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