Come Out, Come Out Where ever you are!

 In the year 2000, a friend that I had known from high school told me that he was a homosexual. 

At first, I did not know how to react to his confession.

I had so many questions that raced through my head at the time. However, when it was all said and done, I accepted him and I continued on with things as if he had never said a word to me about it. 

A few weeks later, after his confession, he decided to invite me to join him at this nightclub that he frequented. 

I decided to join him because I was a bit curious and I had never been to a gay nightclub.

The nightclub that we went to was called " Discovery Nightclub". The cover charge was $10.

The atmosphere was unlike anything that I had ever experienced. There were even a bunch of pretty girls in there from wall to wall. I found out later that this was the spot where flocks of pretty women would go to avoid being approached by men. 

Well, that did not always work...... 

In a side room, they had shows where drag queens would perform. The show was hosted by a drag queen character called "Dominique". 

The host spent most of their time announcing the performers and talking bad to pretty women. The whole show was definitely entertaining. 

After the show was over, we made our way over to the dance floor. In a group of girls dancing, I spotted this girl that I had previously danced with at another nightclub. Her name was Ebony. 

I told my friend that I was going to go and dance with her. My friend immediately grabbed me by my shoulder and warned me it may not be a good idea to do it because it could result in a fight.

I told him that I knew her and I would be fine.

Right as I approached Ebony, she grabbed me and pulled me into the center of the huddle of women.

It was there that she gave me a passionate kiss while she lifted me up by my rear end.

My friend saw that and he knew instantly that I was "The Man"! 

After dancing with Ebony, she wrote down her number on a napkin and we hugged and said our goodbyes. 

I started dating someone else a few days later and I never saw or called Ebony again. 

If I am being honest, I was just not into bisexual women at the time. Who am I kidding? I'm still not.

As for me and my friend, we have maintained our 30-plus-year friendship. However, we never went to "Discovery" together ever again. 

Years later, I heard that Discovery Nightclub closed due to the lack of patronage during the global pandemic. 

My friend now has the same boyfriend that he has had for the past 20-plus years. 

And we all lived happily ever after.

 

The Hole In The Wall

 When I was in my early 20s, I used to travel the state of Arkansas to attend any and every popular nightclub.

One of the first places that I attended was a place in the small black rural community of Union Chapel. My stepdad once warned me to be careful going up there because people that he had known in the past had gotten killed there. 

Despite his warnings, my sister Mary Jayne and I went there one night in 1999. In the middle of nowhere, stood this little green building that had cars surrounding it. The cover charge was $10. 

When I entered the building, the place was packed with beautiful women from wall to wall. The atmosphere smelled of whiskey and fried chicken. It was here that I got my introduction to "Mama Lucy". Mama Lucy is a homemade alcoholic drink that was served in that region of the country. I paid $2 for my first drink. I had several cups of it throughout the night because it tasted like a strong version of Kool-Aid.

It was also here that I met and danced with the finest woman in the room. Her name was Nicky. I danced for what seemed like hours with her. At the end of the night, she gave me a nice kiss on the cheek and her phone number that I had written down on a napkin. 

I was so lucky that I had my sister with me because as soon as the night air hit my face, I ended up crawling back to my car. My sister drove us home that evening. I never saw Nicky again and I lost the phone number that she had given me. 

In 2004, I was told that the little green building was raided by the cops and has since then ceased to exist.

Whenever I hear that song called Hole in the Wall playing, I can't help but be reminded of that autumn night in 1999.