LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
The Way I See It |
by Steve Elkins, Editor |
Murray and I first came to rehoboth almost twenty years ago when we took a share in a little beach house next door to the Christian Scientist Church on Norfolk Street. I remember that first summer clearly because at the end of a day in the sun we would haul out the blender and make frozen drinks and play croquet on the church lawn. It didnt last more than a season or so because the Blue Moon opened and the face of "happy hour" was forever changed in Rehoboth. By 1990 our lives had become so involved with Rehoboth, that we moved here full time from NYC. Throughout the years, each summer has had its own rhythm and defining characteristicsMurrays first art show, the opening of The Strand (and its closing seven years later), the death of close friends, the first SUNDANCE, the creation of CAMP Rehoboth, an important birthday and so on. As we settle into the summer of 1999, I cant help but wonder what it is that will define it for us in the years to come. Perhaps it will be a newly elected gay city commissioner. Cabana Gardens B&B owner Gary Trosclair, with only minutes left before the deadline, filed a petition to run for commissioner, thereby insuring that an election would take place. In August, Gary will be in a two out of three person race with Betty Ann Kane, a longtime gay supporter in both Rehoboth and Washington, DC, and Jack Hyde. Congratulations to Georgette Schaefer and pat whittier of plumb loco on First Street in Rehoboth. Last months issue of the lesbian magazine Girlfriends has named Plumb Loco one of the ten best lesbian restaurants in the country. As part of the article it says, "There are some who say that this little town of Rehoboth, Delaware is the best destination for lesbians and gays on the Eastern shore." Weve known that for a long time, as well as the fact that its a great town for restaurants of all kind. Speaking of summer memories, I have a very clear one of dancing to the song Safety Dance at the Renegade in a previous decade. Now it has a whole new meaning. If you like to dance, dont miss the first of the CAMP SAFE-Tea dances at Cloud 9 on Sunday, June 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. The CAMPsafe project, a program of CAMP Rehoboth and the Delaware Department of Public Health, works to make safe sex issues an ongoing part of life at the beachand to have a little fun in the process. Bill Sievert, the CAMPsafe director and some of his lifeguard crew will be on hand with plenty of condoms and door prizes and the reminder to have fun, play smart, CAMPsafe...and dance, dance, dance. Always a memorable part of the summer, plans for the Fourth of July mega-dance party LOVE 99 are well underway. LOVE 99 chair Mark Aguirre is working hard to make it another sensational evening, and the event got off to a good start with the $10,100 raised by the Blue Moon Bachelor Auction. From everyone involved in LOVE 99, a great deal of thanks goes to Joyce Felton, Rob Dick, Tom Minnuto, and Chris Rissand to Anheuser-Busch for their support and continued donation to LOVE for every bottle of BudLight sold in June in participating bars and restaurants. For the past year or so, the Henlopen Theater Project has worked to bring professional theater to the Rehoboth area. With Shakespeare all the rage, HTP is bringing the Olney Theaters production of As You Like It to the beach this summer. For more information on HTP and their upcoming plans, call 302-226-4103. Finally, a special thanks to Allen Jarmon and ward ellinger for filling the CAMPtown courtyard with new chairs for you to sit in when you come to visit. Who knows what we will remember about this summer in the years to come, but whatever the memories I hope they are fun in the making. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 7, June 18, 1999 |