June
27, 2014
My instead: I
volunteered to set up for the St. Louis Pride Festival.
My buddy Steve asked me
several times if I would be his assistant at the annual Pride Festival in St.
Louis. He was the Operations Director. My hesitation was not the fruit of my
non-committal tendencies. Really. I simply was not sure I wanted to commit my
time to this type of event. I have been there in the past and have not been
impressed with the “goings-on” there. But then I remembered my year’s resolve…and
here before me was a grand opportunity to “diversify” my list of “insteads”. Okay!
I reported to the Pride
venue at the St. Louis Soldiers' Memorial Military Museum.
Steve and I hit the pavement running. We were all over the map…the festival
map, that is. We applied signage, moved stuff to its rightful place, answered
questions, found out the answers to questions…you name it. It was busy, but it
was fun. Golf carts and walkie-talkies do that…I’m still a kid at heart!
Things
slowly took shape as vendors occupied their assigned spots. Working towards a common goal with all these folks was a nice reminder of the teamwork I experienced at my old job. Nice memories revisited.
After
a long day of “running the show”, I went home and somehow felt elation about
being a part of something with such a difficult but interesting history. The gay
lifestyle has evolved so much in the last 25 years...or 125 years. I could only wonder “Where
will it go from here?” My hope is that it melds with the mainstream and that diversity
becomes just a little less diverse.
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