If you are easily squimished, stop reading now.
Once upon a time, a long while ago.. in a place, racked in mystery and legend, a place where many famous people are FROM, but whenever I go back, the only feelings that emerge are of depression and despair… Macon, Georgia.
Travel back with me, over 20 years ago. When the air was a little bit cleaner. When the sky was a little bit bluer. When I was a whole lot younger and life revolved around working, and dancing. Yes, dancing. The thing I lived for. Going to the club on friday and saturday nights, and dancing until I was nothing but a bucket of sweat.
The visual you might get is how skinny I was. Maybe, MAYBE 160 pounds soaking wet, at 5’11” that wasn’t much (I grew another inch at 21 – don’t sass me, it does happen to some men). One night a guy walked up to me, and told me that the sleeves I had rolled up to look “butch” – which I did because some girls took me aside in high school and told me how handsome I am, but how bad I dressed – and “worked” on me one afternoon. The result was, I always rolled up my tshirt sleeves.
So this guy walks up and tells me, “with arms that skinny, I wouldn’t go try to show them off”. Bastard! I had just walked in, paid my 2.00 and was ready to dance all night. Now, it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Saddened, I left and went straight to Kroger and bought their biggest size weight gain formula. The next day – a trip to use up my entire saving to buy a weight set. I was 21 and those weight gain shakes became part of my daily routine, and I tried so hard to lift those damn weights, I hated them.
Jump forward another 4 years, and suddenly my body went “surprise” and I had muscles.
Jump back where we were, and I am still in that hell hole Macon – where for some strange reason, in a small town, it was the height of gay defiance to be a female impersonator. Just about everyone I knew did it. They are all dead now. Back then, they were full of life – with oversized personalities, snide remarks, catty come-backs and creativity that busted at the seams! I both loved and hated them, because our one room bar stopped the dancing three times a night, so the drag queens could perform.
It really annoyed me. I was only there for one reason, and that was to dance. Taking time out for anything else, just cramped my style, pulled out my flow. This was a time in my life when shyness was all I had, or maybe it had me. To be able to get out there at all was a miracle, usually with my eyes closed, just listening to the music. The DJ was my favorite person, and he knew what I liked, and spun records to keep me going. Damn those other people and their stupid requests!
Sure, this all seems pretty tame so far. Then, throw in my best friend. His name was Ernie and we went to school together – 7,8 and part of the 9th. I was the ONLY person who knew his real name. Everyone else knew him as Ashley Blake (I hope my memory is correct on this). We tried to date for a while, but I only liked him in boy clothes, and he hated his belly button touched (freak!).
Ashley on the other hand, was a miracle worker. She lived in a trailer, and had a very small job. The things she could do with almost nothing at hand, to create these (not spectacular) costumes, but ones that pushed the confines of style. Her favorite artist, which we shared, was Annie Lennox. Ashley channeled Annie perfectly. She would throw herself down on the stage and crawl across the floor. She did things no one else would dare. She was gritty, dirty, and her acts were not sexual, they were SENSUAL.
All of these strange memories of the past, remind me that some really amazing talent has come and gone, and was original way before people like Lady Gaga – who I admire as an artist, but in reality… I’ve seen it all before. In a small bar, in Macon, Ga.
Here is someone that also pushes the envelope and if you can get past her grossness, there is a real showmanship of talent that goes past simple routines, this person throws “herself” into what “she” does..
wesleycarter 