In my beloved Cleveland, there is one person (God rest his soul) that stands above everyone here. Our Michael Stanley. Most of you have no idea who I am talking about. He was to Cleveland as Bob Seger was to Detroit. Seger grinded for years before he broke out. Michael did the same, but never got the big break, although he hit the Top 40 (marginally) twice. Google him and you will find an amazing artist, who put out fabulous music for four decades. Every song, high quality. Solid singer/songwriter heartland rock. One of the most underappreciated artists after my favorite, Southside Johnny.
Then there is another local gem, Eric Carmen. Lead singer for The Raspberries (Go All the Way). Then he went solo and had quite a few hits. Again, God rest his soul… With Michael Stanley, I knew every single song, appreciating each and every one. With the great Eric Carmen, I knew only the hits. And this guy lived less than 20 miles from me for most of his life. Celine Dion covered this song, but Eric wrote it and owned t!
When I was young
I never needed anyone
And making love was just for fun
Those days are gone
All By Myself, me this day, October 7, 2026!
I do adore days like this. Me, paying attention to my look. Me, being vulnerable. Me, just being… It was a spectacular autumn day. And I didn’t push it with my outfit. An every day woman look. Nothing special, just right.
Livin’ alone
I think of all the friends I’ve known
But when I dial the telephone
Nobody’s home
After the joy of prepping, I made two stops. One, the bestest JCPenney around! This store has so many clearance sales. Thrifting has become expensive of late. But stalking clearance sales has become much more economical. When I walked in, it noted that pink (clearance) ticketed items were BOGO! Game on! All I can say is I adore the four dresses I picked up!!! When I got home, I tried two of them on and they are truly special. The right dress or outfit literally takes my breath away. There is no real male equivalent to this feeling, where you just melt with pride in who you are and how you present yourself to the world.
All by myself
Don’t wanna be
All by myself
Anymore
After the JCP high, I hit the mall and just was me. Heels clicking. Browsing. Chatting up SAs. And one more dress and a few cuter than cute necklaces, from Dry Goods, my go to store!
Hard to be sure
Sometimes, I feel so insecure
And love’s so distant and obscure
Remains the cure
On the way home I hit the liquor store (what a surprise) and headed home to crush our dinner! And watch our Guardians finally score a few runs on the way to their first post-season win while killing everything I purchased. Yes, I spent more than I should have, but I was ME! All day. And I was happy beyond words. And these dresses…. holy shit! There is NOTHING better than “that” dress! And I picked up a few of those dresses!
When I woke up the next morning, I was reminded of what I drank the day prior. There is something in my brain, that will just not allow me this level of joy without guilt. The guilt was washed away with quite a few cocktails. Ying and yang. Self-acceptance and struggle. Ups and downs. Over 50 years of guilt takes a long, long time to erode. It’s slowly eroding, but it’s still there, lurking in the background. Always.
Queer Prom 2022
Do something, make a difference!
The LGBT Center of Cleveland, in conjunction with The Near West Theater, held their Queer Prom on June 11, 2022. I was a chaperone for the event.
I headed across town a little early, having a few cocktails across the street at Luxe. This area, called the Gordon Square district, is a very diverse neighborhood. Luxe is gay-owned, very close to the LGBT Center and Near West is there as well as Cleveland Public Theater and a number of other shops and restaurants.
I basically held the door open for all the attendees as they walked the red carpet and had their photos taken. Then I simply strolled around, making sure no one was doing anything they weren’t supposed to be doing. I made friends with a few of the other volunteers. I saw heart-warming things, things I wish I could un-see and everything under the sun, errrrr rainbow!
A restaurant right next door, Ninja City, provided the food for the prom. I slipped away for a cocktail (yes, I like cocktails), which was comped by the lovely bartender. A big hug ensued! Not much more of a story. I have no photos on site except the ones you see here as you have to be careful at events like this for privacy reasons. So here is my pre-drive photo shoot.
I would like to think I walk the walk in addition to talking the talk. Help someone if you can, no matter how small it may seem. A simple smile to a nervous teen at their first such event. A young trans person, in her first prom dress, tell them they are beautiful. Whatever small thing you can do all adds up as we continue evolving as a society and a country. We have a very long way to go, but we have also come a very long way. I walk around looking like this and no one, so far really ever, has given me any problems. I am sure ten years ago, twenty years ago, I could not have said that.
