews with several men who have AIDS. We learn of their healing approaches and we also read of their deaths, and we are left to pon­ der those larger questions of life and death.

We consider the stresses placed upon gay in­ dividuals since childhood, combined with the recent upsurge of anti-gay judgment and ODnression, to be the key causal element o f the rapid rise of AIDS in the 1930s.

There are short essays by respected therapists like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Jack Schwarz and Irene Smith.

Margo Adair and Lynn Johnson provided five meditations/visualizations (which are available on tape) that are in many ways the most valuable material in the volume.

The psychospiritual aspects of the disease patterns are emphasized and the stresses of lifestyle, diet and drugs are highlighted.

While the specific stress patterns will vary from individual to individual, it is the de­ bilitating weakener of the immune system, the stress of the self against the self, which creates the imbalances lying at the core of Acquired Immune Deficiency.

The third section of the book contains a bounty of channelled material, mostly from mediator Kevin Ryer­ son. It abounds with insightful, consciousness-expandinq explorations that support the holistic ap­ proaches espoused and also has lots of affirmation for gay people.

78

Concluding the book is an index and a well-annotated chapter of resources directing the reader to follow up on the array of tapes, diets and therapies dis­ cussed in the text.

Singer David), goddess-worship (Elizabeth A. Lynn's ihe Gods of Reorth"), and even post-nuclear holo­ caust gay antique dealers (Nicholas Fisk's "Find the Lady") are all here for the reader's pleasure.

For friends with AIDS, for friends worried about AIDS, for anyone wanting to get beyond the media/medical views of AIDS that confront us daily on TV, in magazines and newspapers, this book is truly valuable and worthwhile reading.

For readers who are not science fiction fans, Worlds APart is a good introduction to the genre sinceTTt presents such a diversity of writers and themes. For hard-core fans, a collection of quality lesbian and gay science fiction should be a welcome addition to the genre.

BLACKBIRD

MEDITATIONS WTTH ANIMALS: A Native American Bestiaryy

by Larry Duplechan St. Martin's Press, 175 - 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010 182 pp., $13.95 (clothbound)

by Gerald Hausman Bear & Company, P.0. Box 2860, Santa Fe, NM 141 pp., $6.95 (paperback)

Reviewed by Ken Kildare

Reviewed by Raven Wolfdancer

A black youth in high school confronts a conservative small town's anachronistic values in this short, pleasurable read. While the plot (if it can be said to exist at all) is weak, this book is not "about" a story. Rather it is about an attitude, a way of look­ ing at and dealing with life and its problems. (The main character sings the Beatles' song "Blackbird" bevefdi times during tne course-oil_.tne s t o r y aHu pre­ sumably learns to "spread his tiny wings’and fly.")

About two years ago I was confronted by a Christian man of "good intentions" who was disturbed and per­ plexed that I would call myself by an animal name.

"After all," he said, "the Bible mentions the Raven to be a lowly and vile animal." (This man's last name is Fox by the way!!

I was amazed that this man's god could find J ''rpature of his own creation to be anything but sacred. Per­ haps this man should consider the words of Michael W. Fox (a relative perhaps!?), scientific director of the Humane Society in the United States, who states, "We have almost lost contact with that part of ourselves which resonates with other animals and with nature.

It is that part of ourselves that enables us to ex­ perience the spiritual unity of our own being with all beings and to know Intuitively that we and all Life of the s ^ e origin and Creaticr.."

We are led via the first person (whose language is much too campy to have not been exposed to gay cul­ ture) through events alternately believable and fan­ tastic, with occasional pauses for philosophical meanderings concerning the same.

What ties everytfrfng^togFtiicr--U- £-i/&yj)f_looking at the world, a gentle, aggressive up-beat model Ttralr presupposes no event can be overwhelming. It will likely be inspiring to many of its younger readers.

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87504

As we discover again, in greater detail, through a reading of Meditations with Animals, by Gerald Haus­ man, the Native American peoples of our Turtle Island (the North American continent) had, and still have in many cases, a rich and vibrant relationship with other animals. Yes, this relationship is often sym­ bol ic; yet, there is a way in which animals point us toward the wisdom of our earthly nature. "We must learn," Hausman believes, "the language of Native America and become a part of our own natural heart — "

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WORLDS APART: An Anthology of Lesbian and Gay Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Camilla Decarnin, Eric Garber, and Lyn Paleo Alyson Publications, 40 Plympton St., Boston, MA 02118 293 pp., $7.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Richard Oloizia

In order to help us to begin to understand this lan­ guage of Native Americans, Hausman gives us transla­ tions of various poems, chants and other oral rendi­ tions from materials gathered around the turn of the century for The Bureau of Ethnology Reports. Materi­ als from 14 different tribes are quoted in Med itat ions with Animals.

Science fiction aficionados and gay/lesbian literature enthusiasts will enjoy and appreciate this volume of short stories. It includes selections from the works of such well-known SF writers as Joanna Russ, Samuel Del any, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Fdgar Pangborn, as well as lesser known (but equally interesting) writ­ ers. Eleven stories are presented, most from the 1970s and 90s.

You, as I, may not find the style or content of some of the tribal materials to be interesting or under­ standable. Yet, I think it is fascinating as Haus­ man attempts to help us to see "that Native American storytellers eliminated the dichotomy of men [sic 1 and animals while striving to tell of their unique oneness with nature."

A number of the selections, especially those of the lesbian-feminist writers, share the theme of sex-role exploration. Notable among these are Joanna Russ's "The Mystery of the Young Gentleman" and Marion Zimmer Bradley's "To Keep the Oath." Gay content varies from the overt, for example Jewelle Gomez's "No Day Too Long"--the story of a black lesbian vampire--to the oblique, as in Samuel Delany's "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones," with sexual content that exists primarily by nuance.

Humor (James Tiptree's "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?"), love (Edgar Pangborn's "Harper Conan and

Hausman has a gift of bringing the visions of the past into a relevant and vibrant context of the present.

He helps to fill out our understanding of the various tribal groups as people, through his own "editions" which are inspired by the original Native American materials, and by way of historic references about

79

these peoples. Hausman's aim seems to be to show the link of the cross purposes and spiritual relationships between animals and humans. "Across six directions," he tells us, "the creatures traveled along their migratory byways. Heavens turned, stars wheeled, animals moved. Native Americans were one with this movement, a part of their spirit. Following the established trails of wild animals, they carved routes which became in time pathways the white man would use for a more self-directed purpose."

"All of Whitman's sexual partners, whether casual pick-ups or intimate lovers," says Charley Shively, "were younger than he and working-class; he was a boylover and most of his sexual activity was oral rather than anal," This statement, I feel, sets the mood of the book and, in several instances, the editor re­ fers to Whitman as a "good cocksucker" (hardly a fittinq title for such a celebrated American bard!).

Shively goes a little too far, I think, in making assumptions about what Whitman really meant to say.

He does this--reading between the lines--to validate his gay theme. There are just too many "could have's" for my reality-based sensibilities. He tries to put too many words into Whitman's mouth. How could Walt find the time to say all those things, if he was al­ ways sucking some boy's cock?

Meditations with Animals speaks of these self-directed purposes" as a symptom of what the Hopis call Koyaanisquatsi--!ife out of balance. Hausman, there­ fore, is attempting to share also a healing message with us, basically that "we are of this world, not separate from it . . . the road of healing where all things, animate and inanimate, are inextricably joined."

Those of you who love the Earth, and who have or de­ sire a greater sense of communion with animals will appreciate this attractive book. I was disappointed not to be given any guidance from Hausman as to how createj w r j w n "meditations." for Earth Studies, says in the f o r e w o r d ' t o ^ d t t a ^ ^ - 1-' JLi£[*5 • this book can affirm that we are meeting with our kind in the Earth community again, returning to our native place after a long absence to regain""our sense of courtesy toward the earth and its inhabit­ ants, our sense of gratitude, our willingness to recognize the sacred character of habitat, our capacity for the awesome, the numinous quality of every earthly reality."

HERBS AND MFDTCINAl PLANTS

by Madge Hooper Arco Publishing, Pis Park Ave. S., New York, NY 12S pp., $F.ns (paperback)

inon?

Reviewed by Richard Chumley Herbs and Medicinal Plants is a small book, but with a fair number of plants listed (150). Though lacking in some areas--poor indexing, no charts or such to show concise data "at a glance"--the book excels in the first item I always assess: illustrations. The color drawings are excellent (at least as good as Angier's), and there are even a few photographs. The plants are listed alphabetically by family (a drawback, really) and then by common name within family.

From a more literary and historical point of view, the book mentions that Whitman was inspired to write his (gay) "Calamus" poems after meeting Fred Vaughan.

(Heretofore, it was Peter Doyle who enjoyed the spot­ light as being Whitman's only male lover,) "Fred Vaughan and Walt Whitman not only swam together and ran together in the wild," says the editor, "they also lived together, sharing a room with three erotic TTrrTrrs~ _—1 ---- - 4 .

11 and "through his mentor, Fred got jobs working on the Fulton Ferry and then on the Manhattan coaches."

I found Vaughan's letters to Whitman very boring--as were most of the letters that follow each chapter.

Shively seems to extract the juicy parts for his own writings, then throws in the balance of the letter to fill up the book. For the most part, the letters con­ tain statements about the weather, the health of the family, and the current state of employment of Whit­ man's many lovers. Nearly all of these letters writ­ ten to the poet contain misspel1ings--the only thing that adds to their charm, considering they were writ­ ten by poorly educated, working-class men. And in a chapter entitled "Myriads of New Experiences," there are notebook and daybook entries giving only brief, fragmentary descriptions of men that Whitman met that day. He only occasionally mentions certain ones who "slept with me."

In the following chapter, however, there are some touching love letters exchanged between the poet and his dying comrades. These were written during the Civil War when Whitman was working in Washington, D.C., helping wounded soldiers. "Whitman felt the boys needed spiritual as well as physical love," writes Shively, "which he communicated in long, deep kisses." So now Whitman becomes a Mother Teresa in­ stead of just a dirty old man seeking oral gratification--now it's kisses instead of blow jobs!

The information given for description, cultivation and uses is very good, often going into detail. There is an introduction about growing, harvesting, storing and such things; a small glossary, and a section covering common poisonous plants. In the descriptions of the other plants, poison look-alikes are noted.

Towards the end of his life, Whitman spent a lot of time nude sunbathing at Timber Creek and had a stormy affair with a young man named Harry Stafford. Whit­ man repeatedly gave (and took back from) Stafford a ring. "The quarrels arose from Harry's jealousy and Walt's promiscuity," says the editor. "Whitman cer­ tainly loved the boy and the boy loved him, but the poet didn't want to preclude other lovers."

In spite of the shortcomings noted, I recommend this book for your botanical library.

CALAMUS LOVERS: Walt Whitman's Working Class Camerados edited, with commentary, by Charley Shively Gay Sunshine Press, Box 40397, San Francisco, CA 94140 ?23 pp., $10.00 (paperback), $25.00 (clothbound)

Edwin Miller (another Whitman biographer) suggested that "hickory saplings" (or H.S.) stood for "Harry Stafford" in Whitman's prose writings. In Specimen Days Whitman wrote: " . . . daily and simple exercise I am fond of--to pull on that young hickory sapling

Reviewed by Joe Lawrence Lembo 80

out there--to sway and yield to its tough-timber up­ right stem--haply to get into my old sinews some of its elastic fibre and clear sap . . .

Whether or not Stafford was, in fact, the "hickory sapling" Whit­ man wrote about we'll never know for sure, but they did continue their ring game until Stafford finally got married.

peal to most RFD readers. The bumper sticker which exhorts us to "Think globally, act locally" is very much in step with Green thought.

Green behavior at its best reveals a considerable amount of political common sense but a refusal to compromise its principles. The typical German Green is a teacher or social worker and arguably more in touch with what concerns the average German citizen than the lawyers, businessmen and labor leaders so prevalent in the other political parties. Despite a lack of money and some distinct cold-shouldering from the ceigning German institutions, the Greens managed to catapult themselves into national prominence through a combination of grassroots activism, hard work, and a shrewd understanding of media and publici­ ty.

Their success is also due in part to the German system of proportional representation, which means that a minority party does not necessarily have to win outright majorities to be seated in the legisla­ ture. Green style is sympathetic, too: When the Greens' first officeholders were installed in a modern German office building, they taped over the air-conditioning vents and opened the windows to let the fresh air 1n. Similarly, the Greens' more casual dress and decorum 1n the German legislature proved a metaphorical breath of fresh air for the Federal Republic. Green Politics recounts this history efficiently and well.

All in all, the book is put together nicely, well illustrated with photos and drawings, and contains many of Whitman's well-known "Calamus" poems at the end. Anyone interested in the good gay poet would do well to read the book and form his or her own opin­ ions. I feel Whitman deserves more credit as a loving father figure to many of his young male friends, and not so much as the insatiable pederast.

Shively sums it up by saying that his book "may startle scholars, but I am only incidentally writing for them. I want to embolden poets, homosexuals and all readers to come off your old tired ethics. I in­ tend to enliven sadists, pederasts, sodomites, cocksuckers, butt-fuckers and other so-called degenerates."

Whitman must have known his work would eventually be re-interpreted by future biographers to meet their own needs. In 1889 he told his literary executor, Horace Traubel: "Sex: sex: sex: whether you sing or make a machine, or go to the North Pole, or love your moth­ er, or build a house, or black shoes, or anything-anything at all — it's sex, sex, sex: sex is the root of all . . . always immanent: here with us discredited--not suffered: rejected from our art: yet still, sex, sex: the root of roots: the life below the 1 ife !"

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But originality has its price: The Greens' very in­ dividuality and tolerance of eccentricity reveal this as probably the least organized of organized political parties. Green strivings toward a consensual, nonpaternalistic style of decision-making often result in party meetings that become devoted to criticism rather than action. One often feels that to ask a question of ten different Greens is to get ten different an­ swers, and one begins to wonder how long a political party can endure in the absence of a party line. So while Green Politics was co-authored by obvious Green parti sans,~it reveals the flaws inherent in the nebulous Green style. This is not mere tractwork.

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GREEN POLITICS

by Charlene Spretnak and Fritjof Capra Rear A Company, Box 2860, Santa Fe, NM 255 pp., $8.95 (paperback)

87504

THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF GREEN POLITICS

by Charlene Spretnak and Fritjof Capra Bear & Company, Rox 2860, Santa Fe, NM 95 pp., $4.95 (paperback)

87504 The Spiritual Dimension of Green Politics serves as a type of addendum to Green Politics for tTfose interest­ ed 1n the spiritual and religious import of Green philosophy. It should not be read alone unless the reader already has an understanding of the Greens.

Reviewed by Allen Smalling Although die Gruenen ("the Greens") are now West Germany's third largest political party, most Ameri­ cans know little about them or have them confused with the Greenpeace ecological organization. Green Politics tells something of Green political values and recounts how a small, even rag-tag group of com­ mitted non-establishment types reached political prominence through the democratic process in a tech­ nological society not unlike our own.

What hope have the Greens in the USA? It 1s my opinion that a native Green party could not achieve the swift prominence it has in Germany because our system rarely permits proportional representation and because socalled campaign funding reforms in the 1970s have vir­ tually outlawed third parties. However, given the definite Green sympathy to the Emerson-Whitman strain of American thought (a congruence well documented by Green Politics), the potent and timely set of values known as Green may well become a part of the almostinevitable resurgence of American liberal values in the 1990s. Persons who desire to know more about nativizing Green thought should contact the "Com­ mittees of Correspondence" at P.0. Box 30208, Kansas City, Missouri 64112. And those who are curious in general would be well advised to read Green Politics.

It is difficult to categorize Green thinking in terms of the conventional left-right political spectrum.

While more German Greens are liberal than conserva­ tive, they all appear to share a distrust of the business-as-usual mentality of the two large estab­ lished political parties and an absolute loathing of Institutionalized gigantism of the type displayed by greedy corporations, monolithic labor unions and dilatory bureaucracies. (Compare E.F. Schumacher's $mal1 Is Beautiful.) Given the Greens' affinity for environmental and women's concerns, their advocacy of decentralization, nonviolence and sympathy with the Third World, Green thought is compatible with a wide range of American "new age" values and might well ap­ 81

No one has yet gone all the way to the other end of the teeter-totter to lift the fat-assed Our Family Physician off the ground.

Done correctly--that is, with imagination and abandon --masturbation smooths out personalities.

I won't go so far as to say masturbation cures acne, but I will say that everyone whom I ever knew to overcome acne had, in fact, been a masturbator.

Encouraging masturbation has become quite a mission of mine; one must, after all, be a bit zealous to get a PhD in literature in order to become a pornographer.

WHY I PANDER

People have asked me why I would spend time and energy writing whack-off books when there are Salk-less vaccines out there to be found, Mother Theresas to help, rich people to rob, poor people to enrich,and God only knows what else? I could take to singing "We Are the World" in public places, thereby raising con­ sciousnesses.

Perverse as I am,, however, I feel a seriousness in my own cause--that of laying men out weak and spent from the cooing of my words. My earnestness rises from a belief that one of the gods of old was tossed out by the new religions, and that the world has been in a state of disharmony since.

by M ike Shearer

I

n the 1887 Our Family Physician, a book popular for decades, masturbation was de­ fined as a "very degrading and destructive habit" which "retards the growth, impairs the mental faculties and reduces the vic-

Most of the other gods found a niche in the modern mythology, but Eros remains exiled. This has been true for ages, but it is even more true today.

Several people have suggested that I, as a pornograph­ er, have a responsibility to say something wise about AIDS, and yet this is the first time I've ever written on the subject.

___________ I tim to a lamentable state" in which the victim suffers "headache, wakefulness and restlessness at night, pain in various parts of the body, indolence, melancholy, loss of memory, weakness in the back and generative organs, variable appetite, cowardice, in­ ability to look a person in the face, lack of con­ fidence in his own abilities." Ultimately, "the hair becomes dry and split at the ends"!

I sincerely believe that every human who reads, watch­ es television, or eavesdrops in cafes has heard all the cautions. Much of the advice has been noble and wi se.

Fortunately, the war on masturbation was doomed from the beginning for among the cures for masturbation in Our Family Physician right there alongside "frequent Dathing," was the admonition that patients "should never be permitted to sleep alone."

But something has been left out, just one thing real­ ly, and r.erhaps it is the duty of the pornographer to fill the gap. Filling gaps is what pornography is all about.

Masturbators, it has been found, tend to influence others more than others influence masturbators. At any rate, those who abstain may have oily hair, the ends of which never split, but they are a dying breed, while those who masturbate have ironically prolifer­ ated and replenished the earth.

Whatever you do decide to do about AIDS, whatever sexual practices you might turn your back on until this epidemic is over, you must not turn your back on sex itself, on pride, on imagination, on that horny god Eros waiting to be summoned back from exile to watch our feeble jerkings as we dribble puddles across our bellies.

Now other sexual sports are great but have always got­ ten better press than masturbation, and that's not quite fair. Whether practiced in solitude, pairs, or kinky New Age combinations, masturbation has enriched our lives and given us whatever mental health we have.

Although it is true he is from a time when selfdelight was in the very soul of people and when the puddles were lakes, he is a patient god.

Not only for the unattractive and lonely, masturbation is for everyone. Moreover, it is an art, closest among the "accepted" arts to ballet, and deserves the respect spinning thread had in Mahatma Gandhi's India.

No epidemic lasts forever, and someday there will be people, not smug, just relieved, wearing tee shirts that say, "I Survived the AIDS Epidemic."

And like all immortals, he is enduring.

If we're smart, we'll have one made for Eros, too, and invite him home from exile.

But the progress made in our thinking about masturba­ tion has been sadly deficient. We have marched only from believing it is degrading and destructive to thinking "maybe it's not so bad." There has been no clear voice to advocate masturbation as the cure for a variety of social ills.

82

op in g f i e l d s , l i v e s t o c k , and c r o p s .

The a r e a is b e a u t i f u l : fa n ta s tic w ood s, m ou n tain s, r i v e r , o c e a n , abundant w i l d l i f e .

The farm in ­ c lu d e s d a ir y g o a t s , s h e e p , p o u lt r y , v e g e t a b l e , f r u i t , and b e r r y c u l t u r e .

T h ere a r e some good social and cul­ tural c o n n e c t io n s h e r e t o o .

W hile 7 do s e e k a p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n ­ s h ip , en erg y and co m p eten ce a t mov­ ing th e farming projects along are so im p o rta n t t h a t 7 am open to a Ix ir e ly p r o f e s s i o n a l ex ch a n g e: an a p p r e n t ic in g p o s i t i o n — you r l a b o r f o r your own room, b o a rd , and a s m a ll s t ip e n d (and on t h a t b a s i s 7 icou ld ev en c o n s i d e r ta k in g on a couple).

RFD prints contact letters free of charge. We also provide a free forwarding ser­ vice for readers who prefer to not pub. _h their address. Donations, however, are greatly appreciated. We ask that your letters be brief (under 200 words) and positive in stating your preferences. Saying 'no' to a parti­ cular trait or characteristic may unnecessarily offend a brother.

T h ere i s g r e a t o p p o r t u n it y here, t o le a r n and p r a c t i c e a v a r i e t y o f sm a ll ifaim s k i l l s and to p a r t i c i p a t e in d e c id in g the d i r e c t i o n and d e v e l o jm en t o f s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t s .

A p a r t n e r s h ip o r a s s i s t a n c e in g e t t i n g s t a r t e d on your ohm p la c e c o u ld a l s o be n e g o t i a t e d .

RFD can assume no responsibility for claims made in the letters, and we urge correspondents to exercise caution especially with any financial dealings. For responses from prisoners, we advise contacting Joint Ven­ ture, P0 Box 26-8484, Chicago, IL 60626, before replying.

P le a s e t e l l me a b o u t y o u r s e l f and you r g o a l s .

I 'm non-d is c r im in a t o r y .

A p i c t u r e w ould be a p p r e c i a t e d .

A ll t e t t e r s w i l t be an sw ered , p ix r e ­ tu rn ed .

CONTACT V ear F r ie n d s , My name. I s K e tt h . I'm s t r o n g , he.alX.hij, handsom e, 35 yean. o l d v is io n a r y . 7 i n v i t e and w elcom e your p a r t l c l p a t l o n in o u tra g eo u s a c t s of, d e e p l y co m m itted , c r e a t i v e , i n t e n t i o n a l s e r v i c e tounnd g l o b a l t r a n s fo r m a t lo n in t h e on e as o f e n ­ vironm ent., ag n .icu ltu .a e, and commu­ nication. I'm s u p p o r t iv e and su p ­ p o r t a b l e , v e r s a t i l e , k in , m y s t e r ­ io u s , u n n e a s o n a b le , f i e r y , e c s t a ­ t i c , p a s s io n a te , h ea rts tro n g , t e r ­ r i f i e d and t h r i l l e d . Among mu h e r o c a r e Va Fn.ee J o h n , Werner E rh ard , S h i r l e y Ma c C la in e , Masanobu Fukuoka, E u e ll G ib b o n s, John n y A p p le s e e d , Racket. C arson , R o b e r t R o d a le , Ruth S t o u t , and many o t h e r s . 7f you know t h e s e iw n d e r fu t b e in g s , you know what. T mean. Who 1 am is d e f i n e d by th e r e l a t i o n s h i p s 7 t r e a s u r e . 1 l i v e on a 350 a c n e la n d t r u s t in n o r th e r n WH w here we gnaw f r u i t , m a rk et v e g e ­ t a b l e s , h e r b s , and b a s k e t and p ap er making s u p p l i e s . 7 a l s o c a r v e and make r u s t i c fu r n i t u r e . I am th e open in g and p o s s i b i l i t y fo r p r o ­ found e f f e c t i v e n e s s in the. r e a l i ­ z a t io n o f you r g o a l s , com m itm ents, and p r o j e c t s . "We ca n n o t p u t o f f

l i v i n g u n t i l we. a r e r e a d y . The m ost p ro m in en t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f l i f e i s i t s c o e r c iv e n ess; i t is ahoays u r ­ g e n t , ' h e r e and now’ , w ith o u t any p o s s i b l e p o stp o n em en t. L i f e i s f i r e d a t us p o i n t b la n k ." O rteg a y G a s s e t .

P le a s e w r it e and s h a r e y o u r s e l f .

P io n e e r in g can g e t l o n e l y . T hanks.

L ov e, K e ith Joh n son RFV * 2 , Box 40 L a n c a s t e r , NH 03584

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d e a r RFV R e a d ers, 1 am a fo rm er t e a c h e r and n a t u r a li s t , a t t r a c t e d e , young 47, 6' 3", 2 10#, a n a tu re l o v e r , a v id X-C s k i ­ e r , k a y a k e r , swimmer, c y c l i s t .

7 p u rsu e yoga and m e d i t a t i o n , e n jo y c l a s s i c a l m u sic, l i t e r a t u r e , e x ­ p erim en tin g w ith w r it in g .

7 am lo o k in g f o r a c o m p a tib le, guy w ith g o o d en erg y and a sen se, o f h is own i n d i v i d u a l i t y who w ou ld e n jo y som e sh a rin g o f w ork and p la y on a d e v e lo p in g o r g a n ic farm and in the u n s p o ile d n a t u r a l en v iron m en t h e r e in e a s t e r n M aine.

I ’ve b u ilt a hou se and b a m and have been d e v e l ­ 83

John A. o f V ow neast Maine c / o RFV r

1 n eed to c o n t a c t in d iv id u a ls w ith AJVS who a r e l i v i n g in r e m is s io n .

T h is i s v e r y im p o r t a n t.

7 know th a t a p e r s o n c..an l i v e w it h AJVS. 7 n eed to know more p e o p le who a r e d oin g it.

A ll c o r r e s p o n d e n c e m i l be k e p t in t h e s t r i c t e s t c o n f i d e n c e . We hear only of the p e o p le who d i e w ith AJVS, t h a t i s t h e im age th e m ed ia p r o v i d e s , b u t 7 fo r one want t o l i v e in jo y o u s communion w ith n a t u r e , and 7 f u l l y b e l i e v e 1 can do i t .

1 w ould a l s o l i k e t o h e a r from coxyon e who i s i n t e r e s t e d in i s l a n d l i v i n g t h i s s p r in g and summer, e s ­ p e c i a l l y p e o p le who w ant t o j o i n a fa m ily . One p e r s o n 7 n e e d , e s p e ­ c i a l l y , I s a g a r d e n e r , t o h e lp in th e p r e s e r v a t io n o f a c o l l e c t i o n o f r a r e s e e d s , m ost o f w hich a r e a b ­ o r i g i n a l s t r a i n s from A m erican I n ­ d ia n c u l t u r e s . A ls o , h e r b a l i s t s a r e m ost w e lc o m e --a s a r e a l l h e a l e r s .

7 t e a c h w hat 7 know a s L iv in g H e r b a l­ ism,' a lo n g w ith o t h e r s k i l l s { o r s u r v i v a l - - f o r p e o p le e s p e c i a l l y who a r e i n t e r e s t e d in s e l f - h e a l i n g .

T his i s an e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y p o w e r fu l and h e a lin g en v iro n m en t.

B r o th e r Crow in Maine d o RFV r

Dear Friends, L iv in g on a v ery r u r a l h i l l t o p In Vermont ulclds the da Liu n e m r d s o f s p e c t a c u la r scenery and s i l e n t s o litu d e .

T hose rew a rd s m a i d m u lt ip ly I f 1 c o u ld s h a re them w ith a n o t h e r o f s im ila r , i n c l i n a t i o n « I l o v e th e o u t d o o r s - h ik in g , s a i l ­ in g , s k i i n g , bicycling. I am f a s c i n a t e d by man's e x e a t i v i t y e s ­ p e c i a l l y in a r c h i t e c t u r e and m u sic.

Would l i k e to s h a re id e a s and dream s and p erh a p s l i f e .

I am hoping t o b u il d a s m a ll passive s o l a r home in th e n ea r fu tu r e and w ould l i k e n o­ th in g b e t t e r than t o s h a r e t h a t e x p e x ie n c e .

7 am 41 and l o o k fo rw ard t o h e a r in g from you so o n .

B ill o f Vermont do

RFV

t

V eal Monogamous F r ie n d s : You h ave been lu c k y to f in d th e p er f e e t m a te, r ig h t ? Congratulations.

Mow you hope t o f in d th e i d e a l home in th e c o u n tr y w h ere you can l i v e your l i f e t o g e t h e r ? W e ll, we hope s o , b e c a u s e we n eed your h e lp to c a r e f o r our home in exch an g e f o r a t o t a l l y p r iv a t e a p a rtm en t a t on e end o f our h o u s e .

T his i n v i t a t i o n has no s t r in g s a t ­ tach ed .

We a r e hoping you a r e g ood p e o p le w ith farm b ack g rou n d s l i k e o u r s e l v e s , who u n d ers ta n d g a rd en s and h ou se m a in ten a n ce, and e n jo y h a r d w ork a s much a s we d o .

We a r e q u i e t , happy mew, n on -sm okers and non dr i n k e r s , l i v i n g in a f r i e n d ­ ly , a c c e p tin g , r e s p e c ta b le ru ra l n e ig h b o r h o o d and we w ou ld r e a l l y w elcom e your com pany.

P le a s e w r it e and a s k a t ? the q u e s ­ t io n s on your mind and y o u ' l l r e ­ c e i v e th e an sw ers and a p h o to o f the p la c e to h e lp you make your d e c i s i o n .

We th in k you w i l t t i k e i t h e r e .

In an e f f o r t t o fin d a d e c e n t , c a r ­ in g , lo v in g guy t h a t r e a l t y n eed s som eon e, l e t me t e l l you a l i t t l e a b o u t m y s e lf in th e h op e t h a t l m ig h t be a b l e t o becom e a c o n t r i b u t ­ in g p a r t o f you r t h i s l i f e .

P h y s ic a lly I'm 5 ' l l " t a l l , d a r k brown h a i r and m o u sta c h e, 190 l b s . , in g r e a t h e a lt h and body c o n d it io n , o n ly b e c a u s e 7 w ork o u t at. a sp a two o r t h r e e tim e s a w eek .

F a ir l y w e l l e d u c a t e d , in my f i f t i e s , w ith a d e e p d e s i r e t o ch an g e my l i f e s t y l e from a d e c a d e n t b a c h e l o r l i v i n g a q u i e t b u t s e l f i s h l i f e o f c o m fo r t t o - - w h a tev er you can o f f e r t h a t e n t a i l s g iv in g , r e s p e c t a b i l i t y , g ood l i v i n g and monogamy.

Maybe j u s t you and me b a b e - - o r p e r ­ haps becom ing b u s in e s s p a r t n e r s - maybe you n eed an u n d ers ta n d in g l i f e com panion o r - - V d be w i l l i n g t o i n ­ v e s t in a g ro u p d e v e lo p in g a g ay a p a rtm en t o r co-op p r o j e c t .

Any­ th in g a t a l l t h a t you can s u g g e s t o r o f f e r t h a t w i l l a l l o w me to b r e a k aioay from t h i s s e l f i s h r u t I'm i n w i l l be w elcom e.

Pl.eoySe f e e l f r e e t o c o n t a c t me by phon e o r m a il. U su a lly 7 can b e r e a c h e d b e f o r e 10 a.m . o r a f t e r 10 p.m . bu t no c o l l e c t c a l l s w i l l b e accep ted .

S in c e r e ly .

Wayne A. W ein h ard t 625 Orange S t . , A pt. 8 Mew Haven, CT 06511 789-1015 r

I l i v e on a s m a ll l a k e in t h e f o o t ­ h i l l s o f t h e A d ir o n d a c k s , j u s t o u t ­ s i d e S a r a to g a .

I'm 62 ( lo o k and a c t y ou n g er, and r e l a t e b e s t t o t h o s e som ew hat young­ e r ) , 5 '1 0 " , 170 pounds.

7 l i k e t o d r iv e and c o u ld come h a l f ­ way t o m ee t som eon e i n t e r e s t e d in t a l k i n g fu r t h e r o v e r c o f f e e .

1 *

M ight we c l i c k ?

V rop me a n o t e w ith you r ph on e num­ b e r , s o we can t a l k a b i t and s e e how wc f e e l a b o u t e a c h o t h e r .

S in c e r e ly , Bob P .0 . Box 2174 C l i f t o n P ark. MV

12065

T

V car RFV B r o t h e r s , I am p la n n in g a t r i p t o Mew Z ealand e a r l y n e x t y e a r . My i n t e r e s t s i n ­ c lu d e h ik in g , s e e in g t h e r u r a l a r e a s , m oun tain s and g a r d e n in g .

I w ould l i k e to h e a r from an yon e who has t r a v e l e d t h e r e who can g i v e me t r a v e l, t i p s .

HI_ GUVS!

I am a gay man l i v i n g and w orkin g in M.V.C. I am i n t e r e s t e d in le a r n in g a b o u t a l t e r n a t i v e en erg y s o u r c e s , i . e . w in d m ill, s o l a r e t c --- Would e s p e c i a l l y l i k e t o h ea r from o t h e r h ip (groovy?) te c h n o sem is e .n s ib lc in ~ t e l l i g e n t p e o p le who h ave a s i m i l a r interest. My h op e I s t o w ork w e e k ­ ends w ith som eon e on su ch a p r o j e c t .

In th e N o r th e a s t p r e f e r a b l y .

Bob. G. G reen span 297 K in g ston Ave. *26 B r o o k ly n , MV 11213

J 8 J o f C o n n e c tic u t d o RFV r

H e llo .

T h is t e t t e r w i l t come to t i g h t in my t h ir d co p y o f RFV and I ' d t i k e to l e t you know how prou d T am to d i s ­ c o v e r th e h ig h s ta n d a r d s and q u a l i t y o f p e o p le ( fo r th e mc>st p a r t ) who w r it e a d s fo r th e " C o n tact L e t t e r s " s e c tio n .

I h op e f o r a r e l a t i o n s h i p .

Jim o f W estern Mew York d o RFV ▼

V ear RFV R ead ers •*

P lea.se w r it e and t e l l us a b o u t y o u r­ s e l v e s so o n .

Dear Guys '■

Mow, I'm getting tired o f being a loner.

t

I ' l l make tin s s h o r t and h ope t h a t a n y o n e's w h o's ev en somewhat i n ­ t e r e s t e d w i l l f e e l l i k e t a lk in g on the phone f o r us to le a r n more a b o u t ea ch o t h e r .

F i r s t , the o n ly r e l a t i o n s h i p I 'v e had was m a r r i a g e - - s e x u a l l y , a m is ­ tak e.

T hat ivas u n it e a w h ile b a c k .

8J

I'm Vanny and a young 'HOT' 2 0 - y e a r o l d g ay w h it e m a te. G r e a t lo o k s and body t o o ! I l i k e ic r lt in g and m e e t­ in g new f r i e n d s from ALL o v e r th e c o u n t r y .. .

I e n jo y t r a v e l in g and m eetin g neiv guys f o r f r i e n d s h i p and FUN TIMES! And, you guys h ea d in g th u s way t o th e *1 C ity o f P ittsb u rg h --G E T IM TO U C H ,..!!! We’ r e s u r e to Have a 1g r e a t ’ tim e t o g e t h e r !

So l e t me h ea r from a l l you i n t e r ­ e s t e d guys o u t t h e r e REAL SOOM! Send me a p i c t u r e o f you (wn any fo rm !!? ? ) and mu HOT p i c t u r e w i l l be o u t to you t o o ! You loon’ t b e d i s ­ a p p o in t e d — t r u s t m ej L e t ' s b e f r i e n d s g u y s! %LL a g e s w elcom e t o o !!!

Love from on e ’ H('T ' p a l , Vanny p.O. Box 3614 P it t s b u r g h . PA

1 5230

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E njoy cam ping and { l i k i n g but. t h e s e h av e s o At. o { { a l i e n by t h e iv ay sld e s i n c e '83.

I ’d a l s o l i k e to v i s i t t h e S o u th .

VAop a l i n e t o :

My name I s Ken and I am a gaij w h it e m old i n my t h l r t l d . I am young l o o k in g , y o u t h fu l, and a t t r a c t i v e guy. A ls o , I ’m v e r y s i n c e r e , i( r le n d ly , and c a s i n g . . .

I stan d 5 ’ 11" t a l l , w ith b io ton h a i r / e y d , and w eig h 160 pound!). And, I'm s t r a i g h t a c t in g and a p p e a r in g .

E rn ie L ees P .0 . Box 645 In d ia n a , PA 15101

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Send youA I d tld A and p lx and y o u ’l l r e c e i v e m ind—A d a lty so o n !

I'm a tAlm, t a l l , and Ivxndsome 30 yeaa old man looking { oa a halAy and husky masculine AuAal companion who shaAes some slmilaA llk e i and Id e a ls . I enjoy the outdoors, boat­ in g , and long sensual {lA eslde encounteAS. I don’t dAlnk oa use dAugs, am p o lit ic a lly somewheAe be­ tween a VemocAot and S o c ia lis t, and enjoy music {Aom Baez to S ib e liu s .

I have, and appreciat.e, a good sense o{ humoA, and am moAd than w illing to shaAe In any weekend woAk that needs doing. I'm not Into games, but do have an attnactlon towards a ctiv e dominant, stocky men, 35 or ^ older with th ick coats o{ body halA to keep me wanm on those cold wlnteA n igh ts. CuAAently an uAban dw eller, but {Aee { oa weekend v is i t s . Hope to heaA {Aom you soon.

Keep s m i lin g — k e e p s h i n i n g !

David o { Philadelphia

7 -iddk ndw { r le n d s (and p o s s i b l e r e l a t io n s h ip ? ? ? ) {rom w h e r e v e r , io n t h e r e I s no d i s t a n c e w h ere g oo d { r le n d s a r e c o n c e r n e d .. .

A ft e r a l l , we a l l need p d o p ld , { r l e n d s , and lo v e . ..

So why n o t w r i t e and l e i ’ 6 b e g in t o grow I n new ^ r le n d s h lp t h a t w i l l h o p e fu l ly bd "s p e c i a l " and l a s t ­ ing . . . ! ! !

Ken P.0. Box 42392 P it t s b u r g h , PA

V

c / o RFV 15203

T

HI F r ie n d s and 8r o t h e r s , I t s u r e d o d g e l l o n e l y b e in g gay and l i v i n g In a r u r a l a r e a - - m o s t o { my l i { e In In d ia n a C o ., P a ., w hich I a a b o u t 50 m i l d ME o { P it t s b u r g h .

I t ' 6 v e r y haAd t o m eet otheA guyt> l o c a l l y t l n c d theA d I t no b a r / c lu b heAd. I t ' 6 v e r y A edn eck and c l o s ­ eted .

So, I ’m hoping theAd’t> some otheA guy/s out theAd who share one oa moAd In te A d ts with me and would lik e to co rrd p o n d and maybe meet.

I ’d l i k e to sh a r e l e t t e r s ab ou t b o d y b u ild in g (been l i f t i n g { oa 1 y e a r s now). P la y c h e s s oa Go (Wei C h i) by m a ll, I s an y on e I n t e A e s t e d In H er a ld ry ( e s p e c i a l l y EuAopean C iv ic HcAaldAy)? 7 h av e a c o l l e c ­ t io n o { som e 6000 aAms. I ’ d a l s o l i k e t o heaA { Aom som eon e who c o u ld g iv e me a d v i c e on c o l l e c t i n g m i l i t a A l a - - e s p e c i a l l y m ed als a n d / oa m lnlatuA dS.

I do a lo t o { rea d in g: gay l i t , ero tica , hlstoAy, plUlosophy, anthAopology, compaAotlve r e l i g i o n s , and languages (Spanish).

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I ’ m a GWM, 27 yeans old, 5'6" and weigh 120 lb s . I'm veAy shy, u ltra s e n s lt lv e , and wanm and caning. I love the q u iet l l { e , q u iet and In ­ tim ate, shoning moments.

I have a passion {on {lowenlng gandenlng. I love nending, playing piano and gultan, singing.

VeaA Fnlends, I'm a 24-year-old pAo{esslonal who treasures aela tlo n sh lp s. I ’m out­ going, but s e n s itiv e . I ’m d lscn eet, but honest. 7 got my blond haln, blue eyes and {aln skin {nom the Swedish sid e o{ the {amity. 1 liv e In the city , but my values ane the Aesult o{ my countAy upbnlnglng.

Like eveAyone, I'm looking {on that sp ecia l comfM nlon-{on-li{e. So {a n , my seaAch has been pnetty {un. May­ be you can help. Why not WAlte? We might have moAe than one tklng In common. Even l { you'Ae not that sp ecia l "one," we could be {Alends.

Richard o{ MaAyland c/o o{ RFV ▼ The North C a r o lin a Human R ig h ts Fund I s lo o k in g { oa v o lu n t e e r s who e n jo y sn oo p in g aAound, k i t can a l s o h o ld t h e Isi tdngues when n eed ed . What we A e a lly n eed i s a t l e a s t one in d lv l d u a l in e v e r y a r e a o { th e s t a t e who p s c { e A a b ly I s n o t in v o lv e d a s a v o lu n t e e r . in any otheA o r g a n iz a t i o n , and who I s I n t e r d t e d in d oin g d o c u ­ m en ta tio n o { v i o l e n c e , h a ra ssm en t oa d is c r im in a t io n In w hich th e v i c ­ tim s ' s e x u a l o r i e n t a t i o n was a { a c ­ tor.

T h is j o b can be s h e e r d ru d g ery and It. can b e a b s o l u t e l y { a s c l n a t in g I { you { e e l. t h a t you c o u ld h e lp u s, th en p l e a s e c o n t a c t u s.

You w i l l be ' c h e c k e d o u t' a s you w i l l b e w orkin g w ith d e l i c a t e and im p o rta n t d a t a , b u t you w ill, a l s o b e t r a i n e d and h av e t h e s u p p o r t o { ou r o r g a n iz a t io n I t w ould b e h e l p f u l l { you a r e 'ou t' a n d /o r c o m p u te r iz e d , bu t n o t n e c d saAjy.

I have a stAong sex dnlve, but {on th a t "special" penson my love would be much stro n g er. Am looking {on a one-man n elatlonshlp. I n t e r d t e d ?

TAy me. Can’t hunt and we both may be pleasantly suApnlsed.

N orth C a r o lin a Human R ig h ts Fund P. 0 . Box 10782 R a le ig h , MC 27605 (919) 829-0181 ▼I

Jen n y W h eeler 812 Bnown S t .

W ilm in gton , PE

I {ou n d ed t h e Faubourg M arlgny B oo k­ s t o r e In Mew O rlean s b a c k In '78, s o l d I t In '86, and moved t o A rizon a s u p p o s e d ly t o sp en d t h e A d t o { my tl{e .

A la s , a { t e r a y e a r I c o u ld n o t a d j u s t t o t h e n eim ess o { th in g s and d e c i d e d t o move b a ck t o N orth C a r o lin a w h ere 1 came {rom .

7 s till, h av e l o t s o { b oo ks l e f t o v e r {rom my b o o k s t o r e days and may y e t op en a sm all, b u s l n d s .

But { o r now w ould l o v e t o h e a r {rom on e and a l l , and d p e c i a l l y t h o s e who can h e lp me t o becom e a c c lim a t e d t o t h e E a st C o a st a g a in , and s p e . c l { l c a l l y E a st C a r o lin a .

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19805

Howdy!

My r e l i g i o n I s N a tu ra l Law. My p o ­ l i t i c s o n e G en e t. My Ex was a B os­ to n I n t e l l e c t u a l . L ik e Ma n in M otorh lk e l l f d t y l e . I In ten d to le a r n TM -Sldhl Pnognam and move t o t h e countA y e v e n t u a l ly . I'm 31, 6' 7” .

173, p l a i n a v e n a g e l o o k s , and h av e b een e x p o s e d t o t h e AIDS vlA u s.

H. Jo h n Varnm 1304 E u c lid S t . MW W ashin gton , VC 20009

85

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RFV F r ie n d s ,

I'm 5 '1 1 " ,

145 l b s . , a young 60,

sm ooth sh a v en , b lu e e y e s and e x t r a s h o u t c r r n c u t --brown now tinged w ith g r a y . A ll my { p a s t ) lo v e n s have b een g o o d lo o k in g , s h o r t e r and h e a v i ­ e r th a n l - - i n f a c t much s h o r t e r and h e a v ie r .

7 d e f i n i t e l y p r e f e r him to be oven 40.

7 w ou ld a l s o l i k e him t o be s u b m is s iv e , a t l e a s t i n b ed .

E lsew h ere i t can b e on a SO-SO b a s is .

I t i s p n o b a b ly a fla w oft mine t h a t 7 i n s i s t on t h i s p a s t i d e a l an d am t r y in g t o g a t oven i t .

7 may n o t f i n d i t , b u t t h a t ' s a l l n ig h t t o o .

Vou have t o b e happy w it h in y o u r s e l f - -a n d 7 am --on you a n e n ' t happy a t a ll.

7 r e a d , w a t t e (a few p u b l i c a ­ t io n s ) , d a n ce Countny, som etim es wean l e a t h e r , b r e e d S c o t t i e s , gattd en , and l o v e t o t a a v e l - - b u t o n ly when 7 know my dogs on e ta k en ca n e o f.

7f t h e r e ' s anyone o u t t h e r e who f i t s my fa n t a s y and i s a t t r a c t e d t o an o ld e n man who d o e s n ' t know h e's o ld , u n it e .

S in c e r e ly , Tom HonneA Box 162 blew Benn, bJC 28560

7 am an a v e r a g e lo o k in g GWM, 31, 5 '1 0 " , 140 l b s . , dank b lo n d e h a in ( th in n in g so m ew h at), b lu e e y e s , t i g h t a v e r a g e b u il d .

C o n s id e r e d to b e c o n s e r v a t iv e and s t r a i g h t a p p e a r ­ in g b u t 7 am t o l e r a n t and o p e n m in ded.

7 h av e a icarm c o m p a s s io n a t e h ea rt, p o s itiv e a ttitu d e , s o lid v a l u e s , and am h e a lth - m in d e d . Am k in d o f a q u i e t man and n o t r e a l l y i n t o t h e g ay s o c i a l s c e n e th ou g h 7 do h av e a sm a ll c i r c l e o f f r i e n d s .

7 am a p r o f e s s i o n a l p e r s o n and am a r ts o r ie n te d .

7 e n jo y b ein g o u t ­ d o o r s in my s p a r e t im e , w orkin g in t h e g a r d en , m i k i n g t h r u t h e woods o r a lo n g t h e b e a c h , r e l a x in g by t h e l a k e , q u ie t, t im e s .

7 am s e a r c h in g fo n a man 25 t o 36 o r t h e r e a b o u t s , W ith a s im i l a r fram e o f mind and i n ­ terests.

F r ie n d s h ip f i r s t , th e n p o s s i b l y a p erm an en t monogamous r e ­ la tio n s h ip .

P le a s e w r i t e . T a l l a ­ h a s see an ea.

P eace t o a l l .

J .G .P . o f F lo r id a d o RFV ▼

Y

P ip e li n e s is a v o lu n te e n su p p on t gnoup and s e r v i c e o n g a n iz a t io n fo n p en son s p r e p a r in g fon r e l e a s e fnom p n is o n . P ip e li n e s i s a l s o c o m p ilin g a n a t io n a l d i r e c t o r y o f p o is o n s and su p p on t s e r v i c e s fo n p en son s in p n is o n . A vo tun t e e a w ith g ood s p e l l i n g s k i l l s i s n e e d e d fo n d a t a en tn y .

P ip e li n e s P. 0 . Box 1668 A s h e v i l l e , MC 28802

Vean R e n d e r s :

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Vean RFVens, Vm a GUAM li v i n g se v e n m ile s a b o v e R o s w e ll, Ga. 7 j u s t moved to t h e a r e a w ith my room m ate.

I ’m 36, 5 ' l l " , 155 t b s , b lu e e y e s , dank h a in and m o u sta c h e.

7 e n jo y le a d in g , swimming, a n t iq u e and f l e a m a r k e t s , m o v ies, homegoown v i d e o s , and sw apping v id e o t a p e s .

7 w ou ld lo v e t o j o i n o t h e r s in sk in n y d ip p in g and q u i e t g e t - t o ­ g eth er s .

7 w ould l i k e to m eet s i m it a r guys in R o sw ell and bio nth A tla n ta a r e a .

Vean F r ie n d s , 7 am 43 y e a r s o l d b u t t h in k young.

7 l i v e in a totvn n e x t t o Miami. The w e a th e r i s ivanm ev en in w in t e r .

7 am 6 '0 " , 165 p ou n ds, brown h a in , m o u sta c h e, i n t e l l i g e n t , s i n c e r e , a f ­ f e c t i o n a t e , 7 d o n ’ t d r in k o r sm o ke.

7 d o n ' t com m it any s e x u a l a c t s t h a t m ig h t b e u n s a fe t o me o r t o my p a r t ­ n er.

7 am lo o k in g fo n a y ou th b e ­ tw een 18 and 21 y ean s o f a g e who icould l i k e t o move t o t h e b ig c i t y .

7 am n o t e f f e m i n a t e on s a d i s t i c , b u t 7 w ou ld h av e no o b j e c t i o n s t o a you th who might, b e e f f e m i n a t e , t r a n s v e s t i t e on m a s o c h i s t i c .

7 want t o l i v e w ith t h i s y ou th in a r e l a ­ t i o n s h i p t h a t i s h o n e s t and l o v in g , and 7 am monogamous enough t o w ant t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p to en d u re f o r t h e r e s t o f my l i f e .

7 am n o t to o c h o o s y , b u t a y ou th who i s i n t e l l i ­ g e n t on who i s from t h e V eep Sou th w ould b e m ore i n t e r e s t i n g t o me than o t h e r s w ou ld, and an i n t e l l i ­ g e n t S o u th e r n e r w ou ld b e j u s t r i g h t .

7 f you a r e s i n c e r e and t h e b ig c i t y a t t r a c t s you , h e r e i s you r o p p o r ­ t u n it y .

P le a s e se n d a p h o to o f you rs e l f . W rite to : S tep h en hi. F o s t e r 2150 V ou g las Road #7 C o ra l G a b le s , FL 33134

Y

C oun try B r o t h e r s : B le s s e d Be, Henry Robertson 304 Falls Count W o od sto ck, GA 30188

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We c a n ' t a l l l i v e in t h e c o u n tr y ; some m ust s t a y n e a r th e c i t i e s and s u p e r v is e .

Vou c o u ld h e l p t h e c a u s e by g e t t i n g in c o n t a c t w ith me,

86

s h a r in g you r p h ilo s o p h y , you r a p ­ p r o a c h t o c o u n try l i v i n g , and your dream s and d e s i r e s .

7'm w h it e , 5' JO", b r o m h a i r I e y e s ( 2 ), p o o r memory, V irg o .

7 n t e r e s t s : s im p le and g ou rm et c o o k in g , a n t i q u e s , c r e a t i v e w r it in g , s e x , w a lk in g a lo n g t h e F l o r i d a b e a c h e s t h in k in g o f n o th in g , d in in g i n , r e a d in g and t r a v e l . Send a l i n e and p o s s i b l y you c o u ld come t o v i s i t me i n t h e la n d o f e t e r n a l s u n s h in e .

Joh n B ertra n d 3630 MW 34th T e r r a c e L a u d e r d a le L a k e s , FL 33309

y

Vean RFVers, 7 e n jo y my c o u n try l i f e bu t f e e l i s o l a t e d - - i t ' s h ard t o m eet som eon e s p e c i a l and l a t e l y 7'm sp en d in g w eeken d s and o f f d ay s i n t h e c i t y .

7 f t h e r e i s an e a r l y t h i r t i e s o r y ou n ger man, s m a ll b u ilt, f o r h is h e ig lr t, lo o k in g f o r a home and a on e t o on e lo n g term l o v e r r e l a t i o n ­ s h i p w ith an e a s y g o in g , 43 y e a r s young, 6 ' , 175 l b s . , brown h a i r , b lu e e y e s c o u n try guy, th e n by a l l means w r i t e me w ith a p h o to and h e lp s a v e my c o u n try q u i e t l i f e b e f o r e 7 con ven t to th e t y p ic a l r a t r a c e o f th e c ity .

7 d o n ' t w ant t o , b u t t h e l o n e l i n e s s i s g e t t i n g t o me. Be a h e r o in '87 and s a v e my r u r a l s e t ­ tin g and c a t c h a l i t t l e h o n e s t l o v e in y ou r l i f e !

S i n c e r e in Alabama Jan P.O. Box 121 M oulton, AL 35650-0121

Y

V ear RFV R ead ers - L et's fa c e i t .

7 am t i r e d o f w ork­ in g o f f my b a l l s s o 7 can l i v e a l i f e o f s e l f i s h in d u lg e n c e w ith o n ly me t o p r o s p e r from my l a b o r s .

7 n eed t o s h a r e l i f e w ith som eon e who i s w i l l i n g t o b e a humorous c o l l a b o r a t o r in t h i s game o f ch a n ce c a lle d l i f e .

7 n eed an a f f e c t i o n ­ a t e , h o n e s t , c le a n p e r s o n who i s c r e a t iv e , or a t l e a s t t o le r a n t o f my own c r e a t i v e e f f o r t s t h a t a r e d e v o t e d t o w r it in g f i c t i o n , s c u l p ­ tu r in g and p a in t in g .

7 l i k e to t r a v e l b u t 7 a l s o l i k e t o h av e a warm c o m fo r t a b l e home w h ere 7 can r e l a x ic ith t h e on e o f my c h o i c e .

7 icou ld l i k e a r u r a l l i f e s t y l e , havin a d e c i d e d t h a t 7 am f e d up w ith t h e c o m p e t it i v e h a s s l e o f t h e c itie s .

7 am in my l a t e 59s w ith 165 pounds o f m u scle and t h r e e pounds o f f a t .

7 am a p r o f e s s o r who w i l l l e a v e h is c u r r e n t p o s t so on t o s e e k t h e bou n ty o f r e q u i t e d l o v e in some s y lv a n r u r a l g la d e .

7 f you a r e a bottom man w ith a

d e a r RFV B r o t h e r s ,

sense of humor and a happy outlook on l i f e , p lease w r i t e .

(An added serious note: 7 do not delink, smoke, on do recrea tio n a l drugs and I do not appreciate those Mho do.)

S o --ionite! l‘Je might find trea su res in our loanm cuddling a S e c t i o n .

With love and peace, Joh n F. P e t t ib o n e 919 C a n ltjle Way E a s t #163

Mobile, A L

36609

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Dear F r ie n d s , T am 68 yean* old, 5 ’ 10", 190 pounds. T am r e t i r e d and a sin g le G W M. I have a n ice too bedroom apartmen-t that some other male Mould be Melcome to use tohile look­ ing for ivork in th is area.

7 do not d r in k , smoke, o r do d ru g s.

L o n e lin e s s sometimes gets to me. 1 Melcome l e t t e r s from any of you and promise an anSMer to a l l ioho might b e in t e r e s t e d in A labam a.

7 v a lu e h o n e s ty and tru th fu ln ess a b o v e m a t e r i a l Month. P e r s o n a lly 1 e n jo y s a f e s e x , am c le a n sh a v e n , c le a n o f b od y .

I c a n ' t c o o k , but h ave a n i c e s m a ll k i t c h e n .

1 am Manting t o meet someone, ape unimportant, Mho ivants a home, and a re a l frien d to boot. Who knoios, so p lease M rite.

C h a r lie P.O. Box 20538 M ontgomery, AL [201] 288-5800

At a g e 39, 7 s t i l l h av e my s i x t i e s b e a r d and som e o f t h e a t t i t u d e s tlvxt a c c o m p a d e d it ..

I'm s t i l l s t r i v i n g t o b e a r e n a i s s a n c e man and t o k e e p my y o u t h fu l i d e a lis m a l i v e i n an i n c r e a s i n g l y d i s i l l u ­ s io n in g M orld. O ften b e t r a y e d by l o v e , I'm s t i l l lo o k in g f o r a com­ p a t i b l e p a r t n e r Mho s h a r e s my dream o f a c h ie v in g Iw rm on y --w ith in o u r ­ s e l v e s , b etw een e a c h o t h e r , and M ith t h e c o sm o s.

7 am m a s c u lin e , b u t q u i e t and a b i t s h y ; 5 '7 " , 135 l b s . ; h e a l t h - c o n ­ s c i o u s ; broMn h a i r m o s tly g on e from t h e t o p , b u t enough l e f t e ls e w h e r e .

My i n t e r e s t s i n c lu d e m u sic ( e s p e ­ c i a l l y j a z z , f o l k , and n e w -a g e ); f i l m ; p h o to g r a p h y ; m ost o f t h e a r t s ; a n im a ls ; s c i e n c e and n a t u r e ; t r a v e l ; cam ping and w ild e r n e s s b a c k p a c k in g .

7 lo v e t h e d e s e r t s and m oun tain s o f t h e W est and h o p e to s e t t l e t h e r e som eday; b u t 7 p r e f e r n o t to make, th e t r a n s it io n a lo n e.

7 p u rsu e n ew -ag e i n t e r e s t s su ch as a s t r o l o g y , m e d i t a t i o n , and n e o ­ pagan m y s tic is m ; b u t in lo v e 7 am an o l d - f a s h i o n e d r o m a n tic who b e ­ l i e v e s in com m itm ent and f i d e l i t y .

7 b e l i e v e p a s s io n can f l o u r i s h w it h in a c l o s e d c i r c l e o f tw o. The man 7 s e e k s h a r e s t h a t f e e l i n g and i s s e r i o u s a b o u t making a r e l a t i o n ­ s h i p w ork.

L i f e may be a b a n q u e t; bu t d in in g a l o n e i s no fu n .

I f we s h a r e som e­ t h in g in common, p l e a s e w r i t e .

P eace, P aul P.O. Box 6193 F lo r e n c e , KV 41042

36120 ▼

D ear R FV ers, M y name i s F o r r e s t (WGM). I am in my la te 2 0 ' s .

7 am 5 '9 " , 180#, deep blue ey es. 7 l i v e at S h o r t Mountain. 7 enjoy ta lk in g, cooking,

farm l i f e , swimming, walks in the moonlight and people Mho lik e to e x ­ p r e s s t h e i r fe e lin g s (hugging and k issin g ) . 7 am h o n e s t , s in c e r e , loving, but shy in some ways.

7 would l i k e to hear from other brothers Mho enjoy the same o r Mho might l i k e a penpal. 7 M ill anSMer

7 'm w h it e , Gay, 23 y e a r s o l d , 5 ' l l " t a l l , w eig h 160, and 7 h a v e b la c k h a i r and g r e e n e y e s .

7 l o v e F ren ch and G reek o r an y th in g e l s e my P a r t ­ n er w ants t o d o.

7 re­

7 w i l l an sw er a l l t h e t e t t e r s 7 r e ­ c e i v e from an y w h ere in t h e w o r ld .

Russ Hoioard 617 E a s t D oroth y Lane D ayton, OH 45419 ▼

a ll Mho M rite.

Dear RFV R e a d e r s ,

F orrest Rt. 1 Box 84-A l i b e r t y , TN 37095

We a r e a c o u p le (a g es 33 and 64) t h a t a r e s e e k in g p e n p a ls and fr ie n d s . ( S o r r y , no p r is o n e r s

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87

I t w ould b e n i c e t o h av e a few more f r i e n d s and p e n p a ls . So w r i t e us b ro th ers!

P.O. Box 1063 P ortsm ou th , OH 45662

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D ear Country B r o t h e r s , 7 am a g/w /m , 32 y r s . o l d , 6 ' , 170 l b s . , brown h a ir and m o u stach e, b lu e e y e s .

My i n t e r e s t s are. many. G ard en in g , a n im a ts , e c o lo g y , n a t u r e , w alk in g in th e w oods, s i t t i n g by the f i r e , o r j u s t t a k in g i t e a s y .

I l i v e on th e ed g e o f t h e m o d s n e a r a b ig t a k e in a home t h a t 7 own and l i v e in by m y s e lf.

7 have a j o b in a sm a lt w oodw orking sh op w h ich pays f a i r l y w e ll and on o c c a s io n do some a u c t io n e e r i n g .

7'm a fo rm er c i t y boy b u t moved to th e c o u n try two y e a r s a g o . My fr i e n d s in t h e c i t y a l l t o l d me I ' d n e v e r make i t h e r e , bu t I ' v e b een a c o u n try boy fo r two y e a r s and the h a r d e s t p a r t i s d e a lin g w ith th e lo n e lin e s s .

I ’m lo o k in g f o r a c o u p le f o r fr i e n d s and maybe someone, c l o s e to h om e(? ).

7 p r e f e r som eone my a g e o r y ou n g er.

I sm oke a l i t t l e and t a k e an o c c a ­ s i o n a l d r in k .

7 d o n ' t u se d ru gs and p r e f e r you d id n ' t e i t h e r .

A p h o to w ould b e n i c e w ith you r r e ­ p ly b u t I ' l l an sw er e v ery o n e who w r i t e s . T ake c a r e and hope to h e a r from y ’ a ll. so o n .

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7 w i l l an sw er a l l. t h e l e t t e r s c e i v e from men o f any a g e .

p le a s e .)

We h a v e a w id e v a r i e t y o f i n t e r e s t s in c lu d in g t h e New Age, s p i r i t o o l i t y , m e t a p h u s ic s , p e a c e movement and o t h e r p r o g r e s s i v e m ove­ m en ts, m u sic and many o t h e r t h in g s .

L arry Summers Rt. 3 Box 4 0 8 -A C lo v e r d a le , IN 46120

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W/M/40 c o u n try p e r s o n from M ich i­ g an 's Upper P en in su la lo o k in g f o r c o u n try f r i e n d s n ea rb y , any a g e .

I n t e r e s t s a r e g a r d e n in g , b u il d in g , b e e k e e p in g .

D a r r e ll o f M ichigan d o RFD r 7 am lo o k in g f o r a c l e a n , n e a t and r e s p e c t a b l e young man who w ou ld b e i n t e r e s t e d in c o m p a n io n sh ip , w orkin g t h e f l e a m a rk ets and in v o lv in g s e t t i n g up t h e u n it , s e l l i n g and camping o u t a b o u t s e v e n months p e r

y ea r n o rth and t h r e e to fo u r month* i f g o in g so u th fo r win t o n . 7 am 49 y o u n g ish , s i n g l e , no sm oking, v e t , and cast/ g o in g , g ood c o o k and sim p le o l d fa s h io n , i a l s o am a c o u n try e n t e r t a i n e r and a l s o d e a l in m u sic a l in s t r u m e n t s , je w e l r y , n . d i e s and c a s t ir o n p r o d u c t * .

The com panion c o u ld s e l l h i* own g oo d s and o t h e r w is e make a d e c e n t p r o f i t a c c o r d i n g ly t o d e s i r e and a b ility .

7 l i v e in ami u se my 18' T r a v e l T r a i l e r and p ic k - u p t r u c k .

The o n ly b i l l * 7 have a r e t h e -tru ck, in s u r a n c e e v e r y t h r e e month* and t h e s p a c e a c u t a t t h e m a r k e ts .

P r e s e n t ly 7 have s p a c e *255 a t Shipsheuxina In d ia n a fa e a m a rk et r e ­ s e r v e d f a r May 19S7 p a id and s u p p ly ahe,ad fa r t h r e e m onths.

7 am i n t e r e s t e d in h e a r in g faom th e r i g h t p e r s o n who a l s o n eed s a c a r ­ ing com/.xinicn in th e p r o p e r U fa . s t y l e who can d r iv e o n c e in a w h i l e , who d o e s n ' t mind sunning in th e O zark* woods e t c .

Can be faom any a r e a , 7 p r e f e r S o u t h e r n e r * . Hope f a r a t e t t e r o r to o .

Thanks a t o t .

R e s p e c tfa tty , Ken ("<elch am c / o 7 7 V T ed’ s V u v e Rt. 5 C o ld io ater B a t a v ia , '.17 49036

Y

Pear B r o t h e r s , 7 'm lo o k in g (on a r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith a man who iooutd t i k e to l i v e in th e n o r th m o d s o f th e G r e a t L a k e s .

I'm e s p e c i a l l y i n t e r e s t e d in som eone who has A m erican In d ia n b e t i e f a - among them t h a t e v e r y t h in g ha* s p i r ­ i t , even th e ro c k s and th e t r e e s ; t h a t we a r e p a r t o f t h is e a r t h , t h a t th e b i r d s , p l a n t s , f i s h e s a r e our b r o t h e r s ; and t h a t i<!e n eed to lo v e t h i s M other E arth and a l l wfw l i v e upon h e r .

I'm 6 ' 2 " , w eigh 170, mid 2 0 ' s.

B e­ s id e s the n a t u r a l w o r ld , 7 draw , p a i n t , g a r d e n , w r i t e p o e t r y and h ave f a n t a s i e s o^ l i v i n g w ith some Greek g o d in th e m y s te r io u s m o d s .

It c o u ld be you.

In S p i r i t and Love, Joh n o f W iscon sin d o RFV r

1H r i l men o n ty --F in m p r a c t i t i o n e r o f o l d - f a s h i o n e d v a l u e * , such as v i r t u e , integrity, p e r s o n a l c o n f i ­ d e n c e , p e a c e o f mind, and s e l f - d i s ­ c ip lin e .

F l e x i b l e le a th e r m a n !

P re.fer.en ce in b on d ag e, d i s c i p l i n e , and en d u ra n c e.

V i r t u o s i t y in f o o t s l a v e r y ! S a fe s e x m an d atory .

S p o r t* e n t h u s i a s t .

A b s o lu t e ly r e ­ l i s h w r e s t lin g and f o o t b a l l . (ais w e l l a s m e * t i e r s and f o o t b a l l , p l a y e r s ) !

A lso e n jo y w e i g h t l i f t i n g , running and t u c y c l in g . C o n s id e r p e r s o n a l s p i r i t u a l i t y t o b e o f v i t a l im p o r­ t a n c e . S e e d o f Abraham w i l l r e c e i v e s p e c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n . S e e k in g fr i e n d s a n d /o r s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r .

P le a s e do n o t re s p o n d i f you a r e in any way e f f e m i n a t e !

Randy o f W iscon sin c / o RFV ▼

I'm 6 '2 " , 155 l b s . , b rn . h a i r , and b lu e e y e s .

I'm a l s o an A r ie s .

I'm a c le a n p e r s o n in n e a r p e r f e c t h e a l t h .

I no lo n g e r sm oke, and d r in k v e r y little .

I am s t i l l In t h e p r o c e s s o f fin d in g my new i d e n t i t y .

And iwould l o v e t o h av e som e happy fr i e n d s t o r e l a t e t o .

I w i l l an sw er a l l who w r it e . " F r ien d s w it h in ," Gregg P .0 . Box 582 P o p la r B l u f f , MO 63901

Y

HELP! d e a r F r ie n d * : 7 l i v e and w ork on a g r a in farm in Illin o is .

7 am 40 now, f o r t u n a t e l y s t i l l lo o k a b i t you n ger than t h a t (7 know, t h a t All. s a y t h a t ! ) .

A n a t u r a l b lo n d , c o m p le t e w ith mous­ t a c h e and b lu e /g r e e n e y e * .

A 42 in ch [ h a ir y ) c h e s t and 32 in c h w a is t , S ' 10" and 1601b*. An) t o l d by some I'm han dsom e, o t h e r s s a y c u t e , o t h e r s d o n ' t even l o o k t w i c e .

7 c o n s i d e r m y s e lf v e r y m a s c u lin e in a p p e a r a n c e and manner.

Tm n o t a " p r e t t y boy" n or on e o f t h e " g ir l s " !

J u s t a man who n eed s a man.

My name i s R a p h a el S a b a t i n i and I am c u r r e n t l y in v o lv e d in a p r o j e c t in d e x in g b a ck i s s u e s o f RFV. We n eed v o lu n t e e r s f a r t h i s en d ea v o r and L e in m a il w o r k s h e e t s and i s s u e s t o you. Won't you h e lp ?

R a p h ael S a b a t l n i P .0 . Box 506 F t. P o lk , LA 71459

Y

Hi,

J u s t an " o ld s o u th e r n boy" in h e a r t and s p i n e t t h a t i s s e e k in g more in l i f e b o th p h y s i c a l l y and m e n t a lly .

V ery t i r e d o f t h e c r u e l t y and mind My id e a l, in a n o t h e r p e r s o n i s on e who games t h a t g ay s seem t o f i n d a r e is e q u a l l y c a p a b le o f lo o k in g and t h e "in th in g " t h e s e d a y s . A lso fu n c t io n in g q u i t e n a t u r a lly and com­ r e a l f r i e n d s a r e a r a r e it e m and f o r t a b l y in e i t h e r a fo rm a l s o c i a l t h e f a i r w e a th e r t y p e f a r t o o com­ s i t u a t i o n o r in c o n t r a s t , a h a rd and mon. 7 s e e k t h e fo rm er and a r e a l sw ea ty w ork s i t u a t i o n .

7 resp ect man f o r a o n e t o on e r e l a t i o n s h i p m ost h o n e s t y , l o y a l t y and h a rd w ork. t h a t d o e s n o t t h in k s e x on demand i s w hat i t i s a l l a b o u t .

I t g ets As f a r a s my i n t e r e s t s : fa rm in g , o f a w fu lly l o n e l y n o t h av in g an yon e t o come home t o and s l e e p i n g w ith a c o u r s e , t r a v e l , my f r i e n d s , w r itin g p illo w . to p e n - p a ls , and j u s t e n jo y in g t h e s im p le b e a u t i f u l n a t u r a l p le a s u r e s o f l i f e and i t s p e o p le .

7 h a v e a l o t I ’m 37, WM, 5 ’11", 180 l b s . , f a i r l y o f l o v e and fr i e n d s h i p t o g i v e t o g o o d s h a p e , th in n in g s a l t and p e p ­ som eone c l o s e and e v e r so s p e c i a l , p e r h a i r , g r e y in g b e a r d , g r e e n and n eed the. sam e in r e t u r n . e y e s , m o d era te d r in k e r and sm o k er, s i n c e r e , l o v i n g , and c o n s i d e r e d 7 w ou ld l i k e to c o r r e s p o n d w ith !m e e t good lo o k in g .

I l i k e q u i e t t im e s , o t h e r g ay fa r m e r s , e s p e c i a l l y in t h e o l d c a r s , y a r d w ork, c o o k in g , s m a ll m id w est.

I'm a l s o open t o t h e p o s ­ towns (I n eed a m u zzle and l e r * h in s i b i l i t y o f a r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith a a b ig c i t y ) , pop and c l a s s i c a l l i k e m in ded, h e a lt h y , g o o d lo o k in g m u sic, c o n s e r v a t i v e v l e r n , r e a l farm boy who is 40 o r y ou n g er. E it h e r p e o p l e .

Am s e l f - s u p p o r t i v e , p r o ­ c a t e g o r y , p l e a s e w r it e soon and f e s s i o n a l , and n o t r e a l l y a b a c k - t o p h o to s a p p r e c i a t e d . na,ture p e r s o n .

P ea c e.

Illin o is c / o RFV

Want to h e a r from guys o f s i m i l a r a g e and v ie w s . Am t i r e d o f th ro w ­ in g t h e l i n e o u t and a b o u t t o run o u t o f worms t o b a i t t h e h o o k .

W ill r e p l y t o a l l and l i k e t o e x ­ ch a n g e p h o t o s .

R e lo c a t i o n a p o s ­ s ib ility .

Fa-rmer ▼

New F r ie n d s , I am a 25 y ea r o l d G.W.M. who ivould l i k e to r e c e i v e l e t t e r s faom an y on e, an tw h e r e .

88

R o b e r t C. Powers 1114 M a rra b le H i l l E l V o ra d o , AR 71730

Y

Texas h i l l c o u n try b a i l o r , 39, s e e k s h i l l c o u n try e q u e s t r i a n f o r m utual t u t e l a g e : you te a c h me to t i d e th e p o n t e s , and V I Z teach, you to t i d e t h e w ind. a.iu.

P.O. Box 2057 t a n i te S h o a l s , TK

78654

▼

VeaA RFVers, F in din g a l o v e t t o s h a r e in a long­ term r e l a t i o n s h i p i s th e most im por­ ta n t th in g an my H i e .

I t is a ls o the. m ost d i f f i c u l t th in g I ' v e ev er attem p ted .

7 am 44, 6' 5", 200, a n g le , v e r y m a s c u lin e , an e d u c a t e d i n - t h e - c l o s e s t c o u n tr y b oy .

7 a p a r t - t i m e fa r m e r /r a n c h e r and a s c h o o lte a c h e r .

7 ivas born and r a i s e d in t h e c o u n try and s t i l l en ­ jo y th e o u td o o r s f o r a v a r i e t y oh a c t i v i t i e s su ch a s : h orseback r id ­ in g , w ork in g c a t t l e , h ik in g , f i s h ­ in g , g a r d e n in g , and a l o t m ore.

7 l i k e a l l k in d s oh m u sic bu t l i k e to co u n try w e s te r n d a n c e .

7 p a r tic u ­ l a r l y l i k e t o 2 and 3 - s t e p , p o l k a , and w a lt z .

7 have a l o t oh o t h e r in te r e s t s a ls o .

Some oh t h e s e a r e m o v ies, r e a d in g , la u g h in g , f l e a m a r k e ts , e a t in g o u t and making l o v e .

7 do n o t sm oke b u t do d r in k s o c i a l lit .

7 am h e a l t h c o n s c i o u s - - w a l k / j o g 3 m ile s a day o r b i c y c l e f o r 12 and n on p rom iscu o u s. 7 w ant t o be l i k e th e w ild goose, and m ate f o r U h l o j v

The man I'm lo o k in g hor w ould be a n g lo , arou n d 26 t o 36, s lim o r trim , w ith s i m i l a r i n t e r e s t s .

Vou may n o t be. r i g h t , b u t p erh a p s you know som eone t h a t i s .

T hink a b o u t it!

7h you know oh su ch a man, p l e a s e w r it e me w it h h is name and a d d r e s s o r show him t h i s l e t t e r .

We w ould b o th a p p r e c i a t e i t .

T han ks.

In f r i e n d s h i p and m ore, Frank C. Hinds Rt. 5 Box 152 G o n z a les, TX 78629

▼

H ello F e llo w RFD R ea d ers . . .

B e lie v e i t or n o t t h e r e are Gays and L e s b ia n s in S a l t Lake C ity , Utah. U n fo r tu n a te ly t h e r e a r e n ' t many Gay pagans in th e s t a t e oh D e s e r e t . T her e f o r e t h e r e a s o n hor th is co n ta ct l e t t e r .

P e r s o n a lly 7 am a 24 n ear o l d GWM, 5 ’ 11", 170 l b s . , h a z e l e y e s , b lo n d h a ir w ith a r e d d is h m ou stach e and beard. By *rad c 7 am a r a d io an ­ n ou n cer.

7 am a l s o a c t i v e in the. l o c a l Gay community w h ere 7 h o s t a Gaif and L esb ia n r a d io show on our l o c a l a l t e r n a t i v e r a d io s t a t i o n .

In 1986 7 t o o k p a r t in th e G r e a t P eace March hor G lo b a l N u clea r D isarmament and had t h e o p p o r t u n it y t o v i s i t . Gay h o ik a c r o s s the. c o u n tr y .

is n 't.

High q u a l i t y w h ole w h eat b r e a d is b a k ed in our o v e n s .

W e ig h t l ift in g eq u ip m en t i s in u s e , a n d t h e r e a r e p la n s f o r a plu n g e and l a p p o o l .

N earby m oun tain s a r e i d e a l f o r h ik in g .

Ole h av e a c a t h o l i c i t y o f i n t e r e s t s and en co u ra g e a w id e ra n g e o f e x ­ p r e s s io n from o t h e r s .

For more in fo r m a tio n w r it e r

7 am i n t e r e s t e d in c o r r e s p o n d in g w ith f a e r i e s on t h e w est and n o r t h ­ w est e s p e c i a l l y . A lthou gh 7 e n jo y t h e o u td o o r s and t h e c o u n try I am p r im a r il y a c i t y f a e r i e . My c a r e e r and tem peram en t a r e more s u i t e d t o c ity l i f e .

M" i n t e r e s t s in c lu d e t h e e x p lo r a t io n and stu d y oh Gay S p i r i t ­ u a l i t y , com m u n ication s and t r a v e l .

Now when i t comes to romance . . .

7 hin d b e a r d e d , h a ir y men in r e a s o n ­ a b l e shape betw een 21-38 t o be a tu rn -on a lth o u g h my m a s tu r b a to n / f a n t a s i e s w on’ t p r e v e n t me hrom h a ilin g in lo v e w ith someone o u t s id e oh th o s e g u i d e l i n e s . A p i c t u r e i s p r e f e r r e d , you d o n ' t h av e t o su bm it a p h o to sp rea d from j u s t a sn ap sh o t.

P ea c e and B le s s e d Be, Me l B aker 428 F a s t Truman A v e.

Sou th S a l t L ake C ity , UT

84115

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Dear B ro th er s • G r e e t in g s from KORVDON. Two m a le s , Rod and Jim , w ish t o open a 1.28 a c r e i r r i g a t e d home­ s t e a d to a s s o c i a t i o n by ^ o m on e t o th ree p erson s.

The aim i s t o c r e a t e a s e c u r e , f a m i l y - l i k e a tm o sp h ere o f s h a r in g , l o v e , and a f f e c t i o n . I d e a l ­ l y , e a c h i n d i v i d u a l w ou ld be g u ara n ­ t e e d maximum p r iv a c y and r e s p e c t .

The. s tim u lu s o f c l o s e c o n t a c t w ith p e o p le oh a l l a g e s and backg rou n d s i s a p rim e m o t iv a t io n . S e x u a l f a ­ v o rs a r e n o t a c o n d it io n o f a s s o c i a ­ tio n .

KORVDON i s l o c a t e d a t t h e sou th w est, ed g e o f m e t r o p o lit a n P h oen ix .

T h ere i s an a c t i v e b u ild in g program t o f i n i s h and expand t h e house, and g ro u n d s.

New p a r t i c i p a n t s w ould h e lp c o n s t r u c t t h e i r own p r i v a t e q u a rters.

At p r e s e n t t h e r e a r e d o g s , c a t s , and a d ozen e g g - la y in g c h i c k e n s .

The r e s o r t - l i k e c l i m a t e p e r m its tioo and t h r e e v e g e t a b l e c r o p s p e r y e a r .

One o f us i s a v e g e t a r i a n - - t h e o t h e r 89

Rod KORVDON S t a r R oute One Box 907 HG B u ckey e, A rizon a

85326

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RFD New Aqe Men, The F a e r ie g a t h e r in g s arou n d the c o u n try a r e c e r t a i n t y i n d i c a t i v e o f New Age a w a r e n e s s .

I am v e r y fo r t u n a t e th a t a s a h e a l e r , h o l i s ­ tic. h e a l t h p r a c t i t i o n e r and New Aije m a le 7 am in more touch With my own s e n s u a l i t y and awareness on a d a i l y b a s i s than the a v e r a g e m ale e i t h e r g ay o r s t r a i g h t .

7 am in my l a t e 3 0 's , s l e n d e r , and m a s c u lin e .

Be ing born on a farm in so u th w este rn M in n esota, 7 r e l a t e to n a tu re and n a t u r a l men w e l l .

7 i n v i t e any s p i r i t u a l men to s h a r e a g ood m assag e in th e warm A rizon a Sun, a c o o l n ig h t w ith me, o r ju s t a g oo d fr i e n d s h i p .

7 a l s o have a p o s s i b l e l i v e - i n and w ork s i t u a t i o n f o r som eone w an ting to r e l o c a t e to th e s u n -b e lt.

L et me. know when you w i l l b e in T ucson. A n a t u r a lly h ig h e x p e d ie n c e a w a it s you.

Vour b r o t h e r , Marc HabeAman o f A rizon a c ! o RFD ▼

We are. two men, Paul and R ic h a r d , l i v i n g a b o u t 25 m ile s o u ts id e . S a n ta F e, New M exico. Our v iew from 7200 f e e t in c lu d e s m oun tain s and d e s e r t .

Our p l a c e i s 6 m ile s o f f t h e p a v e ­ ment upon the s i d e o f t h e O rtiz m ountains and i s a c c e s s i b l e on a d i r t r o a d m ost o f t h e y e a r .

Even though we h av e no running w a te r o r e l e c t r i c i t y we e n jo y ou r s im p le l i v ­ in g c o n d it io n s and b e a u t i f u l s u r ­ ro u n d in g s. We eat. s im p ly , a r e b a ­ s i c a l l y q u i e t , happy p e o p l e . We a r e s t u d e n t s o f T ib e ta n Buddhism.

We. r e c e n t l y d i s c o v e r e d RFD and w ould t i k e t o c o n t a c t o t h e r lik e - m in d e d p e o p l e . W e've c o m p le te d a c a b in in t h e l a s t 8 months and are. c u r r e n t l y

building a 3 story structure which occupies a tot of our attention.

P au l, b ein g r e t i r e d , I s a b t e to be h e r e f u l l t i n e and R ich a rd d r iv e s a t r u c k t o m eet expense*. We'd l i k e t o i n v i t e p e o p le to s e e w hat w e ’r e d o in g in t h e h op es t h a t we m ight f i n d a t i n g l e p en t on o r a c o u p le c o m p a t ib le w ith ou r l i f e s t y l e .

Any­ one. c o n s id e r in g l i f e in t h e s e moun­ t a i n s w ou ld have t o b e a b l e t o g e n e r a t e t h e i r own in com e b u t c o u ld h a v e a p la c e t o s t a y in ex ch a n g e { o r work h e r e .

I d e a l l y w e'd l i k e t o fin d o t h e r warn and f r i e n d l y men.

S in c e R ic h a rd t r a v e l s m ost of, t h e U .S. h e i s w i l l i n g t o v i s i t p e o p le w h ile he i s on t h e r o a d . We'd a l s o wei.come men t r a v e l l i n g t h e SW b u t do n eed a d v a n c e n o t i c e .

Vou may co n ­ t a c t us by w r it in g : R ic h a r d and Paul Box 31 C e r r i l l o s , MM 87010

I am a w h it e m a le, 47 y r s . o l d [V ec.

2 3 ), r e d h a i r , b lu e e y e s , 6 f t . , 256 l b s . I l i k e c o u n tr y and c l a s s i ­ c a l m u sic, w ith no fo rm a l e d u c a t io n .

I b r e e d and show P e r s ia n c a t s , Amer­ ic a n s h o r t h a i r c a t s , A m erican w ir e h a i r c a t s [v eru r a r e ) and C h in ese S h a r - p ie d o g s .

I l i v e in a 3 b e d ­ room h ou se w ith my s i s t e r .

The h o u se i s o l d and we a r e f ix i n g i t up a l i t t l e a t a tim e .

I t i s on % acre.

I t t a k e s tim e and money t o g e t i t t h e way we w ant i t .

7 lik e lo n g oxlU z s , t r e e s , g ood fo o d , a q u i e t ni.ght a t home, m o v ies, g ood f r i e n d s , TV. With som eon e s p e c i a l 7 l i k e t o t o u c h and h o ld , som eon e t o l a y on t h e cou ch w it h , w ith my h ea d in t h e i r l a p .

Age and r a c e d o n ' t m a tt e r .

Love f o r p e t s and h on esty i s a l l 7 a s k .

Tf t h is i s so m eth in g you w ould l i k e p l e a s e w r it e t o :

Y

W.C. P.O. Box 30521 San B e r n a r d in o , CA

H e llo B r o t h e r s , My name is M ich ael and Vm la c k i n g f o r new f r i e n d s and p o s s i b l y a l o v e r . May be even v i s i t t h i s sum­ m er, a s I u s u a lly go n o rth to Mew M ex ico, C o lo r a d o , O regon, o r Wash­ in g to n , t o escape the Arizona sum­ mer heat (w hich can be b r u t a l a t tim e s ).

I'm an h o n e s t , lo v in g , s e n ­ s i t i v e p e.rso n , w ith a g o o d s e n s e o f humor.

7 l i k e a n im a ls , 1960s r o c k and r o l l m u sic, o l d c a r s , f l e a m ar­ k e t s , m o v ie s , d a n c in g , n a t u r e , h e a lt h fo o d , a l t e r n a t i v e h e a lin g [h eu bs e t c . ) and a l t e r n a t i v e en erg y (s o l a r etc.). I'm a s e l f- e m p lo y e d a u to m ec h a n ic.

I l i v e in a sm a ll s c h o o l b u s , t h a t V v e c o n v e r t e d in to a r o t t i n g hom e, t h a t I ' v e l i v e d in f o r a b o u t 8 y e a r s now. So I h ave my home w ith me w h erev er 1 g o .

I'm 36, w eig h ISO, 5 f t . 9 i n . , brown h a i r , h a z e l e y e s , and h av e a b e a r d .

I ’d lo v e to h e a r from o t h e r lo v in g , down to e a r t h f o l k s o u t t h e r e . So p l e a s e w r ite .

Peace and L ove, M ich a el 4 8 65 M. La Canada T u cson , AZ 85704

Hi,

Y

V oes an y on e o u t t h e r e know th e w h e r e a b o u ts o f Jim T ec c a o f Man­ h a t t a n and u p s t a t e M.V.? I f s o , p l e a s e contact me.

Guy B. S h ep ard P.O. Box 9447 S a n ta f e , MM 87504-9447

Y

92413

Y

V ear f e l l o w t r a v e l e r s and e s p e c ia lly --In d ia n s ,

91608

Y

D ear B r o t h e r s , We r e a l i z e t h a t many g ay men a r e draim t o th e Old R e lig io n and y e t many tim es th e t r a d i t i o n a l W iccan s c h o o ls le a v e much t o be d e s i r e d f o r th e g ay m em bers. T h e r e fo r e we h av e c r e a t e d a s p e c i a l t r a d i t i o n t h a t c e n t e r s on g ay p e o p le and t h e i r s p i r i t u a l n e e d s . Our t r a d i ­ t i o n g iv e s e q u a l em p h a sis to b o th t h e God and G oddess and i s a r e l i ­ g io n o f l o v e , c e l e b r a t i o n , c r e a t i v ­ i t y and t r a n s fo r m a t io n .

We a r e now a c c e p t in g a p p l i c a t i o n s from i n t e r e s t e d men i n tiie Los A n g eles a r e a .

T h ose a c c e p t e d w i l l b e i n s t r u c t e d in ou r t r a d i t i o n and m y s t e r i e s w h ich in c l u d e : l o o r s k i p o f t h e God and G o d d ess, c e l e b r a t i o n o f M ature, h e r b c lo g y , m ag ic, a s t r o ­ lo g y and o t h e r a r t s o f th e C r a ft .

90

B a e d ic F a ery T r a d it io n e l o RFV Y

d e a r RFV r e a d e r s , 7 am a g e n t l e , a t t r a c t i v e p e r s o n In my t w e n t ie s and 7 w ould l i k e t o h e a r from guys 26 -3 7 who a r e s e n s i t i v e , s i n c e r e , c a r in g and who a r e g e n u in e ­ l y i n t e r e s t e d in p u rsu in g f r i e n d s h i p o r a r e la tio n s h ip .

7 am e a s y g o in g , i n t c l l i g e n - t , fun t o b e w ith and am a s e e k e r o f a l l t h e iv o n d er fu l t h in g s in l i f e .

L e t ' s s h a r e and h e lp e a c h o t h e r grow .

P le a s e w r it e and en ­ c l o s e a p h o to g r a p h I f p o s s i b l e .

W ith l o v e and c a r e ,

Very s h o r t l y , 7 w i l l b e g oin g t o Bombay, V a r e n a s i, Ladahk and S r i n i gar.

7 w i l l b e on my o m w ith o u t a to u r g ro u p .

7 w ould c e r t a i n l y a p ­ p r e c i a t e t h e names o f any c o n t a c t s in t h e s e In d ia n c i t i e s a s w e l l a s any t i p s f o r a t o u r i s t su ch a s my­ s e lf.

Thanks to any r e a d e r s wh$ can g i v e me u s e f u l a d v ic e and names and addresses.

B arry Box 8021 Morth H olly w ood , CA

I f in t e r e s t e d , p le a s e sen d: a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f y o u r s e l f and you r l i f e a t p r e s e n t , a r e c e n t p h o t o , your b i r t h d a t c , b i r t k t i m e and b i r t h p l a c e .

The aim s o f ou r t r a d i t i o n a r e t o c r e a t e a s m a ll g rou p w ith a s e n s e o f fa m ily , p r o ­ v i d e a s p a c e f o r s p i r i t u a l i t y and h e lp ea ch o f us t o l i v e a more c e n t e r e d and i n t e g r a t e d d a l l y l i f e .

B le s s e d Be.

C h r is t o p h e r o f C a l i f o r n i a d o RFV Y

HI, I'm lo o k in g f o r a n i c e q u i e t p l a c e a lo n g t h e s e a s h o r e o r o t h e r c le a n a i r en v iro n m en t t o p u r c h a s e . A ft e r a b u sy , busy b u s in e s s c a r e e r , d o c ­ t o r sa y s I n eed t o g e t away from c iv i liz a t io n p o llu tio n .

O th erw ise 7 ’m in g o o d p h y s i c a l c o n d it io n , h av ­ ing alxoays b een in t o h ea v y e x e r c i s e .

A fflu e n t enough t o l i v e c o m fo r t a b l y , n o t e x t r a v a g a n t ly , and do some tr a v e lin g .

Would l i k e t o c o r r e s p o n d w ith p e o p le w ith o b j e c t i v e t o fin d a com panion t o s h a r e t h e h o u s e h o ld and l o t s o f o t h e r t h in g s .

7'm I n t e r e s t e d I n an arra n g em en t w h ere som eon e en jo y s t a k in g c a r e o f t h e h o u s e h o ld .

I w ou ld h e lp som e; i t ’ s j u s t n o t my ■ thing.

WM, 48, 6 ' , 165*.

7 w ant t o do l o t s o f r e a d in g , w r it in g , s e l f - d e v e l o p ­ m e n t - - p u llin g t o g e t h e r l o t s o f p a s t e x p e r i e n c e s an d c r e a t in g a new f u ­ tu re.

I'm v e r y s e l f - r e l i a n t , b u t a v u ld e n jo y d o in g t h i s w ith som eon e e ls e .

I'm in t o p o s i t i v e m u sic, h e a l t h fo o d , l i t e r a t u r e , a r t s , and a q u i e t , b u t a l i v e home.

Fs p e c i a l l y a t t r a c t e d t o b l a c k s , b u t

down t h a t m y .

And th e n w e'd r e ­ c i p r o c a t e by p r o v id in g a h A len d ly , l a i d - b a c k en v iron m en t h °r a c i t y guy t o e x p e r i e n c e .

h avin g d on e l o t i , oh w o rld t r a v e l , 7 h in d many t y p e s oh p eo p le, a t t r a c ­ tiv e .

I w ant a g en u in e, s i n c e r e , h o n e s t , g row th s t im u la t in g person to person r e la t io n s h ip .

Each p e t son w h o le , bu t en jo y in g s k a t in g and s u p p o r t in g . W rite a b o u t you rs e l h, who you a t e , w hat you l i k e , w hat you w an t.

W illia m oh C a ll ho t u l a c / o REV ▼

T o u r is t h*°m a n o t h e t p l a n e t lo o k in g hor h e llo w p a s s e n g e r s . S e ek in g o t h e r s who h ave a p u r p o s e t o i$u£h lll.

T am 27, m ature I n th o u g h t, young In h e a r t , l e h t oh r e a l i t y .

H ea lth y , handsom e and I n t e l l i g e n t .

Hoping t o a t t r a c t s i m i l a r w ith good s e n s e oh humor and a d v e n t u r e .

L ookin g t o e x p l o r e s p i r i t u a l i t y , community and t r a v e l .

Voung men who v iew 11 he th ro u g h a n c i e n t e y e s co n tact: V avld 4388 L o rten Vr. Frem ont, CA 94536

We a t e n o t hor ohh t h e b e a t e n p a th , b u t t h e a l t i s c le a n and t h e w a ter runs In t h e s p r in g s a l l summer. We h ave a huge g a r d e n , s t i l l b u ild in g it.

E ureka i s 60 m ile s away and t h e r e I s l o t s oh " n a tu ra l" e n t e r ­ ta in m en t a l l arou n d .

Vave I s 37 and s o am I .

He c u r r e n t ­ l y w orks w eekd ay s in tow n s o we can o m ou r ne.w 4x4 p ic k u p .

I keep th e h o m eh lres g o in g and b u il d ^ence, e t c . t o ea rn money. W arning: we l i v e p r e t t y s im p ly , e a t s im p ly , and a r e q u i t e c o m /o r g a b le w/ a l l t h o s e lm p e rh .ec .tlo ns arou n d u s . So d o n ' t e x p e c t t h e L a ra b ee B u ttes H ilto n !

So l e t ' s g e t t o g e t h e r hor a m utual " p l a c e - t o - v i s i t " l h you a r e In t h e bay a r e a o r t h e r e a b o u t s .

Hugs — Randy Krahn S t a r R oute Box 67-C B r l d g e v i U e , CA 95526

▼

C oun try Men oh N orth ern C a l i h o r n l a - ▼

G r e e tin g s h *om NW C a t lh o r n la .

I h av e r e a d s e v e r a l I s s u e s oh RFP w ith t h e h op e oh s e e in g a l e t t e r hrom som eon e In my p a r t oh t h e c o u n try .

1 / t h e r e I s an yon e l i v i n g In o r n e a t Humboldt County who I s i n t e r e s t e d In m eetin g t h i s 6'2", 200, b r o w n /b lu e , 46 y r s . b e a r d e d " B e a t” d ro p me a l i n e .

B ea t P .0 , Box 3348 E u reka, CA 95502-3348

▼

HI! We a r e a c o u p le oh c o u n try guys l i v ­ ing up In t h e h i l l s oh N orthern C a lih o r n la , n ea r E u reka. W e've b een h e r e hor o v e r 7 y e a r s now and a r e g e t t in g w e l l s e t t l e d In on ou r 40 a c r e s q u a r e oh t r e e s and g a r d en .

Our r e a s o n h or w r it in g RFV i s t o c o n t a c t o t h e r g ay men Itv x n g In t h e San F r a n c is c o bay a t e a t h a t may be I n t e r e s t e d In sw apping v i s i t s .

We'd l i k e t o h av e som eone t o v i s i t when b u s in e s s o r v a c a t io n t a k e s us

One and a h a lh y e a r s ag o 1 had p u b­ l i s h e d a ”C o n ta c t L e t t e r " In h op es oh m eetin g a s p e c i a l m ate In r u r a l A m erica.

1 I n t e n t i o n a l l y s t a t e d my r e q u ir e m e n ts b a s i c a l l y , n o t m n t ln g t o lim it, t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s t o o much.

Only p ro b lem w as, I g o t overw helm ed by t h e r e s p o n s e .

I h e a r d h*om n e a r ­ l y 50 b r o t h e r s a l l o v e r t h e n a t io n !

In my I n d e c i s i o n , I d e c id e d t h e b e s t th in g t o do m s t o "go i t on my own," and moved t o N orth ern C a lih o r ­ n la .

S in c e t h e n , I h av e come t o som e c o n ­ c lu s io n s [ h o p e h u lly n o t e lim in a t in g e v e r y o n e ) , and h e r e t h e y a r e : 1 l o v e t h e c o u n t r y s id e and h o r e s t s oh N orth ern C a lih o r n l a , and w ish t o stay here.

1 n eed a m en tor, som e­ on e whom 7 can t r u s t and who w i l l g u id e me In how t o g e t a lo n g in a ru ral lih e s ty le .

In e x c h a n g e, t h e y w i l l h in d a l o y a l , h a r d - m r k ln g , an d p la y h u l Companion.

7 am a t t r a c t e d t o men o l d e r and l a r g e r than m y selh ( s e e b e lo w ) , m u scu lar, w ith h a c l a l and body h a i r .

A s tr o n g man w ith an open mind and h ea rt.

7 h av e t h e n eed |for a com­ b in a t io n oh p h y s i c a l , m en tal and s p ir itu a l a c t iv it ie s .

I'm s e x u a l l y v e r s a t i l e and d e s i r e some oh, t h e sam e, o r ev en a g oo d b u d d y /t e a c h e r .

91

7 am 28 y e a r s o l d , 5'9" t a l l , 147 l b s . (my h i g h e s t w e ig h t e v e r ! ) , am str o n g and h i t , L e v i' s s i z e SOW32 L. Am s a i d t o b e g o o d - lo o k in g w ith brown e y e s and h a i r , o l i v e s k i n - t o n e , and some body h a i r oh my own.

7 l o v e m u sic and e n jo y r e a d ­ in g .

But m ost oh a l l , 7 d e s i r e t i l l s dream t o come t r u e .

I'm not Inhlexlble, but know t h a t 7 have t r o u b l e w ith l a r g e - c h o i c e d e c i s i o n s .

7h you e n v is io n y o u r s e lh w ith an a p p r e n t ic e /b u d d y , a r e in t h e v i c i n ­ i t y oh N orth ern C a lih o r n la and h i t I n t o my d e s c r i p t i o n , l e t ' s c o n t a c t .

Maybe 7 can h e lp h i l l you r n eed s too!

S in c e r e ly , Mark W hitney 603 G lid e Ave. *23 W est S a cra m en to , CA

95691

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S e ek in g a man to s h a r e my co u n try U h e w it h . A m a sc u lin e guy who e n ­ jo y s b ein g h e ld a l l n ig h t , g e t t i n g d a l l y hour lon g m a ssa g e s, u n lim it e d k i s s in g by a h o ith h u l l o v e r .

My ou tw ard a p p e a r a n c e , 28 y r s . oh a g e , 5 ' l l " , 160#, b r o m h a ir and e y e s , la r g e w estern m o u sta ch e.

Con­ s i d e r e d m a s c u lin e , g e n t l e , and h on est.

Only some oh my i n t e r e s t s , l o v e oh n a t u r e , lo n g w alk s in t h e w oods, s u n s e t s , b i c y c l e camping t r i p s , m ou stach ed men, c l a s s i c a l and b lu e g r a s s m u sic, cu d d lin g in h^ on t oh t h e w o o d s to v e , e n jo y in g a s im p le l i h e s t y l e w ith h^eedom oh th o u g h t.

I ' v e b u i l t a c a b i n , in my n a t iv e h i l l y w ooded e a s t e r n O klahom a.

B le s s e d w ith th e b e a u t i h u l grow ing e x p e r i e n c e oh hav in g lo v e d on e p e r ­ so n ho* S y e a r s .

C u r r e n tly I'm l i v i n g In t h e S i e r r a Nevada moun­ t a i n s , a t T ahoe In C a tih /N ev a d a , w orkin g a t a s k i r e s o r t , ( s e a s o n a l) and rem o d elin g hom es.

Jn my q u e s t hor a U h e m a te , lo o k in g h on oard t o t r a v e l i n g , hor t h e h e a r t and s o u l know no b o r d e r s . W ishing you th e b e s t oh h e a l t h , w e a lth and h a p p in e s s .

G rant In t h e Woods c / o RFV ▼

T h ere a r e hor t o o many p e o p le t h a t seem to b e a l o n e - - t h a t w ould l i k e t o w r it e som eon e oh t h e m - - l i h e ' s l i t t l e p r o b l e m s - - t h a t w ould l i k e to s h a r e on o c c a s i o n - - b u t w ith som eon e u n d ers ta n d in g o< t h e i r gay l l h e - -

and may n o t have on e u)ko i s w ith t h a t u n d e r s ta n d in g -I may n o t be a c o m m erc ia l V ear A b b ie b a t I r n u ld lik e , t o a v a i l mys e t f f o r RFV r e a d e r s - T hls i s n o t a s c a m --s in c e . no money i s in v o l v e d - I am non) 62 — d i s a b l e d t o w o rk --a n d w ith tam e on my h a n d s --c a n b e h o p e ­ fu lly th a t "fr ie n d " -Send me youA l e t t e r s - - w i t h e n c lo s e d stam ped s e l f - a d d r e s s e d e n v e l o p e - f o r a n s w e r s --a n d t h e neiv yean may b e t n u ly a new yean fo n som e.

Love Can Work W onders, V in c en t o f C a l i f o r n l a

Y

A loh a, Shalem and an open hand t o you a l l J o g g in g , fa n n in g , jo k in g on my o l d bod S t r o k in g , striving, sweating Speedos Alas th e boy-man i s gone b u t the m an-boy nem ains Me (th e n C andide non A schen bach V et a t f i f t y p lu s now 7 r e l a t e t o b o th M aslov moves t o a k ig h en s t a t e and I t r y and fo l l o w So 7 am a b l e t o n e l a t e t o m y s e lf as a fn ie n d C l a s s i c a l m u sic, n ead in g a l l s o o t s , t a lk in g on c a b b a g e s and k in g s , Vrawing b o d ie s t h a t b rin g j o y t o t h e w h ite s h e e t s R e la x in g in t h e p o o l with lap a f t e r la p Jo g g in g in th e ca n ty moon and f e e l ­ ing h ig h P u b lic n a d io and TV th e con.ne.ct an sw er To you a l l , b l a c k , r e d , y e llo w on oth en 7 e x te n d a L a t c h s t r in g , a cu p o f c h e e r [m en tal on p h y s ic a l) Moments to s h a r e , hug on h o ld Mot r o c k e t s in th e s k y , s t a l l io n s on h eg h on s tu d d ed s t e e l b e l t s w i l l you fin d Ju s t a warm fn ie n d Love in God Von M artin P.O. Sox 2155 E m B ea c h , HI

96706

Y

P ear I n t e n d s , 7 ipent th e l a s t yean in th e N eth­ e rla n d s.

I t i s a m a g ic a l c o u n tr y , a t on ce a f f o r d a b l e , f r i e n d l y , d i ­ v e r s e , and l o v e l y .

Having r e s e t t l e d in P o r tla n d , O re­ gon , I am som ew hat l o s t .

My f i r s t im p r e s s io n s a r e t h a t t h e c i t y has much in common w ith i t s C anadian c o u s in s .

I t I s q u i e t and s u b lim e ly la id back.

But 7 h av e much t o le a r n and w ould e n jo y making c o n ­ t a c t s w ith o t h e r RFV r e a d e r s in t h e Oregon a r e a (bu t a l l a r e w elco m e) .

I am a w r i t e r and a l i b r a r i a n , W ith t h e r e c e n t h e a l t h c r i s i s , I am a p ou tin g v o lu p tu a r y am id s t a r k p o s t-m o d ern ism .

7 g u ess my q u e s t fo n "charm ed c i r c l e s " has b een g iv e n o v e r t o t h e p io n e e r in g d e t e r ­ m in a tio n o f t h e o l d "Oregon T r a i l . " W hatever . . .

I'm a n i c e l o o k i n ' , g r o o v y , a n g e l i c b l a c k fa g g o t .

I'm 41, 5'7", 140 l b s . , w it h e y e g l a s s e s . S h o u ld guys 3 5 -5 0 , uho a r e in t h e P a c i f i c N o rth w est--O reg on t o B r i t i s h Colum­ b i a - - b e i n t e r e s t e d , 7 w ou ld g e n u in e ­ ly a p p r e c i a t e making g oo d c o n t a c t s .

I ten d tow ard t h e m a s c u lin e , s e x u a l ­ l y v i t a l , i n t e l l e c t u a l t y p e s , and I alw ay s e n jo y a g o o d tim e .

S t i l l bloom in g flo w e r c h i l d - - a g e 42, long h a i r and b e a r d .

L ookin g f o r s o u l m ates t o h e lp b u il d a h ig h p r a i r i e ra n ch In E. O regon. Sexual, c o m p a t a b il it y n o t h i g h e s t p r i o r i t y , s p ir it u a l c lo s e n e s s i s .

In to T aoism , u n d e r s ta n d in g , s h a r in g , g a r d e n in g , farm a n im a ls , g r e e n h o u s ­ in g , o r c h a r d .

7 w ork w ith r e t a r d e d f o l k and f o r r i g h t f o l k t h e r e i s em ploym ent p o s ­ s i b i l i t i e s in t h i s a r e a .

Keep s m ilin g .

Huck 1525 C l i f f B a k e r , OR 97S14

Y

Voun fn ie n d , C a r l G ray S u it e 642 W a n d erer’ s M all S e r v i c e 507 T h ird Avenue S e a t t l e , WA 91104 Y Hi Countrymen!

As a countrym an b o m and r a i s e d I ' v e alw ay s had in t h e b a c k o f my mind t a on e day r e tu r n and l i v e p erm a n en tly in r u r a l su r r o u n d in g s . T h is I ' v e a c h ie v e d a f t e r w orkin g in t h e c i t i e s and g a r n e r in g some o f t h e i r s o p h i s ­ t i c a t i o n w ith t h e a t e r , symphony, b a l l e t and t h e a r t s i n g e n e r a l .

Mow w ith t h e a c c e s s t o P u b lic B r o a d c a s ts I can e n jo y t h e s e sam e d e l i g h t s in c o n ju n c tio n w ith t h e jo y s o f h av in g my hands in t h e g ood e.arth to p ro d u c e fo o d , t h e a e s t h e t ­ i c p l e a s u r e o f f o r e s t e d m oun tain s on t h e n ea r h o r iz o n .

I w ant t o share a l l t h i s w ith a com­ p a t i b l e guy.

I'm 59, 5 ’ 9", 165 l b s . , v e r y h e a l t h y , m a s c u lin e , l o v ­ in g , c a r in g , u n p r e t e n tio u s and v e r ­ s a tile .

T h ere m ust b e som eon e w ith a c r a f t o r r e t i r e d on a s m a ll i n ­ come w ho’ d l i k e t o s h a r e . S o , c ’mon p a r t n e r , l e t ' s n o t w a s te any m ore t i m e : w r i t e , come v i s i t and s e e i f we can plan for the years a h e a d t o ­ g eth er.

V ear R e a d e r s , 7 w ould e n jo y c o p i e s pon din g w ith fa n s o f S to n eh en g e and s i m i l a r p r e ­ h i s t o r i c s t o n e monuments. W ith a l i t t l e h e lp from modern t e c h n o lo g y , 7 b u i l t a s m a ll s t o n e c i r c l e h e r e in t h e San Ju an I s la n d s o f W ashington and w ith f e l l o w i s l a n d e r s [ C h r is tia n and "pagan" a l i k e ) h av e b een o b s e r v ­ ing t h e s o l s t i c e s and e q u in o x e s .

The b e a u ty o f t h e p r e h i s t o r i c s t o n e c i r c l e s i s t h a t we do n o t know e x ­ a c t l y why t h e y w ere b u i l t o r how t h e y w ere u s e d . T h is a llo w s us t o r e a d in t o them t h e h i g h e s t o f human a s p i r a t i o n s . They can come t o sym­ b o l i z e a d e s i r e t o en g ag e in a m ore c o n s t r u c t i v e , harm on ious r e l a t i o n ­ s h i p w ith t h e e a r t h ; t h e y ca n , and d o , s y m b o liz e f o r many t h e g r e a t m y stery t h a t i s t h e cosm os and ou r p l a c e in i t ; and t h e y can r e i n f o r c e ou r f a i t h I n t h e b e n e v o le n c e o f t h e u n iv e r s e ( t h e r i s i n g su n , t h e r e t u r n o f sum m er). W h ile a l i g n e d t o t h e movement o f c e l e s t i a l b o d i e s , modern c i r c l e s c o u ld rem ain n o n -a lig n e d w ith r e s p e c t t o r e l i g i o n , and in fa ct, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e marrow o f h ig h e r t r u t h em b o d ied in a l l r e l i ­ g io n s .

I ’m a 36 y e a r o l d o r c h a r d l s t h ig h on c o u n try l i f e and w elcom e new f r i e n d ­ s h ip s and i d e a s .

Love t o a l l .

S in c e r e ly ,

Rod o f Oregon d o RFV y

c / o RFV

F erd l

92

8.

Y

V eoa REV ReadeaA ,

1 am w a it in g t h i s l e t t e r t o meet: some new j r l e n d s .

No on e e v e r has to o many j r l e n d s .

I l i k e t o know o t h e r guy6 who s h a r e t h e l o v e j o r t h e jarm l l j e s t y l e .

My name I s B ob.

1 am 28 y e a r s o l d , S’ 8" and ISO l b s . 7 h av e a u n iv e r ­ s i t y d eg a.ee t o my c A e d it . When 1 am n o t bu sy wlt.h my p r o je s A t o n a l jo b , 7 e n jo y h e lp in g o u t on ouA fa m ily jarm . My ja m ily o p e r a t e s a mixed jarm . We r a i s e p u r e b r e d c h a r o l a l s c a t t l e and r e g i s t e r e d quaAteA h o r s e s . Many houaA on e s p e n t on t h e a how c lA c u lt .

In a d d i t i o n , 7 t a y t o s t a y In sh a p e.

I e n jo y w e ig h t H a t i n g and jo g g in g .

On a l t e r n a t e days 7 swim w ith t h e M asters Swim C lu b.

7 p la y v o l l e y ­ b a l l on th e Edmonton Roughnecks Com­ p e t it iv e . team . O ther ApoAtA 7 e n ­ jo y aAe c u r lin g , cAoAA-countAy, b a d ­ m inton, c y c l i n g , and r a c q u e t b a l l .

Hoping t o heaA jrom you A ea l so o n !

S i n c e r e ly , Bob WhltAow *625 Knottivood Rd. W Edmo n to n , Alb e jita T6K 10b Canada ▼ 7 (W est-Germ an, 24 yeaAA, s t u d e n t , gay) <w lo o k in g jo.a an a l t e a n a t l v e p o o / e e l (com m unity, c o l l e . c t l v e , o r a jarm p r o j e c t ) w heae 7 can l i v e and woak t o g e t h e r w ith o t h e r p e o p le [a a y 5 ) who aAe t r y in g an a l t e a n a t l v e way t o l i v e .

7 h av e ex p e A le n c e I n b l o l o g l c a l - d y naml.c a g a lc u llu A e (R. S t e ln e a ) and have alA o w oaked In a g ay c o l l e c t i v e (n a tu r a l j o o d ) . Eoa me I t I s v ery Im p o rta n t t o l i n k 100a k , p o l i t i c o [a n a a c h y ], A e x u a llt y , s p i r i t u a l i t y w ith e a c h o t h e a and m eet p e o p le jrom otheA cou n tA leA .

7 h av e tim e jrom t h e end o j Ju n e t i l l , t h e end o j August.

I ' d l i k e t o heaA jrom you s oon.

Joh an n es H asse M d i e t s t a . 32 4800 B l e l e j e l d 1 West Gevnany ▼

Aplnlt, dynamic, a little unAuly, A e la x td and o p en , l o v in g , p a s s io n ­ a t e and can in g w ith c o n v ic t io n , a d e e p c o n t e m p la t iv e th ln k eA w ith a w ild a n a r c h i s t i c I n d i v i d u a l i s t i c l o n e t ' s s t r e a k , Natane my o n ly g od and dnug. My g o a l In t h e n ex t jew yean s is t o b u ild a s im p le c a b in In t h e w ild e r n e s s and to l i v e t o Na­ t u r e ' s nhythmn, n o t s o c i e t y ' s c h a ­ o t i c jn e n z y - - h o p e ju t l.y n o t a lo n e .

I ’ d l i k e to m eet o t h e r y o u n g -a th e a r t s o u lb u d d le s t h a t j e e l a s 7 do am i w ish t o l i v e t h a t m y .

The ju tu n e I s open joA me.

I'm 23, h an d ­ som e, j i t and s lim . My a c t i v e in t e A e s t s a t e w a it in g , p o e tn y , e n v i­ r o n m e n ta l c o n s e r v a t i o n , e c o lo g y , A u s t r a lia n w l l d l l j e , s k l i n q, h l k l n g , camping In th e m oun tain s and m o re.

I j I t ’ s you , th en W Alte!

Rory Hannan J a e g e r g a d e b. s t .

C openhagen N 2200 Venmank ▼ * I

who could help me with a move to AmeAlca by myselj oa as part oj a s m a ll group. I want to shaAe my llje with other. jalry gay men who aAe committed to love, growth, carIng joA the envlAonment, and enjoy­ ing llje and the sun. My practical experiences H e mainly In jood, nutrition, gAowth, spirituality, gAOup jacllitatlon and communal liv­ ing. I would love to heaA jAom any man who could help oa aAe Interested In simitar things to me.

W ith l o v e , P h il W ild L aven der 34 Vueensdown Road H ackney Towns London E5 8NN England ▼

I’m a P o lis h g ay who l i v e s in War saw .

I'm 2b y e a r s o l d and 7 w ou ld l i k e to c o r r e s p o n d w ith gays jrom t h e U .S.A .

I'm I n t e r e s t e d In t h e a ­ t e r , o p e r a , cinema, m usic and tou r ism .

I know th e E n g lish language.

Marek Wytoga S k r y tk a po c z t . 142 00-953 Warszaioa 30 P olan d ▼

VeaA REV R e a d e r s , Mif name I s P h il.

I l i v e In W ild L aven der Housing C o-op In London, a g ay m en's community w hich has the.

I n t e n t i o n o j s e t t i n g up a la A g e r u ­ r a l commune joA g ay men w ith a com­ m ittm en t t o h o l i s t i c h e .a lth .

I'v e j u s t r e t u r n e d jAom a 4 -d a y g a t h e r in g on t h e d lA ectl.o n o j t h e p r o j e c t and p e o p l e ’ s n e e d s , and I j e e l t h a t my n eed s aAe not. b ein g m et by t h e p r o je c t.

T h is I s b e c a u s e I w ant t o l e a v e Lon­ don now, n o t In a jew y e a r s , and I d o n ' t w ant t o l i v e I n t h e co u n try In England u n le s s I l i v e w ith a r e a s o n a b l e numben o j g ay men. A ls o , I 1can t t o l i v e com m u nally, and t h e d lA e c t lo n o3 o u a p r o j e c t seem s t o be towaAds community r a t h e r th an th e communal.

So my th o u g h ts tu rn t o a l t e A n a t lv e s , and a s usual, t o AmeAlca and th e i a l r y n etw o rk : t o t h e community a t W olj C reek o a l i v i n g In t h e Bay

93

Ke vi n Gi ra rd

^ear REVe r s ,

I am a d i s p l a c e d Tasm anian (an I s ­ la n d SE o j A u s t r a lia ) l i v i n g now In Copenhagen t o earn enough money t o c o n tin u e "my jo u a n ey o j l l j e . " Hope t o be In USA and Canada summea 87.

7 hope t o v i s i t m ost A la s k a , B a l t l s h C olu m bia, NW s t a t e s , P a ta ­ g o n ia and C iv ile, bu t I j p e o p le make a p l a c e j o r me 7 may b e In sp lA ed t o v is it.

I ’ v e l i v e d my l l j e alnxxys I n a wlldeAneAA 0j p r i s t i n e tem p era t e r a in jo r e s t s and m ou n tain s.

NeveA will 7 live In a clt.y again ajteA this. I ’m a spontaneous jree

Aa e a . I have a jew secondary con­ n e c t io n s In San Francisco but toould l i k e to make contact with moAe men

GAYELL0W PAGES A id M adicK Bulletin ECOLOGY - EaSTH RELIGION - TAO o f f i c i a l p u b lic a tio n o f E .L .F .

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The G arden CopyrightŠ 1979 By T h o m a s Rain C ro w e. 100 copies printed by New Native Press in Salu da, N .C. for the Spring of 1979.

for Zoro Guice Wherever there are weeds there is war.

The silence like battalions of light is marching through swamps of boredom toward the forests of greed, in coves where night camps near sleep from the whiskey of pride in dreams as cold as marble for a bed on pillows of ancient glassâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1 walk through the rows of my garden pulling weeds of darkness where it grows.

Planting seeds on the beaches of things we would not believe.

Where is the woman who writes poems on the pleasures of birth?

The man who paints horn mage to trees?

They are growing bit by bit from the soil.

Little by little from the land.

The armies asleep.

The machines all rusted away.

Life, like a giant well, spreading out silently.

Covering the entire earth.

THOMAS RAIN CROWE