The Grove Gang
By Bruce-Michael Gelbert, Linda Dickerman and Susan Freedner

What a Winter!

Late last year, I got an e-mail from Vernon Larsen, beloved music director of many Arts Project of Cherry Grove (APCG) shows and conductor of numerous singalongs at the Monster, Cherry’s, Bay Leaf, Island Club and Marie’s Crisis. Vernon moved back to Seattle (and has just landed a new job teaching early elementary school near there—mazel tov!) and he wondered if anyone had a tape of "Pros and Cons," a Sal Piro show with which he had been involved. I wasn’t in and hadn’t even seen "Pros and Cons," but duly e-mailed the usual suspects to inquire. I heard back from Susan that Linda could not only locate her copy, but also duplicate it, and it was practically on its way to Seattle! Ah, the Grove Gang in action, even off-season.

My partner, Joe Saporito (Mr. Fire Island Leather 2005), and I (Mr. F.I.L. 2001) encountered a number of Grovites during the winter. At the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which was scaled back but still festive, representing the Grove with us were Cobra and Victor, and Jeff Goodman (Mr. F.I.L. 2004), his partner Ralph and their housemate Dennis. We saw many Grovites at the Imperial Court of New York’s Night of 1,000 Gowns, where Empress Robin Kradles stepped down and Gefil Tefish was crowned.

On a sad note, we lost several friends between seasons and one loss that affected me deeply was "Hurricane" David West (December 15, 1952-April 7, 2006), colorful actor—once in a show with Quentin Crisp; entertainer; model; bodybuilder and a next-door neighbor. We were introduced at the beach in 1995 by a former boyfriend of mine. David ate fairly healthily, enjoying salads, fruit salads topped with shredded coconut and protein shakes, and would drop by to share a salad one of us had made and work out together. I once sent David photos I took of him, at LGBT Pride in the city, in silver leather and, by return mail, received a muscle shirt and his photo in a bodybuilder pose. He was a candidate for Mr. FI Leather 2004, a contest I helped judge and for which he’d requested pointers. He made a good showing, but did not win. To show that he didn’t take the loss to heart, he invited me to dinner almost immediately after. One weekend, David hosted a barbecue. Though he was in the Pines at the appointed time and didn’t really know how to use the grill, he found the party in full swing when he returned. Only David, like Tom Sawyer and his whitewashed fence, could plan such a party and charm the guests into doing the work! We will miss his cheerful presence.

To kick off the new season in the Grove, last Saturday night at the Grove Hotel’s Ice Palace we hailed our own Tom Eversmann, active with APCG and the Court, as the new Mr. FI Leather, beating out other contenders for the 2006 title, the Pines’ Rick Weber, the audience favorite and new Mr. Meat Rack; FI virgin Diego Vargas; and a visitor from Key West calling himself Mango. Tom enacted a hot bondage scene with Edward, the lifeguard. Isaac Steven Vaughan and Ariel Sinclair hosted the contest with flair. Judges were David Samuel Menkes, who presented Tom with the sash he designed; Excelsior Motorcycle Club President Victor Skolnik and the five former Messrs. FI Leather. Tom’s prizes include a trip to Washington, D.C. next January for the Mid-Atlantic Leather contest weekend and a donation to the charity of his choice, APCG.

This Sunday night, May 28, we choose our 2006 Homecoming Queen! Join the APCG and you can attend the membership party at the Community House beginning at 9 p.m. APCG members attending choose the Homecoming Queen by acclamation.

Linda Reports:

Here we are again. Another winter has passed, and all our old friends are (hopefully) coming back. We lost some very dear friends over the winter; one was Joe Agosta, who died of a massive heart attack. He was in many Arts Project shows, and sang cabaret with John DeMarco. He had a beautiful voice.

I saw the highway department men hammering in the old boards that were coming up. Naturally, the next day they were up again, and the nails were sticking up as well. The old boards are very dangerous and need to be replaced. Pat Goff fell and broke her arm, and many other people have tripped and fallen, and had to be treated by a physician. What will it take to give us a safe roadway?

The next problem is the ferry ticket prices. I know the price has gone up because of the price of fuel, but now the people who are eligible for the senior fares are being discriminated against. The ferry will not sell senior commuter tickets, and the individual senior tickets are more expensive than the regular commuter tickets. The 40-trip commuter ticket cost $217.50 and buying 20 Senior round trips at $12.00 each costs $240.00. This is certainly not the way seniors should be treated. I urge everyone to write to Senior Affairs or your local news channel consumer reporter.

I hear that Meryl and Lois are going to open the top of the Tides, with Randy, who was the original manager of the Cherry Pit. Let’s hope it works out, since we could all use a little diversity in where we choose to go.

I would like to wish all Grovites a healthy and safe summer.

Susan Sez:

Another opening, and as I get older it doesn’t get easier… although I start looking forward to getting back to the Grove somewhere around the first day of spring I have learned in recent years that I no longer appreciate early spring on Fire Island when it is too damp and too cool, especially at night, for me to enjoy staying in our little summer cottage with no insulation and just a few space heaters. Even with flannel sheets and down comforters I prefer waiting until the days are longer and the sun has had a chance to warm up not just the house but these old bones. Although I am not old I am now officially retired as I became eligible and filed for Social Security over the winter… yeah!

As I started to think of returning to the Grove I began to eagerly anticipate seeing longtime friends again and then I remembered that some of those friends would not be coming back. The one very special Grove icon that I will personally miss the most is Maggie McCorkle. It won’t be the same without her. She was always there before we arrived and would seek us out to greet us with her warm and cheerful "welcome home." She will be profoundly missed by many. She embodied the heart and soul of everything wonderful about Cherry Grove and was assertive in claiming her right to define what would be best for the community she loved dearly. She was a caring friend and mentor to me and passed on her love of Cherry Grove as well as the APCG. The Arts Project has lost a valued member—a talented and intelligent performer who shared her gifts with many who can only try to continue her tradition.

Looking forward to another season of adult summer camp activities… let us hope for good weather.