The basement air hung thick with the scent of vanilla candles and the lingering ghost of someone's clove cigarette, creating a hazy cathedral of secrets beneath the city's indifferent streets.
I'm alone, isolated in a rural, MAGAt-conservative area. It's a 1/2 hour drive to the only LGBTQIA Bar in Bloomington/Monroe County. Through the week there's money for the meters to consider. I can't drink anything alcoholic because of the drive home. The cops; state/county/city and the judges are all assholes. So I stay home. My only 'community' is an occasional visit or phonecall from a sister, niece or nephew. The only LGBTQIA contact I have is the Internet.
"...it ain't about hiding who you are. It's about controlling who gets to see what parts of you." Took me a while to figure that one out. When I was young and dumb, there were bars but no sanctuaries. Or I was too dumb to see them where they existed. I vote for that one.
I'm alone, isolated in a rural, MAGAt-conservative area. It's a 1/2 hour drive to the only LGBTQIA Bar in Bloomington/Monroe County. Through the week there's money for the meters to consider. I can't drink anything alcoholic because of the drive home. The cops; state/county/city and the judges are all assholes. So I stay home. My only 'community' is an occasional visit or phonecall from a sister, niece or nephew. The only LGBTQIA contact I have is the Internet.
"...it ain't about hiding who you are. It's about controlling who gets to see what parts of you." Took me a while to figure that one out. When I was young and dumb, there were bars but no sanctuaries. Or I was too dumb to see them where they existed. I vote for that one.