I was invited. That’s why.  In fact I was invited by my son Tim.  It was in fact the second Pride that I’ve attended.  I surprised him the last time to show some Love and Support. On that trip I was a little shocked that kids were there.  Some of the “activities” were getting pretty close to PG-13.  This year, things were different.  At first I thought it was because it wasn’t all new to me. On second thought things seemed to have been toned down. Click here for their mission statement.

Gone were the booths hawking t shirts and stuff with sexually explicit phases and jokes. Replaced by (or maybe I noticed them this time) community service booths. 

Most folks came in their “street clothes”.  But like RenFaire, some folks dress up. I am convinced that women dress way sexier for another woman than they do for a man.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were there in force and surprisingly open and kid friendly.

I was surprised to find out that the Sisters have straight folks in the order.  For the record, they really are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Their mission is to educate, promote safer sex, visit the sick, feed the hungry and generally service the community. They strive to break down barriers that separate our society.

And isn’t that what we all want? On my first trip to Pride I have never had so many beers given to me.  This year I proudly wore my STRAIGHT t shirt (buy one here) the reception was a little cooler but still mostly friendly. I did get the occasional finger and stink eye, but there are bigots in every social group and LGBT is no exception. I did get four questions, two email addresses and a phone number from that guy in the bathroom. For real, I was in the bathroom with 20 gay guys and I didn’t get ass raped. But I did strike a cool conversation with the guy in front of me and he gave me his number. I told him to come here and friend me on facebook.  What were the four questions? “Are you really straight?” I could tell some were really hoping I was sarcastic. My answer was a  sarcastic….”So far.”

The stage acts were both toned down and cranked up. The cast of “The L Word” were there. The guy that looks so much like Cher that Cher approves was there.  Dina Titus was there.  I was tempted to ask her if she was coming out. Gaysian Stand up comic Alec Mapa was crazy funny.