FLASHBACK: March on Washington (1993)

It probably wasn't a coincidence that I waited until after the death of my only surviving parent to join the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation.

Anthony, Ted, Barnet and I drove down to DC in Herr Cucaracha, the perfect protest vehicle.  More than one fellow traveller flashed us a peace sign on the New Jersey Turnpike.  Christine put us up at her apartment not long before she married Tom, on the left.  Here we are on the mall with the nation's most prominent phallic symbol rising behind us. 

Of course the despicable crazies were out in force.

But there was eye candy galore.

I wore Ted's American flag t-shirt.  It still emerges from my clothes museum on Independence Day!  Barnet is sporting one of Ted's tees, too.

Some protesters played dead in front of the White House.  

I'd lost David, my only live-in boyfriend, to AIDS less than two years earlier. He was almost 39.

Organizers of the march had spread the AIDS quilt out on the mall.  Anthony squatted next to a panel representing one of his students at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  More than two decades later, the internet offered a different opportunity to pay tribute to David.

Another Pride Surprise

Thom and I stumbled upon the Gay Pride Parade in Burlington, just as Florian and I had done in Palm Springs nearly two years earlier.

This time there were waaaaaay more women (wimmin?) and children.

No doubt this baby will grow up gay if you believe religious conservatives.

We followed the crowd west,  past this Brutalist Episcopal Church . . . 

and a neighborhood skate shop, its aesthetic opposite.

We ended up at a rally, distinguished by its earnestness.  No dancing for these folks, at least not yet.

The park afforded glorious, if overcast, views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains beyond.

These out-and-proud participants posed for photos.