Hispanic cowboy at New Flight ...
"The first time I went into a gay bar was just after I graduated from Miami University and was still brand new to Chicago. At that time, I was working for a PR firm in Lake Point Tower and I would catch the Howard train at Grand Avenue. Around Grand and Clark, there were lots of gay bars at the time, including Redoubt, the Bistro, the Gold Coast and one, at the corner of Grand and Clark, that I used to wonder about, called the New Flight. I was a naive 22-year-old ( engaged to a woman ) at the time and I knew the bar was gay because I used to see guys outside all the time. It wasn't far from my subway stop, so one night after work I got up the nerve to wander in. There was a lively happy hour going on, and lots of good looking guys ( little did I know that many of them were hustlers ) . The bar had a reputation my innocent ears had never heard of. I ordered a beer and sat by myself at a table along the wall, just watching and quickly averting my eyes whenever anyone looked my way.
"Finally, a good looking Hispanic cowboy sauntered up to me, a gift of a beer in his hand, and plopped down across from me. Not a hustler, thank God, and SO cute. We exchanged a lot of small talk that afternoon/early evening and a few, as Mary Chapin Carpenter might put it, passionate kisses. I left him with the promise that I would call him, but, later, in a rush of Catholic guilt, I tore his number up into little pieces and watched as the paper fluttered over the subway tracks. I was a married man one year later. It took me another seven years to finally come out. I wonder whatever happened to that cowboy." ... Rick Reed
Sukie's story ...
"I was in a bar the other night and a complete stranger...although he obviously reads this column...came up to me and said, 'What was the first bar YOU ever went to in Chicago?' That threw me, because over the last three years I've asked that question of hundreds of people, but never thought to answer it myself.
"I first visited Chicago in 1988 and the two bars I went to were Little Jim's and Sidetrack. I remember Little Jim's was exactly the same as it is now; probably with some of the same people. Sidetrack was a lot smaller and I seem to remember a Country & Western theme; it was the first time I'd seen cowboys dancing together. Or should that be men 'dressed' as cowboys. We don't have cowboys in Britain, we have cows and we have boys, but there's no connection between them.
"I moved to Chicago in 1991 and my memory of the first bar I went to after I arrived is much clearer, and also a fond and precious memory of mine. It was winter and I was living alone in an apartment in Edgewater. I was frightened to go out at night because all I saw on the TV were murders and drug dealers. I'd picked up a gay rag from somewhere and saw there was a bar only three blocks away. It was called His 'n' Hers. So one night I ventured out. When I got to the bar, I hesitated before opening the door. To this day I don't know what I was scared of.
"I finally got up the courage to open the door, and the first thing I heard was a women's voice booming across the room ... 'As long as it's got tits and a pussy, I don't give a shit what it looks like.' That's how I met Marge Summit.
"She saw my head poking around the door and called out, 'Hey, come on in out of the cold, honey, what are you having?' She brought me a beer, slammed it down on the bar and said, 'That one's on me, honey ... is somebody going to put some money in that damn jukebox.'
"The first song to come on was Connie Vannett's Pussy Cat Song, and all the men in the bar stopped what they were doing and sang along, 'My pussycat was scratching out on my back door, scratched so long my pussy got sore ... sore pussy.'
"The next song was Red Peters' Blow Me, and a row of brick shithouses known as the lesbian bowling team all sang, 'Blow me, you hardly even know me, just set yourself below me, and blow me tonight ...'
"'Hey honey, can you play darts?' called Marge. I answered 'Yes.' 'Well, you're in the darts team tonight.' I used to be a pretty good dart player back in those days, and when I got two triple twenties, one of the brick shithouses slapped me on the back and I lunged forward, 'Hey Marge, this one's a tiny little thing.'
"I went to His 'n' Hers most nights after that, and got to meet Joey ( now at Gentry Jr. ) who welcomed me as a stranger to these foreign shores. I'll always be grateful to him for that.
"His 'n' Hers was just the craziest bar. Every time I walk into a new bar, I think, 'Could this be like His 'n' Hers?' I'm always disappointed. Just my luck, the first bar I go to after moving to Chicago turns out to be the best bar in town, it was all downhill from there.
"And then the damn bar burns down."
Send your stories to Sukie de la Croix at Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his voicemail at 773-871-7610. He interviews over the phone, in person, or via e-mail sukiedelacroix@ozhasspoken.com