Proud at Pride

June 3, 2023, Pride in The CLE! I both really enjoy this event and recoil at some of the things I see. I am old school. I believe in presenting oneself with class and dignity. At Pride….not so much. But that’s me.

As per usual, I signed up to help at the HRC booth and didn’t help that much. I mean I was there, but my skills don’t translate to what they need. They need people whose hands actually function and people that can see the sizes on a tag in a t-shirt. Those skills have left me as I deteriorate with age.

As I walked around I saw many friends and gathered many hugs. But there was one encounter of note. About five years ago, I worked a summer long event at The Cleveland Museum of Art called Infinity Mirrors. One awesome summer! Polka dots were a prominent part of the exhibit. I wore polka dots as frequently as I could. Fast forward to this day and a woman is looking at me like we just saw each other yesterday. Monica and I apparently took a photo at that event while we both wore polka dots. She remembered me all these years later…me, now what did I have for breakfast today? Where did I park my car…..

So after meandering around for about two hours, it was……you got it…cocktail time! The photo at right that opens this post was taken at Mabel’s BBQ, Michael Symon’s (Food Network and Clevelander) fabulous BBQ place downtown. No real story there. A couple Manhattans and a broccoli salad. I then headed home and made a few stops along the way. Stopped to pick up, yeah I know….cocktails for home (it’s been a rough few weeks) and then to Ulta.

I needed a lot. It seemed like everything ran out all at once. $215 later (gulp) we headed home with one more stop. CVS texted me that one of my prescriptions were ready. This CVS is maybe a mile and a half from my house. But I knew exactly what I was hoping for. I went in instead of doing the drive thru and picked up my Rx. As I had hoped, my friend Rene (remember the story about the compliment on my makeup as I went through the drive thru, if you do, God help you) was there. She came over, checked me out up and down, had me spin around, take off my sunglasses and I got enthusiastic approval of my presentation. She shared some photos of her nephew, I believe, who is a drag performer. What a lovely way to end the day!

The Gap on Amazon!