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fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

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the gar spot fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

Tag: fiction

Passion Flowers – Part III

Posted on April 7, 2012 by gar

We stood in front of a shelf marked 1953.  A gap sat in the middle of otherwise tightly packed volumes.  He began stroking the dust from the empty space.  Again, it felt as if he were stroking my skin.  This time I let myself experience it, for a little while. “Where are those volumes?” I…

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Passion Flowers – Part II

Posted on April 1, 2012 by gar

Light, airy, and meticulously clean, attributes that well describe Mr. Horton’s apartment.  His closet embodied the exact opposite. As we entered, he reached up and pulled a cord.  A single bulb, brown with dust, hung on a thick wooly wire.  The light revealed a cavern, cramped, long, and narrow with a pale wall grimed by…

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Passion Flowers – Part I

Posted on March 28, 2012April 1, 2012 by gar

“Listen, why are you here?” Startled, I looked up from my notepad. “The lifetime achievement award, Mr. Horton.  My magazine wanted an interview.” “No!  Why did they send you?” I had no immediate response. “You’re awfully young, you know that?  How the hell do you even know who I am?  What work of mine have…

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Clyde

Posted on February 28, 2012 by gar

When I was about 13 I had to endure a week at Reverend Schlep’s Summer Camp for Men and Boys.  It’s a right of passage in my family.  My grandfather took my father.  My father took my older brothers Mark and Karl, Jr., when they reached the right age.  Now it was my turn.  If…

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Spencer and the Technicolor Afro

Posted on February 20, 2012 by gar

February filled every classroom and hallway at Norman Avenue Elementary School with red, black, and green.  As the month’s end approached, the colors blossomed in the school auditorium in preparation of the annual Black History Month Dance.  Parent volunteers filled red, black, and green balloons with helium and tied similarly colored streamers to their tails….

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Last Rites for Mr. Cuddles

Posted on January 30, 2012 by gar

Grease splattering, water boiling, pots and pans clanking, bodies moving and shuffling, and layered above it all were the voices of the too many chefs against a backdrop of old school blues moaning its heart out. Crissy got annoyed.  She always got annoyed. “Can’t we play something more upbeat than this?  When I’m cooking I…

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The Pyongyang Boombox

Posted on January 17, 2012 by gar

(Ed.’s note:  This story is vaguely inspired by a dream.) A motley group of Americans found themselves wandering around a rail yard in the outskirts of Pyongyang, North Korea.  They were captured and taken in for questioning.  They didn’t know how they got there, so the story goes, and they were anxious to get home….

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I Knew the Answer

Posted on September 10, 2011 by gar

“No one knows the answer to that one?” I had my hand up, waving the little green flag we’re supposed to use whenever we wanted to be called on. “No one?” I started wiggling it a little bit more. “Going once, going twice. . .” No one else waved their flags.  Maybe she couldn’t see…

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Brother Huey Got His Back

Posted on March 31, 2011April 17, 2011 by gar

{Editors Note:  The dialog between Jameel and Alfonso was taken from my unpublished novel Sin Against the Race.} He knew Hegel.  He knew Marx.  He knew Lenin.  He knew Trotsky.  He knew Mao.  He knew Ché.  He knew Cleaver.  He knew a whole bunch of others that none of the rest of the group knew. …

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Short Story: The Swing Shift

Posted on January 6, 2011April 17, 2011 by gar

This story could be called a love letter to the Duke Ellington Orchestra.  I wrote it around the time I fell head over heels for all things Ellington and started listening to his music 23 out of 24 hours in the day — a practice I continue to the present time.  I immersed myself in…

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SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel–Click image for info

Sin Against the Race

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Waiting for a friend. #alameda #ferry #eastbayeve Waiting for a friend. 
#alameda #ferry #eastbayeveryday
"You must not leave. You have opened a door that m "You must not leave. You have opened a door that must not be allowed to close. I'm sure you have taken a lot of grief, or probably will for what you're doing. But you changed the face of television forever. You have created a character of dignity and grace and beauty and intelligence. Don't you see that you're not just a role model for little Black children? You're more important for people who DON'T look like us. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, and intelligent people--as we SHOULD be. There will always be role models for Black children: you are a role model for everyone. Remember, you are not important there in spite of your color. You are important there BECAUSE of your color. This is what Gene Roddenberry has given us."
-Dr. King on why Uhura is so important and why Ms. Nichols should not leave the show

RIP Nichelle Nichols
#legend #startrek #nichellenichols #scifi #nasa #dance #music #mlk #blm
Repost from @juliettesjoy Posted @withregram • Repost from @juliettesjoy 

Posted @withregram • @juliettesjoy Reposted from @queernation3000 CLARIFICATION: “condoms do not fully protect against Monkeypox transmission”

Source: NBC News (Chicago) 🔗 in bio

At the beginning of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, a group of gay men came together to release a set of rated risky behaviors that would guide the community on how to continue to live their lives without fear, empowered by scientifically-backed knowledge. This morning, experts warned that that we have a limited window to close the spread of Monkeypox. Cases are doubling week over week, and infections are being reported in over 74 countries. Misinformation about the spread of this virus could significantly increase the spread and will most certainly increase the stigma and shame surrounding it. 

We’re thankful for various journalists (including those at NBC-Chicago) and medical professionals who have begun the process of rating certain activities on a scale of “whether you're at-risk of contracting the [monkeypox] virus”. We’ve put it into this graphic for easy sharing. The source for all of this information is linked in my bio.

There is still much more to do.  Individual health precautions without significant government action to increase vaccine production & deployment will not work. So please, stay safe, stay informed, and get vaccinated. More to come. 

If you want to help us add additional activities or replace ones based on new information, DM @queernation3000. You can also reach us at queernationfund@gmail.com. 

#monkeypox #monkeypoxvirus #vaccine #pox #lgbt #lbgtq #lesbian #gay #bi #bisexual #trans #transgender #queer #queernews
A typical view of the Golden Gate Bridge in #summe A typical view of the Golden Gate Bridge in #summer from #Sausalito. At a birthday party for friends. 
#coldestwintersummerinsanfrancisco
Trying something new. @understoryoakland #downto Trying something new. 
@understoryoakland 
#downtownoakland #restaurant #veganoptions #dinner
Working. #writersofinstagram #amwriting #amwriting Working.
#writersofinstagram #amwriting #amwritingfiction #tea #jazz #kcsm
Really should have gotten this outdoor furniture y Really should have gotten this outdoor furniture years ago. 
#lunch #alfresco #backyard
Think of all the potential. #wordsonthestreet #se Think of all the potential. 
#wordsonthestreet #seenwhilewalking #neighborhood #walk #oakland #ilovemycity
Pride brunch. #pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #pr Pride brunch. 
#pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #prideday #pancakes #brunch
Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we hav Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we have to fight for this again. 
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #cisgaymanforchoice
Time to write more letters to encourage people to Time to write more letters to encourage people to vote. Tempus fugit.
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #roevwade #mymarriageisnext #voteblue #voterepublicansout
Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. 
#pride #pridemonth #berkeley
New outdoor dining set. #backporch #alfresco #hom New outdoor dining set. 
#backporch #alfresco #homedecor
Consulted with my editors this morning. I value th Consulted with my editors this morning. I value their feedback. 
#trees #hiking #oakland #writersofinstagram #iputmyfaithintrees
Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been hi Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been his 80th birthday. 
#rogerebert #writer #legend #cancersucks
Fly me to the moon (not pictured) Let me play amon Fly me to the moon (not pictured)
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter (the brighter one) and Mars
#backyardastronomy #jupiter #mars #predawn #goodmorning
A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakla A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakland #greekfestival #greek #music #food #ilovemycity
I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of dis I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of discovery and endless possibilities. I still miss them. 
#cardcatalog #library #knowledge #og #searchengine
A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@m A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@makeuptogoblog) and I outside of the Julia Morgan Center waiting. I had seen the great Maestro Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in LA—he even autographed an album for me. And I was studying tabla with his accompanist Ud. Zakir Hussain at the time. We couldn’t wait. But wait we did, because the maestros weren’t there. As my sister and I stood at the front of the line, they came. Ud. Zakirji was laughing and joking. Pt. Shivji looked as if he floated in as he passed and entered the theater. After we got settled in our seats, it was on. A beautiful concert with the two maestros playing rapturously, holding us spellbound. Pt. Shivji floated in like a deity and played to the heavens, taking us all with him. By far one of my favorite concerts. 

Words cannot describe how devastated I am at the great master’s passing. His gifts to music and the world are incalculable. My condolences to Panditji’s family, to @zakirhq9 , and to all who loved his beautiful music. #ptshivkumarsharma #indianclassicalmusic #santoor #rip
This makes me very happy. #oaklandgreekfestival # This makes me very happy. 
#oaklandgreekfestival #theyreback #yahoo #greek #oakland #ilovemycity
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