Living Adventurously, Part One: The Gay Bar
What do drag queens, jock straps and gay porn have to do with living adventurously? Very much, it turns out.
I’ve been blown away by the comments I received in response to yesterday’s post. It wasn’t an easy one to write, nor an easy one to read I imagine, but I felt I had to get everything down on paper lest I forget my newfound determination to “live adventurously.”
Of course, living adventurously can mean several things. My first thought was EUROPE—go back to Europe! I could just quit my job (or “jobs” rather, as in all four of them), empty my savings account and pack my bags, giving up entirely on the idea of forming an actual, functioning relationship with Date #7 (or anyone for that matter) and building a life that actually makes me happy right here in Philadelphia.
But the grass is always greener on the other side and it’s much more fun to simply go, go, go than stay and put in the effort to build the things I want.
As such, I am not going to run off to Europe. I am going to go to live adventurously right here, right now and I’m proud to report that I began last night.
Before we get going, I need to bring you up to speed on the show I’m co-producing for the Philly Fringe Festival this fall. It’s called Too Darn Hot and comprises an all-women, all-tap revue, complete with live music and… drum roll, please… a drag queen number.
As such, my co-producer and I went to The Bike Stop, a dive bar in Center City, to conduct a rather unusual rehearsal last night.
The Bike Stop, you see, happens to be a gay bar and it was jock strap night so when the bar tender took my order, I was intrigued to note he was wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. When he turned around to fill my order, however, I noticed that his “briefs” were backless, as were those of everyone else seated at the bar.
Clearly, I was overdressed.
I was super nervous about walking into a gay bar by myself—especially as I’d been warned about the lack of pants (in both the American and British sense)— so I had assumed my very best “I know exactly what I’m doing” pose and paused in the alley to call my co-producer before going in.
Evidently my stance wasn’t all that convincing because a man came out of the bar and asked “Are you here to meet a friend?”
I nodded.
“There’s another woman sitting inside. She’s at the bar on the first floor.”
Sure enough, there she was. We ordered our drinks and tried to keep a straight face as a screen above our heads flashed gay porn. (The thing about gay porn, you see, it that includes a lot of hairy bellies and men rubbing their hairy bellies, which frankly I don’t find all that appealing but then again, I’m not exactly the Bike Stop’s usual clientele).
The rest of the evening was a blur; we met the men who will be dancing in our show and spent the next hour absolutely cracking up. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard and when I went back downstairs to close out my tab, I ended up chatting with several scantily clad men at the bar, telling them all about our show and even walking five blocks with one of the bar tenders on my way home.
Moral of the story? There are plenty of adventures to be had right in one’s own backyard, no passport or job quitting required. (Not that I’m not scheming… about eventually bringing that passport back into rotation… but for the time being I’d rather focus on living adventurously right here, right now.)
Fieldwork in Stilettos 
3 Responses to “Living Adventurously, Part One: The Gay Bar”
this was such a good read, so glad i found your blog!
I had so much fun last night. I’ve found myself doing tap stuff in weird places over the years, but that bar with its gay porn slide show and jock-strapped customers took the cake! LOL. The whole evening reinforced for me that THIS (the show) is exactly what we’re supposed to be doing at this very moment in time. We’re kicking some serious ass!
I can’t wait to come see this show!!! It is going to totally be worth the drive to Philly!
And thanks again for the reminder that adventures can be found in your own back yard. It was a sentiment that I needed to be reminded of at this point in my life…