Queer n There	Queer n There Archive

Smyrna, Tennessee-- If you have read this far, gentle reader, more than a curious bystander you must be a true connoisseur of lesbian and gay events. In the intimacy borne of a shared passion, the unsigned author of this column wants to confess: for more than a decade he has sat in obscurity, while his readers imagine-- and his datelines insinuate-- that he travels the world: this month Asbury Park, New Jersey, next month Omaha, Nebraska-- serving as Guide readers' loyal pig, sniffing out and digging up the crème de la crème of homosexual events like so many truffles.

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Actually, in truth, the job of writing "Queer and There" involves sitting in an office in Boston and waiting for the faxes to arrive, and then rewriting them, changing key facts, and adding a soupçon of literary je ne sais quois.

But even this seasoned hand was stumped by a two-page press release which came recently over the fax wire. Because space in "Queer and There"-- not just the prose-- is so precious, we will reprint here only the topic sentence, though a topic sentence which, were unclear text good to eat, might feed a battalion of grammarians for a semester.

The press release is entitled, "ROCKERS EXCEPT CHURCHES INVITE TO RETURN, AND BRINGING FRIENDS FROM ATLANTA'S GAY COMMUNITY THIS COMING SUNDAY AUGUST 6TH." Because this will not be clear, know that the missive pertains to an event organized by the "Macon-based shock rock group Fiends Carnival of Souls," a musical ensemble that intriguingly attends religious services "in full costumes including Bondage gear, latex, Leather, and in Drag."

The first sentence runs thus: "Outraged by the Media's misrepresentations regarding last weeks goth rockers sit-in event being a hoax resulting from Smyrna Police Departments, Deputy Mike Brown's misrepresentations, the circulation of bogus press released claiming a major rock artist was confirmed and used to discredit the event whose last origin goes back to Deputy Brown and the church, and a large amount of emails sent out claiming the event was a hoax and not taking place, The Group has decided to return this coming Sunday accepting IGO'S invitation to return, additionally the group will be bringing several more people as well as, a number of people from ATLANTA'S LESBIAN AND GAY COMMUNITY, who contacted the group after learning of the stand the church takes against Homosexuality and states such on their website under "Homosexuality" which states that homosexuality is detestable, and that any nation that justifies such is in its final stages of moral corruption and homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of god, to name a few of their beliefs."

Hmmm, a lot to chew on. Those who feel themselves, meaning-wise, still in the dark of a gothic night can ring up Judy at 770-971-6738 "to be directed to further organizers of this Sunday's event."