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Serving the CaroUnoj^ for 17 yeard
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Los activistas dicen qua PRD 12
discrimina contra gays
3
noted . notable . noteworthy GLBT issues
Charlize Theron stars in
t
Showtime’s 1 Word’
debuts 27
Gav Games:
FGG’s Kathieen Web^r
and Roberto Mantaci
debate host city
for2006 15
At home & around
the Giobe: Canadian’s
prime minister says
he’it veto Supreme
Court’s ruiing on
same-sex marriages
in church
Equality NC announces
new leaders 08
Democratic Presidential
candidates to address
Columbia, S.C. 09
■
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www.q»notes.conn :
Do you think
HoM^rd Dean
could win
in the 2004
m
LL RESULTS:
VOLUME 18 . ISSUE IS
SINCE 1988
WWW. q-NOTES. COM
‘Monster.’
JANUARY 17.2004
Resolutions for 2004 — what's yours?
Readers share vows for the new year
by David Stout
Q-Notes staff
Making a New Year’s resolution is a time-
honored tradition in our culture.
Ever wonder why do we continue to make
these vows when past experience says we
probably won’t keep them? According to
Charlotte-based psychotherapist Miki
McDonough, “There are lots of reasons. For
some people it’s habit, for some it’s the fact
that everyone else is doing it, for others it’s
simply because they think they should. But
underneath everything else, 1 think it comes
down to hope — hope for doing better, for
just having a positive attitude about our
lives.” We’re betting this bunch wll stick to
their goals!
Q-Nofes is always interested in the hopes
and aspirations of our readers, so we asked a
few to share their New Year’s resolutions
with us.
Kasey King, 46, is a much-beloved
Charlotte female impersonator who has
entertained countless thousands during her
longstanding career.
The lessons from a heart attack suffered
last September fuel her 2004 resolution.
“Stress nearly killed me, so I’m trying to
live stress free this year.”
King felt sick on the day of her heart
attack, but assumed it was a bad case of
heartburn. “After work I drove myself to the
drug store to buy some heartburn medicine.
Before i could even pay for it I broke out in
this cold sweat and knew something was
wrong.”
She drove herself to the hospital where
doctors diagnosed her condition right away
and began treatment.
King says she has made some important
lifestyle changes recently to lower her stress
level. “I’ve had to cut out some friends who
do drugs and run the streets because I can’t
be a part of that anymore. I’m not perform-
%
M:
Kasey King
see CAROLINIANSon 11
Historic gay club closes
Greenville, N.C.'s Paddock closes doors
after more than 30 years in business
by Mark Donovan
GREENViLLE, N.C. — For many in the
quiet gay and lesbian community . in
Greenville, N.C., the opening of The Paddock
nightclub in the early 1970s was like a bea
con of light shining across an otherwise, dark
social and cultural terrain. For just over 30
Remember the good times: Glen Haddock
(left), Keith Smift (center) and Jeremy
Jordan at The Paddock.
years, the club provided the LGBT communi
ty in the small college town a place to call
home.
After countless rounds, endless dances
and non-stop drag cabarets, that light went
out on the evening of Dec. 26, wh6n the
Paddock closed its doors.
“This place is really going to be missed,”
says Jeremy Jordan, a patron and employee
of the club. “A lot of people came through
those doors over the years and had a lot of
interesting_ experiences.
“I get attached to a place, you know? It’s
like home. Especially since I spent a lot of
time here doing repair work over the years.”
According to Jordan the bar is closing
because the building is set to be demolished
for an incoming road and the club’s owner is
nearing retirement age.
The Paddock’s odyssey began when
William “Bill” Brock changed the former
country and western nightspot to a gay club
on July 1, 1973. Three decades ago in a small
southern town, there was no question about
the risk his effort posed — not only financial
ly, but socially, as well. Prior to that time scant
few social outlets existed for gays and les
bians — save for a handful of clubs in larger
cities like Charlotte and Raleigh. But that still
wasn’t an answer for queers in Greenville.
Brock’s efforts were.
Five years later, Glen Fladdock would come
on board to lend his efforts with the venture and
he remained with the club until its closing.
Patrons and employees alike point to Haddock,
the former club general manager and also a pro
moter for the Miss Greenville Pageant, as a
staunch ally for the LGBT community in
Greenville and the embodiment of what the
Paddock was all about — someone who made
you feel like family.
“From the onset the Paddock was a place
that made you feel wanted, and welcomed all
see CLOSING on 4
Tammy Faye
and Tammy
Sue headline
AIDS benefit
Icon's "Surreal Life" unfolding on
The WB
by David Stout
Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Millions of television
viewers are watching The WB’s kitschy reality
show “The Surreal Life II” to sec how the
show’s six participants — celebrities of vary
ing popularity and distinction — arc adjusting
to living together 24/7.
The show debuted Jan. li with an eclectic
group that includes former porn star Ron
Jeremy, rapper Vanilla Ice, ’70s pinup Erik
Estrada (“CHiPs”) and
the housemate who
probably connects
strongest with gays,
Tammy Faye Messner.
The Charlotte-
based icon is already
home from taping'I
the show. Reflecting =
on the experience, ^
she told Q-Note, “1 Tammy Faye Messner
was just looking back through the pictures the
other day and realizing what fun we had.”
Among the cast, Messner said she was “most
surprised by Ron Jeremy. I didn’t even know who he
see TAMMY on 7