***** COLstance Comments ...

It. appears that the impossible has finally happened. Life, and I mean real life, has come to Cleveland's gay community!

It started with the changeover of Fellowship Community Church to an HCC. By now most of my readers should be aware of what CC is, but for those of you who are here for the first time, let me recap the situation. MCC stands for Metropolitan Community Church, and it also stands for equality among gay men and women, hard work for the community, and, oh, yes, an opportunity to express the need for religious life in the gay world. MCC has a sterling reputation around the country, and I can assure you, is hardly a rip-off, as some of our more viscious brothers and sisters have been intimat ing.

Next, we have the much awaited community center opening this month. After months of being told it couldn't be done, the GEAR Foundation has managed to put together a program of service, get the space for the center donated, and find people in the community who are responsible adults, to sit on the board that will manage the center. For those of you who are interested, this newspaper, HIGH GEAR, is taking it's profit to fund the center. So tell the places that you patronize to advertise with us, and support something good, for a change. And don't forget to thank our current advertisers for their support of the community, as well!

The programs that will get the center off to a wonderful start will be; a VD clinic for gays only, staffed by qualified doctors and assistants; counselling (free) in the evenings, by qualified personell; a gay youth club, on weekends at first, and then maybe into the week, depending upon the response of the under 21 crowd. The GEAR Hotline will be located in the new space, and will be manned (and womanned), on a 24 hour basis, if enough people will volunteer to give a few hours a week to help the center. The calls are coming in now at a rate of about 40 per week, and the service is needed, as anyone who has had to use it will tell you. There are some new bars in town, or at least newly discovered. The Rainbow, on E9 St., just 2 blocks south of Enelid, is like an oesis in the wilderness. The decor is not terribly sophisticated, and the crystal queens of the community, might have difficulty coping with it, but the atmosphere is warm and friendly, and most of all, comfortable. People talk to you, and the drinks are cheap, but not stingy. They have food available, too, and it's good. Drop in next time you are downtown, and feel tired of the same old thing at one of the other clubs, I think you will like it. More on the other clubs in the next few issues,

Congratulations to DICNTTY/Cleveland on your second anniversary! Glad to see you are growing, and hope you will join with the other groups in town in the years ahead, to improve our community, as as you have in the past, love

VOLL.

The way dancas being sponsored by the MCC kose quite a surprise to re. I expected some kind of boring "athering of Bible-thumpers. But instead, I found good music, creat people, and lots of fur. You should really try it this month and t a chance from the bar scene. There is an ed in this issue for the dances, Check them The 9.1. is really great, with and without his 'support clothing'.

. זייף

WILL zave you with just a note about the

recent 'misunderstanding'at Twiggy's Place, a few weeks ago. Or should I say, brawl! The entertainers certainly deserved a better reaction than afull-fledged fight. Seriously, the whole thing is just symptomatic of the lack of concern that certain business people have for their clientel. Any decent bar owner, or manager, would have cleared the troublemakers out in about 5 minutes! Just because the owner of a club is gay, doesn't mean that it's a gay club. I think the community in Cleveland deserves a lot more than being hassled in a place that is supposed to be theirs. If the management cannot give us a gay bar that is safe, then they by no means should be getting our money!

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of Cleveland

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A place where YOU! can cypress yourself

"How do I know if I'm gay?" Gay is the preferred term used to describe a homosexual individual; one who eniovs the company, affection, companionship, and love relationship of persons of the same gender.

Some claim that being gay is a trait one is born with, others say this characteristic is developed by environmental conditions. Debating this point does not answer the question. A gay person realizes his or her frank preference for individuals of the same gender regardless of the degree or dimension of that preference. Regardless of whether or not a man enjoys women, if he enjoys being with men socially and finds affection and comfort in this social contact, the root elements of his gayness are there. Accepting this fact openly, unashamedly, and without euilt-ridden hanguns is the first step in the right direction towards "coming out." "Coming out" does not mean the person newly accepting his gayness will be aware of all the facets of this life. There is much uncertainty about how awareness is achieved. One fact is outstanding however, This awareness comes from being oneself and associating with other gay people, both men and women. Imitation of others can bring unhappy results. However, suggestions and examples can serve as zuidelines to the newcomer in his expression of himself in the gay community, No two way people are identical, just as no two individuals of anv other persuasion are identical. A gay person is a total entity; one who exnesses his or her individuality as a whole and worthwhile beingin his sexuality and in all aspects of his life.

HIGH GEAR April, 1975 Page 5