Combining my love of dressing in costumes with my love for the beach (and a good beach party), my absolute favorite event of the summer is the Coney Island Mermaid Parade! After a washout last year, this year, we fortunately had great weather with not a cloud in the sky! This year, the costumes seemed less original and over-the-top and there were less people kit out in costumes than in past years. I chalk this down as a probable sign that people’s minds are currently more on basic survival than frivolity, which is a shame. After all, the TGATP motto is “when the times get tough, the tough get party fabulous!”
Dinah Washington Cat is sick again, so I got to Coney Island after the parade, and alas, missed Lou Reed. But my day was still a roaring great time! I started out on the Boardwalk, where I met tons of great costumed party people and quite a few hot guys! One guy, who I had drinks with at Rudy’s two years ago, invited me in for a drink again this year. While I recognized him, he didn’t immediately recognize me and was just attracted to me for a second time. I also ran into the decomposing drowning girl from two years ago.
In my Mermaid travels, I also bumped into a wonderful and cute couple – Lily and Tony – who had just gotten married on the Cyclone during the parade. (He was a Brit, my favorite type of guy!) What a romantic and whimsical way to get hitched! I think they have a great loving future ahead and I felt blessed to share their Joy for a minute. Tonya DeDebra a.k.a. “Miss Fag Hag 2010” and I chatted for on the Boardwalk. Gosh, nowadays there’s a “Miss” everything! Maybe TGATP should do a “Miss That Girl At The Party” in search of the most fabulous party girl!
While kicking back a couple O’Douls, I got to meet a wide range of folks at Cha Chas. The crowd was a mixture of the real cool and the irritating that always seem to make up the bar population. I was honored to met three vets, Prisco DeAngelis, Fred Raffaele, and Hugh Bruce, who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, respectively. Fred and I chatted a bit about his involvement with Veterans for Peace. A Gay Veteran, he also hipped me to the real story behind the Stonewall riots back in the 7o’s, which was intriguing.
There was also a bunch of really cool chicks protesting the BP spill though costumes and signs. Unfortunately, one of their posse (pictured second from the rt.) almost got a beatdown when she tried to start something over the bathroom line! She kept claiming she had just moved here and that her roommate had advised her to “be aggressive” as an explanation for her drunken shoving. Out of the kindness of my TGATP heart and to save her drunk ass from a serious ass whopping, I informed her that she was not gonna last long in the Big City with that plan, especially not up against Black and Latino folks! But she was resistant to my advice, so I forsee a really bad happening in that one’s near future. I only pray that she returns to whatever lil’ okie doke town she came from before she gets herself seriously hurt! She was “that girl at the party” in the worse possible connotation of the phrase.
Another weirdo kept claiming to “know me from somewhere”. This has to date back to Neanderthal times as the worst pickup line EVER! And this really obnoxious dude with a big rig camera kept trying to take the same shots as me. At one point he went so far as to say “that this is more precise” when he jumped to take my shot! I mean honestly, the shot is NOT in the camera. I get really annoyed by these chauvinistic boys, who think that only ginormous boxes with long lens can produce great shots. (Funny how men never apply that same size prejudice to the size of their appendages!) If you have a good eye, you can get a great shot out of a disposable camera! This is one area where size TRULY does not matter!
That GUY at the Party, in a positive way, was a tall glass of water, who was silly and tons of fun, as well as, an amazing dancer. He was an absolute Joy to be in the presence of and I would love him at any party to get the crowd going. I, unfortunately, didn’t get his info as I would’ve invited him out, so I hope he checks the site!
I had a great time at Cha Chas. But they need to re-think the party killjoy habit of charging paying customers a dollar to use the bathroom! I found that to be just really bad bar form. Although they give it back to you when you buy your next drink, the better policy might be to give people one when they buy their first one!
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