Terrence Comments

Terrence emailed me to respond to the comments from last week's 23-year old spring break picture: "Tell that guy that thought Fort Lauderdale was sooo straight back then, that in 1983 you were gay until proven straight. I was never in a place where I felt so free to be me. That was my first experience in a total gay immersion and I will never forget that feeling. It was amazing. At least at our end of the beach, every man was gay."

Terrence also included the track listing from the cassette I made for that trip, saying, "This was the first of many, many mix tapes you made for me. It still remains my favorite to this day. I still have it and strangely it still plays. The only player I have now is in my Mercedes. I don’t know what I will do when it bites the dust."

SIDE A
1) I’m Gonna Get Your Love - Jade
2) I Eat Cannibals - Toto Coelo
3) Babe, We're Gonna Love Tonight - Lime
4) Don’t Stop - Sylvester
5) Knockout -Margie Joseph
6) Heartbeat - Taana Gardner
7) In The Name Of Love - Sharon Redd
8) Let Me Go - Heaven 17
9) Native love - Divine

Side B
1) Sex (I'm A ...) - Berlin
2) Best Part Of Breaking Up - Roni Griffith
3) Got You Where I Want You, Babe - Stereo Fun, Inc.
4) Miami Heatwave - Love Twins
5) Jump Shout -Lisa
6) Die Hard Lover - Loverde
7) One More Shot - C-Bank
8) Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
9) She Blinded Me With Science -Thomas Dolby
10) I feel love (Patrick Cowley Remix) -Donna Summer

I'd have to agree with Terrence, but I also understand that our misty water-colored memories are heavily shaded by the exhuberance of youth and of having never really experienced the sort of totally-out, thriving gay culture that Fort Lauderdale provided in the early 80's. It was glorious to us. I think that in the last few years Fort Lauderdale has recaptured the "it factor" that AIDS and South Beach robbed from the city in the late 80's and early 90's.