THE
1980S CONSISTED OF THE LATTER PART OF MY 5TH DECADE AND THE FIRST HALF
OF MY 6TH AND LIKE EVERY DECADE, BEFORE AND AFTER, THERE WERE MINUSES
AND PLUSES.
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1980 was a mixed bag as I was drinking very heavy, working, spending money and adjusting to life in Fort Lauderdale .
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1981 I bought a Chevy Caprice red convertible that I would have for 23 years-- stopped drinking--met Bill
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1982 I was working at Dan Dowd's who I had worked for in New York--became friendly with Bruce, Brad and Andy who I introduced to Bill and the 5 of us would go out for dinner, the movies and , in general, became friends--on November 5 Dan approached me and said I had a shortage on a check from New Year's Eve--I had worked the banquet room which was opened to the public by myself and had served close to 100 people--long story short I refused to pay the shortage and I was fired--on the 23rd Anita (Bill's 'girlfriend'--don't ask!) Bill's son Stu, Bill and I had dinner at The Spiced Apple--now closed--On January 24 I gave a surprise birthday party for Bill and Bruce said he and Andy wanted to get 'married' and suggested we combine the parties, which we did--cost $750 and a good
time was had by all.--In February we sawMartha Raye, Rosemary Clooney , Helen O'Connell and Teresea Brewer at one show, Johnny Mathis at the Sunrise Musical theatre,Steve
lawrence and Edye Gormie on another night--on March 1 Bill 'got back' at
me by throwing me a surprise party and Chuck, Dr. K, Tommy and Mary Culleton were there.
Mary had been the one who weighed me in at Weight Watchers the first time I went and was a one woman cheer leading squad as I lost weight each week--I
assumed (DON'T ASSUME) she knew I was gay but it was obvious she wasn't
from the moment she walked in with her friend and saw all the gay guys. I never heard from or saw her again.
Funny the things you remember--Bill and I took his son Chris to see "Quest of Fire" which was awful. I remember Bill and I going to see Connie Francis and also "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat" at the Parker Playhoues --on March 6 I went to work at the Rooftop where we had Bill's birthday party--it was a circular restaurant and bar on the top of a building that had been a Spanish nightclub and now catered to gays--working in a gay restaurant is one of the hardest
jobs I have ever worked--will have to do a blog on just that in the
future--and 6 weeks later got fired after having a fight with the chef Pierre, a prima donna if there ever was one--in June we went to the Fountainblu in Miam Beach to see Geoffry Holder--Dr. K and Issac Searcy came into town--hadn't seen thelatter since I left Memphis--Dr. K was seeing a local guy named Chuck--my Uncle Ritchie went ito the hospital with heart problems so Bill and I stayed over at Flo's--Albyn and I wenttotheCoconutGrovetheatre to see a Tennessee Williams' play and it was so bad I walked out! The second time I have ever done that--in July the touring company of "A Chorus Line" came to town and on the 13th Bill and I went to see it, on the 14th Bill, Stu and I and on the 15th Mafia Mike, Vince, Bill and I went to see it the night before Bill and I were leaving for a vacation driving up to Memphis--by the way on the 22nd and 23rd we saw "A Chorus Line" in Memphis--I met Bill's parents on the way there--they lived in North Fkorida --on July26th I started work at  Brickyard West and by September 17 it was out of business--Bill went up to move his parents and Mike McCarroll , Eastern, Raymond and I went to see Sammy Davis, Jr.
The
cracks were starting to appear in my relationship with Bill--I have a
refernce to Lou, Bill's Monday night trick and Bill who was Bill's
Tuesday night trick--and I certainly wasn't being an angel--that's for
the X rated version!! We did celebrate our first anniversary going back
to The Rooftop where we had gone the first night we met--we had a dinner
party for Thanksgiving with Andy, Tom, Emir, Phillip, Michael and
Granville.
On December 25, 1982 Flo died--sitting here, just thinking of her, the tears come.

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