A Few In a Sea of Many

 

Last week was Pittsburgh's pride festival.  It was so great to see people that I haven't seen in years and with 30,000 showing up, it was a really nice day, but enough to put me into gay overload.  I was planning to go to Columbus' parade this past weekend but wasn't sure if I could deal with 300,000 gays after 30,000.  I decided to take the plunge and within a half hour, I booked a hotel for the two days I'd be there, packed my 18 t-shirts (a gay needs choices) and I was out the door.  One factor in my decision was that a guy from Charlotte that I had never met that I've been talking to on Facebook for a year was heading there with a few of his friends I and thought it's as good a place as any to finally meet him.  We all met up at a bar later that night and had a great time.  His friends were so nice and you could tell they had a really tight friendship going on back home.  We spent the night bar-hopping and drinking and laughing and the time went by so fast but seemed to stand still, as well, not really aware of what was going on around us.  There wasn't any drama and we all enjoyed each other's company so much, it was as though we were the only ones no matter where we went.

The next morning was the parade and we leisurely made our way downtown right about the time that it was starting and we stopped to have lunch while the parade went on down the street.  We finally made it to the parade and watched for a little bit, then went to the park where everyone was going to end up.  With the oppressive heat, we found a tree to sit under and met up with my other friends from Columbus, Matt and Scott, and just sat and chit-chatted.  When we had enough, we walked around the mall and had dinner and then hung out in the hotel, not even going out that second night, content to just be in each other's company.  It was so refreshing to just get to know each other and that they welcomed me into their fold, not feeling like we were missing a thing or on the constant pursuit of getting some 'strange'.

One of the pivotal points in the life of a gay is that time where you have a fresh outfit all laid out on the bed on a Saturday night and it suddenly hits you that you're not missing anything if you don't go... and having some down time or spending the time one-on-one with a friend or lover or even curled up on the couch with your dog is a better prospect.  When you're with someone and it's like they are the only person on the planet;  everything and everyone else fades into the background and you are so focused on them that you don't even notice what's going on around you... you don't notice a hot guy that walks in front of you because you don't care... that's the best time.  I've always said that it's about quality, not quantity, and that especially pertains to friends.  I don't need to surround myself with the masses nor do I need to parade myself around for attention.  I am content with just having good people around me with good conversation and even with being surrounded by 300,000 gays, the beating of drums, twirling of the batons, the tossing of free candy and condoms, and hot-pants and high-heels galore... human interaction and friendship are most valued to me and still at the core of who I am as a person.