I turned right on N.E. 4th Ave. and left behind Sunrise Blvd. Two blocks down, I spotted the first rainbow flag and I knew that I was in the right place. The city of Wilton Manners (The Island City) is very close to the heart of Ft. Lauderdale, but is very far from the view of most people (at least for me). This city of more than 13 thousand people (2006 census) is an openly gay community that takes pride on being very diverse.
As soon as 4th street merged into Wilton Dr. more businesses with rainbow flags started to pop up on both sides of the road. Down the street is the city hall, that is right in front of a store named, Out of The Closet: The Most Fabulous Thrift Store in the World. This is the neatest thrift store I ever been into, the clothes are not only nice but they are arranged by sizes and color. The hallways are bright and clean and the prices are just like any other thrift store. The counter lady, Jeanie, explained to me about the free H.I.V. testing that is run continuously on the back of the store. “You just need two bring your self,” she said. Two guys are waiting next to a door under the red neon light H.I.V TEST. A woman is sitting in a chair next to the line; she is waiting. One of the guys in the line is holding a little girl on his arms. Everybody looks relax. Other people are shopping around; some are in couples, some alone. Inside the store there is also a pharmacy. When I walked out, two more people were coming in. The place was busy the entire time and it was only 1 p.m.
On the other side of the street a building advertises apartments with a big picture of two guys in a more than friendly pose.
I jumped in my car and drove, looking around like a tourist from another country. All this was unusual. I've lived in Dade-Broward for almost 9 years and I thought I knew most spots, or at least every city. How can the Island City has never crossed my path? I am not gay and I don’t have any gay friends (that I know), but anyway I should at least know about Wilton Manners. Maybe it is just lack of information, but I think people don’t want to talk about it too. I suppose not everybody starts to speak for no reason about a place where homosexuals are a majority (According to the Fact and Findings from the Gay and Lesbians Atlas, Wilton Manners has a 1270% more gay man per capita than the national average). I believe the disinformation comes from the lack of enough coverage by the mainstream press. Whatever the case is, I think the mere functioning of the city is quite interesting and deserves a talk and many stories.
I kept driving, satisfying my curiosity, but at the same time getting anxious in how to engage my task of meeting lesbians and gaining their trust.
I arrived at Blue Moon Bar before 2 p.m. I dragged myself through the parking lot and before I entered, I mentally slap my face to get ready, then I opened the door into the unknown.
Inside, a warm-like atmosphere hit me. Red walls with casual paintings of woman singers all around, a couple pool tables waiting for players on the right, and a big oval bar occupying most of the rest of the room. Three women sitting on stools, one was standing behind the bar, all eyes on me, and my hands were sweating while I kept walking straight like if I knew what I was doing. I approached the bartender unsure if my voice was going to come out right, if my English was going to be understandable, if my face was already turning red. However, I managed to explain myself, to remind Tracy, the bartender, of our previous conversation on the phone, but she didn't seem happy at all, not even interested.
“So what do you want to drink?”she said.
“Ginger Ale,” I said lying to myself, dying for a shot of Patron.
In the next two hours I observed too much and talked little. I briefly met the owner, Carol, who was leaving. I also played two pool tables, and got my ass kick, unfortunately with the only other dude that walked in the place. Roman, a 52 year-old resident of Wilton Manners, who lives across the street from the bar and is married to a nurse woman.
After my third Ginger Ale and second visit to the unisex-bathroom-with-no-urinals I decided to leave. I got tired of staring at Madonna and Cher in the wall and the chitchat talk with no direction and nothing more than two words with the bartender. Even though I liked the music, I got tired of not hearing anything else than recorded audio, so I said fuck it!
I got ready to leave and take the frustration with me, but I slapped myself again and approached Tracy for a last time. Those final minutes at the bar made the visit valuable.
I spent two hours being politically correct and I didn’t get shit. In the last 15 minutes I was just me and I felt a slight connection with Tracy. She even laughed at my confession of feeling awkward, and it was nice to see all her white teeth for the first time. She opened up, so did I, and then she told me about her own restrictions about talking of her personal life. She also said that the way I was trying the get to know things were more likely not going to work, so she point me in the right direction, a person that I will contact for a possible meeting next time.
I learn a few things today, one is that even in the strangest places, just be your fucking self, curse if you do, don’t try to be “perfect” and have an opinion.
I left in a good mood and the conviction of getting closer to the life in lesbian world. We’ll see
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