The Story Continues

Terry and I bonded after realizing we had so much in common; neither one of us drove, we both lived at home and we wanted to be a part of Feathers. We were hungry for the attention others were getting, but how? Terry always had a plan; I always had a conscience sometimes they didn’t blend. We stayed close to Steven and Michael because they had a car. I didn’t feel comfortable using them that way. There was a list of people Terry used, but in fairness I don’t think Terry saw it as using, he just felt people should do things for him-entitled. Funny, I remember when I was friends with Terry I had so many emotions and feelings about Terry, but as I sit here and remember it’s hard to place him in my life. We were close; I remember he hooked up with this fag hag who had a house down the shore. We had no money so he would shop-lift and return it for cash. The hag’s parents came down and threw us out. We had to sleep in a 24 hour laundry mat. We slept on top of the dryers. I had a few quarters to put in them for heat. It wasn’t a pretty time. The Hag’s parents wouldn’t let her drive us home so we had to beg for change to take a bus back to NYC and then home. I just remember being happy to be back home at the bar.
There were so many characters at the bar besides the one’s I mentioned there was Sammy the bartender. My first meeting with Sammy was priceless. I had asked Sammy for change to buy cigarettes; he slipped me his tip money and told me he was too tired to walk to his register to make change. I thought that was so terrific that someone would just give me $2.50! We became fast friends, as did Kenny Casper and I. Actually his name is Casper, but his cousin Kenny was in jail and Casper was underage, so he swiped his cousins ID got into the bar underage. When you talk to him about it he explains how he statically planned it. He became friends with the manager, Hank and the bartenders, this way no one would question him or his age, then he made friends with security-in case he had to give back his ID. So funny he was. Actually I think it was Terry who snitched on him, but that comes later. Right now, I am just laying out all the different personalities and setting the mood so you can come along for the ride into the past.
As Terry and I got comfortable in the bar, we also started to hang with different crowds. I was more interested in a career as a bartender. They were making $400-500 a night. I wanted that life. Terry was into the performer’s life. He was dying to be a drag star! Casper was dying to be friends with Terry. Terry and Casper had “out there” fashion taste. My mind is foggy as I think back, but I remember spandex and animal print out-fits. OMG there was this guy who bought me electric blue spandex pants! And I wore them! I thought I was the hottest thing, and in those times I probably was. Between the Electric blue spandex pants, the shirt Terry made for me out of his left over pant legs-long story- and my copper color hair because my friend Kenny wanted to be a hair dresser and used me as his model for coloring. Needless to say he didn’t get in.
Terry’s fashion disaster: Terry would cut the legs off his pants so he could have “hot pants” for guys. Never one to waste anything, Terry would open up the cut off pant pieces and sew them together and create a shirt. Yes, I was seen in public wearing these things. That wasn’t even the most embarrassing thing he made me do. He entered a drag contest and wanted to win the top prize-one hundred dollars and a show of your own. Terry was sure he would win, only one other contestant who was half in the bag. Well, the place was going to call the contest off if they didn’t get another contestant. Terry signed me up. “But, Terry, I don’t perform.” “You’ll be fabulous Darling.” Terry assured me. “But Terry I don’t want to.” “But Darling, if I win I’ll give you the money.” “What am I wearing?” A hundred dollars was a lot back then. Needless to say Terry did not have an extra wig, or a dress, or a song. The DJ was allowed to pick a song for me. The manager had a grass skirt from a theme party the week before. Terry burned up the floor with Tina Turner, before her come-back in the 80’s. The other contestant threw up half way through his number and I got to move my lips to “I Am Woman”. Could I fall any lower? I learned very early in my gay life that shame was over rated. The show was a “gong show” type of show. The judges could gong you off. I just praying they would gong me-PLEASE! But those masochist just relished the sight of this little Twinkie moving his lips to “I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman”
Little did they know that within a year that song-my revenge- would catapult me into the most successful performer to hit the stage, but first I had to endure Terry’s moments? He got his show and left Feathers to be a star at the new place, I believe it was Follies, or a club down the shore. But I was back at the bar and the embarrassment had spread…What was the joke? What are the three ways spread gossip? Telephone, telegraph, tela fag. Hank heard that I bombed and told me he would help me get even. I didn’t care. I had never been out on a Tuesday and I noticed a bartender playing “Donkey Kong” He was a dream waiting to be lived. I grabbed Sammy and asked who he was…”John” he answered as he went upstairs. “John” I repeated as the song “Johnny Angel” played on the jukebox.
“Johnny Angel, you’re an angel to me”
Till tomorrow, be kind