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Finding Happiness page 10

The Question of Bisexuality page 32

Signing Off page 18

table of contents J U LY • A U G U S T 2 0 1 6

Louisville’s Golden Girls page 23

Contemporary Pioneers page 38

Creating a Comfy Community page 52

Fairness Is Love page 56

Merged Motherhood page 60

Dating Dudes in Lou page 64

Tales from Sapphic City page 66

Modern Update page 70

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STORY PHOTOS

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F

For Alex Torres, life has been an indirect path to happiness.

Now, the young woman enjoys a rewarding career as a social worker and a relationship with the woman of her dreams, but her journey has been fraught with a series of stops and starts that would give anyone emotional whiplash. Maturity and hindsight have afforded her the ability to look back on the forks in the road and admit that her current contentment is a direct result of listening to her instincts and following the signs that had been in place around her all along – a technique that has allowed her to truly find authentic happiness.

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The road began in Mexico, where Torres was born and raised. More specifically, she hails from Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán, which is in the southwest region of the country and known for its eponymous cheese. Torres claims that her spirit remains tethered to the town she once called home despite the myriad of adventures she’s had since leaving: “I go back whenever I can. I’m in touch with it. I feel it. I can still feel my town even though I’ve been here for over 10 years.

I can still relate with the people of my town, the way we talk and the way we do things.”

When Torres discusses her time in Mexico, it’s understandably difficult for her to do so without mentioning her family, with whom she shares an enviably indestructible bond. “We’re very close,” she says. “We’re very affectionate. We embrace ourselves in many ways. We hug. We kiss. We eat together. When we get together, it’s always a celebration … And we always cry because we drink too much and sing songs that our ancestors used to sing. It’s wonderful.”

These formative memories have affected nearly every facet of Torres’ life.

She in fact asserts that it was this sense of togetherness and the examples set forth by her family that helped shape her emotional responses to the world.

“Compassion has always been in my life because of my mom,” she affirms. “She taught me the meaning of it a long time ago. I grew up with it, and when it was time to make decisions, compassion came naturally.”

Though she proved to find a different calling, Torres claims that from a very young age, she wanted to be an artist.

However, she also knew that she needed to do something on another level, a level greater than just herself. “It was either artist or some form of altruism,” she recalls thinking. “In a way, I always wanted to be a missionary.”

But Torres’ world was rocked when she turned 15 and she and her family moved to the U.S. where her stepfather was a citizen. Despite how difficult the transition proved to be, Torres says now that she realizes how truly lucky she was – how she had an opportunity handed to

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

ANTONIO PANTOJA

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her that so many fight for. Regardless, as a 15-year-old, the time was tremendously taxing in a way she never could have imagined. “The emotional part [of moving] was very difficult,” she admits. “I was very depressed. It was hard for me to adapt. I didn’t know English. In my new high school, there were three who spoke Spanish – who really spoke Spanish – so I was basically a ghost.”

Torres insists that her first six months in America remain as one of the most challenging periods in her life. “I was depressed,” she says with certainty. “I had very little interest in anything. I had trouble learning.

When the brain’s stressed, you cannot learn, and I was struggling.” She remembers experiencing other symptoms of depression during this time as well, including an intense lack of appetite and a refusal to leave the seclusion of her room unless absolutely necessary. “I

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didn’t want to leave or do anything. I was terrified,” she recounts.

The school that Torres attended in Mexico had maybe 100 students, and she contends that the culture shock she experienced after arriving in Vicksburg, Mississippi was immediate and severe: “I was overwhelmed,” she says. “I would eat lunch by myself every day, and no one would acknowledge me.” The stress of adjusting to a new father figure and trying to fit in at a school where she didn’t even speak the language was simply too much: “Then, a moment came, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’”

The following months were exceedingly strenuous and even saw Torres return to Mexico temporarily, but once she came back to the U.S., she knew she had to make the most of her situation or she would sim-

“I FOLLOW THE UNIVERSE. IT GIVES ME A LOT OF SIGNS, AND I FOLLOW THEM. I WAS TAKING ART CLASSES, BUT THEN I TOOK ONE SOCIOLOGY CLASS. AND THEN I JUST KNEW. I KNEW WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO.”

ply continue to suffer. All signs seemed to be pointing to opportunity here, so, as she so often chooses to do, Torres decided to listen to what the universe seemed to be telling her and stopped preventing her own chances at happiness. She got a job working part-time at a Mexican restaurant, and she claims that the work helped her enormously: “My self-esteem went up. I was interacting with other people who spoke Spanish and English.

They helped me learn English, which helped me relax.

I slowly started to get out of my own way.”

This revitalized self-esteem also aided her in her struggle of coming out as a lesbian, which Torres claims she still grappled with despite finally feeling confident in herself and her surroundings. “My biggest fear was coming out to my mother,” she emphasizes. “I didn’t want my mother to be disappointed. We’d been through so much together.” This fear delayed Torres’ coming out for a long time, but she attests that when she finally settled into her new life in America as a teenager, that same outlook that had brought her peace also instilled within her the courage necessary to step outside her comfort zone.

“I started seeing girls when I was 18. I was really sure then. My first girlfriend wasn’t even a good girl-

friend, but it was so much better,” she laughs. Finally, Torres revealed the truth to her mother and received the surprise that this news was no news at all: “She had always known. She didn’t like my girlfriend though. She told me she was toxic.” Torres remembers crying with her mother, crying in true relief that she was accepted for who she was, accepted as a strong, intelligent woman with an exceedingly bright future in the U.S. Her future, however, wasn’t quite what she expected. Though she was studying in community college to be an artist, Torres took a class in sociology and saw the rest of her life change in an instant: “I follow the universe. It gives me a lot of signs, and I follow them.

I was taking art classes, but then I took one sociology class. And then I just knew. I knew what I was supposed to do.”

It was as though she had somehow missed an obvious truth she should have known all along. Torres was so certain of her new direction that she almost immediately applied to Mississippi State to major in sociology despite not having completed all the necessary prerequisites. “I was missing a few courses,” she confesses.

However, Torres did not let this roadblock deter her.

The next time she applied, she did her research, completed all her necessary coursework and was eventually accepted. While in the program at Mississippi State, she confirmed once and for all that this work was what she believed she was put on Earth to do.

A particular memory stands out where Torres remembers feeling significantly reaffirmed in her career choice: “I did my internship at a children’s shelter in Vicksburg. It was very small, but these kids touched the

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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bottom of my heart.” Torres recalls a specific group – four boys – who truly touched her. The children ranged in age, the youngest just a mere 1-year-old, and had been abandoned and physically and emotionally traumatized.

“They were found in this house naked, sleeping together like dogs, eating whatever was there,” she remembers. “The 7-year-old, the oldest, his leg was so bad because a car had run over it. The 6-year-old, a pit bull had attacked him and he had scars all up and down. The 3-year-old would repeat sexual sounds and movements, and the 1-year-old had separation anxiety to the max.”

Torres painfully recollects that at the end of her sessions with the children, the youngest would cling to her leg and beg her not to go. She remembers being at a loss as to how to help them: “[The youngest] would fall asleep, and he would wake up freaking out. Who knows what was going on in his head? I wished that I could take him with me, but I knew that wouldn’t really help him.”

In a moment of inspiration, Torres turned to her art to reach them, and in her sessions with the children, she allowed them to draw anything they wanted. “I got drawings from them that the counselor would never get, drawings that showed what actually happened to them. They spoke to me in so many ways,” she says. “I would say, ‘Do you see this? Tell me you see this? Do you know how many words you said? None.’”

With this revelation, Torres remembers thinking, “I was definitely on the right path, and I was even more inspired to follow it.” Specifically, she took this conviction as a sign to focus on art therapy, and she is now enrolled in the graduate program at the Kent School at the University of Louisville to complete her graduate degree in social work with a specialization in mental health where art therapy is a major component. Her career is not the only thing that brought her to Louisville, however: “When I graduated, I took a semester off, and I ran into my current girlfriend.”

She remembers the first time they met, years before, vividly: “When she came along, she was everything I’d always wanted,” relates Torres. “I wanted my girlfriend to have a conversation that was so corny but so meaningful. To not have a TV and not care about it.

To go walk in the park. To eat good food. It was everything that I ever wanted. I couldn’t have a serious conversation with my past girlfriends, and Emily was the exact opposite.”

The relationship eventually disintegrated for various reasons, but Torres knew this was not the end for the two of them. “It was more than lust. It was spiritual,” she says. “I met her again when I graduated [from Mississippi State]. She liked something on my Facebook, and I knew I could have her back.”

Though she was slightly hesitant at first, Torres knew being with Emily was what she wanted and, moreover, what she knew would happen, in a sense.

“IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ADHERE TO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN AND DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT. IF THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT YOU’RE FOOLISH FOR DREAMING OR FOR THINKING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING GOOD COMING TO YOU,

DON’T LISTEN.”

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Now, the couple is happily on the brink of moving in together and more assured than ever of their love for each other. “We dated for six months long-distance.

She moved to Louisville, and then I moved here after I was employed and accepted into grad school. They had a program at the grad school, so I’m not giving up anything. I had more opportunities here,” she maintains. And she knows this won’t be like their first relationship; this go-round will be her last: “We are doing things right this time, starting on the right time.”

Once again, it seems, the stars aligned and pointed Torres in the right direction. “Meeting Emily again was fate. And I decided to listen.” As if she needed more affirmation, the words of her mother only re-emphasized what Torres already knew to be true. Though her mother had never much approved of any of Torres’ past girlfriends, Emily was different: “She loved her. The first thing she said was, ‘I love your hair.’”

When you meet Alex Torres, you know things have

worked out. You don’t see the angry teenager, but you also don’t see a fool in love. You see a woman who has been formed by her experiences, a woman with a slight edge and an infectious laugh. A woman who you’d look at and think, “I want to be more like her.”

“It is very difficult to adhere to what you believe in and do what you think is right,” Torres says. “If there is someone out there trying to tell you that you’re foolish for dreaming or for thinking that there is something good coming to you, don’t listen.” There’s no way to know for sure what the future has in store for Torres, or anyone else, but trusting in signs when they make themselves apparent seems to be the right way to get where you want to go. And if the way her smile lights up a room, the way her eyes sparkle when she looks at Emily, the way her head tilts when she talks of her family is any indication, Torres seems to have arrived right where she belongs.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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Signing Off W

The Illustrious Career of Donovan Reynolds Written by Remy Sisk Photography by Zachary Erwin

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W

“When I was 15, with the chutzpah of youth, I went to the local radio station in my hometown and said, ‘I’m ready to work for you!’ And they said, ‘Well child, what can you do?’ I said, ‘I’ll go to the city council meetings and the school board meetings in the evenings and I’ll work the FM board on the weekends.’”

murders. It was quite a time to be a reporter in San Francisco.”

In the 1980s, the poor health of his parents brought him back to Michigan, where he subsequently went to work for Michigan Public Radio, covering state government and legislature for a decade. He also spent some time in television and worked on TV documentaries.

“In 1994, I was getting kind of burnt out, so I applied for the Knight-Wallace Fellowship for journalists at the University of Michigan, which I got,” he relates. “So I got to spend a year at the university studying anything I

Reynolds with the Louisville Public Media staff after announcing his resignation.

J. TYLER ALLEN

From that day on, Donovan Reynolds has been working in radio, and his career, which spans 50 years, shines with the gleam toward which most can only aspire. This fall, Reynolds will retire from his position as president and general manager of Louisville Public Media. And though his last day – September 30 – is fast approaching, Reynolds’ contentment and confidence with his decision is evident. He’s had 10 great years with LPM; however, that is only one fifth of his astounding history in radio.

After graduating from Michigan State University, where he worked as a newscaster on their public radio station for all four years, Reynolds headed to San Francisco to work in the city’s NPR bureau. Once there, he experienced some of the most iconic moments in history, particularly LGBTQ history. It was the 1970s, and Reynolds was in the thick of one of the most heated times the city had ever known.

“I was able to do amazing stuff out there,” he affirms. “I interviewed Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Christopher Isherwood – a lot of interesting people. I knew Harvey Milk and covered the Milk-Moscone

wanted to. And I loved it – I studied Renaissance art and Chinese philosophy – things like that.”

His time studying at Michigan would, of course, lead him to his next opportunity. “I met some people at the university who were looking for change in their radio stations – they were having some tough times – and they said, ‘Do you want to run the University of Michigan stations?’” he recounts. “So I took them over at a time when they were in very bad shape, and I switched them all over to the NPR news format, which was very new at that point. I said, ‘We’re going to do that.’ I hoped it would succeed, and it did – it was hugely successful.

And now, Michigan Radio is one of the biggest public radio stations in the country.”

He served as the director of broadcasting at the University of Michigan for 10 years until a headhunter called him in 2006 and told him that the public radio outlet in Louisville was interested in him for a job. At first, Reynolds was reluctant, but he was eventually persuaded to come to Louisville and interview. On his very first day here, as it turned out, he realized this was undeniably a place he belonged.

“I was at the Marriott Hotel, and

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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I was getting dressed to go to my interview,” he recalls. “So I got on the elevator going down, but then it stopped about halfway. And the door opened, and Muhammad Ali got on with his wife. I was A still from “The Times of Harvey Milk”: dumbfounded – I’d been here Reynolds (right) interviewing anti-gay Senator two hours and I see the most John Briggs in 1978 about Proposition 6, which would have banned gays and lesbians famous person the city’s ever from teaching in California schools.

KQED TELEVISION produced. So I thought that was an omen that maybe this was the place for me.”

Other standout achievements of ReynAdditionally, Reynolds was instantly olds’ time with LPM include strengthening taken with Louisville’s public radio stations, the newsroom by adding more reporters which include 89.3 WFPL, 90.5 WUOL and and, of particular significance, the creation 91.9 WFPK. The conglomerate of three dif- of the Kentucky Center for Investigative ferent formats – news, classical music and Reporting, which is already having major independent music – is unusual, and he impact across the commonwealth. He’s remembers thinking it was “radio heaven – deservedly proud of creating KyCIR and you can do it all.” affirms, “Investigative reporting is really Though Reynolds enacted several in jeopardy; a lot of news organizations are changes during his time as president, the cutting back. But I think we need it now beginning of his time at LPM featured quite more than ever.” the overhaul. “I really had to do a complete Though this and his other projects were re-organization when I got here and get us undoubtedly difficult and demanding, he focused back on our mission, which is serv- looks back on it all with the utmost fonding the community,” he emphasizes. “But ness. “I’ve had a ball,” he says, “and I’ve that happened relatively quickly. We used loved every minute of it. I love the commuto be called Public Radio Partnership, and nity because the people are very warm and I convinced the board to change the name. generous – very open to outsiders. I’ve been One, to signal who we serve – we serve Lou- blessed to work with some very fine people. isville – and two, to signal that we weren’t So I’ve had a great time.” just radio anymore, that there was this Moreover, he genuinely feels that his thing called digital that probably was going work at LPM is done – that he can leave to be important!” knowing he did in fact accomplish what he set out to accomplish. “I’ve done what I realSo Reynolds is moving on – moving spely wanted to do here, and I can leave knowcifically to his farm in Michigan with his ing that I’ve left behind a legacy of sorts,” he husband; the two were officially married smiles. “But I don’t think CEOs should stick last October in Kentucky, having been toaround forever; you should go in, enact your gether for 45 years. Now a married man and vision and then move on and let new blood, soon-to-be gentleman farmer, Reynolds energy and ideas come in.” looks forward to life on the farm and to discovering new things outside of the world of radio: “I’m at a point in my life when – since I’ve been doing this for 50 years – there are other things I’d like to do with my brain and my consciousness and explore the unexplored parts of myself.”

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Though he is transitioning out of radio, the reverberations Reynolds has inflicted over his lifetime are absolutely immeasurable. He has worked tirelessly for what he so fervently believes in and has indeed changed the places he’s been as they have changed him. While he may be on a farm, you can certainly expect that he’ll always be listening to public radio, appreciating its necessity and remembering the experiences that shaped him in every stage of his life.

“You’re really lucky if you can have a job that allows you to express your values and

maybe do some good for the world, and that’s the job I had for 50 years,” he maintains. “I think public radio is really important – I think America needs public radio. We need truth-tellers. We need a place where

you can have intelligent discussions of issues, where you can have civil discussions with people with whom you might even disagree – and I think that’s so very important.”

One of Reynolds’ final endeavors with Louisville Public Media is the current $7 million capital campaign that will result in the renovation of the entire building and afford the stations new equipment. To learn more about the campaign or to donate, go to louisvillepublicmedia.org or call 502.814.6565.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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Writte n by Ta ra B a ss ett / / Ph o to g rap hy by An to n i o Pa n to j a

Once upon a time, two men or two women living together was acceptable, but an unmarried man and woman cohabiting was not.

Sometime along the way, the definition of “appropriate” changed. Some same-sex roommates were labeled homosexuals and shunned by polite society. Now, in light of the ever-changing definition of marriage, it’s no longer necessary to hide the relationships that were kept secret for so long. The extensive measures taken to protect each other from harm’s way, especially in cases of serious illness or death taxes, have become things of the past. To gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of these relationships, Modern Louisville interviewed six lesbians who have survived 30-plus years of fear, discrimination and costly legal battles to ensure that their togetherness would not leave one partner abandoned by family or the law in the event of tragedy. Here are their stories.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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Leslie

Marti

It was a marriage that could have been made on Broadway, although the setting was a local dance floor – it was the pounding of club music that kicked off this pair’s relationship, which has spanned 30 years. Recently, Leslie Broecker and Marti Bybee sat with Modern in their beautiful living room in eastern Jefferson County, still dancing through life together.

Broecker, 54, and Bybee, 58, have been legally married since 2013, prior to which they spent tens of thousands of dollars to protect each other’s legal interests, first establishing an LLC, later morphing it into trusts, shares Broecker. “It was costly, but we wanted to protect each other from taxes that could have forced one of us to sell everything at the worst possible time.” They were spending the money to try to get equal to, not ahead of, every other couple they knew.

Bybee asserts passionately, “It was the healthcare stuff – if we got sick, neither of us would have been allowed in the hospital room.” Their voices alternate in the storytelling. Broecker: “There were still ways that we could be screwed, but it was the best we could do at the time.” Bybee: “They always told us, after we spent the money and got the papers signed, that somebody, or the hospital, could make decisions that were not in our best interests as partners.” Broecker: “But we had to have it.”

When Washington, D.C. finally recognized same-sex marriage, the women flew to the nation’s capitol for the day and exchanged vows. They still had two separate tax returns; 2015 was the first year spent like “normal people.” It was close to the perfect year.

After the nuptials, the couple had to once again change all the paperwork, including their wills and trusts, to their new “married” status. “And we’ll be approaching our 30th anniversary in February!” exclaims Broecker.

“We got married on November 13 because our anniversary is February 13, so when we get to be old-timers, if we celebrate every two out of 12 months, we’ll get at least one right!” Broecker laughs. They certainly demonstrate a union of one hand, one heart.

Bybee works in the home, as she has most of their life together. Will Broecker retire any time soon? “No. It’s the health insurance.” Broecker’s employer, Broadway Across America, has had them on its insurance for years. “They were definitely on the cutting edge of domestic partner insurance.”

The conversation frequently tracks to domestic topics, such as the flower-chomping deer that occupy the expansive property. Broecker has lived on the land most of her life and is invested not only financially but emotionally. Bybee loves it, but insists the property is too big to manage much longer; she’s in favor of moving to a condo, laughing, “This old woman’s getting past being able to take care of all of this.”

So what does the future hold? “Knock on wood,” Bybee says. “We’ve made it 30 years!” Going forward, Broecker shares, “As we get older, hopefully our health stays with us, and we’ll lean on friends. There are so many couples in our position, straight or gay. I’d like to take this land and turn it into a cooperative.”

They’re not in agreement on every point, as Broecker opines, “I could definitely downsize.” Bybee snickers, looking around the room at collections of Broecker family history that fill numerous glass enclosures, then concludes, “You make home wherever it is.” It’s a sure thing that the seasons of love these two share will prove that statement true.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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JoAnn

Carol

JoAnn Dale and Carol Uebelhoer are in their 60s now. In 2008, they married in Massachusetts. “It was a lark,” JoAnn laughs. “We didn’t think Indiana would ever recognize it.” The women have shared 38 years of partnership, a child, careers and extraordinary legal and medical concerns. They are currently dealing with a debilitating disease that will affect every day of their lives.

A unique twist to this story: Both JoAnn and Carol were federal government employees. The Defense of Marriage Act meant their employer was not allowed to recognize a same-sex marriage, even if it was valid where the partners lived. For years, they couldn’t be on the same insurance policy, which created a real problem when Carol became disabled and had to retire. Two weeks before Carol lost her insurance, Indiana passed the law that enabled them to race to the courthouse so JoAnn could adopt their child, Josie, and add her to her own policy.

Carol’s been in a wheelchair for the past year due to relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, which regularly affects their daily lives. An adaptable van with a ramp and a high-tech wheelchair are critical to Carol’s freedom. Once, that freedom was stolen when an airline lost her wheelchair, causing her to have to use a standard airport model overnight. It was not a pleasant experience for either woman.

She still can take a few steps, but the twosome has had to relocate from their beloved farm in Otisco, Indiana to a handicap-accessible house. Since the relapsing-remitting type that Carol has often turns into the more challenging secondary progressive MS, Carol counts herself lucky that hers has not yet changed.

“It’s been very challenging to remain in a relationship between person and person as opposed to between caregiver and patient,” JoAnn reflects. I’ll want to do something for Carol, and she’ll refuse. I’m doing it because I love her. It’s very hard.” Given their unique situation, it’s often about control and boundaries. It’s something they frequently talk about, and getting it out in the open helps.

How do they do it? “Day by day,” JoAnn replies. “My going away for a weekend now and then actually helps us to stay together. She does things on her own. If I’m here, it’s so much easier for me to just do it for her, and it affects both of us.”

Carol likes to subtly brag to JoAnn about how she managed to put the sheets on the bed, and takes care of the dog while JoAnn travels to women’s music events. Her band, The Kukes (Kentuckiana Ukelele Society), played at Abbey Road on the River this year.

JoAnn also belongs to a group called Homemade Jam. The music sustains them both.

An attorney, JoAnn drew up many of the documents available to them at the time, including wills, powers of attorney and health surrogacy. Many years later, the couple was one of the plaintiffs in the Indiana case to legalize same-sex marriage, and lawyer Dan Canon served as their attorney. “The significant change was that [the Supreme Court decision] allowed us to divorce!” relates JoAnn. “We got married in Massachusetts but we weren’t residents, so we couldn’t get divorced. And Indiana didn’t recognize our union, so we couldn’t get divorced here either.”

JoAnn hopes to stay in the house until the bitter end, “if we can.” Hiring help is also on the horizon when Carol needs more assistance than JoAnn can provide. A married couple, they can reside together in assisted living, should that become necessary. The move from the country, where they raised chickens, goats and other animals on 110 acres, was very painful for a duo of ladies who had poured their lives into the land. Even today, their dogs can’t be let out the front door because they have no concept of cars or roads. And the humans can’t believe that “down here, they deliver mail right to the front door!”

Nonetheless, they all continue to adapt to change, together, finally legally united as a family.

“It’s just amazing it’s been 38 years,” Carol exhales.

The women exchange a long, knowing look and smile, ready to confront whatever they face together.

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Bev

Judy

Although animals are part of the previous two couples’ households, Great Danes dominate the home of Beverly Hall and Judy Amshoff. Greta and Murdock, the 10 and 11-year-old behemoths, have serious health issues. The women have medical concerns of their own.

The bond these four share is obvious.

When sitting down with Bev and Judy, it becomes clear that these two personalities are night and day. Judy is the less vocal, though her sense of humor inserts itself into the conversation with perfect timing.

Their wedding day was hectic, but they finally dashed across the river and got hitched 34 years after they met.

Dinner at Vietnam Kitchen with friends served as their reception. Attire was not a top priority. Judy is a handy person: “Well, it was jeans and a t-shirt! Just kidding. I wore a pair of dress pants and a button up shirt and a pair of dress shoes.” Beverly doesn’t remember what she wore because she was planning on leaving the country for a trip to the Mediterranean with a traveling companion. With the Danes in poor condition, both women feel strongly about one being at home in case of an emergency; when asked if they went on a honeymoon, Judy jokes, “Bev did!”

Bev refers to Judy most of the time as her “spouse,” finding the word “wife” a bit harder to use. They’ve always referred to their daughter Sarah and their niece Casey, whom they also raised, as their daughters.

Are they out? “Not to everyone,” says Bev. She is not totally open with their grandchildren’s friends, and she rarely mentions Judy on Facebook. Judy responds, “Everybody I know knows. I don’t put it on Facebook be-

cause I don’t go on Facebook.” Their daughter calls them “moms,” and tells her own children they have “three mamaws,” including their dad’s mother.

“We always think about these things,” Beverly says, referring to future planning. Like the other couples, they took every measure they could to shield each other from harm should one become ill or pass away.

Those worries are no more, and with their beloved animals by their sides, it’s obvious the best is yet to come.

The recurrent theme in these interviews is the lengths to which the parties went to protect each other: legal, medical, emotional and otherwise. All measures that could be instituted have been taken willingly and at great expense. Love is evident between the women I interviewed; companionship is a given. Same-sex marriage validation finally enabled them to openly declare their commitments, to earn the same rights as any couple in the United States – straight or gay – and to enjoy the benefits of marriage. Love wins.

The LGBT Aging Issues Network (LAIN) works to raise awareness about the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders and about the unique barriers they encounter in gaining access to housing, healthcare, long-term care and other needed services. LAIN seeks to foster professional development, multidisciplinary research and wide-ranging dialogue on LGBT issues in the field of aging through publications, conferences and events. LAIN welcomes the participation of all concerned individuals regardless of age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

For more information, visit asaging.org/lain.

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Because Everything

The Question of

BISEXUALI Written by Ben Gierhart // Photography by Antonio Pantoja

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here is little doubt that our society has become exponentially more accepting and

even loving of the LGBTQ community over the last decade. The recent Kentuckiana Pride Festival parade saw record-breaking crowds this year, with attendance placed somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000. But we still have a long way to go. While terms like “gay” and “lesbian” are now well-integrated into common vocabulary and “trans” is getting ever-closer, the word – and identity – “bisexual” continues to raise questions and even engender a lamentable amount of stigma.

LITY

ANTONIO PANTOJA

For the purposes of this article, bisexuality is defined as the attraction, not necessarily equal, to those of the same gender and to those of another gender. The concept sounds relatively simple, but this orientation further complicates the sexual awakening of puberty, which can already be so awkward for maturing teenagers, and can also lead to misunderstandings from the straight and gay communities alike.

“I was definitely still attracted to women so I wasn’t gay, but I knew I definitely wasn’t straight,” asserts Ben Vivona, a bisexual student at the University of Louisville. “It was this ongoing internal conflict of, ‘Will these attractions fade? Will I stop being attracted to women eventually? Will I stop being attracted to men eventually?’” At the risk of diminishing the possible trauma experienced by someone who comes out as homosexual, discovering a bisexual orientation can be even more difficult. It is human nature to think in binary terms, so a third option – one that might be more demonstrative of the complexity of human sexuality – is rarely considered because it is not often visibly or conceptually represented.

Lee Cooper, a self-identified bisexual woman, explains her experience with a touch of humor: “I remember that the only reason I found the term was a TV show on MTV called ‘A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila.’ It was basically like ‘The Bachelor’ except for a bisexual woman.” Cooper claims that the show wasn’t a good representation of bisexuality, mainly citing issues of unnecessary hypersexualization. “It still introduced this term to me when I had no idea it was out there,” says Cooper, nonetheless grateful for the experience despite the show’s problematic depiction. “I learned the term earlier than other people because it was presented to me by media. I don’t think I would have encountered the term and discovered my orientation sooner otherwise. I wouldn’t have been able to accept that realization as much.”

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Even if a bisexual person is able to traverse the metaphorical minefield of coming out, the doubts, more often than not, continue to pursue them throughout adulthood.

The most common accusation that bisexual people face is that their orientation is not valid, that it is a convenient mask or “stepping stone” for someone who doesn’t wish to dive into the deep end and immediately declare their eventual – and inevitable – homosexual orientation.

“For some people, that is how they come out, be it for how they actually feel – since sexuality is a lot more fluid than most people think – or for safety reasons,” says Vivona.

“For me, it is a destination rather than a step.

I am perfectly comfortable in my identity as a bisexual man.”

Cooper agrees: “Heterosexuality is ‘normal,’ so a lot of people use [bisexuality] as a stepping stone because it’s so ingrained in them that they are meant to be attracted to the opposite sex. When they’re not, it scares them. I’ve had to definitely sit and think about it. Is this a valid orientation?” Cooper has since worked through these doubts and comfortably asserts her bisexuality without a trace of ambivalence.

When asked if the way that others use the bisexual label makes her journey more difficult, Cooper says no, but pays mind to the experiences of others: “At the end of the day, I’ve become so comfortable with who I am and how I identify that it doesn’t affect me as much. While it’s not made my experience harder, for someone else, it could have made their experience so much harder. It really could have messed them up.” Vivona, on the other hand, has experienced some stigma.

“For me, [bisexuality] is a destination rather than a step. I am perfectly comfortable in my identity as a bisexual man.”

Ben Vivona

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“I was talking to a friend of mine one day who had recently broken up with his boyfriend,” he recalls. “My friend, a gay man, said, ‘I’ll never date another bisexual guy again!’

When I asked why, he said that his boyfriend had left him to be with a woman.” Vivona responded appropriately and emphasized the lack of correlation between sexuality and relationship behavior: “I tried to suggest that bisexuality was not the issue here. One unfaithful person’s actions are not representative of the entire bisexual community.” Unfortunately, however, these generalizations are often accepted as facts.

“So many bisexuals I meet are fighting to have us be taken seriously, and so many are so adamant about breaking this inaccurate stereotype.”

Lee Cooper

“I’ve not been in many relationships because most of mine end up lasting for a long time,” says Cooper in direct contrast to the stereotype. “My sexual identity and sexual orientation doesn’t mean anything more about me than who I am interested in.

It doesn’t mean that I’m not an inherently non-monogamous person. And really, I find that that’s often the case: So many bisexuals I meet are fighting to have us be taken seriously, and so many are so adamant about breaking this inaccurate stereotype.”

Vivona attests that misconceptions of bisexuality are further complicated by gender and other intersectionalities. “For women, being bisexual is in some ways more accepted, but not for the right reasons,” he says. “It’s not like bisexual women are having their identities respected by straight men if there is this objectification. On the other hand, bisexual men are thought not to exist.” Cooper agrees: “For women, it’s so sexual. ‘Do you want to have a threesome?’ ‘Oh, you’re bi? Why don’t you kiss this girl and prove it to me?’ I don’t have to prove my identity to anyone.”

When it comes to solving these issues, there are no easy answers, but both Vivona and Cooper agree that awareness and cogent discussions are important first steps. Of course, it is of vital importance to remember that the human experience is ultimately individual. One term will not apply to everyone. It is fascinating to consider though that human sexuality – something so carefully guarded and controlled in history – can be so rich and diverse in its complexity.

Exploring this fact and accepting it can only fill the world with more compassion.

Due to the struggles she and her friends have experienced, Cooper poses one significant question: “If the heterosexual community doesn’t accept us and the LGBT community doesn’t either, what are we supposed to do?” It’s a question that’s unfortunately being asked by all too many individuals and one that we are indeed responsible for answering.

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EERS

Written by Ben Gierhart Photography by Antonio Pantoja

Without an eye toward the future, the world we enjoy would quickly become stagnant. What we watch on TV, the art we see in galleries and exhibits and the technology that we take for granted would slip through our fingers. However, there are always those pioneers of art and technology who are seeking to take the lessons they’ve learned and share them with the world in order improve it.

Louisville is known as Possibility City. Innovation and dedication to those mediums that push humanity forward are at the core of what makes this city work, and it should come as no surprise that at the forefront of such endeavors are often those who identify as LGBTQ. Their progress is happening now and is making a genuine, significant impact on the city of Louisville and beyond.

What follows are snapshots of just a few of the individuals in Louisville who we think have something to teach the future leaders of arts and technology – individuals who, in many ways, are already pioneers themselves.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

ANTONIO PANTOJA

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Cameron Kurz PROJECT MANAGER

“ We get to make an impact on the way that people engage with the world around them.

It’s pretty sweet.”

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When looking to reshape the future, inspiration can be an important tool. Cameron Kurz would deny that she sees herself on any kind of pedestal, but it is an inescapable truth that she sets an example for future generations of Louisvillians.

In high school, Kurz’s family fostered her cousin, which afforded her some of her first insight into what needed to change in America’s familial and communal infrastructure. She quickly learned that she was passionate about the community and its leadership, which led to a degree in human development and family studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kurz is currently hard at work completing a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Louisville, but through a series of connections, she was able to land an unexpected position at Solid Light, one of Louisville’s premier design firms. The company has worked on such celebrated projects as the Sagamore Spirit distillery, the Falls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Center and the McConnell-Chao Archives.

“I’m a project manager, which turns out is the perfect role for me given my past experiences, skills and passions,” says Kurz. “I get to work with architects, designers, fabricators, researchers, writers and media producers to build truly fantastic experiences for a variety of audiences.”

Solid Light is a highly collaborative environment, and Kurz’s strong leadership skills prodigiously benefit her work. “Our clients come to us with a story that they want to tell,” Kurz explains. “We want visitors to engage with a story in a deep way, whether it’s through immersive theatre, contemplating difficult questions or physically interacting with an exhibit. We get to make an impact on the way that people engage with the world around them. It’s pretty sweet.”

Outside of work, Kurz serves as vice president of the board of directors of Louisville Girls Leadership, an organization dedicated to the advocacy and professional development of young women. She is still in the process of completing her graduate degree and further developing her exciting career with Solid Light, but there is no question that her aim and undeniable future is to affect change wherever she goes.

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Jamez Baulding C U R ATO R

“The goal I had for every event was for it to be something that no one would have ever seen before.”

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Jamez Baulding never questioned the belief that he wanted to become a doctor. He dedicated himself fully to that task while at the University of Kentucky, immersing himself in difficult courses and strenuous research opportunities in an effort to make himself competitive for medical school. He even managed to get some of his research published.

While taking some of the creative coursework required for his philosophy minor, Baulding had a professor who didn’t think he should be a doctor: “She said that, and after that class ended, I realized that I had created all this stuff. It was a lot of fun, and I liked the way I was working.”

Baulding changed his major, and when he graduated, he created his own company, Underground Lexington (UGLEX) to curate unusual pieces and stage unique shows and exhibits: “The goal I had for every event was for it to be something that no one would have ever seen before. I looked for artists who had things that really pushed the envelope in a different way.”

With talks underway for an exhibition called “Art Bizarre” at Tim Faulkner Gallery in spring 2017, UGLEX has certainly grown. Always looking for ways to learn more and administer his business better, Baulding, a burgeoning entrepreneur, was able to secure a position as the event coordinator at Le Moo, where he was mentored by owner Kevin Grangier. Eventually, however, Baulding began to be pulled in another direction.

“I’m moving at the end of [June]. I’ll be starting an internship at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles,” he says excitedly. He explains that the internship could lead to a potential permanent job in L.A., but he also hopes to bring what he learns back to Louisville and see where that could take him in a city overflowing with cultural possibility.

Baulding remarks that he couldn’t have done any of these incredible things without questioning labels: “Explore yourself fully. Don’t be afraid to try things simply because you’re told not to. You never know what you will discover. Perhaps you could find that you have been living someone else’s life all along.”

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Ashley Brossart VISUAL ARTIST

“Learn to fail. Learn to embrace that failure and know that if you aren’t failing, you aren’t taking enough risks.”

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A strong work ethic is a tremendous asset regardless of the field to which one’s discipline is being applied, and Ashley Brossart is an example of a person with that quality in spades. Currently a full-time artist, Brossart earned her B.A. in studio art from the University of Louisville as well as a wealth of knowledge and experience from artistic hotspots across the country – from Cincinnati to San Francisco.

During her sophomore year of high school, Brossart failed to make the softball team, which was her passion at the time. However disappointing, her perceived failure afforded her the opportunity to focus her attention on her art, which had long been a secondary interest. As a result, she quickly applied her energies to that end, working tirelessly to become a better artist.

That hard work, it seems, has paid off. Brossart has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including one at Louisville Metro Hall for the mayor in 2014. In 2015, her Gallapalooza horse design, “Bridges,” won Best Louisville Design and went on to the be the highest bid at a live auction at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center. If you’re curious to see her work, you can do so at Kroger locations throughout Louisville and Southern Indiana, where her original murals are on display.

Brossart plans to develop her skills in the realm of public art and large-scale works further and force herself to work outside of the studio more than ever. “I’m also excited about getting back to my Art Drops project I sort of set aside for about a year or more,” she says, referring to an early endeavor of hers where she would create original art and leave it in different urban areas for unsuspecting passersby to find.

This industrious artist’s advice is deceptively simple: “Learn to fail. Learn to embrace that failure and know that if you aren’t failing, you aren’t taking enough risks. Failure is planting seeds of growth, and any sort of success – however that’s defined for an individual – comes with failure.”

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Max Meiners

TELEVISION NEWSCAST DIRECTOR

“Just because something didn’t seem like a good idea or something didn’t work out for someone else doesn’t mean that you’re going to have the same experience.”

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“My goal is to be happy when I go to bed every night,” says Max Meiners, a television newscast director at WHAS11. The son of local media personality Terry Meiners, Max Meiners says that, despite this family connection, he was discouraged from a career in media from an early age. “All the techie people would tell me that this is a terrible business. It was kind of half-ribbing, like, ‘Oh, haha. I hate my job.’ But I also think they were serious,” recalls Meiners, who attests that he also met significant resistance in educating himself in media while attending Manual High School. “I was on a track in school that was very math-and-science-oriented, and courses from the arts magnet were not presented to me as an option at all.”

When Meiners matriculated to Western Kentucky University, he began to pursue his passion unfettered and in earnest: “During orientation, I tracked down the faculty advisor for the campus radio station. I met with her and said, ‘I want to work at the station.’”

For the first time, Meiners wasn’t told no, and the opportunity has helped him blossom into a fully realized professional who recently assistant directed the telecast of the Muhammad Ali memorial service. In addition to his career, Meiners cultivates other interests such as freelance voice acting and political podcasting. He has even cut his own lyrics and melody line for a song that will soon be featured on a remix album from international musician Absinth3.

Meiners firmly believes that creativity is always worth refining, even if it’s for the fulfillment of no one but yourself. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you no,” he says resolutely.

“Just because something didn’t seem like a good idea or something didn’t work out for someone else doesn’t mean that you’re going to have the same experience. There is no other industry that I would rather work in. I love the station that I work for. I love WHAS11.” With an outlook like that, it’s easy to see why he doesn’t lose any sleep at night.

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Charlie Meredith SOFTWARE ENGINEER

“When I was 9, I built my first website. When I was 12, I built my first computer. To me, it was the closest thing there was to magic.”

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“I was always interested in computers from a very young age,” says Charlie Meredith, a software engineer at Interapt, a local tech startup. “When I was 9, I built my first website. When I was 12, I built my first computer. To me, it was the closest thing there was to magic.”

Meredith grew up in Kentucky’s rural Muhlenberg County and never considered that what he called his “weird hobby” could be a possible career. Thankfully, a graduate of the University of Louisville’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering came to speak at Meredith’s high school, which was his first encounter with the term “computer engineering.”

Meredith applied to and subsequently enrolled in Speed School and eventually completed his master’s in computer engineering and computer science. Upon graduation, Meredith was able to attain his current position at Interapt, a company that believes in actively progressing humanity.

To that end, there is one endeavor that Interapt has recently undertaken of which Meredith is particularly proud: “Interapt announced that they are hiring 50 people in Eastern Kentucky. Growing up in Muhlenberg County, in a coal region, everyone wants to go into coal. People think that coal is going to be around forever, and I think that now people are beginning to realize that that’s not the case.” And now with Interapt’s lauded new program, the company will provide a previously somewhat unattainable option to smaller Kentucky communities.

Meredith also recently decided to give back himself and speak at his old high school about technology opportunities, possibly providing the same inspiration he was struck by years ago. “I talked to them about Tesla, Oculus, Snapchat – all very cool companies that are doing very cool things,” he explains. As for his own future, Meredith is assisting Interapt with developing revolutionary HIPAA-compliant communication software, and he also hopes to participate some day in the booming field of virtual reality technology.

With such a thrilling career before him, it would be understandable for Meredith to forget his roots, to run as quickly as his feet can carry him to the future. Admirably, he hasn’t done so. He hasn’t forgotten the magic, and he will continue to awaken it in others for many years to come.

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comfy C R E AT I N G A

COMMUNITY

Written by Remy Sisk // Photography by Antonio Pantoja

the brutal cold of winter and the bitter economic times of December 2009, married couple Tim and Roy Koons-McGee did the unthinkable: They opened an ice cream shop. But what started as a humble store tucked away in Westport Village has become a far-reaching sensation renowned nationally for its exquisite quality and locally for its comfortable and quirky vibe. The Comfy Cow wasn’t always what the pair saw themselves doing, but now, they couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

The genesis of the concept came when Roy was growing more and more dissatisfied with his day job. Tim remembers, “Roy and I had gotten together – we’d been married two years when we first opened – and were looking to do something together. I was perfectly happy doing what I was doing to be quite honest, but he had been in healthcare and was – ” “Miserable!” Roy finishes. Tim continues, “So we started looking at different concepts and things to do – we looked at opening up a bookstore, a coffee shop –” 52

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ANTONIO PANTOJA

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“That was my original idea,” says Roy. ”I wanted to do a coffee shop, and I told Tim the very first time we went on a date that that was my dream.” The two continued brainstorming and weighing their options for their potential endeavor when a friend offhandedly mentioned that there was a lack of ice cream shops in the Clifton area, the neighborhood where she lived.

“We just kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Ice cream. How about that?’” remembers Tim. “It was a little spark, and then we really started doing our research.” Roy agrees that the inspiration and intrigue was there right from the first suggestion: “We thought we could be really creative with it.”

“And do it differently,” Tim echoes.

“Most of the ice cream shops that we were familiar with and that we knew growing up were really white with fluorescent light and metal chairs – just not very warm and inviting. And we always thought of ice cream as being a real community-type thing, but the environment is never that kind of environment where you just want to hang out.

So that was one of the reasons why we created the shops the way we did. We wanted a place that you didn’t feel was too fancy, where you felt like you could just hang out with your friends and enjoy the ice cream and build community.”

We’re both really big on community, and

it was creating a neighborhood spot where people could create community and interact that was so important to us.”

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Indeed, this idea of community – which manifests itself at Comfy Cow locations in the form of eccentric decor, repurposed furniture and an unequivocal sense of comfort – was critical to get right and what Roy says was important to him right from the very beginning.

“That’s what was really attractive to me with a coffee shop – people go just to hang out. You love the vibe of a coffee shop, and we wanted to recreate that in our stores with ice cream.”

Tim affirms that community was always one of the fundamental values of the company and what has made The Comfy Cow into the beloved brand it is today. “We’re both really big on community,” he asserts, “and it

was creating a neighborhood spot where people could create community and interact that was so important to us.”

But in addition to the general concept, the specifics of what they were actually selling had to be just as well thought-out. “We wanted to make sure also when you get to the product that we had absolutely the best ice cream we could,” Roy says.

“We said, ‘If we’re going to do this – if we’re going to spend the time and effort and money to do this – then it’s got to be the best, and we have to try to make it the best,” recounts Tim. One challenge the couple faced at first was the idea of running a business together. Roy assures that now the two have found their rhythm, and Tim explains that “there’s a pretty distinct division of responsibilities – he does his thing and I do mine.”

“But we cross over and give advice and feedback,” Roy adds. And though they strive to find time away from the company, they understand that The Comfy Cow is now a pervasive part of their lives. “We’re never away from it,” Tim admits. “So we’ll go home and say, ‘We’re not going to talk about it tonight,’ and then five minutes later, we’re talking about it.”

All those talks, however, have resulted in a lot of good as The Comfy Cow is on the brink of opening its ninth location. There are four company-owned stores, one company and investor-owned store, three franchises – including one in Nashville – and an upcoming location in the renovated Louisville International Airport.

While Tim was expansion’s champion from the beginning, Roy was bit more hesitant. “I was kicking and screaming at first with that, but he and one of our early investors got the bright idea that we needed to expand because oh we’re just so popular!” he laughs.

Part of that popularity, which was incontrovertible from the beginning, undoubtedly comes from the ice cream itself, which is all branded with names that vary from slightly offbeat to laugh-out-loud hilarious. “We sat on our patio one night and just laughed and laughed and laughed about names for the ice cream,” Tim recalls.

“We came up with all these funny names,” Roy attests. Tim’s personal favorite is Ginger Two Snaps, the name of which was, like the others, carefully crafted. “‘In Living Color’ is this old comedy show, and Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier would play these characters who were so gay – like, gayer than us!

– and they would wear these tiny hats and puffy shirts and would review movies. And if they liked the movies they would give it ‘two snaps.’” Hence the name, Ginger Two Snaps for the gingersnap ice cream.

Though business at The Comfy Cow is booming, especially in the heat of Ohio River Valley summer, expansion is not the aspiration right now; currently, the team is focused on furthering its grocery store opportunities.

They started with getting their ice cream into Whole Foods and then Kroger and are now expanding to 80 Krogers and over 20 Whole Foods stores, including locations in Baltimore, Philadelphia and D.C. in addition to Lucky’s in Florida.

As far as what exactly it is that makes The Comfy Cow so successful out-of-state and so passionately adored by the locals, Tim and Roy agree that it really comes back to that concept of community. “We’ve never been about, you know, ‘Oh, we need that table – you have to get up and leave,’” Tim describes. “I hope someone buys one scoop and sits here for two hours with somebody and talks. That’s what we wanted, and I think people appreciate that.”

“There’s a bit of nostalgia with what we created also I think – sort of the old mixed with the new,” Roy offers.

“And authenticity – I mean, I was redoing houses and he was a nurse. It’s not like we were two lawyers who had extra money and opened up an ice cream shop,” Tim says. There is, without question, a palpable authenticity inside The Comfy Cow. It’s not a corporate business trying too hard to look kitschy – it’s a genuine, local enterprise created by two men who legitimately love their community. It’s a place where people can come together, enjoy the indulgence of ice cream and be ultimately, well, comfy.

And while it all may have happened relatively quickly, as long as they have each other, Tim and Roy know they can handle whatever may come their way. Their love for each other is just as real as their dedication to their business, which every day continues to grow exponentially. “If you get to know him, nothing moves slowly in his world – nothing!” insists Roy. “But if it had been up to Roy,” counters Tim, “we still wouldn’t be open because we’d be researching!” The two exchange a knowing, loving smile, and it becomes clearer than ever that, though they first opened in December 2009 just after the Great Recession, there was no better time to open an ice cream shop.

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

55

Fairness is

Love A POLITICAL COMING OF AGE

Written by Brit Thompson // Photography by Antonio Pantoja

Henry Brousseau is not like most young men his age.

While other recent high school graduates are looking ahead at the adventure of college and the exciting new independence and social opportunities that await them, Henry, a passionate young activist, is most anticipating the chance to finally make his electrifying voice louder in the place where it matters most: Washington, D.C. 56

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MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

ANTONIO PANTOJA

57

An 18-year-old Louisville Collegiate School graduate who has been strongly active in Louisville’s political community, particularly where it concerns LGBTQ issues, Henry is a trans man who came out at the age of 14, just a week into his freshman year of high school.

He will be attending George Washington University this fall and major in political science while possibly pursuing a minor in LGBT and sexuality studies, Judaic studies or peace studies. “I want to move past just activism and protests,” Henry says of his political science major. “I want to learn more about how our political system disenfranchises people.” Indeed, he aspires to be part of the solutions to current issues facing our nation.

Certainly, he chose D.C. for a reason. “The city feels alive with history – history of social change and progress. A history of democracy.” Though he is nervous to leave home and his great support network, he’s nonetheless excited for the journey. “I know I will make great connections in D.C … And there’s so much that needs to be done there – from homelessness issues to LGBT rights.”

Early on, Henry knew that he wanted to help people and do more than just lament the state of affairs. He recounts a childhood memory of reading a book about Rosa Parks when he was 6 or 7. “I’d thought racism was over in the 1800s; I thought everything was great,” he admits. “Then I was reading this and I was crying, and I realized that all people are not treated equally.”

Though he recalls being moved by America’s inequality at a young age, he got his first taste of activism and politics when he worked on the senate campaign of Alison Lundergan Grimes during his junior year of high school. He remembers the time and effort he put into that campaign fondly and attests, “It was just my favorite thing.”

After his participation with Grimes, he became an intern with the Fairness Campaign, citing State Bill 76’s significance in propelling him forward and making him more vocal. “I saw that legislation, and I knew I had to say something about it,” he contends. “I knew it would devastate the transgender students in Kentucky. And I knew that I was in a position that others weren’t in to speak up about it, even though it didn’t necessarily affect me.”

Indeed, Henry has always firmly believed in the importance of standing up and taking action when

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“Our country has a history of not being great for many people, and we still aren’t great for everybody.

I want to change that.”

COURTESY PHOTO

he feels strongly about a subject. “I can’t sit by when somebody doesn’t have the same opportunities or doesn’t have the same resources that I have,” he relates. “Our country has a history of not being great for many people, and we still aren’t great for everybody. I want to change that … And I want to make sure that we consider politics from the viewpoint of the least privileged among us: poor people, people of color, people who have been purposely left out.”

His awareness of people in the world and their differences is impressive, as is his desire to utilize his “intersecting privileges” as a means to help people. “I have so much privilege,” he weighs, “but at the same time, I can’t go into bathrooms.”

However, one concept towers above the rest and is in fact the very foundation of his motivation and passion. “Fairness, the

concept of people being equal, is all-important and essentially a driving force for me. It’s like love.” He pauses to quote philosopher and activist Cornel West – “Justice is what love looks like in public” – and then contin-

his activist experiences, turning inward to consider himself. He is learning how paramount self-care is when one becomes heavily engaged in what they love. He is also discovering the importance of balance and helping himself so he can do his best to help others.

His endeavors tend to be focused according to his assertion that quality is more important in activism than quantity.

Looking to the future, Henry has a plan for himself that upholds all the things he has grown to value over his 18 years. “Sophomore year, D.C. needs to watch out,” he says with a smile. He plans to intern at different places before going to law school for public interest law focusing on civil rights litigation. “Eventually,” he says, “I want to run for office.” He’s got my vote.

Fairness , the concept of people being equal, is all-important and essentially a driving force for me. It’s like love.

ues: “And I also have a religious obligation.

Social justice is integral to my being Jewish.

Also, I’ve fallen in the footsteps of other Jewish leaders. I’ve been raised in a family that values it.”

Henry concludes with reflecting upon

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

59

MERGED

MOTHERHOOD A couple’s blended family and journey to empowerment

Written by Kellie Doligale // Photography by Antonio Pantoja

W

hen Jenny Armstrong and Christine Gibbs sit down to discuss their lives over coffee, they’re exhausted from marching in the parade at the Kentuckiana Pride Festival the night before and celebrating into the night.

Both women marched with a group of friends, all over 50 years of age. For each of them, it was their very first march. The LGBTQ community has been at the center of a national spotlight since the mass shooting in Orlando on June 12, but both women witnessed support in their surroundings on

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the Belvedere. “In the crowd and the marchers, as huge a tragedy as that was, it’s bringing out the best in people,” Jenny starts.

“It’s bringing out their outrage. I felt like I was putting my money where my mouth is.”

Considering how content they are to show their love for their community and one another, neither Jenny nor Christine arrived there easily.

Christine grew up in Cleveland and came to Louisville after college. A successful engineer, she married and left her job to raise two daughters in their Prospect home. As

her children approached their teenage years, Christine was in the grip of her own transformation. The subsequent separation from her husband of 18 years came about not from the persistent discord most people associate with the word “divorce” but simply from her unwillingness to hide from being gay.

“We had a good partnership,” she recalls.

“As easy as it would have been to stay in a relationship with a friend, it wasn’t any fairer for him than it was for me, nor the kids. He deserved somebody who loved him.”

To keep life simple for their children

after the divorce, Christine bought the only house for sale in their Oldham County neighborhood despite the unavoidable condemnation. A well-regarded cross country coach known throughout the traditionally conservative community, she struggled to reconcile the opinions of others with managing her own priorities, all while falling in love with Jenny. “You’re made to feel like a pervert when you come out,” she says. “[Your neighbors] can’t believe you bought a house in the same neighborhood. They expect you to leave under cover of darkness.”

THESE WOMEN BELONGED TO THEIR CHILDREN BEFORE THEY BELONGED TO EACH OTHER, AND THAT BLENDING OF MOTHERHOOD HAS SUPPORTED THEM BOTH THROUGH THE MOST EXCRUCIATING OF TIMES. MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

ANTONIO PANTOJA

61

Thankfully, the continued friendship of Christine’s ex-husband demonstrated to the people around them how dedicated their blended family was to maintaining stability.

Jenny contemplates that the divorce seemed harder for Christine’s children than the realization that their mother was a lesbian. “It was a rough period, but also one of the best of our lives,” she says. “For me, it was finally meeting someone who I knew was my perfect fit. You stop making exit plans.”

Prior to their relationship, Jenny had not stayed with one companion longer than five years. In contrast to Christine’s girls, Jenny has three sons, including a set of twins, all of whom were young children when she came out. Despite doing so sooner than Christine, she sees herself as the more cautious one to be open in public, shamefully admitting that she still flinches if Christine reaches for her hand while they’re out.

By the time she and Christine began their relationship, Jenny’s youngest son was in the throes of an opiate addiction that permeated the first eight years of their relationship.

To tell the story, Jenny and Christine finish one another’s thoughts so effortlessly that it becomes obvious how deep in the trenches they were together. These women belonged to their children before they belonged to each other, and that blending of motherhood has supported them both through the most excruciating of times. “Even your most successful child has their best and worst moments,” Christine laments. “Regardless of the extreme, when your child is at their worst, it is so painful.”

For Jenny’s son, being severed from his family proved to be the wake-up call he needed, an objective tactic Jenny believes Christine let her process independently. “It’s what she knew all along, but she watched me enable,” she explains. “As his biological mother, my knee-jerk reaction was to protect.” After years of watching a substance control her son, Jenny was able to take the drastic action necessary. “It took one therapist to tell me, ‘You are loving your son to death.’ That was the switch.” Indeed, this couple’s unwavering commitment to their children is a constant theme in their stories.

Jenny’s son has been sober for two years, but getting there taught both mothers about their differences as parents. “We had moments of getting to such a raw point that you verbalize, ‘It would be easier to be by

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myself dealing with my child,’” Christine says. Still, they reflect on how well their partnership lent itself to raising the thriving adult children they have now. Both women insist that getting their kids to their present lives is their greatest accomplishment. “We’re always there. We’re the moms,” she sighs, and both shrug with charming amusement.

Despite the trials of an isolating community and a child’s self-destruction, their general prosperity is not taken for granted. “We’ve not suffered a whole lot,” Jenny acknowledges.

“Those of us who haven’t suffered as much discrimination have gotten to sit in our comfortable lives and not speak out.”

Recent tragedies and the political climate have motivated the couple to embrace their place in the LGBTQ community. When Jenny

came out to her parents years ago, her father – then the president of a bank and now the mayor of Mt. Washington – said he hoped she didn’t “go march in any parades,” a notion she believes was about image at the time.

I’m compelled to do it because 49 people were gunned down in a gay nightclub last weekend.’ My shame is that it took that happening to get me out.”

Love emanates from these women. Jenny and Christine have been together for 10 years. They had a commitment ceremony in 2009 and got married in Washington, D.C. in 2014. They commemorate the multiple anniversaries they have as a by-product of evolving policy and agree they’re done with hiding their affection. “I’m not doing it anymore,” Jenny says firmly. “I’ll feel some anxiety, but I’m not going to sit back and pretend I’m something I’m not. People need to be made to feel uncomfortable.”

“Does that mean you’ll hold my hand?”

Christine challenges.

“Yeah. I’m gonna hold your hand.”

“I’M NOT GOING TO SIT BACK AND PRETEND I’M SOMETHING I’M NOT.”

“Yesterday, I called him from the middle of that parade,” she beams. “I said, ‘I want you to know that I held off this long, but I am marching in the middle of Main Street – and

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

63

Dating Dudes In Lou

BY NICHOLAS MOORE

Flirting 101

W

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4

Touch him, but not too much.

Utilize your nonverbal communication to showcase your interest in him. Turn your shoulders toward him, leaving your body open. Lay your hand on his forearm for a moment when addressing him. Put your hand on his shoulder when asking him a question.

These simple and respectful physical gestures will indicate interest.

5

1

Get honest with how you’re using technology. Modern technology can be a great way to connect people. Just remember, if you’re using digital platforms to meet guys, the persona you promote digitally will be what the other guy expects. So the closer your digital representation is to who you are in “real life,” the easier some fun flirtation becomes.

2

Know your entrance language. Smile at him from across the room. Then, soon after, simply walk over, introduce yourself and ask him how he’s doing. If he’s not interested, you’ll know pretty quickly and you’ve only lost three minutes of your life. But if he is, you’ve just gotten through the hardest part.

Choose light topics of conversation – like how his day is going – to get things rolling.

3

Use open-ended questions to generate conversation. This one is simple and yet so rarely used. Set the stage for him to share his story. People love to tell their story, so help him out by asking him questions that cannot end with one-word answers; this is all in the language you use to pose the question. Good: “How did you become interested in leather?”

Bad: “Are you interested in leather?”

Slooooow down. Everything in our world today is fast. Fast food, fast lanes, fast downloads. Flirting is not fast. If anything, it’s the antithesis of fast. It’s a playful banter of energies.

Resist the urge to be fast. Decrease your rate of speech. Listen to understand.

Make sure not to interrupt. Allow some silence to occur – it can be a good thing. Take down the pace to set the mood in the space.

6

Smile. Sounds simple, but there’s quite a bit to it. Studies have shown that people who smile more are perceived as more attractive. So if nothing else, you’ve got this one going for ya.

7

Lick your lips. Subtly lick your lips after a few minutes of flirting with him.

This is a bit of a subconscious trick to kickstart his sex drive, which never hurts when flirting is going well. If he does it back, things are definitely looking good.

8

Know your exit language. Have some polite phrases at the ready to close the conversation with. Some great ones are, “Well it was great chatting with you,” or, “Well, I have to step over here for a minute, but it was great to meet you.” If there’s been a connection between the two of you, either of these can segue into getting a number to see him again. If things aren’t clicking, you’ve closed the convo in a friendly way and can go about your night.

ILLUSTRATION BY RACHAEL SINCLAIR

hat happened to the dance of flirtation in the gay community? Here we are, on all of these apps, boasting for the world to see whether we’re a “top,” “bottom” or “vers” and posting pictures of our torsos. But when it comes to some meaningful, sustained, intellectual conversation with a fun smile or light touch interspersed therein, gay dudes seem to fall a bit short. Let’s investigate.

For the longest time, American gay men had nowhere to “flirt” openly, in the modern sense. We had to go to certain bars or locales where we knew it was safe. Even then, there were often code words or hand signals used to indicate interest. This secret language was necessary to use, else we be stigmatized, arrested or even beaten. What was an unintended secondary side effect of this communication methodology? An attitude of “Ain’t no time to waste baby – let’s get to it!”

Other things make flirting tricky for men in general, gay or straight. In America, men are socialized to think that feeling anything is anti-man. If you travel to places like Italy or France, for example, it’s different. Men there are brought up to have the language of feeling be part of their regular vocabulary, but men in the States are sadly working against a gender-stereotype that’s strangely specific to our country. In short, if dudes in the U.S. can’t articulate their own feelings, it’s doubly hard to imagine flirting with someone else’s.

So what to do for us genuine fellas who are seeking to make an impression on that handsome guy across the way? Well, in our fast-paced society that loves immediate gratification, the everyday Joe could use a little help from his Flirting Fairy Godfather.

Here are eight tips to help you get your flirt game on point.

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Tales from

Sapphic City

Something’s Brewing

“J

ust a second!” I took a deep breath and waited, a million thoughts running through my mind: What are you doing? Oh God, what am I going to say? Turn back, turn back now! No, you got this, girl! Do it!

No! Yes! The door swung open. There, standing in front of me, was my neighbor. A girl I had seen a handful of times this year. A girl I had never had a conversation with. But a girl I had a hunch played shortstop for the ladies’ team. A girl who was now wrapped in nothing but a towel.

My eyes went wide. “Hi!” I said with a smile.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she clutched onto her towel for dear life while her chocolate pug waggled out the door, licking my hands and kissing my feet. I felt the nerves leave my body while intrigue made it’s way in. Well, this is...unexpected.

“I’ll be out in just a moment,” she said blushing, pulling her canine back inside. “No problem!” I said to reassure her. The door closed. I leaned back on the railing of the porch and exhaled a sigh of relief, chuckling at the irony. No problem at all, honey. I can wait.

A few moments later, we exchanged numbers (once she proceeded to put some clothes on, of course), and I walked back to my apartment grinning ear to ear with fireworks exploding in the background and a grand orchestra playing my victory march.

Fast-forward to Tuesday night.

Date night. Game time. I walk with fire under my heels. I pass a group of men fixing a truck outside of Barrett Bar and I hear the usual grunts and “heys” as I walk

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by. A smug smile crosses my lips as I think amused, You’re barkin’ up the wrong tree, boys.

You see, I’m well aware of how I appear to mainstream society: straight. I realize there is a stereotype of gay women, and I also realize that I do not fit it. Some women do the whole undershirt-boy-cut-cargo-pants-pitbull-inone-hand thing, and some rock a mean set of boy shorts and do things with a drill that I can’t even imagine. But that’s not me.

Some might refer to me as a “lipstick lesbian.” Some may call me a “femme” or “all pumps” (I do own a fabulous collection of heeled boots, but that’s beside the point).

But I’m not altogether feminine. I can rock a vest and button-up like nobody’s business.

The fact is, I cannot be pigeonholed. I’m somewhere in the middle on a spectrum of masculine and feminine. Who I want to be, what I want to be for the day – hell, I’ll just decide when I get dressed in the morning.

Until that point, I float like an island. The Island of Lesbos, if you will, a place no man can survive and few can reach.

But I digress. On this particular night on the Island of Lesbos, a storm’s-a-brewin’ – dark clouds hover overhead with a threat of rain. But I hardly notice. The woman sitting in front of me on the patio of Barrett Bar has my attention. Within the first five minutes, it appears to me that she is confident, downto-earth and beams with a kind heart – not to mention, she’s effortlessly beautiful. Four things I absolutely love in a woman.

The storm picks up and we move under the patio roof. Our conversation continues to move easily but is interrupted as wind whips through power lines overhead, taking out the electricity and leaving us laughing in the dark. It is at this point that we are literally having drinks by candlelight. The air gets increasingly hot and humid as my second bourbon settles into my system. I breathe in deeply and lean closer to her. My head swims and my body tingles. She asks if I want another drink. I shake my head and smile. I say I should get home to check on my furballs, and she agrees to do the same.

I thank her for a wonderful evening, embracing her and kissing her cheek with the warm wind whipping around us, sprinkling us with rain.

Once home, my phone lights up. It’s her saying her pup is okay and that if I get scared in the storm, I can come over. A mischievous grin comes over my face and I breathe sharply in as visions come into my mind.

I shoo them away with a shiver.

Not tonight, darlin’. But we’ll see about next time...on the Island of Lesbos.

ILLUSTRATION BY RACHAEL SINCLAIR

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business spotlight:

Designs by Dennis Tapp Written by Richie Goff

A

nyone who has remodeled a home alone knows how difficult it is to pick the right look for a particular space. This can be time-consuming and downright frustrating to accomplish unless you have a true professional to guide you. A great designer not only sources creatively and makes your vision come to life but also knows how to make a room a transformative space in your home.

Designs by Dennis Tapp stands boldly on Bardstown Road nuanced by blacks and golds while a vivid red chandelier swings in the breeze. Upon entering the store, you are dazzled by pure eye candy; statues, art pieces, furniture, rugs, jewelry and chandeliers assert their presence with bursts of stunning vibrancy. Each item represents only a totem of what a room could become in the capable and creative hands of interior designer Dennis Tapp.

Usually donned in his signature black, Tapp greets his clients in his showroom. “It’s a little Liberace, a little Versace,” Tapp explains of his collection. The black color of his clothes suggests a blank canvas, allowing the splendor of his designs to always hold the focus. “I’ve always liked black. I do have a very colorful wardrobe if I want to pull it out, and I can get rather dramatic,” he teases. But regardless of what color he’s wearing, Tapp says that he has always reveled in his own style and emphasizes that his designs, outlets of his own urbanity, have been characterized by a sleek and seductive Hollywood look ever since he began his career over 40 years ago.

Tapp’s actual entrée into the world of interior design is as singular as his Bardstown Road storefront: “When I was in the Air Force, my colonel suggested that I would be a great interior designer. He kept on me, and I went ahead and studied while the Air Force paid for my schooling,” he recounts. Tapp had originally worked to become an architect but found his calling in designing for people’s homes.

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What sets Tapp apart from other designers is that his look is a little more “L.A., New York or Miami,” he says, and he always varies his creations to achieve originality. He remarks that, though many think his style is restricted to contemporary, he does work that is traditional and transitional as well and has even gone rustic and designed for log cabins and barns.

However, his goal is always uniform: to create a dynamic space tailored to his client’s sense of style, which Dennis with his former fiancée, the general’s he can quickly surmise after daughter, when he was in the Air Force having just one conversation with them. Tapp takes several days putting together samples the client may like and edits them them to get out of there. All of a sudden, I as needed. He particularly prides himself on took that rental car and floored it, and he his ability to enter a room and envision what shot at me. He missed. When we went to the final space will look like, a critical compo- court, his remark was if he had killed me, he could become me.” nent of any designer.

But of course, the copy-cat’s efforts were Working in other cities has helped Tapp hone his craft and keep his inspiration alive. in vain. No matter how hard he had tried or But a career as fabled as his doesn’t come how many shows he followed Tapp to or how without its own set of risks. In one case, at a much stalking he did, he never would have time when he was flying between Louisville been able to realize the same designs that and Miami to work on projects, he discovered Tapp does. His vision is unique – it cannot that a Louisville designer had been following simply be copied. His talent is innate within him to purchase the same items as Tapp in him and as much a part of him as his eyes and ears. Nothing, and no one, could ever truly order to imitate his style.

Then, while Tapp was out shopping with emulate the mind of Dennis Tapp.

For more information on Dennis Tapp, some clients one afternoon, the copy-cat designer decided to take matters into his own check out designsbydennistapp.com. You can hands: “I was in a rental car, and my clients also visit Tapp in person at his showroom, were on either side of me in their cars. I look Designs by Dennis Tapp, at 1139 Bardstown up, and here comes this guy with a gun say- Road, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to ing he was going to kill me. So I motion for 5 p.m.

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T

here just are no words in the wake of a tragedy like Orlando, which took place on the morning of June 12 at Pulse night club.

As a community, we in Louisville responded resoundingly. With less than six hours notice, 5,000 folks from Louisville and Southern Indiana met in the middle of the Big Four Bridge the night of June 12 to stand in solidarity with those whose lives were lost or irrevocably changed.

But all our lives were irrevocably changed.

For so many of us, the veil of safety had been lifted – but wasn’t it all an illusion anyway? Have LGBTQ people ever been truly safe in an America where we still have no basic discrimination protection in 28 states, including Kentucky and Indiana? Where we couldn’t legally wed until June 26, 2015?

Where it took more than a decade after the murder of Matthew Shepard to pass a hate crimes law that included LGBTQ people?

Many LGBTQ folks have been able to largely skirt the vulnerabilities too many of us face on a daily basis – perhaps because of socio-economic privilege or geographic privilege or gender privilege or white privi70

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lege. Lots of us haven’t faced the harassment that’s so commonplace for vast amounts of LGBTQ people – especially LGBTQ people of color, transgender individuals, gender non-conforming people, LGBTQ people living in poverty and those living far removed from the community and resources many of us take for granted.

This year and last year, dozens of transgender and gender non-conforming people of color have been murdered in America because of who they were, with the murder

of one such individual, Papi Edwards, taking place here in Louisville.

The Orlando tragedy targeted almost exclusively LGBTQ Latinx people.

Our entire community is suffering right now, but the pain is more profound for LGBTQ people of color. We need everyone to stand united with LGBTQ folks, but LGBTQ folks must also stand united with communities of color and trans/gender non-conforming people – it’s more important now than ever.

The greatest thing we can do is be authentic allies for those among us who are most vulnerable, acknowledge who is being attacked and #SayTheirNames:

Orlando Shooting Victims

STANLEY ALMODOVAR III, 23 AMANDA ALVEAR, 25 OSCAR A. ARACENA-MONTERO, 26 RODOLFO AYALA-AYALA, 33 ANTONIO DAVON BROWN, 29 DARRYL ROMAN BURT II, 29 ANGEL L. CANDELARIO-PADRO, 28 JUAN CHEVEZ-MARTINEZ, 25 LUIS DANIEL CONDE, 39 CORY JAMES CONNELL, 21 TEVIN EUGENE CROSBY, 25 DEONKA DEIDRA DRAYTON, 32

SIMON ADRIAN CARRILLO FERNANDEZ, 31 LEROY VALENTIN FERNANDEZ, 25 MERCEDEZ MARISOL FLORES, 26 PETER O. GONZALEZ-CRUZ, 22 JUAN RAMON GUERRERO, 22 PAUL TERRELL HENRY, 41 FRANK HERNANDEZ, 27 MIGUEL ANGEL HONORATO, 30 JAVIER JORGE-REYES, 40 JASON BENJAMIN JOSAPHAT, 19 EDDIE JAMOLDROY JUSTICE, 30 ANTHONY LUIS LAUREANODISLA, 25 CHRISTOPHER ANDREW LEINONEN, 32 ALEJANDRO BARRIOS MARTINEZ, 21 BRENDA LEE MARQUEZ MCCOOL, 49 GILBERTO RAMON SILVA MENENDEZ, 25 KIMBERLY MORRIS, 37 AKYRA MONET MURRAY, 18 LUIS OMAR OCASIO-CAPO, 20

Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People murdered in 2016

Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People murdered in 2015

GODDESS DIAMOND, 20 AMOS BEDE, 38 MERCEDES SUCCESSFUL, 32 TYRECCE “REECEY” WALKER, 32 KEYONNA BLAKENEY, 22 SHANTE ISAAC, 34 QARTNEY DAVIA DAWSON-YOCHUM, 32 KEDAIRE/KANDICEE JOHNSON, 16 DEMARKIS STANSBERRY, 30 MAYA YOUNG, 24 VERONICA BANKS CANO, 40 KAYDEN CLARKE, 24 JASMINE SIERRA, 52 MONICA LOERA, 43

PAPI EDWARDS, 20 LAMIA BEARD, 30 TY UNDERWOOD, 24 YAZMIN VASH PAYNE, 33 TAJA GABRIELLE DEJESUS, 33 PENNY PROUD, 21 KRISTINA GOMEZ REINWALD, 46 KEYSHIA BLIGE, 33 LONDON KIKI CHANEL, 21 MERCEDES WILLIAMSON, 17 JASMINE COLLINS, 32 ASHTON O’HARA, 25 INDIA CLARKE, 25 K.C. HAGGARD, 66

GERALDO A. ORTIZ-JIMENEZ, 25 ERIC IVAN ORTIZ-RIVERA, 36 JOEL RAYON PANIAGUA, 32 JEAN CARLOS MENDEZ PEREZ, 35 ENRIQUE L. RIOS JR., 25 JEAN C. NIVES RODRIGUEZ, 27 XAVIER EMMANUEL SERRANO ROSADO, 35 CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH SANFELIZ, 24 YILMARY RODRIGUEZ SOLIVAN, 24 EDWARD SOTOMAYOR JR., 34 SHANE EVAN TOMLINSON, 33 MARTIN BENITEZ TORRES, 33 JONATHAN ANTONIO CAMUY VEGA, 24 JUAN P. RIVERA VELAZQUEZ, 37 LUIS S. VIELMA, 22 FRANKY JIMMY DEJESUS VELAZQUEZ, 50 LUIS DANIEL WILSON-LEON, 37 JERALD ARTHUR WRIGHT, 31

SHADE SCHULER, 22 AMBER MONROE, 20 KANDIS CAPRI, 35 ELISHA WALKER, 20 TAMARA DOMINGUEZ, 36 KEISHA JENKINS, 22 ZELLA ZIONA, 21

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Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” presented by Derby Dinner Playhouse Derby Dinner Playhouse, located in Clarksville, Indiana, presents this timeless family classic through August 14. Hum along to all your favorite songs as Belle, a lonely but intelligent outcast in a provincial French village, gets to know the Beast, a handsome prince transformed into a hideous monster. Lumi-

MORE INFO centerstagejcc.org

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I’m a hard, hard worker, and I’m working every day. I’m a hard, hard worker, and I’m saving all my pay. If I ever get some money put away, I’m gonna take it all out and celebrate.

ere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and more are along for the ride, and audiences of all ages will surely delight in the fairytale magic that is Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Tickets, which include the Derby’s buffet, are $43.

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MORE INFO derbydinner.com

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THE AVETT BROTHERS, “HARD WORKER”

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J. Patrick Redmond Book Signing Party

newly-made instruments. Fireworks begin at 10.

Author J. Patrick Redmond was born and raised in Southern Indiana. He later moved to Miami for 16 years where he taught with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. His rural teenage and young adult life spent in his family’s half-century old restaurant provided the material for his novel, “Some Go Hungry,” a work of fiction based on real-life experiences. Redmond remarks of his first novel, “It’s all about God, guns, gays and green beans.”

Patrick is thrilled to host this book signing party in Louisville, a city he loves, filled with friends whom he visits often. He has also invited his publisher, Kaylie Jones, and another collective author, Barbara J. Taylor, to join the fun. He invites all to come “play” at PLAY Louisville on July 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. A percentage of all book sales will benefit the Fairness Campaign.

MORE INFO louisvillewaterfront.com

MORE INFO jpatrickredmond.com

Louisville Orchestra Waterfront 3rd Mayor Greg Fischer, partnered with Metro Council President David Yates, Thorntons and many more will host the Louisville Orchestra Waterfront 3rd on Sunday, July 3. LOWF3rd will feature a full Louisville Orchestra concert on the Great Lawn, the Fifth Third Family Fun Zone and food and fireworks free to the public. The gates will open at 5 p.m. with a variety of activities, and families are encouraged to bring one recyclable item from home that will be transformed into a musical instrument. Later, the children will be invited to join the Orchestra with their

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“West Side Story” presented by CenterStage A modern day “Romeo and Juliet,” “West Side Story” is set on the harsh streets of New York City’s Upper West Side during the 1950s. It is the story of two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, as they battle for control of the turf. The conflict escalates when one gang member falls in love with a rival’s sister. This classic musical love story is sure to enthrall audiences of all ages.

Tickets are $20 in advance. The show runs through July 24 at the Jewish Community Center with additional performances in Central Park August 2-7 as part of Kentucky Shakespeare’s Community Partners Week.

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The Derby City Playwrights “New Play Festival” Derby City Playwrights, an organization devoted to developing the works of Louisville writers, and The Bard’s Town Theatre, a theatre devoted to the development and production of new works, are producing The Derby City Playwrights “New Play Festival” July 7-24 at The Bard’s Town. Fifty-four Louisville theatre artists will collaborate to premiere six full-length original plays by local writers. Developed over the course of Derby City Playwrights’ second season through monthly workshops with writers, actors and directors, the six plays represent a variety of styles and voices ranging from intimate personal journeys about growing up and surviving family to darkly comic worlds exploring technology, love and sexuality. Tickets are $18 in advance, and a festival pass can be purchased for all six shows for $89.

MORE INFO thebardstown.com

Chuck Palahniuk at Carmichael’s Bookstore Carmichael’s is very excited to host legendary author Chuck Palahniuk on Saturday, July 9 beginning at 3 p.m. for a signing of “Fight Club 2.” Palahniuk has penned the sequel to “Fight Club,” and it is only available in graphic novel format, featuring cover art by artist David Mack. This event is a signing only; Chuck will not be reading or performing. In addition to signing copies of “Fight Club 2,” Chuck will sign two additional items (another book or a piece of memorabilia) and will happily pose for photos with fans. This is a ticketed event, and tickets are $30, include a copy of “Fight Club 2” and are required to join the signing line.

MORE INFO 502.896.6950 Speed Cinema Presents: “Private Property” A major rediscovery for film noir and crime fans, “Private Property” was lost until the UCLA Film & Television Archive located the only known 35mm elements for this 4K restoration. Due to the film’s taboo subject matter (seduction, rape and latent homosexuality), it was condemned by the National Catholic Legion of Decency and denied a Production Code Administration code seal. In the film, two homicidal drifters (Louisville native Warren Oates and Corey Allen) wander off the beach and into the picture-perfect Beverly Hills home of an affluent housewife. Bored and ignored by her husband, she’s playing with fire as she is intrigued and repulsed by the menacing interlopers.

A mixture of a Hitchcock-like thriller and an indictment of the American Dream, the film is an overlooked classic of the early 1960s. The film will begin at 7 p.m. on July 9 and 3 p.m. on July 10. Admission is $7 for members and $9 for non-members.

MORE INFO speedmuseum.org

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Science in Play Birthday It’s fun to be 1! The Kentucky Science Center celebrates a year of Science in Play with a birthday party kickoff on July 9 featuring special activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the new “Light, Sound and ... SPLAT!” show and Water Table, plus “The Lego Movie” on a four-story digital screen. The party continues every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in July with community partners like the Louisville Zoo, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Kentucky Opera and more. Regular admission and movie prices apply.

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MORE INFO kysciencecenter.org

Forecastle Founded in 2002 by Louisville native JK McKnight, Forecastle has grown from a neighborhood event to one of the country’s most anticipated summer festivals, drawing tens of thousands of fans from across the world to Louisville’s scenic 85-acre Waterfront Park. In addition to featuring a who’s who of musical acts, Forecastle has consistently promoted local artists while focusing on environmental activism and outdoor recreation.

Some of this year’s top performers include The Avett Brothers, Alabama Shakes, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Local Natives, Ryan Adams and Brandi Carlile.

General admission three-day passes in advance are currently $169.50, and single-day tickets in advance are currently $69.50. The festival runs through Sunday, July 17.

MORE INFO forecastlefest.com “Life, Love and the New World: Songs of Jason Robert Brown” Starting July 15, experience the magic of the music of Jason Robert Brown in the one-weekend-only cabaret, “Life, Love and the New World: Songs of Jason Robert Brown.” Join in for an evening (or afternoon) of beautiful music featuring songs from “Songs for a New World,” “The Last Five Years,” “Parade” and “The Bridges of Madison County.” The company features Alex Craig, Colette Delaney, Emily Fields, Rusty Henle, Lauren McCombs and Jordan Price with Mark Walker on piano. The event will take place at the Church of the Holy Spirit and is free, so come, enjoy and bring a friend or two. Performances run through July 17.

MORE INFO 502.893.3982

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Kentucky Shakespeare’s Bard-A-Thon Bring the whole family down to Louisville’s Central Park for a full evening of Shakespeare. Kentucky Shakespeare, which presents three different Shakespeare shows over the summer, will host its annual Bard-A-Thon – the only time to catch all three shows in one day – on Saturday, July 23. “The Winter’s Tale” will kick things off at 4:30 p.m. followed by “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” at 7:30

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and finally “Romeo and Juliet” at 10:30. Food trucks will be available, as will Will’s Tavern, which will offer plenty of libations. The event, and the entire Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, is, as always, completely free.

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MORE INFO raylamontagne.com/tour

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Hard Candy with Thorgy Thor and Robbie Turner Join host Daniel Cole for an evening with Thorgy Thor, eighth season contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” at PLAY Louisville on July 27. Thorgy will be joined by fellow eighth season contestant Robbie Turner and is sure to deliver fans a performance they won’t soon forget. general admission or $20 for a VIP meet and greet.

I remember when the days were long and the nights when the living room was on the lawn.

MORE INFO playdancebar.com WFPK Waterfront Wednesday with Brett Dennen, Lucius and Kaleo Held at Waterfront Park, WFPK’s Waterfront Wednesday Corporation with support from Friends of the Waterfront and is free to all. The June installment will feature West Coast singer-songwriter Brett Dennen, indie-pop duo Lucius and folk quartet Kaleo. Gates open at 5 p.m. and

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“The Naked Magic Show”

promises to be an exciting kickoff to the festival.

From the creator of the biggest magic show on the planet comes the world’s naughtiest magic show: “The Naked Magic Show.” The show features magic, mirth and more than a touch of mayhem as these two hot and hilarious magicians say abracadabra and take magic to a whole new level. Left without sleeves or pockets, their saucy magic is baffling and entertaining, bringing a new meaning to “now you see it.” This boisterous R-rated magic show strips away the top hats and capes, promising full frontal illusions. Good magicians don’t need sleeves, and great magicians don’t need pants. This show proves just that. The show will make a stop at Mercury Ballroom on August 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25.

MORE INFO louisvillepride.com

MORE INFO thenakedmagicshow.com

music begins at 6 p.m.

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D E AT H C A B F O R C U T I E , “ P H O T O B O O T H ”

is presented by 91.9 WFPK and Waterfront Development

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Perfect for the dwindling days of summer, folk rock artist Ray LaMontagne will play the Louisville Palace on August 2 at 7 p.m. LaMontagne will be touring “Ouroboros,” his most recent studio album, which was produced and features My Morning Jacket frontman and Louisville native Jim James. Other songs from his storied career, including “Trouble,” “Jolene,” “Supernova” and “You Are the Best Thing,” are all moments concert-goers may possibly look forward to; however, it’s assured that the grounded artist will certainly put on a great show, regardless of what he performs.

MORE INFO kyshakespeare.com

Shows are at 10 p.m. and midnight, and tickets are $12 for

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Ray LaMontagne: The Ouroboros Tour 2016

MORE INFO waterfrontwednesdays.wfpk.org

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Louisville Pride Wet and Wild Pool Party Join the Louisville Pride Foundation as they announce the entertainment for the second annual Louisville Pride Festival, which will take place Saturday, September 27.

The Wet and Wild Pool Party, where you’ll be among the first to hear who will be playing at the festival, will take place on Saturday, July 30 at Louisville Turners and

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The Back Porch Sessions Come out to the back parking lot of RYE at 900 E. Market St. on August 18 for the August edition of the Back Porch Sessions. Food and drinks will start at 5 p.m. with music beginning at 7. Featured acts this time around include Quiet Hollers and New Bravado. Admission is free, and an after-party at Galaxie, located just down the street, is set to follow once the music concludes around 11 p.m.

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MORE INFO backporchsessions.com

“Legally Blonde” presented by Acting Against Cancer America’s favorite blonde is back! Based on the hit 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, this musical tells the story of Elle Woods, a California sorority queen whose boyfriend leaves her to go to Harvard Law School. Determined to prove her intelligence and win Warner back, Elle gets into Harvard as well, but what she ends up doing once she’s there proves to Warner – and everyone else who doubts her – that she’s more than just blonde. The show runs through August 27 in The Henry Clay Theatre, and tickets are $20 in advance.

Brew at the Zoo 2016 Join the folks at the Louisville Zoo for this year’s Brew on August 27 and enjoy craft beer and wine tastings, food samples and live entertainment. This event is hosted by the Friends of the Louisville Zoo, and all proceeds benefit capital projects and education programs at the Louisville Zoo. General admission tickets are $55, and VIP tickets are $100 with a designated driver ticket option for $40.

Adults Only Summer Camp The kids had fun all summer – now it’s our turn! Who says only children can go to summer camp? Bring your friends to the Jewish Community Center at 7 p.m. on August 20 and relive your younger years at the Adults Only Summer Camp!

Play sharks and minnows in the open pool, sip on adult “spiked” bug juice, munch on hot dogs and sink your teeth into gooey s’mores around a bonfire! Tickets are $36 and include two drink tickets, food and activities. All proceeds will benefit the JCC’s camp scholarship program.

MORE INFO jewishlouisville.org

Yew Dell Botanical Gardens Hummingbird Festival Always a summer favorite, Yew Dell’s Hummingbird Festival offers the opportunity for all to learn about these amazing little birds, what makes them tick, how to attract them, how to keep them coming and a whole lot more. Local experts will catch and band birds, offering an excellent opportunity to see them up close and learn about hummingbird research. Yew Dell will have hummingbird plants for sale, kids’ activities, refreshments, tours and photography tips – so don’t forget the camera and binoculars! The Festival lasts 3 to 6 p.m. and is free with regular admission.

This walk is Kentuckiana’s largest annual HIV/AIDS awareness and fundraising event. Each year, thousands of Louisville and Southern Indiana residents come together in remembrance, celebration and hope. We walk to renew our commitment to the fight for a cure and support for those affected by HIV/AIDS in our community – all funds directly support the individuals served by the Kentuckiana AIDS Alliance. The morning begins with registration at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 27 at Iroquois Park. There will also be a KidZone with a bounce house, cotton candy and face-painting; a PetZone featuring a pet adoption booth, a pet advice booth, free dog treats and free pet toys; and an opportunity to have team photos taken with the AIDS ribbon by a photographer. Following the walk itself, celebratory activities will continue to take place until 4 p.m.

MORE INFO kyaids.org/walk

MORE INFO actingagainstcancer.com

MORE INFO yewdellgardens.org

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Louisville AIDS Walk & Pet Walk

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MORE INFO louisvillezoo.org

“The 39 Steps” presented by Actors Theatre of Louisville Four brilliant comic actors. Dozens of characters. One thrilling, hilarious noir adventure. Inspired by Hitchcock’s iconic film and the classic spy novel, this Broadway hit plunges you into the world of Richard Hannay, an ordinary man forced to go on the run after aiding a mysterious woman. From the shadowy streets of 1930s London to the wild moors of Scotland and beyond, “The 39 Steps” traces Richard’s madcap quest to keep government secrets out of the wrong hands.

The show runs through September 18 at Actors.

MORE INFO actorstheatre.org

Want your event included in this calendar? email editor@modernlouisville.com

MODERN LOUISVILLE ||| July • August 2016

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PRIDE Seventh Anniversary Celebration In celebration of the seventh anniversary of their PRIDE employee resource group, Brown-Forman hosted a commemorative party on June 8. DJ Syimone provided some entertainment, while Senator Morgan McGarvey was featured as a guest speaker. PRIDE Executive Sponsor and Brown-Forman Chief Human Resources Officer Kirsten Hawley also said a few words.

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1 Tony Georges, Chris Hartman, Africa S. Hands, Amber Duke, Kate Miller, JaVaughn Hardaway and Jamie McClard 2 David Mattingly and Sara Havens 3 Greg Bourke, Sen. Morgan McGarvey and Michael De Leon 4 Christine Starvos, Sarah Friedman and Tori Pettit 5 Katie Parks, Marissa Sarlls, Casey Vidal, Sydney Willett, Morgan Owens and Rachel Nguyen 6 Abby Brill, Cesar Morales and Paulina Borilla 7 Crystal Lawrence, Heather Falmen, Julie Rose and Kristin Hanson 8 Holly Knight and Jason Gazerro 9 Jenny Breen, David Timmons and Jimmy Bookstore

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Fairness Campaign 25th Anniversary Celebration The Fairness Campaign commemorated its 25th anniversary with a celebration at The Henry Clay on June 10. Volunteers, supporters, leaders and co-founders from across decades were in attendance, as were the night’s entertainers: Yer Girlfriend and DJ Syimone. Guests also enjoyed cocktails while toasting to the next chapters of Fairness.

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1 Jeff Been, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell and Eric Graninger 2 Dennis and Lynn Hartman 3 Diane Moten and Frances Black 4 Shane Less and Billie Free 5 Nicole Luddington and Shonta Gibbs 6 Lisa Gunterman, Dr. Kaila Story, Becky Roehrig and Jaison Gardner 7 Carla Wallace, Lisa Osanka, Teresa Lajara and Arelene Grullon 8 Mike Mattingly and Chris Hartman 9 Kristen Massingill and Maggie Johnson 10 Henry Brousseau and Jamie McClard 11 Ann Ellerkamp and Lisa Aug

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Come “OUT” to Louisville House of Ruth board member Missy Vitale was one of many who showed for the June Come “OUT” to Louisville social event at Big Bar on June 8. In addition to enjoying networking opportunities, guests also took advantage of drink specials while supporting House of Ruth via optional donations. Big Bar additionally donated a portion of the night’s proceeds to House of Ruth.

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Jeaneen Barnhart and Melanie Levin 2 Jay Bowling, Charlotte Fowler and Rick Leslie 3 Carol Hensley, Terra Long and Craig Scherman 4 Cameo Bennett and Janey Christine Joe Gollahon and Daniel Hutchins 6 Clifton Hillyer III and Dean Fagan 7 Ryan Alexander Clark, Daniel Broadstone and Paige Greene 8 Anne Dawson and Cheryl Hildebrand Missy Vitale, Amy Phelps and Michelle Davis 10 Aaron Neely and Rich Rankin 11 Chris Conliffe and Debbie Heleringer

July • August 2016 ||| MODERN LOUISVILLE

LGBT Veteran Pride Celebration On June 11, the Louisville VA Medical Center hosted its second annual LGBT Pride Celebration. Rebecca Nicole Grant served as the featured speaker, and the Louisville Gay Men’s Chorus led attendees in song.

Guests enjoyed celebrating their many victories since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” while taking care to mourn the victims of Orlando.

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1 Brennan Lyles, Dr. Scott Burchett, DNP and Travis Myles 2 Rebecca Nicole Grant and Troy Schilling. 3 Kristia Kaufman and Rosamond Smith Sherry Hawkins and Laura Hardin 6 Christy Stivers and Cherylle Trout 7 Steve Miller, Phillip Morgan and Travis Myles 8 Patti Weiter

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Kentuckiana Pride Festival Parade Record-setting crowds came out the night of June 17 to celebrate Pride in Kentuckiana for the Kentuckiana Pride Festival parade, which wound its way through downtown before ending at the Belvedere, the site of the festival itself. Floats varied from modest to grandly theatrical, but all were wonderfully unique. Several also paid admirable tribute to the victims in Orlando.

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1 The Compliment Society 2 Brian Bowles and Maggie Patten 3 Eric Wentworth, Teague DeLong, Shelby Charity and Ezra Kellerman 4 Edward and Dianne Lee Slaughter, Alex Wagoner and Anna Merton 6 Noah Church, Werele and Mehrdad 7 Autumn Fox, Curtis Green, Kate Davidson and Aaron Guldenschuh

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Kentuckiana Pride Festival Over the course of June 17 and 18, attendees flocked to the Belvedere in downtown Louisville for the 2016 Kentuckiana Pride Festival. Vendors and organizations from all over were set up around the festival grounds, and live entertainment by everyone from the local Pandora Productions to the international Jordin Sparks kept guests plenty entertained.

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Laurie and Senia Lewis-King, Alis Clark, Farah Lewis, Leslie Harrison, Angi Jones-Clark and Sandy Harrison 2 Kennedy, Payton and Stephanie Brown 3 Judy Arant and Leslie Breitenstein Tiffany Oester and Austin Wiliams 5 Heather Yenawine-Meyer, Brittany Wilkins and Philip Yenawine 6 Novice Sisters Mary Ophelia Cox and Agatha Jane Underwood 7 Hank Nalley and Shannon Taylor 8 Madison Kleinhenz and Morgan Case 9 Jessie Henderson, Gretchen Kremming, Carrie Lane and Jennifer Pfeiffer 10 Andres Amaya and Austin Akers 1

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May • June 2016 ||| MODERN LOUISVILLE

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