A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gay Men's Chorus Concert

Tragedy tomorrow - comedy tonight.

Much to the pleasure of teenage girls and gay men across the country, Glee started back up with a new episode after the Superbowl which can only be described as epic.  Coach Sylvester, in a desperate attempt to erase her boredom with her cheerleading team and spice things up, distributes chicken cutlets for her team to wear as “falsies”.  As the girls complain, Coach Sylvester tells them to slap themselves with a chicken cutlet, perhaps hoping they will somehow snap out of it and see things her way.

Fast forward a week.

My friend Evan and I are on our way to the Gay Mens Chorus’ production of Let’s Hear it for the Boys – A Swinging Tribute to Gays in the Military in celebration of the successful passage of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  Rather than take a cab, we decide to walk on a day that is akin to Pooh’s Blustery Day.  It was roughly 3:30 pm when a funny thing happened on the way to the Gay Men’s Chorus concert.

There – in the middle of the sidewalk on P Street – somewhere between 16^th and 15^th street lay a falsie.  We couldn’t believe our eyes as I snapped a picture and Evan declared, “Alert! Alert!  Drag queen down on P Street.”  I told Evan to slap himself with it in honor of the joyful Glee production from the week before, but he wouldn’t oblige.  I knew it was going to be a good night.

Arriving at the concert after downing a quick slice of Whole Foods Pizza, we noticed a van parked up front with a panoply of liberal bumper stickers; my favorite read “Focus on Your Own Family.”  In we went to the Epiphany Church, ever so appropriately chosen for this concert, where little did I know I would have my own epiphany.

Much to my chagrin, the concert, while excellent in terms of singing quality, thematic structure and fanfare, was not your typical peppy production replete with men dressed as women sporting snappy boas and attempting to walk in high heels.  But rather, it was a historical, somewhat somber, historical romp through the history of gays in the military, albeit with a peppier Second Act which included If You Were Gay from Avenue Q and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.

During one of the narrated interludes between musical selections, we learned of Leonard Matlovitch, the first person to mount a legal challenge to the military’s policy on gays in the 1970s.  Matlovitch was described as one of the most famous gay icons in the 1970s and graced the cover of Time Magazine for his courageous fight.  It was then that we discovered he was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington with a tombstone that reads, “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

For the remainder of the concert, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mr. Matlovitch, and then the real life significance of the repeal bill we had passed in Congress hit me like a ton of bricks.

After the concert, while describing the evenings to our friend Blaise, we quickly agreed that a sojourn to the Congressional Cemetery was in order, marking the first adventure in the journey to get “there”.  Blaise, known for his penchanche for creativity, announced, “We shall bring flowers.”  We agreed to meet at 1 pm the following day with a promise to dine afterwards on Barracks Row – a fitting conclusion to our military adventure.

Because of uncooperative behavior from my younger dog Hunter, I was of course running late the following afternoon.  I picked up Blaise, Evan and Orlando around 1:10 pm and sure enough, Blaise did not disappoint as he carried a dozen red roses which matched his pink shirt and cranberry Converse sneakers.  God love him!

We then set out to find the Matlovitch gravesite in the Congressional Cemetery which is located at 1801 E Street, SE Washington, DC.  The weather, which was supposed to be 50 degrees and sunny, was instead overcast and breezy, a perfect match for the mood of our visit.  We arrived at the cemetery and began looking for the landmark.  Unfortunately, we hadn’t done the proper research to know exactly where it was located.  I had wrongly assumed it would be a small cemetery, but instead we were greeted by a sprawling land mass of American history which housed the final resting places of famous individuals like former Speaker Tip O’Neill, Edgar Hoover, Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, among others.

Blaise asked,” What does the tombstone look like?” while the ever industrious and inquisitive Evan searched wildly on his IPhone for clues that would guide us to our destination.  Harkening back to my mother’s answer for the “Are we there yet?” question, I assured everyone that we would know it when we saw it.

After walking through the cemetery for nearly an hour, we began to approach our original starting point but armed with the new clue that Matlovitch was located in the same row as Edgar Hoover whose grave was surrounded by an iron fence.  Just as Orlando pointed to a plot surrounded by just such a fence (which turned out not to be the correct one but pretty close), I proclaimed, “I see it, I see it.  It’s right over there.”

Like giddy children at the sound of the ice cream truck’s impending arrival, we scampered to the site, amazed to find several other gay soldiers buried in the immediate vicinity.  As a silence overcame us, Blaise descended upon the plot and arranged the flowers at the base of the headstone and concluded with a flourish of water from a spray bottle to give the roses an extra glisten for the camera.  The unfortunate lack of sunlight didn’t allow the so called glisten to be captured on film, but trust me that it encapsulated the full drama of our visit.

Satisfied with finding our little bit of history, we ventured off to Barracks Row and ate typical American fare at Molly Malone’s.  Orlando ate lobster macaroni and cheese which he lamented did not include a slice of bread to mop up the creamy cheese at the bottom of the bowl.  Evan chose the veggie burger which he enthusiastically announced was the best veggie burger ever as he attempted to decipher its unique ingredients that made it taste so damn good.  Blaise and I opted for the Black and Blue Burger which we both agreed was excellent.  Oh, and I can’t forget, the poutine-esque French fry dish we all shared as an appetizer was salty, but intense!  I highly recommend a visit to Molly’s.

We all agreed that our visit to the Congressional cemetery was excellent as we reflected on the end of an era – passage of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the first stand alone gay rights legislation ever passed by the United States Congress and done so with bi-partisan support!

As we waved goodbye to Molly Malone’s, we passed the entrance to the Marine Barracks, and I thought to myself, “Soon gay soldiers will be able to serve with the same integrity and freedom they swear to uphold when they enter the Armed Services.”

So - are we there yet?  To be sure, the answer is no.  But I would be remiss if I didn’t note just how we far we have come and the lightning speed with which we are headed to full equality.  Blaise, who very much remembers the story of Matlovitch as it unfolded in real time in the 1970s and 1980s, often comments that he never though he’d see some of the changes he’s seen in his lifetime, and that now they are happening much quicker than he ever expected.

Until we get there, perhaps all of us should slap ourselves with a chicken cutlet and snap out of it.  Let us focus on our own families and help our nation to fulfill the promise enshrined in our Pledge – With Liberty and Justice for ALL.