Mountain Dem Bears Support PRIDE
by Terry Masl, Proud member of the Mountain Bears
I saw the Pride Party flier in a Mountain Bears text blast so Diana and I decided to attend. We made it to the Bear Claw and the place was pretty crowded. As with every LBGTQ event I’ve ever attended, there was a lot of laughter, love, fun and friendly smiling faces. The DJ had the place rockin’, (not really our music, but everyone else was enjoying it.) We found a place to sit outside, I got us a couple of drinks, talked to a few by the bar and we began people-watching.
I get a lot of enjoyment seeing people having a good time. We watched the youngins dance, flirt and feeling free to be themselves in a fun, safe environment. Holiday showed up and I didn’t recognize her in her costume. She was dressed as an elaborate gay witch. (I remember thinking to myself; she attends these things just to be able to come up with a new amazing costume.) JT and Alan were there and we talked about the party, water, some jokes and shared some constructive concerns about the party.
I believe it’s important that our club has a present at functions like this. It shows we stand with them politically, socially and want them to be able to feel comfortable being themselves. I support the gay community though I’m not sure I’m always correct in my titles. My Granddaughter recently announced her pronouns are he/they. Well, I guess I didn’t use the correct pronoun and my daughter, (her mother), asked if I was told about the new pronouns. My Granddaughter said yes, but that’s Grandpa, he doesn’t care about gender, he will always love me. (I can live with that.)
Just a note: A few years back I heard a young lady speaking to Nicole Wallace and the conversation was about Republicans claiming we are losing freedoms. I wish I knew her name to give credit as she said, “Democrats are the party who supports the freedom to be different”. I like it.
