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She grabbed her jacket from the hook on her cubicle and sat back
down, patiently watching the clock. Maybe she could swing by Borders on
the way home and look for that new book about Rosie O'Donnell. And
maybe a cup of coffee as long as she's already there anyway. Or maybe
she would just get the book at Borders and swing by Angel Falls afterward
and get the coffee there. That way she could sit outside and watch all of
the people who did have dates tonight. Or, if she stopped at Sears
Hardware instead of Borders, she could pick up a new blade for the
circular saw and finally finish that book shelf.
She picked up her keys and began to twirl them gently around her
finger. Maybe she would just do the coffee thing and forget about all the
rest. And maybe a movie. Maybe she would stop for a coffee and then pick
up a movie on the way home. Or, maybe she could just pick up the movie
and go home and make her own coffee.
She looked at her little clock again. 4:59. "Close enough," she
thought as she got up to leave. To the movie store and home, that's what
she would do. She would go home, make some coffee and watch a movie.
Maybe that new Sandra Bullock movie is on video.
***************************************************
Bobby turned seventeen today. His mom bought him a new CD-
Rom for his computer and his dad sent him a card with money in it. They
were decent gifts but they didn't come close to what he really wanted right
now, and what he really wanted right now could in no way come from his
parents. What he really wanted right now is some other seventeen year old
gay people to meet and talk to and socialize with and learn from and
maybe even to fall in love with. Unfortunately, what he really wanted was
not available, or at least, if it was, he didn't have a clue where to go and
find it.
He knew where there were a couple of gay bars, but he also knew
that there was no way in hell he'd ever pass for old enough to get into one.
He knew this because he had tried. He also knew where to find the "dirty"
movie place and the video store but the thought of going into either of
those places just totally weirded him out. He was seventeen and like any
other seventeen year old boy, his hormones were nearly bludgeoning him
senseless, and he really wanted to have sex, but what he really, really
wanted was to meet other people who felt the same way he did.
He had friends from school and friends from church who were all
pairing off into puppy love affairs: a rite of passage that he was denied just
because of his sexuality. They had homecoming and prom and hand-
holding and making out at football games and all of the other little things
make adolescence so wonderful and exciting. He had only time. And the
hope that someday he would get to be a participant in his own life instead
of just a spectator in someone else's.
***************************************************
The names, the ages, and the circumstances are all different, but the
need is the same. Where can I go to meet other people like me? The bars
can be fun once in a while, but what if you aren't allowed in or you just
aren't always comfortable there. Where can you go then to meet people
and be involved in life? Dancing in the Streets is great and so is the picnic,
but what about the other 363 days?
There is a group of people in the Akron area who are working to
open a Gay/Lesbian community center where these and other needs of the
local gay community can start to be met. If you are interested in
participating or being a part of this project, be watching for upcoming
events. We may not have a building yet, but that doesn't mean that we
can't start having fun as we work toward the goal of having a full-fledged
community center right here in Akron. There are good changes on the
wind. Be watching and be active.
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