LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Leather Beach |
Roll out the red carpet and get out the welcome mats, coming soon to this beach resort, the Chesapeake Bay Bears are returning for their annual Bears at the Beach Weekend, September 17-19! This is the third year the event is taking place: bears from all over will be descending on Rehoboth Beach for a weekend of sun and fun. Many of the participants will be staying at the Shore Inn and Pirates Cove across from the Double L bar. So what's this all about and what does it mean for Rehoboth? Two years ago the Chesapeake Bay Bears (CBB for short), a club out of the DC/Baltimore area, decided it would be nice if bears got together in Rehoboth. There was a lot of excitement generated for the event. Many bears had never been to Rehoboth Beach before, and some had been in the past (especially in the 80's) with not such fond memories. The 80's were a clone period for Rehoboth gays. The yuppie era, you had to have the right clothes, cologne, and figure to fit in (or even to get most people to talk to you). I remember that most people ignored me, and other visiting bears, because we did not fit the bill. Unlike me, however, many guys never came back, not wanting to be in a place where they weren't wanted. Luckily, when they heard a bear contingent was coming to town for the 1997 event, many of these guys decided to give the town a second chance. They wanted to have a pleasant beach weekend in the company of their peers, and the results were pleasant. Their time of alienation was over. These days Rehoboth is much more inclusive than ten years ago, though still not 100%, unfortunately. Various looks and styles are more the accepted normperhaps we've finally entered the age of the individual. At the Bears at the Beach weekend in 1997, there was no set agenda. The weekend was meant to be very casual with the guys doing pretty much whatever they felt like. A happy hour at The Shore Inn was about the extent of the organized activities. In 1998, a bar night at Double L was added and a giant teddy bear was donated by Bears at the Beach to raise money for AIDS charities. The flavor of the event is different from one year to the other, and who knows what it will be like this year. But this is true of all the runs I have ever attended, CBB or otherwise. The first year people seemed adventuresome and spent the night on the town dancing and carrying on. The second year was predominated by couples who seemed to be in a nesting mood. More settled, they wanted romantic candlelight dinners at Rehoboth's fine restaurants and relaxed days dozing at Gordon's Pond State Park. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the atmosphere will be this year, but I can guarantee one thing, it will be interesting. If you want to meet up with the Bears at the Beach, Gordon's Pond State Park is the place where you will find them. As I have written before, Gordon's Pond is the official "Bear Beach." Bears prefer it there because the atmosphere is friendly, and they don't have to worry about their waist size or making a fashion statement. For the last two functions, the weather was lovely, as it is apt to be in September. The air was hot, the water warm, and everyone had a good time frolicking in the surf. If you go swimming, though, be careful. There are high waves and dangerous currents due to hurricane and tropical storm activity. Two years ago a bear who could not swim was in the water with the group of us and ended up caught in a rip tide. He panicked and would have drowned if a friend of mine had not managed to pull him out. There will be another bar night at Double L on Saturday, September 28. Our local ursine brotherhood, Eastern Shore Bears, will be there lending support to CBB, and money will again be raised for charities. This is a good chance for locals to meet bears from other cities and exchange ideas and make friends. Runs, after all, are all about socializing and meeting new people. Bears, as a rule, are very friendly guys and inclusive. They will readily talk to anyone bear or notan attitude the entire gay community should adopt. Pardon me if I get on my soap box, but we gay people are persecuted enough without treating each other badly. It is time we put our differences aside and started being nice to one another. Show your support and be kind to the bear community. Instead of spurting snide remarks, try a kind word. By welcoming the bears to Rehoboth, you'll increase the love and strength of the gay community as a whole. A worthy goal, don't you think? |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 13, Sept. 17, 1999 |