Children Behave

This past weekend was gay pride in Chicago. The streets were alive with anorexic boys in little underwear. The alcohol poured freely, and music filled the streets. Prior to the actual parade on Sunday there was a sort of street fair that occurred on Saturday. In order for my partner and I to avoid the rain and large crowds on Sunday for the actual parade we opted to just attend the street fair. News cameras filled the streets and reporters sought out only the most flamboyant men to interview. In the mix of it all several b list musicians performed on the main stage. The one wonderful exception was singer Tiffany. Yes I said Tiffany. For those of you not familiar with her she was a late eighties teen queen. Do you remember "I Think We're Alone Now"? She was the last performer of the evening. Now I have never been one to follow the normal gay stereotype. I do not worship Madonna or Cher. I don't sing along to Bette Midler and own Judy Garland Albums. It's just not me. However, this was Tiffany in all her former glory. I remember as a tween, sitting in my bedroom with my five pound cassette player and headphones replaying "Could Have Been" over and over. I recall staying up to watch Dance Machine on Friday night to catch her performance. I remember reading a teen magazine and discovering she was dating Jonathan Knight from New Kids On The Block. Yes, I truly do remember. She sang all of her songs pitch perfect. She wore a fringed black skirt, halter top and white high heeled platform shoes. Her hair was curled short and tight with sunbeams highlighting her beautiful red tresses. If all this were not enough she grabbed my hand twice, not once like she did with all the other bitter queens, but twice. It was as if we had a connection. It was as if she was saying "David you are my favorite". It was as if she knew me and I knew her. It was meant to be this chance interaction with Tiffany. It is what the universe intended.