Back in '68/'69 when I was a brand new Stewardess recently based in NYC, I met Franklin at an apartment party one night! He was a beautiful, masculine, animated gay guy & swept in to this otherwise ordinary boring affair with a true butch/fem lesbian couple... I was quite mesmerized with all of them, couldnt take my eyes off them all night! The party was given by another gay friend from my theater major days in college (Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas) so I could hook up with a 'straight' accuaintance of his, Jordan. I ended up going with Jordan for the next (miserable) 2yrs, but I absolutely FELL for Franklin & all his many entourages thru the next 2 decades as he introduced me to "The Life" as we say in the Gay World. It was like a magnet I couldnt pull away from, altho at the time I never realized that I was nearly dying to "come out,"... 'straight' men being such as they are, always around, always available, always hard (except for good ole Jordon, but that's another story), & always, always after my A**, sex with men was Not what I didnt like about them... it was their Emotional Development. Or rather the lack there of. Even the best Man I ever loved & lived with, hung like a can of glade, sweet, nice, did shiatsu message, cooked & cleaned, & was a Great F*ck & gorgeous (wonderful Doug)...even after all that I would still want to be with Women... But that's another story too, so let me get back to Franklin....
Growing up in Dallas & Richardson Texas, I had always been attracted to the night life. To the night, period! Everything always seemed magical at night, & definately romantic! Moving to Los Angeles after college I was even more excited to be alive around so much beauty! But shortly after becoming based in NYC, I'll never forget the thrill of riding over the Triboro Bridge as that fabulous lit up skyline just took my breath away! Even the steam coming up thru the manholes was mesmerizing,...mystical & bewitching, it was just like the movies! I turned native the minute my feet hit the pavement downtown on the edge of Greenwich Village, where I would soon begin to cut my 'baby teeth' into New York City Life!! I loved it, & NEVER wanted to leave. You could be splendid, or just plain... without makeup & simply blend into the hundreds of people walking (briskly!) down the streets! You could be anyone or anything you wanted at any time of the day or night! And it was SO great not to have to smile every minute, although when I first got there I couldnt help myself & soon learned that would only bring on too many unwanted glances & advances. I began to hone an unfriendly, bored & snotty look like the rest of the 'Big Apple' population for self defense... only showing a vulnerable side to those I chose. It was great after coming from a southern land where everybody smiled & blinked (otherwise batted their eyes) when they talked & giggled, but stabbed you in the back when you walked away. Here in NY, people were a bitch to your face if they didnt like you - which seemed So not phony, & made separating out real friends much easier.
By the time I met Franklin, I had been hurt by my college love, totally devastated & decided to become sexually active since that seemed to be the only thing that would numb the pain of my short life. I believe it became an addiction long before I got into smoking pot or drinking booze. And in fact, so did over-eating but luckily (or not) at that time my youth & nervous energy, & being on the fast track kept my weight down at a 'seemingly normal' level. But that is yet another story.
Franklin took me away from what I thought were all my problems. Well, not really, but the fun I had with him & all the laughter & excitment gave me such a new 'manic' outlet that everything seemed so much better with him! And he made me feel beautiful! Which I was, we both were... we made a gorgeous couple. We were 'Will & Grace' long before that sitcom ever came on TV. Franklin & I went to all the gay bars, the drag bars, Sunday brunch Tea Parties, & parties of beautiful, exciting people all over the City! I remember one dark, cold & snowy day he picked me up in a black limo & off we went to JFK & boarded a flight to San Francisco where we froliced all over that wonderful Gay City up &down Lombard & Castro Streets, across the golden Gate Bridge & over to Saucilito! From there we took a flight to Hawaii where Franklin grew up & he showed me all of Oahu & over to Hilo where he's from & on to Kona. Everywhere we traveled we got adjoining rooms where Franklin would put one stereo speaker under my door & was the disc jockey as we got ready to go out & when we would come back to our rooms at night having met potential partners for rendevous', if they were gay, they would go with him...if they were straight they would come back with me... And the music played on! Franklin did boom boxes before anyone else! Always in the morning we would meet & talk about all the fun we had the night before! One night we even hiked up to a mountain across from an active volcano & watched the spewing eruptions thru the mist & beautiful,firey lava flows like we were standing on Mt Sianai waiting for the 10 Comandments to come down. Never in my life had I ever seen anything like that & the love I felt with Franklin was a bigger sensation than anything Id ever shared with other, ordinary men. Years later I was able to move into his wonderful huge apartment in the exclusive area of E.60th street between Park & Madison when he moved uptown with his new boyfriend who would become his life partner. I loved that apartment & later became strong enough to "come out", get clean & sober & eventually meet Doris who was to become My life partner!
All that was confusing to Francoise (my pet name for him) as he had never thought I was a drug addict, or an alchoholic, much less a solid lesbian since I had been such a bi-sexual for so long. But I knew my life was spinning out of control, with drugs as well as sexually. And I had wanted a Woman's love for so long, being with bi-sexual women was definately not like being with a Woman's woman. As soon as I was in the arms of a bonafide Lesbian, I KNEW that's where I belonged. After this long road of trying to find the right man, I finally realized why that was so impossible for me. Unfortunately being in my first female relationship for 1 & 1/2 yrs was real rocky. But then, that's yet another story....
to be continued...
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