Charles Alexander
Does the sky fall . . . when you're old and g(r)ay?
There are two million LGBT seniors in America who are over age 60; and every year an estimated 400,000 turn 50. According to the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, that number will double by 2035. Be prepared. Your turn [...]
Parting Glances
With the opening slice of the surgeon's scalpel, I felt a momentary twinge between my solar plexus and the seat of my pants. I also realized what was in store for the audience during the next 20 minutes. I breathed deeply — sighed, "Well, here goes" [...]
Parting Glances: Pages from a book (Pt. 1)
I keep on my desk a piece of a red brick. It's all that's left of Cassboro Apartments, 444 Peterboro, Detroit. I found the small memento among the broken boards and shatter glass of the recently razed building. It anchors memories … I was five when [...]
Parting Glances: All pee, no passion
There's been a bland addition to the soup. (Or is it stew?) The label on the can now reads LGBTA. The LGBT stands for the usual spicy noodles and meatballs; the A stands for asexual, as in "An asexual is someone who leaves the room and nobody gives [...]
Parting Glances: Run that by me s-l-o-w-l-y
My Toshiba TV allows me play DVDs in loop mode. (Click A at the beginning of Good Part. Click B at the end. Sit back and enjoy until eyeball fatigue or carpal tunnel syndrome sets in — whichever comes first.) But the slow motion mode is my favorite. [...]
Parting Glances: Dropping the soap for Jesus
On the eve of his 58th birthday, and just hours after chatting for 20 minutes by telephone with his wife Primrose, Dr. Harold Shipman, Britain's most prolific serial killer, cheated the hangman's noose by committing suicide with bed sheets in his [...]
Parting Glances: Going French & Greek with the Count
It took me a while to get the hang of learning a foreign language. During my undergraduate study at Wayne State University I tried Spanish, German, Italian, and French, dropping out after half-heartedly sampling the sounds, nuances, and richness of [...]