C-2 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Pride Guide 2001

Emerald NECKLACE

"Ohio's Most Beautiful One-Day Tour"

Sunday, August 12, 2001

Ride 25, 50, 75, or a full 100 miles (all routes are out & back)

2 Start locations

Breakfast & Lunch

5 Rest stops

All-day SAG service Entry Forms and

More Information Available

Online at: www.hubbub.com

Email: Entx@hubbub.com

SAG Service Provided by:

Spoke-n-Wheel

Century Cycles

Sponsored by:

GALE'S.

Inspired by nature

WESTLAKE

garden center gift greenhouses

The Natural Choice All Year

Spring Greenhouse & Nursery • Summer Gardens & Tropicals

• Fall Harvest & Lasting Florals

• Winter Holiday & Home Decor

Gale's GrownTM Bud & Bloom

ROSE Garden

Teak

Lawn & Garden

Furniture

Orchids & Bonsai

Cleveland's Best!

• Plants

• Seminars

Supplies

Gay bookstore is still going strong after 17 years

ANTHONY GLASSMAN

HUB AUB Custom Bicycles

1904 S. Taylor Rd.

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 (800) 888-2027 (216) 371-6888 www.hubbub.com

All About

Spring!

O

• Annuals

Seeds

• Tools

• Fertilizer

GALE'S.

Holiday Gifts & Collectibles

·

• Radko

Dept 56

Inspired by nature

WESTLAKE

garden center gift greenhouses

14 Acres of Gardening Center Ridge Rd Westlake Ohio Open Daily⚫Year Round Phone .440.871.0808

Dancin'

... Ballroom with a flair

!! Tango

!! Cha-Cha

Touch Dancing !!Swing Waltz

Classes starting in July.

Call for more information.

216-651-6388

Paul Zeitzew, right, and Keith Hicks behind the counter at Body Language.

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-With the closing of An Open Book in Columbus in the past year, the ranks of Ohio's long-standing LGBT bookstores shrank by one.

However, the 17-year history of Body Language in Cleveland continues under the stewardship of current owner Paul Zeitzew.

Zeitzew bought the store from Steve Schochet in September 1993. Schochet had purchased the store. from his life partner Linus Herrell when his health began to deteriorate prior to his death in 1990. Herrell and Ray Burton founded the store in 1984.

Since assuming the mantle of ownership. Zeitzew has enlarged the store, moving it from its space at the back of an apartment building at West 115th St. and Lorain Avenue to a former doctor's office at the building's front corner.

The unassuming storefront hides an encyclopedic collection of LGBT merchandise. from a few regular clothing items and scores of pride stickers to S/M gear and the latest gay and lesbian fiction.

In the past seven years, Zeitzew has increased by tenfold the number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, while expanding the number of videos and magazines. He orders as many women's magazines as he can find. whether or not they sell well. Zeitzew says it's important to provide women's literature in a city that has seen the demise of more than one women's bookstore.

Also important to note is the difference between Body Language and "adult" bookstores. Body Language stocks adult magazines, but the ones with photographs of penetration are doubly-wrapped, and are limited to review magazines. Zeitzew ensures that the majority of the "adult" magazines are soft-core, "centerfold" magazines not depicting sex acts.

"We're an educational store specializing in issues of sexual orientation," he explained. Perhaps the most noteworthy element of the store, however, is the dedication of the man behind it to community concerns. In

Zeitzew's years at the helm of the store, Body Language has been a corporate sponsor of the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center, donating money and goods to other organizations for fund-raisers as well.

"I don't even know where to begin with that figure." Zeitzew said when asked how much he had donated. "I can't turn anyone down. They're my customers, they're my friends: as long as it's a good cause, I'll give something."

"It's a dream, and not everybody gets to live their dream."

When MJ's Place, a nearby bar known for

its LGBT fund-raising efforts, holds a benefit. Zeitzew often offers gift certificates to be auctioned. "M.J. doesn't even need to ask." Zeitzew said.

Zeitzew recently offered the owners of the Aut Bar in Ann Arbor, Mich., free merchandise.

"I had read an article in the Gay People's Chronicle about how they had raised money using Fred Phelps' visit, and I though it was a classy idea," Zeitzew said. He e-mailed the owner of the bar, inviting him to select some items from www.body-language.com, the store's web site, as a token of congratulations.

"I love talking about my store because it's something I developed, not from scratch, because it already had a reputation," he said. "I always wanted to be involved with a gay business."

"It's the real world, but it's a different real world." said Zeitzew. "I get to deal with people I can relate to. It's a dream, and not everybody gets to live their dream.”

Choreographer/Instructor William Wimer

3121 Bridge Avenue Cleveland, Ohio

LAKE

REALTY

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Ali McAdams

Realtor Since 1971

Dedicated to Excellence

216-651-0700 440-333-3800