Goodbye George...Hello Ron

My Life: So George moved to MO and I moved into an efficiency apartment across the street from a gay bar.

My job at the Gas Company started out as a scheduler. I would call people on the phone and set up appointments for the gas man to come and inspect their house to see how it could be improved to save energy. I was so good at the job that I became the team leader within a month on the job. Soon after I became the floor manager and would be hiring and firing, training, creating manuals, writing for the company newspaper and everything my boss didn't want to do. I was a happy boss to my workers and got along with all of them. During lunch we would go down to the corner bar and have a 3 martini lunch. The people were so much fun. A few of the women in the office had a crush on me. One was Rhonda Short and she was 6'1". The other was Gail Smith and she was on her way to becoming a big girl like her sister. We all loved to get high together and drink and party.

At night, after work, I would go to the gay bar and drink and cruise men. I had a few regulars that I would hook up with. I had been dating two guys very seriously and was having a hard time choosing between them. One was a tall cowboy who was handsome and shy. The other was a short good looking cook who loved to have fun. When the cowboy asked me to choose between the two of them, I chose the cook. Of course, Ron (the cook) was poor. The cowboy had money. Go figure.

Anyway, Ron moved in with me. Two of us in an efficiency. We partied and partied. We had an open relationship and had men over all hours of the day and night. Ron would work when he felt like it and somehow I managed to hold my job together with my social life. I was making really good money and bought a package trip to Cancun Mexico for Ron and I and his ex boyfriend. His ex helped pay some of the expenses but not much. We flew to Mexico and partied there for a week. I went para sailing and loved it. We climbed the Aztec ruins. I tried snorkeling but couldn't do it. And of course, we got drunk a lot. I found that Cancun was just a big tourist trap and was a nice place to visit once. I did learn to say three Mexican phrases "May I have 3 beers please" "I have no money" & "Where is the bathroom". That seemed to be all I needed to get by.

That was my first vacation I had ever paid for. I couldn't wait to take another but I had to get back to work. Ron and I decided we wanted a bigger place and we found a 2 bedroom apartment. Wecouldn't afford it alone so we asked another guy to move in with us. His last name was "Loveless" and by looking at him, I could understand. He was quite "gay" too. Marc Loveless was an experience in itself. He was also an actor and that prompted me to audition again.

I audition for the movie "Full Metal Jacket" but obviously didn't getcast. I didn't have an agent. So I tried to get one. I was told by more than one agent that I "Wasn't goodlooking enough and not ugly enough". I gave up on agents and tried theaters again. I would make the call backs for the professional theaters but not get cast. It was tough. Finaly I landed a lead role in a community theater. "The Physisicts". The role was about a very intelligent man who was in a crazy home and he killed the nurses. Much fun was had by all. LOL

So I was back to acting, living with Ron & Marc, working full time at the gas company in a mangerial position and partying every night. Life was good...

Today: Scott broke his foot last week and I am back to looking out for him. He was skydiving and the parachute broke 20 feet before he hit the ground. Not really, you can email or call him for the real details. I just thought I would spice it up a bit. The garage sale was a success and I got rid of tons of stuff. One person came to help me at 11:30 and that was about the time the customers became few and in between. From 7 Am till then it was a steady flow and just me.

I donated tons of stuff already that didn't sell. I don't understand why there isn't anymore room in this house????? More stuff going out the door this coming week. I have a consignment shop that accepts stuff twice a week, 12 items at a time, so that's another way to bring in some bucks.

Do you like the new picture of me with my mohawk? I have gotten a lot of compliments from strangers and friends alike. A lot who also do not like it. I am almost 51 and feel it makes me younger and happier! Until next week.

Love & Peace

Clayton

Back to D.C. Again

My Life: So I arrived back in the DC area and went straight (gayly forward) to where I used to live. Thank god they accepted me back into the home. It was so nice to be back but I was going to miss the celebrity life.

My first mission was to find a job. Jay Jenkins, a friend at the time, got me a job at an apartment complex turning condo. I was the painter. I was pretty much my own boss and did a lot of slacking off. It was a high rise and across the street was a hotel. I would bring my binoculars to work and watch the visitors without them knowing. I know, you think I'm a pervert. I was young and horny all the time, what can I say.

The household where I lived broke up and everyone went their separate ways. I moved into an apartment with Jay in D.C.. I would go everywhere in the city now that I lived there. I dated 5 guys at one time and went out to the bars when I wasn't seeing them. I really like this one guy named Louie Zanilotti. (I saw his name on the AIDS quilt years later) That's another chapter.

Life was good. I hung out with friends like J.R., Mike, Raoul, Jim and more. We played pinball at the bar, partied like there was no tomorrow and just enjoyed life.

One night in the Eagle Bar, I met a man named George. He was a hot little Jewish guy and we hit it off great. It wasn't long after that we became lovers and I moved in with him. From the beginning of the relationship I told him that it would be an open relationship and that I needed a night out every other week (or was it once a week?) - I can't remember. He agreed and it worked out great! I remember one night we took some acid and went to see Friday the 13th at the local movie house. We walked there and by the time the movie had ended we were too freaked out to walk home. We kept thing there were killers behind every tree. Acid and horror movies do not go well.

George bought a condo in Alexandria and we moved in. A really nice place at the time. One night when he was away on business and I met a bunch of kids selling magazines door to door. Since I had done this job before, I invited them to come over and do their laundry and get high with me. They left hours later and that night one of the guys came back. He was the only guy under 30 that I had ever slept with.

After one of George's business trips he told me that he was being promoted and he would be moving to California. He wanted me to come with him. Well, you know I jumped on that one! I was finally going west and I could break into the movies. I had the support of a good man, I was still young, and people always said I had talent. There was no holding me back. We packed up and left!

California was a party state. I was a party guy. Mix the two and you get an addict. I was well on my way to becoming an alcoholic before then so it wasn't hard for it to get hold of me.

George and I moved into a nice garden apartment in Garden Grove. I found a job with a temp agency called "Volt" who hooked me up with the Southern California Gas Company. It was a contract job and too far away from home. On one of my nights away from George I slept with the bosses daughter. I think that was the most angry I had ever seen George. He really was and still is a sweet man. We stayed together for a little while until he got another job in Clayton, Mo. I didn't want to go so we parted ways.

So now I am on my own again...

Present day: Scott and I looked at houses in Gainesville. They were really nice and not that expensive. Houses here in Arlington are 2 to 3 time more for the same size. So we are considering moving out there. We really do hate where we live now. There are theaters out that way if we ant to get involved. We have friends in the Manassas area too. We'll see.

Today we are going to Herndon. Scott was the costumer for the kids show at Eldon Street and it closes today. So we have to gather costumes and then cast party.

I have a lot of cool items from the yard sales yesterday that I will be putting up on eBay so stop by my eBay site. I also have to get ready for the yard sale this weekend. Busy, busy, busy!

Love & Peace,

Someone Started a Fire!

My Life: So I made it to Baltimore and checked in with my new boyfriend at the "Hotel Baltimore". The show "Hello Dolly" was performing just blocks away. The first night that I was there I was sleeping when Tiv woke me up and said "There's a fire, we have to go". I told him that I didn't want to go. He had to shake me to get me out of bed. I grabbed my leather and we were the last ones out of the building.

It seems the fire was in one of the work area of the hotel and it was caught quickly. We were all able to go back to bed. Being a sound sleeper back then, it was easy to go right back to sleep. About 2AM, Tiv wakes me and says "There's a fire, we have to go" to which I responded "I have already been to one" and promptly went back to sleep. It was harder this time for him to get me up. By the time I was up and grabbed my leather the hallways and stairwells were full of smoke. We were the last two people out of the building because of me and it was really hard to breath.

Once out, we met up with Carol, her husband and another woman. We escorted Carol safely away from the pavorati. One snapshot that made the paper showed Carol's husband wearing her expensive fur coat. It also caught a part of me, but not my face. The article read that the entourage included a heavy set woman in stripe shirt, a man in full leather with chains (me) and her husband.

It seems a disgruntled employee had set the fires and he was arrested that night. The rest of our stay in Baltimore was pretty much uneventful. Our next stop was Detroit Michigan. Talk about cold!

While in Michigan I wanted to do something other than be known as Tiv's boyfriend. I bugged Tiv to get me in the show or have me do something with the show. He was able to get me backstage anytime I wanted and I started learning the chorus parts. Tiv said that Carol was going to be filming a movie about a mother whose son comes out of the closet as gay. He told me that I would be able to audition for the role. Exciting! I know I bugged him about this a lot too. It never came to fruition.

After Michigan, we went to Reno Nevada. Once there Tiv got me the job of Eddie Bracken's personal dresser. I would help him change costumes and be his errand boy. I was paid scale and spent all of it gambling. Nevada is not the place for me. I also got to meet Foster Brooks whose was a good friend of Eddies. One night Carol, Tiv and I went to see a professional drag show that had a Carol impersonator. It was too much seeing both of them on stage at the same time. Reno was the last stop for a while. Dolly was going on hiatus and Tiv had landed another job with "Annie".

While traveling with "Annie" I met all the kids (mostly stuck up little diva's). Lisa Raggio who was in the TV show "Private Benjamin" and a few others. I did a couple of walk on's with the show but wasn't paid or recognized. I so wanted to perform again. Pretty much all I did was hang out and drink. Tiv was getting on my nerves because he would tell me what to do and how to do it, what to wear, what to say, how to mix a drink etc etc etc.

After a few months of "Annie", "Hello Dolly" was back. We went to Chicago for a 3 month stay. Tiv and I got an apartment this time and I went to work for a gay couple doing painting and wallpaper. Two nice looking men who had their own business and taught me everything i needed to know. After work everyday was a party. Since I worked days and Tiv worked nights, we barely saw each other. One night after work, I got wasted and messed around with one of the bosses. Tiv got mad at me for staying out late and drinking. He began Yelling at me and calling me names. The next day, I didn't show up for work and the guys called Tiv to find out where I was.

I asked Tiv for money and got on a bus to come back to D.C.. I didn't see Tiv again for over 10 years. I didn't tell anyone that I was coming back and had no idea where I was going to live...

Today: I am not feeling too good this morning and am trying to shake it off. We went to a crab fest birthday party yesterday. The Arlington Fair is today and I want to go. I just hope I can do it.

Love & Peace,

Clayton

More, more, more

My Life: The picture is of me at "Le Salon" the gay book sore, theater, peepshow, sex toy store I used to work at. Look at that tacky wallpaper! The drinking age was still 18 back then and I would go to the leather bar "The Eagle" to start drinking after work and then go to "The Exile" to go dancing. My best friend from Florida, Richard had moved to DC and with a few other guys, we rented a house in Arlington. I remember 4-5 gay guys living in the house at any given time. One of them was a guy named Jay who worked at Le Salon too.I got Richard a job there and we were one big happy gay family.

I had another friend John (also known as JR) who was the same age as me but looked younger. He was more of a pretty boy and he ended up getting a lot of men that I wanted. Don't get me wrong, I got my good share of HOT men. I only dated men that were 10+ years older than me and I was quite popular. Although I fell in love with a few of them, I didn't pursue being in a relationship. I was a whore and I didn't want to change. One time I had 8 men in one night at work. Orgies were familiar in the back room too.

I used to walk to the bars or take a cab. One night I borrowed a friends car. He lived in the same house I. That night, I got wasted and asked a guy if he wanted to...you know. He said yes and asked me to follow him to his hotel room. As I was following him, drunk driving, I dropped my cigarette and went to go for it. As I did, I rammed right into him. It was pretty much a blur after that and I woke up the next day at home and the wrecked car was in the driveway. I have no idea how I got home. When my friend asked what happened I told him that I hit an embankment on the side of the road and he pretty much accepted it was an accident. The following week I got a court summons in the mail from the guy I hit. It was a rental car and he had reported me to the police etc. According to the police report, after I hit him, there was a high speed chase. I lost him and my mind! Court would come son and I would have to face the consequences.

I did not borrow any more cars after that. I would take the subway, taxis and buses. That was the year that "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing was in town. I walked into the "Eagle" and saw a man with a huge mustache, Blonde hair and older. I made a beeline to him and he told me he was Carol's personal dresser and his name was Tiv Davenport. He was also one of the first original Marlboro Men for print ad's in the 60's. He was so hot, to me anyway. I didn't really fall in love with him. I fell in love with the thought of him and what he could do for me. Yes, he was sexy and I liked that but I loved that he was with Hello Dolly professionally. He was in town a few weeks. I told him I wanted to be with him and he invited me to come along. I still had to go to court before he left and I was sure I would be thrown in jail.

Court was one day before Tiv was to leave. I showed up and told the judge that I didn't get into any high speed chase and that I had no idea what the guy was talking about. The guy I hit didn't show up to testify. I also told the judge that I was leaving the area to travel with a Broadway show the next day. To my suprise, the judge fined me $10.00 and told me to have a nice trip. I think I used up a lot of my Karma on that one.

The next day I was on my way to Baltimore, Maryland with Tiv, Carol and the cast. Her leading man at the time was Eddie Bracken. The first night at the hotel in Baltimore, there was a fire....

Present Day: My finger is still hurting. I'm selling a lot of great Christian music on eBay at the moment. I am tagging things for a yard sale for when my finger is well. I a also looking at auditions and trying to find something fun to do. Any old play will not suffice. It's time to think about what to make for dinner and record TV shows for later.

If you're watching "Big Brother" - Jessie and Michele need to go. Just my opinion.

Peace & Love,

Clayton