McCalla Concert Impresses Audience
Page 3 Q-Notes May 1989
Hello Again! Well, after the feedback I
received on last month's column, I was
tempted to rename this column "The Gay
Muckraker." But then, you would EXPECT
me to blast someone every month. I won't do
that, but I will reserve the right to speak out
whenever I feel something has gone awry.
It's kind of like a suspense movie - who will
fall victim next?
Did you go to the Deidre McCalla concert
on the 14th? If so, you were in the company
of about 130 other men and women. Inciden
tally, I was pleased to see some of my gay
male friends there and I think we should
acknowledge their support of a primarily
lesbian event. Despite a very short window to
plan and advertise the concert, and a last
minute location change from South Meek
High School to the Howard Johnson's down
town (or is it uptown?), the whole evening
came off beautifully. Of course, I didn't
mention that the QCF committee who under
took this adventure is now in a Rest Home!
I really did enjoy seeing Deirdre though.
I'm admittedly not a great fan of "womyn's
music," but she has sooooo much persondity
By Ann Michele
and she's such a fun entertainer that I really
had a good time. I even bought one of her
tapes, because it has "The Cat Song" on it.
(Being an animal lover, I just get tickled
everytime I hear that song.) I also appreci
ated that Deidre hung around after the con
cert and was available to talk to anyone who
wanted to meet her. When I see a performer
onstage, they tend to have a surrealistic quality
to them; but when I see that performer walk
ing around at my level being a person just like
me, then they become real and someone that
I can relate to.
I thought the facilities at Howard Johnson's
were real good - the ballroom was different
than I expected and actually had a cozy,
intimate air about it. The acoustics were
great, parking was easy, and Ho Jo's even had
"Welcome Concert" on their marquee. An
other plus was its closeness to Steven's where
the after-concert dance was held.
I am pleased to say that Steven's was
really prepared for the crowd that showed up
for the dance (about 120 people). They went
out of their way to do whatever they could for
us; they appeared to be well-organized; bar
service was good; the staff was courteous. I
feel that everyone benefited from this im
provement - Steven's proved that they could
provide quality service, and as customers we
felt that we got the quality we deserved.
Steven's management announced during
the dance that they would be moving to
another location in Dil worth very soon. If the
new location is not announced by the time Q-
Notes goes to press, call the Switchboard at
525-6128 for their new address and direc
tions.
During a conversation with my therapist
recently, I was relating some events that had
happened over the weekend that were some
whatdisappointing. I ended by saying, "Well,
that's okay. Everything happens for the best.
I'm just part of the overall plan, I guess." He
said, "I don't believe everything happens for
the best." That shook my foundation because
I believe there's a reason for everything, even
if we don't know what it is. He went on to say,
"I don't believe child abuse, drug addiction,
battering and lots of other things happen for
the best." He was right, and I couldn't argue
with him. Then he said, "Bad things happen
to people but it's what we do with the situ
ation that makes the difference." Then I could
see his point - when bad things happen, we
have a choice in how we react to them. If we
learn and grow from them, if it effects a
positive change or understanding for us, then
we have turned that bad into something good.
It doesn't change the fact that something bad
happened. That's reality. But how we handle
situations does affect whether we are better
or worse for the experience. (That little dis
sertation is worth 10 Continuing Education
Units towards maintaining your Quality of
Life degree!)
Mark your calendar for May 20th. MCSP
- that's the parent organization of Switch
board, QCF and Speaker's Bureau - is having
Casino Night. It promises to be a lot of fun.
Check elsewhere in Q-Notes for more infor-
maiton or call the Switchboard.
MAY you all have a wonderful month.
Happy Birthday to my Taurus friends, and
I'll see you soon.
PLAY IT SAFE!
Nowadays, sex can be frightening. For many of us,
fear of AIDS has taken the joy out of intimacy. It's just not
gay to be gay anymore.
It doesn't have to be that way. Metrolina AIDS
Project is now offering workshops to help gay and bisex
ual men learn how to reduce their risk of HIV infection
without diminishing their fun.
Call MAP at 333-2437