wherein I feel the Pride and get a sunburn

[floatingleaf]

I went to the Gay Pride Parade today. All by myself. I wasn't really sure until the last moment if I wanted to go, so I didn't tell anyone. Besides, the friend who went with me twice before hasn't been in touch lately - I had called her repeatedly within the past few weeks, but she never picked up her phone or called me back. She does that sometimes - simply disappears for weeks/months on end (I've had some news of her through another mutual friend of ours, so I know she's not dead or anything - just not feeling up to socializing, perhaps; see, some of my friends are a lot like me in that respect - which probably explains why we're still friends, despite not having talked for months... lol). And I don't really know anyone else here in Chicago who might be interested in going. Besides, I hadn't gone for so long (since 2006) that I didn't really know how I was going to cope with the crowds, or with being outside in the heat/humidity for several hours. So I figured that if I go by myself, at least I won't be disappointing anyone if I suddenly decide it's all too much and I just want to go home. Anyway... I actually stayed throughout the whole thing, even though I couldn't really see much except for the tops of the highest floats (I am short, and all the good spectator spots were taken by the time I got there). I was mostly just people-watching - which was fun in and of itself, LOL (all those skimpily dressed, fresh-faced gayboys and baby dykes...;P). At first it felt really weird to be there (as in, OMG everyone's 25 or younger, what am I doing here???) - but then I noticed some older people too, and that made me feel better.:D It was reassuring to see couples holding hands, little children carried on their parents' shoulders wearing rainbow-colored beads, random strangers 'high-fiving' each other (and me) as they passed... just soaking up the atmosphere. Even after eight years of living in the US, I still find it amazing that there are so many people out there willing to publicly display their "queerness" and/or support the gay lifestyle. There are no gay parades in Poland - at least there weren't before I left. Still, there also didn't seem to be as much religious batshittery as is evident here of late. By the way, there was some street preacher situated by the onset of the parade route today, shouting through his microphone about sin and abomination. He had a long list of offences displayed on a board that should be "punishable by death" according to the Bible - which included, among other things, adultery, theft and, of course, sodomy. As far as I could see, no-one paid him any mind - and the few policemen standing nearby looked bored. It must be tough to be a hate-monger on a Pride Parade day.:P

So, all things considered, it was fun, and I am glad I went. However, I hadn't been out in the sun for so long I'd actually forgotten how frightfully easy it is to get a sunburn. A really bad sunburn, at that. My face and arms have acquired a vivid shade of hot pink, and it fucking HURTS. The face will recover, I think, since it has already felt a little bit of sun this summer - but the arms & shoulders are a frightful sight, and they feel like the first taste of the fires of hell.:/ The funny thing is, I have this nice big straw hat I could have been wearing - but I wasn't, because it was actually raining at the time I left. There was a massive thunderstorm in the morning, which had stopped, but left the sky completely overcast - so it didn't even occur to me I might need any protection from the sun. I had brought an umbrella instead - which I also could have used against the sun, as some other people were doing. But somehow that didn't seem necessary. Oh well. I'll be wearing long sleeves for the next two weeks or so, I suppose.:/

To end on a positive note, here's a picture of my Aragorn "action figure" with his new standard. As you can see, he totally supports Teh Gay. Especially when it comes to the Elves, you know.:P

Comments

[floatingleaf.livejournal.com]

Wow. O_O The program looks very interesting - I wish I could be there.:D