Saying thanks
On the afternoon of June 12, Cocktail hosted a benefit to help me with the burden of medical bills.
Please indulge me for a few moments to offer my sincerest gratitude, not only to my wonderful co-workers and friends, but to our entire community.
"Chicks Dig Scars!" was a huge success, not to mention an absolute blast! I hope everyone had as much of a ball as I did. It would not have been possible without the outpouring of kindness from so many of you.
To the friends, neighbors and businesses who contributed the abundant supply of raffle prizes, purchased copious amounts of raffle tickets and volunteered your time to the event, please accept my most genuine and humble thanks.
It is difficult to express what your generosity has meant to me. The moneys donated will definitely be helpful with my current struggle, but more than the monetary value, I so appreciateand am touched bythe thought behind the gift. For that, and especially for your friendship, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I have worked for many years in this community. The service industry is sort of an extended family for me, and being behind the bar is kinda like home. It is where I belong. It is where I am happy. I thank you for welcoming me after all these years and lending your support during a very tough time.
Rest assured, my devotion to the "art of the cocktail "is as strong as ever! I am working hard toward my eager return to tending the bar, as well as my unyielding commitment to animal rescue and adoption.
Much obliged,
Paté ( and Elvis too! )
Political animal
To my friends,
Gay rights are not just rights for a few. They are rights that should be thought of for all.
As it comes up to the yearly event of the pride parade, I look back on the friends that I have known over my lifesome good, some bad, some straight and some gay.
I think of my friends whom I knew in high schoolthe days before it was in vogue to be out and proud. I think of my friends who were so scared and alone in their life that they saw no other way to go on, so they took their life.
Because of the pain and the torment of their inner demons, they could not go on to face life. They did not want to continue to live a life full of lies, loneliness and ridicule.
I believe that we all need to be free, to love and cherish whom ever we want, to know and believe we are all equal. What people want is not just gay rights. But the rights that have been promised to us all. We the people are all free and equal. No law should restrict the right of life, liberty and our idea's for ones happiness.
I ask that you consider this question. Some men and women who appose this are the same elected leaders that have had problems with personal conduct as well as ethics. Should we look to them to tell us what is right and wrong, or whom we can and cannot love and spend our life with? Sadly, they think their rights, the rights of a few, are what are needed. What we need are equal rights for all.
Sincerely,
Matt Harrington
Candidate for Aurora's alderman at large
Gossip folks
I have watched the unfolding story in the gay media around the issue of Howard Brown Health Center with a sense of sadness.
In 1974, a concerned group of medical students founded Howard Brown Health Center because of the rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases among gay men. Subsequently, and with the emergence of the AIDS crisis, the center developed many services, including primary medical care, mental health counseling, substance abuse services and case management.
The Chicago gay community has, over the years, been served wellnot only by the many medical studies conducted through the clinic, but also by being a safe harbor for many who lack medical insurance and did not have many options. The clinic was there for all of us.
Perhaps it is time to hear from some of those voices.
However, it is not its good works in service to the community; rather, it is the organizational integrity over the years that should outweigh the speculation, gossip, rumor and innuendo that are being leveled at both the organization and its board of directors.
I will not involve myself in crystal-ball gazing, nor will I attribute guilt by innuendo to an organization that has served our community so well. Such a juicy hodgepodge of hearsay, gossip and innuendo may go over in the bars; however, it should not rule the decisions of the board of directors of Howard Brownthat is not "best business practices."
Nor should those who promote a cult of personalities under the guise of truth go unchallenged for their whisper campaign. If you have some proof of wrongdoing on the part of Howard Brown, then produce it or shut up.
It is time we tone done the rhetoric and stop throwing mud at an organization and board of directors that has served our community so well. Let's all take a deep breath, be respectful of each other's integrity and stop the promotion of reckless gossip and innuendo in the name of accountability.
Joe Murray
Chicago