Drink Up, the Summer Wind Down Has Begun

It's downright steamy this weekend.

Today we'll be joining Jello Shot Wench and assorted others for what's become a tradition -- lesbian invasion of the local Germania Society Oktoberfest. It's the first 'official' of umpteen Oktoberfests here in the Zinzinnati area. And yes, it's held in August. It's followed two weeks from now by the Main Strasse Oktberfest in Northern Kentucky, then a week or so later by the really big and much-too-crowded big one downtown.

Germania is a hoot for a couple of reasons. It's GREAT people watching -- old men in lederhosen, family guys pushing strollers and juggling giant steins, and whiny kids begging for food not involving sausage or sauerkraut.

And then there are the activities -- personal favorites include buying raffle tix for the wagon-of-cheer (booze), betting on the rat-in-the-hole game, and the high camp tug-o-war between the local German societies and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. (Go Irish!) Seriously, the opening ceremony for the tug-o-war includes a parade, flags, the works -- it rivals the Olympics. But with more beer.

Rita will post pics in a later post, if the camera can be properly focused. Until then, what sorts of local festivals are must-attend events in your city?

June ramblings

Ahhh here we are in the first real month of Summer! Time for Friday night volleyball games, Pride Festivals, outdoor dining, yard work and more yard work, walking around the park two extra times just because and spending hours at the pool even though you know the sun is gonna getcha.

We are just in time for some of the madness to end and just in time for some to begin. Hillary Clinton will give a fond farewell to her Presidential campaign pursuit - maybe even tonight - and allow Obama to duke it out with Pops McCain. I hope that she has a shot at VP and it sounds like she would be interested in the position but I have my doubts that Obama wants a strong woman riding shotgun. Wait.....holding the shotgun might be a better way of putting it. She likes to take charge and that may just scare him too much. She was my candidate and now I play the waiting game like everyone else who will vote the Democratic ticket.

More madness just starting......did you hear the story about Lindsey Lohan and her new gal pal? Uh yeah!? Apparently she is a little gag-gag over her 20 something DJ BFF. I even heard a story where she wants to marry her pal now that it is legal in San Francisco. Wow.....that's just what we need for the cause isn't it folks? She's gay today but somewhere else tomorrow! No thanks Lindsey!

Pride festivals are heating up all over the nation and it will once again be our turn here in Cincinnati. I was looking at the events and it appears that we will be disappointed again. Poor funding or the lack of creativity in gathering more funds makes this Pride event rather sad. Still it is the only one we have and my friends and I will make the best of it and watch the 15 minute parade and then walk around and count the drag queens. Such is life in the big conservative city......

So what kind of madness do you have to look forward to this Summer?

Women Out Front

Here in the Cincinnati tri-state area we are lucky enough to have a lesbian organization with some real promise. Now I don't mean for it to sound like we are without hope here, but Cincinnati is one of the most conservative cities in the U.S. It is not one of the top spots that come to mind when you think about the GLBT community. However, thanks to Women Out Front, we do have a very nice social network in place for the lesbian community.

The Women Out Front organization was developed by one woman with a vision and the resources behind the vision to make it work. As their mission statement aptly puts it:

"Women OUT Front (WOF) seeks to enrich the lives of women by providing opportunities for social interaction at a variety of both professional and social events."

While I don't think we have every lesbian attending all of the WOF events, I do think it has opened some closed lesbian minds to what is available in this area. I mean let's face it.....some women won't come out and attend any GLBT events no matter what you do and then there are some that are regulars. But the fact is......we have now been given options. Options that this area hasn't seen in some time and it is quite refreshing.

Sure, WOF is no where as big as some of the other well endowed GLBT cities in the U.S., but it is something for Cincinnati. The most important part of it being that this org tries to reach out to all ages in our community and as some of you may know that is not an easy thing to do. You have to try and fill the void the best way you can and try to reach a happy medium with most of those who are interested in participating.

I know some of you live near the "gay meccas" of the U.S., but I would be interested in hearing what options you all have in regards to really participating in your lesbian community.

Lesbian sightings!

Last night was the HRC / Women Out Front sponsored L-Word premiere here in Cincinnati. Hundreds of women attended. That's not something I get to say often about local events outside of Pride, so let me bask in the moment.


Living in the mid-west/mid-atlantic/upper south -- we hibernate November - March. So the fun thing about such events is the opportunity for people watching and occasionally running into one or more women I haven't seen, in some cases, for years. Seeing who's there with someone new. Or who's there without the someone new you saw them with at the volleyball tourney last summer, U-Haul hitched to the back of their new jointly-purchased SUV.


This is a relatively small community and I've said more than once it would be so cool to take over a wall at a bar and do a local version of Alice's chart. I know you can link up on the Web at ourchart.com... but can you imagine the fun of someone just taking out a magic marker and starting to draw?


Sure, there'd be some degree of drama as possibly unknown connections were posted. But we're fairly non-violent in these parts. And yes, there may be a few folks who thought they were hubs whose... orbit isn't quite as complete as they might have thought.


Chart-planning aside, the season 5 premiere solidified at least two opinions shared by a majority of the Cincinnati crowd: We find Tasha and Alice hooking up worthy of at least a semi-outbreak of applause, the only one of the evening. And Jenny's an annoying bitch. Why couldn't she stay in the raft?

Thanks. Really.

I don't pretend to corner the blogosphere in saying thanks this week. In fact, I've come to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving in the 2000s is more about the shopping yet to come than celebrating a successful harvest.

The only harvesting my family will do is at the local Kroger or Wal-Mart.

Since I'm still recovering from the holiday meal X-Mas 1981, which involved live chickens being 'fattened' in my parent's garage while I partied my way through my freshman year away at college... that's probably a good thing. No one told me a thing until I found the feathers.

Since the slaughtered-frozen-elsewhere-prior-to-appearing-on-my-table turkey is not done yet, I thought I'd toss out a few things I'm thankful exist in and out of my daily life. Trite? Maybe. But it also seems like the right thing to do since there's not a local tribe to which to extend my hand in friendship.

• Family. We'll eat three hours later than the appointed time, 'cause that's just what we do. The men and small fry will serve themselves first 'cause that's just what we do. My dad will say grace, cause that's just what he does. We'll draw names for the X-mas gathering one month from now. Someone will feel guilty and clean up the kitchen (another reason she-whose-name-shall-not-be-mentioned-here was once useful). And we'll go home.
• 'Other' family. Friends and the more significant of one sort or the other (you know where you fit, or should). While we may not spend the holiday together... it's still nice to know you're there. Checking in and/or waiting on me hand and foot during things like knee surgery.
• That it's LESS THAN ONE year to the presidential election.
• That I don't live in Saudi Arabia, where a 19-year-old woman is to be publicly whipped as punishment for being gang-raped. Yep. That's right. Blame the victim and then some.
• That I do live in a state that just elected a democrat as governor... okay, so that's just one. I'm hopeful. And I can always move back to Ohio if my vote looks like it's needed there next year.
• That this morning, I was able to connect a vendor I've been working with on a project with help for a family situation -- how cool did that make me, the non-social worker feel on my day off?
• That Women Out Front is trying hard to make being a lesbian in Cincinnati just a little easier with more/bigger/better events and opportunities to connect. There's even talk of a new book group that I'm kind of looking forward to helping get off the ground.
• That a conversation with some folks at work yesterday actually included more than one person (me) referencing inclusion strategies for GLBT folks.
• That Friday at 4 a.m. I'll be snug in bed while Rita and Robin are STILL sitting on the highway, waiting to get into the outlet mall. Tailgate snailgate.

It's not much. But it's a life. Happy Turkey!