Web Logs
4/25/2003 - Ten Years In the Making
Hookah Album 1
Well stick a spork in it and call it soup! The friggin' Hookah album is done. Well, my parts are done anyway. We set a deadline and yesterday I met it, turning in all my work for the album in the form of 22 CD ROMS packed with tracks for the studio. I can't tell you how relieved I am to be done with it. I feel an immense sense of freedom to move on to new material and in new musical directions.
Ahh.... <- insert huge sighing noise here.
So now you might be tempted to ask me: "Say Fitz, when can I actually get one of these mythic Hookah albums?", but don't dammit! I don't want to hear it. I have no idea when the rest of the parts will be finished. Its outta my hands now.
And while we're conveniently on the topic of decade-old issues...
Gay March on Washington 1993
The April 25, 1993 edition of the Washington Post
It was 10 years ago today that I trekked up to DC with Brian and Phil to the sights and sound of one of our Nation's largest ever civil rights demonstrations: the huge Gay Rights March on Washington. The event was really an eye-opener for me in so many ways, and seemed so emblematic of issues in my life, and the Nation as a whole.
We arrived on a Friday night and the crowds were massive and intoxicated with celebrations of unity and purpose. There were parties, music, and costumes, but also a tremendous sense of urgency. Clinton was getting hell for his gays in the military stance and there was this "now or never" attitude in the gay community. A sense that we would either make our move into mainstream America or be forever pushed back to the fringes of society. A little melodramatic I know, but that really was what everyone was feeling.
For myself, the whole thing was really special. I wish I could render word on this page to describe how I felt. The sights, the crowds, the festive atmosphere, and so many, many people that looked, well, normal. That was really important for me at the time. I never knew any gay people growing up, and all the ones I'd seen in the media where cartoonish stereotypes. Seeing normalcy was very comforting in a time when I wasn't taking the whole gay thing well at all. Those days held a lot of pain and depression for me. Those who knew me well might even say I went a little orbital there for a while. Dark, dark days. I don't even like to think about them now to be honest. But the march was all good memories.
Pin from the Gay Rights March on Washington
April 25, 1993
Its amazing how much the world has changed in 10 years. True we never got to serve openly in the military, nor can we get married, but things have progressed so, so far. We have gay characters on TV. Gay issues are commonly reported in the news, and its no longer considered acceptable to deride and insult gays in casual conversation. Hell, even right-wing politicians are learning to watch what their friggin' mouths. Times they are a changin'.
I went to the Millennium March a few years back. Even played in a band on stage, but it just wasn't the same. The size of the crowds, the urgency of the message, the electricity in the air was gone. I think most gays feel the war has largely been won. Yes there's lots of legislative changes to be made, but in the important battles of moral high ground and social acceptance we've largely seen victory. There won't be any going back to a time when gays disappear from television and are swept back into societal invisibility. Those in the anti-gay camp are largely dead men walking who just don't seem to know it yet. Their legacy is that of segregationist, anti-semites, and all the other divisive, bigoted groups. They'll be remembered with a scorn once reserved only for, well, faggots...
