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 THE BIG, GREEN, GAY, GLITZY, SOUR APPLE (Or, HOW I SPENT ST PATRICK’S DAY WEEKEND in NEW YORK CITY with CARDINAL EGIN, DAVID and LIZA, THE STONEWALL CADILLAC and BEA ARTHUR, sort of.) 3.21.02 How  was my weekend in New York? Why just super, thanks for asking. The whirlwind started with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday morning at 11am. The city is experiencing one of the worst extended droughts in quite some time. In fact, there is even talk of water rationing later in the year. They have barely seen snow this season. So wouldn’t you know the morning of the parade, it was cold and drizzly. Why in the world the parade was held on Saturday, the 16th I don’t know. I always thought the Irish and all of their followers, who are many, were quite strict with these things. I mean, if the 17th had fallen on D-day, we may never have gotten into World War II, because there would have been a day off for fitful drinking, merriment, corned beef and green beer.Not to worry, the weather played along, the sun came out and it was a fine day on the Avenue. For those of you who have never been to the parade, it is an event in which nearly the entire city partakes. And this year given the events of September 11, it seemed firemen and police officers from the entire country were on hand. On Thursday prior, out of Los Angles, the airport looked like a staging ground for some great firemen’s games, the uniforms, the macho comradery, the military haircuts and the chiseled bodies…but I digress. Let’s just say I wouldn’t have wanted to have a fire in Pacoima over the weekend, as it seemed the entire brigade was on parade detail in the New York.  So, we made our way to 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, in the heart of Manhattan. The parade route marched past St. Patrick’s Cathedral, hellllooo, they’re not stupid here in New York, and on past the park up to the museum. It was BIG! I mean, I have never seen so many uniformed officers, of all kinds, in one place. At once I was in awe of the magnitude of it, and at the same time horrified that this world has too many law enforcement types, especially in this time of shrinking civil liberties and increased political power for the law and order sect. But again I digress… We were far too late to set up shop near the Cathedral, or at the viewing areas, but we were lucky enough to find a shaky bus bench to stand on for a good view of the staging area at the start of the parade. It is estimated that some 150,000 spectators saw thousands and thousands of marching officials. There were more than 1,000 firefighters alone in the parade. It was BIG. And it was GREEN. We managed to get a shot of the glimpse of the Grand Marshal for the parade, Cardinal EDWARD EGIN. It seems Cardinal EGIN is at risk of being swept up in the Roman Catholic Church’s pedophile priest scandal, as he served as Bishop in Connecticut and may have looked the other way at some unsavory allegations brought against priests in his jurisdiction. He may have kept information from authorities, and even reassigned priests knowing their propensity to commit these horrendous acts. As we were leaving the city, this mess was just heating up, as it is all over the country. Look for Cardinal EGIN’S name in the news for years to come. But on this day, he was all smiles and green sashes, or were those green boas? Everyone had green on, green eyelashes, green kilts, and green hair. It was BIG AND GREEN, AND GAY.  The parade had its New York celebrities. RUDY GUILLIANI was there, basking in the deserved hero’s welcome. Senator HILLARY CLINTON was there. Remember several years ago when the scandal about a gay marching group kept her out of the parade? All of that seemed insignificant on this day, when it was about the uniformed men, those marching, and those lost. We even saw a gay television crew with credentials doing their thing on the parade route. It was quite a start to a BIG day in the city.But we were off. We had an engagement to cover the GAY AND LESBIAN BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO at the Javits Convention Center. In its 9th year, this event hosted by the RDP GROUP, seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Major sponsors and contributors like AUDI, COORS, BUDWEISER, UNITED AIRLINES, AEROMEXICO, JACK DANIELS, FLEET, TIME WARNER, and even THE NEW YORK TIMES gave the show a real air of professionalism. And it was a roaring good time. There was free booze, there was massage, and there were botox and collagen injections on the spot. We’re talking party, and it was super! Thanks for asking!
The show also boasts an ambitious lineup of B level talent, but it’s all included in the show, and who’s
Back t  o the caddy, cause it not only was inter-weaved with the gay political uprising, but it also had a connection to the rest of the weekend were rollicking through. Back in the late 60’s, the men in blue and badges, perhaps some of the very same ones we saw marching earlier in the day up on 5th, used to get their jollies by harassing and arresting drag queens in Greenwich Village at a club called THE STONEWALL INN. The city’s moral code apparently didn’t allow for men with wigs, or something to that effect, and the gays were an easy mark.Well, one Friday in June in 1969, the cops went too far. You see, it was the day JUDY GARLAND’S funeral services were held in the city, and the gals had had enough. Super! Let ‘em have it! And they did. The raid this time did not go well. This time the tables were turned, and officers were taken hostage, and held at bay inside the STONEWALL by, of all things, the convertible Cadillac. It was a blue Cadillac, by the way. Baby blue. Sorry ARETHA. (For more pictures of the expo click here.)
BEA ARTHUR, smack dab in the middle of her one-woman show on Broadway was slated for an appearance at the GAY AND LESBIAN EXPO Sunday at 1pm, and I had to get some rest, and into some warm clothes. I didn’t get much sleep Saturday night, what with the adrenaline of the event, the range of Hollywood stars, old and new, and with the anticipation of my snagging MAUDE herself the next day. Based in Los Angeles, we have flirted with an interview with the somewhat reclusive star for years. She of course has a storied theater career, and has some significant films, including the sadly secondary MAME opposite LUCILLE BALL in the title role from 1974. How anyone could think about retreading anywhere near the penultimate performance of ROSALIND RUSSELL in that role is beyond me. She gained mainstream fame as the buzz saw of a woman who took on ARCHIE BUNKER, getting her own spin-off series for her troubles, MAUDE. But the real reason we wanted to talk with BEA was her turn as the BITTER roommate on the classic and now omnipresent THE GOLDEN GIRLS. Lifetime has resurrected the show, airing 4 new episodes daily. It has grown to become the highest rated cable network, no doubt at least in part, because of this classic sitcom. BEA ARTHUR, BETTY WHITE, RUE McCLANAHAN and ESTELLE GETTY deliver some of the best lines, and do it with some of the best comic timing you will ever see. And they do it over and over, 20 years over, and it still is good. Super, even. Thanks for asking! So it was with a truly SOUR heart that we learned that BEA ARTHUR had cancelled her appearance at the expo. No interview, no opportunity to get her reaction to the newly gained cult status THE GOLDEN GIRLS has achieved in the 21st century, no smaltzy talk about her Broadway show and the section of gay jokes she delivers for the enjoyment of her alternate fans, no hearing about how she is not gay, or how she doesn’t have time to do the interview, or that she won’t do an id for our show, or any of that. No talk of "Lifetime, television for women, and gay men." Just a cold empty hall with no BEA ARTHUR. But I’m not BITTER. How could I be, it was a fantastic, BIG, GREEN, GAY, GLITZY, and just a little bit SOUR weekend in the BIG APPLE. And it was super! Thanks for asking! |
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