PURE

FICTION

CAPITOL LETTERS

turned

For All the Wrong Reasons

my head and saw a figure about six feet tall dressed entirely in black. "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you," He lifted his hands from my shoulders. "You looked so intent on watching the fireworks, I thought if just

came up from behind and started talking you'd choke on your peanuts." From

PART

what I could determine during the brief flashes of light in the night sky, the interloper was a good-looking young man somewhere in his mid-to-late twenties. He had a soft face and beautiful white teeth.

"Why you dressed like that?" I asked, surveying his dark suit. "Doesn't look very comfortable on such a hot night."

"You get used to it after a while," he remarked with a smile. "Here, let me make a proper introduction. My name is Bob-Bob D'Amore."

I watched as he slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out a small white plastic tab and fastened it to the collar of his shirt.

"Oh! Now I get it. You're a priest. Right?"

"Not quite. I'm a seminarian still. I won't be a fullfledged priest until my ordination in October."

"Actually, I'm not all that interested in seeing them. I was visiting some friends in Chatham and I thought I'd take a stroll through the park, just to have some quiet time with the Lord."

From what

I could determine

the interloper

was a

good-looking young man

with a soft face

and beautiful white teeth.

He sounded sincere and convincing enough. I knew just

"So what are you doing about every regular who frehere, Father?"

"Please. Call me Bob." "Okay. The question still stands. Watcha doing in this part of the park? It's not the best place to see the fireworks. You ought to be over in the baseball field. View's better."

quented the park, and I'd never seen Bob before either in nor out of his priest costume.

He fixed his eyes on my bare chest and asked, "What about you? Why aren't you in the field with all the others?"

BY MARK J. SCHROEDER

"Cuz I wanted to be alone for awhile."

"I see. Well, would you mind if we spent some time alone together?" He paused nervously for a few seconds. before adding, "If such a thing is possible."

"Yeah, I guess. As long as you don't start preaching to me or anything. I get enough of that at home."

"It's a promise," he said, extending his hand as if to make a firm compact. I wiped my salty fingers on my shorts and shook his hand.

"Do you mind if I ask what your name is?"

"It's Aaron-Aaron Rainey." "Nice to meet you, Aaron Rainey." He grasped my hand tighter. "Aaron is a nice name, a very Biblical name. Are you anything like the Aaron in the Bible?"

"I'm afraid I don't know much about the Bible. What was that Aaron guy like?"

"Oh, he we was a real rebel. A pretty stubborn guy... kinda wanted his own way about things." Again he paused nervously. "Are you like that? Rebellious?"

"Sometimes, I guess." "That's great! So am I. We're going to get along just fine."

Cabinetry

spent $1 million trying to beat her in the

BOB

Rep. EHRLICH (R) said he will not seek the GOP senate nod, making it more likely

A LESBIAN IN THE CABINET?... Look for gay Democrats to argue that if th 'r party holds the White House and wins a Senate majority in 2000, President Gore/Gephardt/Bradley/Wellstoneupscale liberalwhoever will name an openly gay man or lesish district. bian to the cabinet, something Clinton's friend Since then, TONY BLAIR has already done in Britain. Given Morella got a Washington's penchant for mixing sex and polboost when U.S itics, a lesbian nominee might be more easily confirmed than a gay man who's led a life as interesting as many of us. My picks for the cabinet would include ROBERTA ACHTENBERG or BARNEY FRANK for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, FRED HOCHBERG for Secretary of Commerce, VIRGINIA APUZZO for Secretary of Labor and GRETA CAMMERMEYER for-

what else?-Secretary of Defense....

CHEATERS... Thus far, four of the GOP's avowed heterosexuals who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which declared matrimony to be solely between a man and a woman, have since been forced to confess marital infidelities: DAN BURTON (IN), HELEN CHENOWETH (ID), HENRY HYDE (IL) and BOB LIVINGSTON (LA)....

SENATOR CONNIE?... U.S. Rep. CONNIE MORELLA (R-MD), a long-time ally of the gay community, may run for the U.S. Senate in 2000. "All the signs are there," says Log Cabin public. affairs director KEVIN IVERS, noting that the suburban congresswoman recently made a rare appearance at a Maryland GOP central committee meeting, where she was wellreceived. Morella, 67, won reelection with 60 percent of the vote against civil rights activist RALPH NEAS, who

moderate Morella could

win the primary. In December, Morella was one of a handful of Republicans to oppose the impeachment of President Clinton, a vote that might help her with most gay voters, but could hurt her in the primary where GOP conservatives have significant clout.

Incumbent PAUL SARBANES (D), 65, stands in Morella's way, however. Although he hasn't announced, Sarbanes is expected to seek reelection. For gay men and lesbians, the contest would pit two lawmakers with equally appealing voting records-both Morella and Sarbanes rated 100 percent from HRC in the 105th Congress. Morella caught some gay flak in 1996 when she voted for DOMA; but Sarbanes also voted for the anti-gay marriage law. If there is a Morella-Sarbanes race, look for a major battle for gay support. Says Ivers: "If Connie runs, not only would Log Cabin be totally behind her, but a lot of national gay organizations would be hardpressed to find a reason not to support her." Don't bet on it-incumbent pro-gay Democrats have built-in appeal for much of the gay establishment. Stay tuned....

Hastings Wyman has been a D.C. insider for more than three decades. He publishes The Southern Political Report, a non-partisan biweekly political newsletter. He can be reached care of this publication or via email at MWFeedback@aol.com.

BY HASTINGS WYMAN

METRO

WEEKLY

January

2 1

1999

METRO

WEEKLY

January

21,

1999