GAY BETSY ROSS

A group of historians credit Betsy Ross with making the first American flag. Questionable. Another group say she had nothing to do with the flag.

That group claims Betsy was the madam of a house of ill repute. She and her girls purported to be seamstresses as a cover. The girls would sit around waiting for men to take them to a back room for pay and play.

When the history of the flag was first being written, the writer was in a quandary as to who actually made the flag. No one knew. One of those he was talking with said Betsy Ross, the seamstress. He was joking.

Whatever, the Betsy Ross and flag story stuck. To this day, most believe it.

What does this have to do with the Gay Betsy Ross? Nothing actually. Except for name application. The maker of the Key West Pride Flag has become known as the Gay Betsy Ross.

Gilbert Baker was gay. Proud and open about it.

The time 1978.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Milk was assassinated the same year.

Gilbert Baker a Key Wester at the time. He created the Rainbow Flag. A big one! More than a mile long. Intended to symbolize diversity and equality, as well as in memory of Milk.

The flag covered the entire length of Duval Street from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

2003 found Key West celebrating the 25th anniversary of the flag. Known also by that time as the Sea to Sea Diversity Flag.

The flag first as a whole and now in parts has become an integral part of today’s Pride Parade.

Mayor Craig Cates has named June 15th as Gilbert Baker Day in honor of his creating the flag.

There are two parades today. Immediately following the Pride Parade, the Florida Keys Women’s March for Equality will parade down to Duval. Actual title of the parade: Equality March and Rally for Unity and Pride.

The Women’s Parade is a grass roots movement being held today. Across 110 cities world wide. Cities where women support LGBTQ+ individuals.

As mentioned, Harvey Milk inspired Baker to make the flag. Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk will speak at St. Paul’s today at the conclusion of the Women’s Parade.

Dinner with Donna and Terri last night at Tavern ‘n Town. Today, they both will be watching/participating in the parades.

Lynda and Bob Frechette at the bar. They leave Key West Tuesday for the summer. Great people. Good friends. Love them both. I will see them one last time Monday night at Dueling Bartenders. Terri is guest performer. They will be there supporting Terri.

Bobby Nesbitt performed last night. He leaves today for New York City. A week of Broadway shows. He mentioned looking forward to seeing Hello Dolly, Hamilton, and Sunset Boulevard, amongst others.

Chatted briefly with Dennis the Manager. He does his job well.

Donna, Terri and I were at the bar a long time. May have been the last to leave. The time well spent laughing at one story after another. Including one involving Patrick and Terri at Rosie’s in the Village many years ago.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

CLOSE COUNTY JAIL DOWN

A male inmate at the Monroe County Jail masturbated in front of a Sheriff Department female employee. Scandalous! He has been charged with indecent exposure.

There are those who cry out for the closing of Fantasy Fest. Or at the least, a change in the nature of the event. The reason being nudity, sex, etc.

I have taken the consistent position that those who decry Fantasy Fest are loonies. Do gooders. Religious zealots.

I have seen nudity at Fantasy Fest. I have never seen sex performed or masturbation. Masturbation before a woman would be considered by some to be worse than that which occurs at Fantasy Fest. I do.

No one except yours truly is calling for the County Jail to shut down.

I have written re the County Jail with tongue in cheek. The masturbation serious under the circumstances. What is good for the goose is good for the gander, however.

All comments have been made to show the ridiculousness of those complaining about Fantasy Fest.

Aging does bring on medical problems. I am getting sick of being sick.

I stubbed my little toe on the desk Thursday night. Broke it. No big deal. We have all had broken toes.

I take Effient. A blood thinner. I woke yesterday morning with the foot having the broken toe completely swollen up through the ankle. My foot and ankle twice their normal size.

Knowledgeable that the blood thinner could cause a pooling of blood, I went to Urgent Care. I was correct. The tiny fracture and the stubbing itself had caused more than normal internal bleeding.

Nothing to do. Keep your foot up. Not easy if I am to write. It will take two weeks for the swelling to subside.

This blood pooling thing is a perfect example of big trees from little acorns grow.

It was difficult to research further and write this week’s KONK Life column David Wolkowsky. Made me nervous. The written column has to be in to the publisher by 5 this afternoon.

The anxiety manifested itself at 3 this morning when I woke worrying about the problem. I could not return to sleep. Got up and went to my desk. Completed the research at 6 this morning.

I have become a night worker. What is it called? The graveyard shift?

Sloan will be here at 10:30. To show me how to work the new cell phone. I am not machine literate.

Wanted to watch Syracuse basketball yesterday afternoon. No way. Not carried on any channel here. When a team is not doing well, television ignores the team.

Syracuse beat North Carolina 75-66. Still leaves Syracuse on the bubble for the big tournament.

Yesterday was Senior Day. Two players will not play again for Syracuse after this season. Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinje. Both were taken out of the game just before it ended and received standing ovations.

Cooney will not play pro ball. Too small. He was fortunate however in that he was able to play five years. He walks away from Syracuse with a Master’s degree.

Gbinije has a chance at pro ball. A good one. He needed four years to develop. And develop he did. He scored 34 points yesterday. Made eight 3s.

MASH was a major television show. About a medical unit during the Korean War. It ran 11 seasons. The last show was on this date a long time ago.  A 2 1/2 hour special. Watched by 77 percent of the television audience.

Those of you who recall, remember Hawkeye, Trapper, Hot Lips Houlihan, and Radar? A great show!

Enjoy your Sunday!