I Miss The Gayborhood.

It was 20 years ago this weekend that I moved back to Jersey, after living in Philly for nearly a decade.



"There’s something funny and joyful about a place where people don’t pretend that the real world is anything all that important, where cleverness, artistry and merriment is applauded. It’s not that you can’t join the club if you’re not gay; you can’t join the club if you’re not funny."

I guess I made the cut somehow.

Apparently, though, a lot has changed since I lived there

"... it has been branded 'Midtown Village,' an official name that snuffs out the area’s unofficial nature. There’s a new wine bar and a new cocktail bar; there are two upscale Mexican restaurants. None of them is distinctively gay, or straight. The block caters to foodies and drinkers of all stripes. On my last Saturday night there, transvestites were nowhere amidst straight men with striped shirts on couple dates with women in black stilettos. But the biggest blow? Last week, a store around the corner, P.H.A.G. (sound it out), announced it is closing. Philadelphia Home Art Garden store will move its operations online."

~sigh~

It's the "cleverness, artistry and merriment" that I miss the most ... there's not much of that down here in Farm Country. These are NOT the most ... how do I say it? ... Appreciative ... people in the world when it comes to things "creative."

Maybe THAT has something to do with why I don't draw anymore ... there's no audience for it??? I certainly never thought that my work was very good from a technical / skill standpoint, but it WAS entertaining, if nothing else.