coming out of the bushes?

i'll be explaining this as this site develops. the idea for this blog has been brewing in the back of my head for awhile now. i wasn't quite sure what i wanted to do with the idea or how i wanted to proceed. i searched for a formulation of what it was that i wanted to convey by doing this blog.

there was a false start back in June, but i couldn't take it anywhere. i really wasn't certain how i wanted to proceed. i think maybe i have a working idea now.

originally, what happened to jump-start my idea was viewing a program on WTTW11, the public television station in Chicago, entitled Out and Proud in Chicago.

it left me kind of cold.

there was a lot of factual and historical information in the documentary. for example, the Jane Addams and Mary Rozet Smith story. The tale of Albert D. J. Cashier who fought in the Civil War from Illinois but was actually born Jennie Irene Hodgers, living as a man until she died. Tony Jackson an African-American gay composer and pianist who shaped the world of music by bridging the gap between ragtime and jazz. they are all relevant; they were all benefactors to the world; and they all made lasting contributions.

it took me weeks to figure out what exactly gave me the reaction i had to the program. believe me, i am not trying to belittle the producers, directors, contributors, sponsors, etc. in their endeavor. i would imagine they were working under constraints of time, funding, depth, etc. the program was a start, and probably served a lot of people, lgbtq & straight, a great history of the community. but, as a member of the community, it left me unsatisfied, as i indicated.

what i realized was missing [again, for me] was the spirit of the proud part in the title.

there was no real explanation as to from where that came; when the community became self-aware; how the facts presented translate into the feelings, emotions, and courage that abounds today; and why lgbtq is so vibrant in the city, if not in the country and world because of what was happening.

from where did all of this come? with whom should the onus lie? when did the shift actually happen from hiding in the bushes, to trimming them down, and to coming out of them? there were, of course, the movers and shakers mentioned and interviewed in the program. they set the tone.

however, who did the leg work? did they know they were doing it? how did the community develop? was there a plan? evolutionary or revolutionary?

i'm not an expert, but i lived through the times. i'm not all knowing, but i have stories that represent what was going on during part of the history. i'm a little cog in the gears. i searched for my own way out of the bushes.

how did i do that? i went in to the bushes.


the first thing is to explain coming out of the bushes rather than out of the closet.

a lot of people are familiar with Boystown in Chicago on Halsted Street between Belmont and Addison Avenues. it is/was the gay section in the city starting in the late 1970's early 1980's. the bushes was a bar on the street. actually, it was the second gay bar on the street, but only by a few weeks. unknown to each other, the bushes and Little Jim's opened their doors. Little Jim's is still there, but the bushes isn't. of course, today there are many lgbtq bars on Halsted. there have been others that came and went and some, like Soundtrack and Roscoe's, that have had staying power.

many guys took there first steps coming out on Halsted. i did. in the bushes. hence, why the blog and the explanation of my coming out of the bushes rather than the closet.

what i hope to do is tell some stories of which i was either part or was told; to reflect on some of the things that happened and how they affected me; and to also write about current LGBTQ experiences, news, issues, etc. and maybe try connect them with my observations and thoughts of how they may make a difference and how the past 30 years could have lead up to where we are today.

we'll see what happens. if you stay with me through this excursion, great. of course, first some people need to find this place and their own way out of the bushes...

mike/