Sage Spring Fling

Ooh La La

Mark your calenders for March 31st from 6 to 10 pm at Mona's Out 'n About, 1407 So. 1st St. will be a SAGE Dance and Mixer. Tickets are $15 and includes a boutonniere or coursage, appetizers and snacks, soda, celebration cake and Coffee. There will also be a cash bar also.

You can call SAGE st 414-224-0517 or one of their Social Events Staff at 414-617-1152 to reserve your ticket ahead of time. If you forget I'm sure they will be available at the door.

Oh so much to do this weekend. So many things to go to. Oh my.

TTFN

La Garou at Forge conference this weekend

La Garou

Attention all you leather folks out there. La Garou a masculine Leather Group of FTM and SOFFA will be held at the FORGE Conference at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel by the airport this weekend March 30th to April 1st 2007. There will also be a Windy Moon Conclave held there along with a night at the Harbor Room on Saturday night. This would be a good time to meet some of our own and trade stories and who knows what else. (hint, hint for anyone bringing toys to play with?).
As a Leather person myself, I am looking forward to the event. I will be at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church booth on and off through out the weekend. I'm hoping to meet some friends, some of which I have lost contact with there also. I will be covering the conference all during the weekend and posting pictures of the events as they occur.
This should prove to be an interesting weekend. I'm looking forward to a very busy weekend.

On a slightly more somber note a memorial service will be held at the Washington Park Senior Center for our dear departed Eldon Murray on Saturday at 1 pm. The Milwaukee Journal had a very good write up on Eldon in the newspaper. Click Here for the Obiturary and here for the Article. Reguardless of how you feel about him, if it weren't for Eldon much of what we take for granted here is Wisconsin would not be. For this reason I urge all who knew him to attend.

St Patrick's Day

Here is what happened on St Patty's Day. First of all I went to the Sage celebration at their offices (basement meeting room). There were about 18 to 20 people in attendance. The theme of the party was an Ode to the venerable Potato with baked potatoes for everyone along with a variety of fixings. These were nice big Idaho potatoes and there were lots of them in a big Nesco Roaster. There were an assortment of veggies and dips. There was a green custard pie, brownies and chocolate cake with green frosting. Scattered across the tables were green foil covered chocolate Irish coins.
Song sheets were passed out and we attempted to sing several Irish songs. It would have been better if music were available to accompany us. I will say it was fun, off tune and all. What can I say? You had to be there.

Later on that evening I went out to see what might be going on in the Third Ward area. First I went to the new Pump House where the younger crowd were having a good time. After that I went to M's where a small crowd hung around. I was going to try a couple of other palces but there wasn't parking close enough. I paseed by the old M&M, now an Irish Pub which was packed wall to wall. I guess we don't celebrate that much like the straight people do. They get special days, we celebrate when ever we want to. After all I'm not too crazy about Amateur Night anyway. Hope y'all had a good weekend.
TTFN

Thought You'd Like to Know Dept.

IT COULDN'T HAPPEN TO A NICER GUY

Coral Ridge

Dr. Kennedy suffered a heart arrhythmia leading to cardiac arrest on Thursday, December 28. On Wednesday, January 3 he underwent a procedure to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator.
Worshipers at Fort Lauderdale's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church offered prayers Sunday for the full recovery of the Rev. D. James Kennedy, the church's charismatic leader after he suffered a massive heart attack.
Kennedy, 76, a leading figure in the Christian conservative movement, was rushed to the hospital Thursday night after suffering the attack. His condition, initially seen as grave, has been showing improvement, church leaders told the congregation on Sunday.

Could this be God's vengeance for all the anti-gay venom he has been spouting against us? Is Karma finally catching up to him? I don't know but for some reason I have no sympathy for the man. That is too bad because I like him once upon a time. It wasn't until he decided to jump on the bandwagon along with the rest of the wingnuts and religious fanatics that I lost respect for him.
Don't get me wrong, I wish him a successful recovery, however I hope this is a wake up call for him and a sign that he must change his ways. God is shaking his finger at you Mr Kennedy. The next time you may go down for the count. Gods watching and I don't think he's too pleased with what is going on. He is telling you that he is still in charge and he isn't happy.

Just thought you would like to know.
TTFN

Eating out with Sage

On March 11 Senior Action in an Gay Invironment (SAGE) met at the Tazbah at about 5:30 pm for a nice sit down dinner. There was a selection pork, chicken or fish. There were fourteen people present. The dinner was hearty and the portions were generous. The appetizer was soup or salad. I had the salmon which was grilled to perfection. Others had boneless pork chops and some had the chicken which I think were good sized breasts of meat. It was topped off by piece of cake.

This comming Saturday SAGE will celebrate St Patties Day at the SAGE offices on north farwell. I hear they are going to serve authentic Irish fare along with fun for all. So if you want to celebrate, but don't care for the bar scene, this is a good event to go to. It will be from 1 to 5 pm and will honor the venerable "Irish Potato" SAGE will suply baked potatoes along with various toppings. Bring something to share if you can something green would be nice. I hope to see you there.

Castaways Beer Bust at Kruz

Last Sunday from 3 pm to 7 pm the Castaways had their Beer Bust. I came at a little after three and the bar was starting to get crowded. By the time I left at about 5 pm the bar was crowded. There were raffles and some nice prizes were won by various patrons. Kruz is where the old South Water Street Docks used to be. The bartenders are a friendly bunch. They have a internet jukebox that plays almost any tune you can think of. There is a out side patio with a tent conopy and heater for those cold Wisconsin nights. I hear that one of the bartenders signs for those of you with hearing imparment. Looks like the Leather sceme is alive ald well in Milwaukee.

Visiting Interweave

Having been a member of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee some time ago but still keeping in contact I decided along with a friend to go to the UU Interweave meeting last night. The church has worked hard to become a welcoming congregation to all LGBTIQ people. This was a planning session for the upcoming year to focus on the direction Interweave wants to take.
We discussed about a dozen different topics that we felt that needed to be addressed. After much discussion, the top twelve items were written down on large sheets of paper and the members were instructed to choose three most important topics that need to be addressed. The rest were designated as medium or long range goals that will be addressed sometime in the future. Since most of what Interweave has done seems to be centered on Social Justice issues, it was agreed that perhaps it would be better for us to change from a Special Interest Group to a Social Justice Group because the focus seems to have turned to more civil rights issues for LGBTIQ people within the community.
Beyond that the two co-chairs will be ending their tenure and they are looking for volunteers to step up to the plate. If anyone is interested contact the current leaders and express an interest. I'm sure it will be an interesting and rewarding experience.
The next scheduled meeting will be on April 12 at 6:30 pm. 1st UU at Astor and Ogden. Hope to see you there.

Update on the Leather Bar Arrests

The curious person that i am, I obtained the Police report of the incident that I mentioned below. Four guys were arrested for Lewd and Lascivious behavior. They posted bail and are scheduled to be tried just after the Real April Fools Day (April 15) . So far they are free on bond and whether they will have to serve any time or if they will be fined won't be known until then.

So what is the moral of the story? I'll say this. Its OK to cruise the gay bars and pick up a new trick but don't let lust get the better of you. Keep your zipper up and take him home or wherever and then do him in private. Yes indeed the cops do visit the bars and they will arrest you if you misbehave. I hope you get my drift. Have a good time and stay out of jail. That is no fun at all.

In the meantime I'll keep you posted as to the fate of our friends. Thats all for now.
TTFN
G.

Eldon Murray passes away

Another one of Milwaukee's Gay leaders has passed away on March 5th 2007 after suffering a heart attack. The first I heard was that he was at Veterans Hospital and it sounded as though he was recuperating. To find out more here is the link to the Cream City Foundation website. For more information. You can go here to the LGBT History Project
Sage had an article about him in their newsletter. This is a sad day for our community. We have lost three of our elders this year so far. Lets hope there are no more passings. Please check the newspapers for the death notice and funeral arrangements.