March 26, 2014
…And the dance floor cleared, leaving me alone to karaoke with Mick on “Sympathy for the Devil”…
Puerto Vallarta is a very quaint town on a very large and lazy bay. From a dining balcony in our Spanish, castle-styled villa, we even got to see a-couple-of-whales swim by! As this was only the second time I’d ever seen whales (I once saw a-couple-of-rowdies in Laguna Bay about 29-years-ago), I took it as a good omen that this would be a fantastic weekend.
And it pretty much was! The food was delicious, the wine and tequila kept flowing, and, the company was delightful.
Going to the bayside mansion where the couple was married was also a treat. The scenery was gorgeous: the sun was preparing to set; and the home, well this 5-story glass edifice would probably go for $20 million or more on the California coast!
And so the ceremony began: with that setting sun dropping down from a cirrus cloud blanket into the awaiting Pacific – casting an angelic glow on everyone; particularly on the wedding party. I’m not sure if everyone in this party was LGBT or not (I’m pretty sure they all were), but the minister of The Universal Light Church certainly was; and, he was a crack-up! He did an absolutely splendid job of wedding the two brides with a monologue replete in humor, passion, and love. I will never, ever forget this lovely, moving ceremony — for two women who wanted to be married…
…but neither will I forget the pounding disco that began at 7:00pm and went till 10:00pm (when the old farts left). With the exception of a brief reprieve — when the DJ was forced to play a rock and roll song by the groom’s father at my behest (because I said I was going to commit suicide if I had to listen to one more disco song) – I was tortured by that horrific, relentless backbeat…
I hate disco!!!
And the dance floor cleared, leaving me alone to karaoke with Mick on “Sympathy for the Devil.” Did the Stones ever say anything disparaging about LGBTs? Was this too old of a song for the young crowd?? Is “Sympathy” a difficult song to dance to??? Was I THAT BAD doing my rendition of Lucifer????
The latter question might be a given, what with my froggy voice; but I remember dancing to “Sympathy” at many a function over the years: in fact, I just watched The Stones huge Hyde Park concert (the Summer of 2013) to which the entire crowd “Oooooo, Oooooed” during “Sympathy” (and there had to be quite a few LGBTs in that crowd)! As-for-the-Stones ever disparaging LGBTs – I once heard a story about Mick and David Bowie being discovered in bed together…
Going back to my Kalamazoo College daze, I recall accidentally walking into a gay bar during my first week of school; and these guys were listening to rock-and-roll (Reo Speedwagon, Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd). I also remember being dragged to a disco by a lovely lady I was trying to know better. I couldn’t really tell who was in this disco, as the strobe lights and other flashing lights made me nauseous (here began my hate for disco — as I sacrificed my sensibilities trying to get laid!).
I did admit to my wedding table guests (whom Donna Summer had befriended some years back) that I did rather enjoy a-couple-of-Donna’s songs…
…And on the very next disco song after “Sympathy,” the dance floor returned to disco normal: which means people jumping up-and-down to that thumping disco backbeat!
I leaned back on the balcony railing overlooking the bay, utterly dismayed by the music choices for the night and wondered if disco had become the musical standard of the LGBT community? I again contemplated throwing myself into the ocean – until two older gentlemen came up to me and said: thanks for getting “Sympathy” played – that was the best music of the night (one of these fellows was a bride’s father, and the other, a former DJ [who swings which way I don’t know?]).
And so the debate continues…is being LG & B (‘T’ is a different equation I believe) Nature or Nurture? Is it in the genes, DNA and chromosomes? Or, is it socialized?? God, I’d hate to think that some folks have been genetically engineered to love disco…