Page 2 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE September, 1989

EDITORIAL

Dancin' revisited

Did you go to Dancin' in the Streets this year? We did, and you know what? We had a great time!!. Are you surprised?

It may surprise you to know that the Chronicle has no ill feelings about the Health Issues Taskforce. It also may surprise you that we don't intend to trash everything HIT does as an organization. We do like to comment on all events that take place in Cleveland which involve the lesbian and gay community. So here goes:

Last year we wrote a rather stinging editorial about Dancin'. It caused quite a stir. We received letters, some positive, some negative.

All in all, the feedback we were given was supportive. We dared to voice what many people had been feeling. And like many secret-tellers, we got a lot of flack for saying what we did. But it was worth it. HIT put on a fine benefit this year. There was food, there was entertainment that could appeal to all, there was a sense of community. It really was a great time. We don't believe this was the Chronicle's

doing, but rather that the Chronicle helped start the dialogue to which HIT listen.

We remain opposed to the amount of alcohol available. There is a difference between alcohol use and alcohol abuse. Raising money from the abuse of alcohol is still tainted.

What is wrong with limiting the supply? Why not cut it off at a reasonable time? Alcohol and drug addiction will kill more of us than AIDS. It cripples our community. As a community we have to do something to help ourselves.

Is the money raised by selling that much beer worth the price? Many studies have shown that the more drunk people are, the more likely they are to practice unsafe sex.

Let's help each other. Let's set a good example. Let's let our brothers and sisters know that we care about them too much to assist them in their own death. Also, let's be good to ourselves and talk about not enjoying being around drunk people.

The time has come

Listening is something that HIT has been having trouble doing in the past, but seems to working on.

A few months ago, several disgruntled HIT volunteers came to us with some major problems with HIT. They asked us to investigate and we did. We are not an investigative newspaper and we had never tried to do so before. But we want to serve the people of this community so we gathered up our tape recorders and prepared for an expose of HIT.

What we found shocked us.

We have no vendetta against HIT. We have always felt that HIT provides excellent services to PWAS in Cleveland, and that it does a lot for an organization made up mostly of volunteers.

What we found in our search, however, were three highly placed, highly regarded HIT volunteers resigning at the same time. We found that no one knew why the third director in as many years had resigned. We found no financial accountability to anyone. But mostly, what

undergoing tremendous change and finding the process difficult.

Our investigation into HIT activities will continue because we feel the public has the right to know, but at this time, we have found the major problem to be a lack of communication between the board and members. This has hurt feelings, burned out good volunteers and discouraged other people from joining.

We found no indication of financial mismanagement. We would like to be very clear on this subject. We did find a lack of financial accountability, but found no hint of misuse of funds by the HIT staff or management. We don't say this just so we won't get in trouble; we say it to emphasize that HIT is not fleecing us. Rather, it is having trouble telling us exactly what the organization is doing. Getting information for this story was fraught with suspicion and distrust. This is an unfortunate situation.

But there is light on the horizon: Joe Interrante, the new executive director,

GUEST EDITORIAL

Even though there were soft drinks available (which arrived late), Brother and Sisters in Sobriety were sorely missed with their lemonade stand and literature. It is our understanding that they weren't asked to participate.

But for some other minor, not-worthmentioning, comments, we appreciate HIT's efforts to produce an event which helps HIT and the entire lesbian and gay community of Cleveland.

However, before we leave Dancin', there is one comment that cannot go unsaid. If this year HIT passed out red plastic penises, do we get vulvas or vaginas next year? Too many women (and men) were embarrassed by that little thing and understandably so. Who's idea was that anyway?

All in all, we were pleased that HIT has listened to the community. We hope they continue to do so. As HIT becomes larger and supported more by non-lesbian and gay people, it is nice to know that are our community remains important to them. ▼

has the stuff to turn HIT away from its path of self-destruction. His ideas and viewpoints are fresh and exciting. We would like to encourage the new HIT board to listen to this executive director. Don't get rid of him if he says things you don't like. He might just be saying what you need to know.

Growth is hard; volunteer organizations are hard to run; any kind of group in Cleveland is difficult to put together because of the small pool of volunteers. No one does a perfect job. But not talking about the difficulties makes them worse and creates new ones.

Rumors abound about HIT. What is true and what isn't came only come from HIT itself. It is the organization's duty to supply the community with information if it wants the community's support.

Now is the time for HIT to act before it loses more volunteers as gifted as Buff Jozsa and Kathy Edwards, before it loses Joe Interrante, before rumors destroy a beautiful organization. ▼

The pitfalls of La-La Land

by F. Carmen

This past month I returned home to a new and much improved Cleveland, Ohio. For the last 6 1/2 years, my life has been playing out its journey in what many, including myself, have been brought up to regard as a version of paradise, "the American Dream," the "land of golden opportunity," also known as southern California, specifically L.A. "Hollywood." It is a relief to have made it back in one piece . . . sort of.

Apparently, I was one of those people destined to wander. In one way or another, it has been my pattern for the last 15 years. In the 1970s, I had unforgettable experiences here in Cleveland. It was a unique time to be young, gay, loose and carefree.

Still, there were those of us who were never satisfied and always craved more excitement. We "knew" things were better somewhere else. Those lands of Oz were constantly on our minds. Their glamour and allure were the subject matter of the songs we snorted poppers and

danced deliriously to at clubs like Twiggy's, The Bayou Landing, After Dark, and The 620.

ing

The hot places, the hot men, were callNew York, San Francisco, Chicago, Key West and, of course, Los Angeles. Having a wild time was the preoccupation of the day, and I kind of made it my hobby. Naturally, then, it was easy for me to believe that even more thrilling adventures awaited my presence in bigger, more exotic places.

Even as a child, I had been swept away by the California image, when I went with my family to visit the "lucky and modern” West Coast contingent on my mom's side. They had palm trees, swimming pools, picture windows and colored Malibu "spots" illuminating their white convertibles which were prominently placed (not just parked) in front of double-doored, ranch house extravaganzas. The good life! I was impressed. (This turned out to be all on credit, but that had nothing to do with it then.) Aunt Tootsie served up her spaghetti dinners wearing Capri pants of all colors and matching high-heeled Springolators from

Fredericks of Hollywood. Dyed mink hung in the closets, and Gidget types were out on the beaches with the Beachboys and their cars. The movies said so.

My opportunity to move to California came in the early '80s. I was primed to go where things/life. would be better than ordinary reality. Whatever my reason for being would most likely come together there. Now, read from the beginning of this paragraph again. It doesn't take much to see that a lot of my expectations get wrapped up in romantic notions and movie style fantasy, and most of this from the past.

Los Angeles can be a blessing and a curse. More often, it's a roller coaster mixture of the two. Its very nature plays into the desire for the fantastic to happen, a place where extremes seem to thrive. In fact, if you're "too normal," you won't stand out. The city creates the theatrical and bizarre. Yet, if you're not always alert to its moods and trends, you'll fall prey and be dismissed as just another example of the same.

It overwhelms on different levels, and tends to operate on many more. Survival

gay people's

HRONICLE

Vol. 5, Issue 3.

Founded by Charles Callender 1928-1986

Published by KWIR Publications Co-Owners:

Robert Downing Martha J. Pontoni

Editor-in-Chief:

Martha J. Pontoni Associate Editors:

Carlie Steen, Brian De Witt. Sports Editor:

K.D. Mahnal Reporters & Writers:

Martha J. Pontoni, K.D. Mahnal, Dora Forbes, Don S., Michele Smeller, Faith Klasek, Joan Valentine, Robert Laycock, Douglas Braun, Susan Tabell, Steven Hurt. Columnists:

John Robinson, Auntie Ray, Ed Santa Vicca, Patty M., Fern Levy, Joe Interrante. Production Staff:

Ray Kempski, Michele Somerson, Denise King.

Art Director:

Christine Hahn

Artists:

Pat Hughes, Tom Zav, Dawn Fritz. Assistants to the Editor:

Dan Postotnik, Dave Volk, Jan LaRosa.

Distr tion Chief

Robert Downing Database Consultant: Lori Molesky

The Gay People's Chronicle is dedicated to providing a space in Cleveland's lesbian-gay community for all women and men to communícate and be involved with each other. This means that every Chronicle, to the best of our ability, will be equally dedicated to both men's and women's issues,as well as issues that affect all of us. Striving for this balance will not only provide the community with a forum to air grievances and express joys, but will also help all of us achieve this balance in our lives.

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Correction

Due to a computer error, the names of Vermel M. Whalen, State Representative, District 16, and Dr. Halpin were misspelled in our August issue. Our sincere apologies are extended.

includes learning how it all works, how to play along, being able to change immediately, and flow along without getting bogged down, stepped on too much or left behind.

Contrary to the much-celebrated aura of being casual and relaxed, L.A. has become quite the contrary. A recent poll put the city at the “numero uno❞ spot for stress in the nation. I think image and all its manifestations have taken their toll. In most places if something stinks, it stinks. In L.A., if something stinks, someone will package it, throw an expensive galleria opening, sell it at a shop on Melrose, and voila... tres L.A.!

I could go on about the overcrowding, the high cost of living, the famous smog, etc., or I could go the other route and try to impress you with the dirt on dinners at famous eateries, seeing and occasionally meeting stars, pool parties, and the more private hot tub soirees, but I think that begins to veer away from the purpose of this piece. What is that? Part of the answer is dealing with reality and feelings. Continued on Page 4