By Sharon Gittleman
FERNDALE – Motor City Pride 2005 painted a true picture of the many faces of Michigan's LGBT and gay-friendly communities. Thousands of people passed under the rainbow balloons arching over Nine Mile in Ferndale last Sunday.
There were dads pushing baby carriages, middle-aged lesbian couples, gay softball champs, straight people who came to enjoy the party and older gay men enjoying lemonades under umbrellas set up to battle the steamy afternoon sun.
Dogs of every description were also out in force, from elegant greyhounds to pugs slipped in baby carriers worn by their owners.
LGBT people's passion for helpless creatures comes as no surprise to Teri Williams of Royal Oak, who helped man her home-based pet sitting company's booth at the Pride event.
Williams said her gay clients love to spoil their pets.
"There's a little Yorkie the owner carries in his purse wherever he goes and insists you do when you pet sit," said Williams, 43, co-owner of "Pamper All Pets."
The firm's co-owner, William's husband, Jeff Williams, 43, said he thought gay people might be more in touch with their and their pets' feelings then the average straight man or woman.
A cat belonging to one of the couple's clients sleeps in a queen-size bed.
"Part of our job is fluffing his pillows," said Jeff Williams.
While pets may get VIP treatment from some festival visitors, Clint Fogle, 41, is toughest on himself. Fogle, a member of the LGBT group the Motown Frontrunners Frontwalkers, ran in this year's Boston Marathon.
He finished the 26-mile course in three hours and 35 minutes, placing him 1,400th out of 30,000 runners.
"After about two hours, I hit my peak," said Fogle, a Royal Oak resident. "I kept going because there were crowds cheering."
If he had won the famous race, Fogle said he would have been proud to tell everyone a gay man had taken first place.
Fogle's fellow Frontrunner, Royal Oak resident David Stahl, 50, said the group is a great way to meet new friends. Running has another benefit, he said.
"This is me, before," he said, laughing as he pointed to another member of the group.
Friendly rivalry isn't only found on the running track.
Steve Zahra, 44, from Ferndale wound up a mighty pitch hitting the center of a cloth bull's eye – sending his fellow Metro Detroit Softball League player Mike Odom to the bottom of the charity dunk tank.
Zahra said he felt a strange satisfaction watching Odom slip from his seat to the bottom of the water-filled reservoir.
"He shut his big mouth for one moment," said Zahra.
Odom, 34, refused to acknowledge defeat, even after repeated dips in the water.
"These boys don't know how to throw a ball," said Odom, a Redford resident.
Odom's taunts proved too much for his friend Bruce Van Dike, 37, who threw his body against the bull's eye to send Odom to the watery depths.
"That felt good," said Van Dike, a Redford resident.
For Maria Hawkins, 27, feeling good meant wrapping herself up in the rainbow flag – and almost nothing else. Hawkins, a Dearborn resident originally from Moscow, Russia, said she never heard about gay people until she came to the U.S. as an exchange student nearly a dozen years ago.
"They were all in the closet," she said.
Detroiters Julie Rothe, 38 and Tamara Flatau, 34, displayed their pride by walking down Nine Mile, hand-in-hand, something they said they wouldn't feel safe doing in their hometown.
"On our street, it's okay," said Rothe. "Walking around elsewhere in Detroit, I'd feel uncomfortable."
Rothe said she was in a straight relationship for a while. She said she feels frustrated by the difference in the way onlookers react to any public displays of affection with her girlfriend.
Straight people don't worry about getting caught holding hands.
"You don't have to think about it," said Flatau.
Rothe said her partner's upcoming surgical procedure has forced her to think of a lot of things she'd never have to consider if she was married to a man.
"I'm worried about being able to go into the recovery room to be there when she wakes up," said Rothe. "If there was only gay marriage we wouldn't be dealing with this."
Rothe has to go without health insurance while her partner has excellent coverage – a situation that wouldn't exist if she could marry Flatau, said Rothe.
"I have no access to it," she said.
Gay people weren't the only ones enjoying the festival last week.
Cindi Walsh, 41, a Ferndale resident, brought her son Caedan Walsh, 17 months, and her daughter Brynn Walsh, 4, to hear their dad Matt Walsh play bass for singer Barbara Payton.
Walsh said she and her family come to Motor City Pride every year – even when her husband isn't performing.
"We have a lot of gay friends," she said. "There's a lot of great entertainment and great food."
Walsh said she didn't feel uncomfortable coming to a festival celebrating gay pride.
"We live in Ferndale on purpose – not by accident," she said. "We like the diversity."
Ferndale Mayor Robert Porter echoed her praise of her hometown and Motor City Pride.
"It's a wonderful event and gets better every year," said Porter. "The day this country wins is the day we can all celebrate who we are."
