Book Review: Boston Boys Club by Johnny Diaz

This is the anti-freeze of queer Beantown lit and I mean that in the most generous way possible. Boston Globe Living/Arts writer, Johnny Diaz, came to Boston from Miami a few years ago and with open Cuban arms embraced this city and its quirky ways. His first book, Boston Boys Club, maybe is not a love letter to Boston, as other book reviews have chanted, but definitely a loving, friendly post card from Columbus Avenue. It’s light summer reading but gratefully so.

It centers on four characters who patronize Club Café in the South End: friendly Tommy, horny Rico, opportunist Kyle and messy Mikey. By the end of the book each has been granted a second lease on life. There’s a light spirit of redemption and renewal that (I have a feeling) is part-autobiographical for Diaz, as character, Tommy Perez, explains to a “cutie pie” he meets at Club Café:

“I love Boston, Mikey,” I say as I break his stare by taking sips of my DCV (Diet Coke and Vodka.) “It’s one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. Big but not too big, or overwhelming like New York City. And the seasons make time fly and make me appreciate the moments in life. I love Miami, and it will always be a part of me, but sometimes, you need change to grow.”

Diaz, at one point, alludes to the (paraphrasing) “sometimes icy nature of this city” and any gay Bostonian will instantly know what he means. In this way, he recasts the city’s image into something more approachable once you get to know some of her citizens.

There is also a sub-theme of recovery which is always welcome even in works of fiction. Some people think that Alcoholics Anonymous is a place where the bottom of the barrel end up, but as my many friends in AA can attest, this program of recovery has changed people’s lives for the better. And at Club Café, there are probably many candidates for AA who have no clue about the program’s own openness and inclusion.

I once heard a quote that the real Americans are not the ones born within its borders, but the ones that arrive here from other lands: hardworking immigrants with a dream. Is the same true of Boston? Having grown up on the South Shore, I would’ve thought that seniority comes with permanent residence. Diaz shatters that myth as he brings fresh insight and gratitude to the “Athens of America.” We, Bostonians, contrary to popular belief, are happy to open our homes to people with staying power. The city is not as icy as we sometimes believe and Diaz supports that latent openness with “Boston Boys Club.” Best to be read before summer’s end!

Why I like Hill: The Ultimate It Girl, August 2007

Maybe ‘like’ is too weak of a word to describe my bewitchment of all things Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Here are my reasons:

“I’m your girl”

“For fifteen years, I have stood up against the right wing machine and I’ve come out stronger, so if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I’m your girl!”

My whole life I’ve been surrounded by strong, impressive women who’ve picked up the slack of wayward men or shined in their own brilliance. Hillary Clinton does both these things and her desire to win the nomination and general election is about as much as restoring Bill’s presidency and repairing his broken promises to some of his constituents, (i.e. lowering incarceration rates for African-Americans, equal access to federal job protection for gays and lesbians, etc.), as it is about Hill restarting the 21st century with America as a beacon not as a threat, to the rest of the world.

Her recent “I’m your girl” speech during the early August AFL-CIO debate hits upon her secret popularity: the ability to fight back. Although, I believe that conservatism is dead (which I will discuss in a future string), the Republican-right-wing-hate-machine still churns, albeit not as pervasively and effectively as the mid to late 90s.

As a queer man who has weathered social anxiety, addictive behaviors, love and loss, general Irishness and now, chemotherapy, I know, like many others, how the ruthless attacks of bigots can ruin a good party. After reading Carl Bernstein’s biography on the first lady, "A Woman in Charge," it became clearer to me that Bill and Hill had come to Washington to “do good” but much like Deval Patrick in his few months at the state house, the Clintons stumbled.

Part of the fault lies with Hillary herself but part of it lies with the celebrity, expose culture of the 20th century’s last decade. Remember OJ, the rise of Fox News, Waco, Monica? Although my fondest memories are from the 1990s, I believe that television was at its sickest. The boob tube during the 1990s seemed like a free-for-all, a barrage on the American viewer who had no healthy way to respond to the stories and images. The internet is decidedly more democratic, but the net was nascent during the Clinton years.

It was also very this television orgy that the Republican Revolution took its second breath during the election of 1994. Yes, Hillary’s faulty attempts at health care reform from the previous year contributed to the Republican takeover of Congress. But how prescient was she? What other first lady or elected official had the gravitas to take this on? And look where we are now under a do-nothing Republican president with a recently ejected do-nothing Republican Congress.

“Nearly 47 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2005,” according to the National Coalition on Health Care, a group who lobbies for “better, more affordable health care for all Americans.” Under Bush’s presidency, “the number of uninsured rose 1.3 million between 2004 and 2005 and has increased by almost 7 million people since 2000.” It’s a national disgrace!

This is a battle that Hill wants to win for the American people. She lost the first round in 1993 due to D.C. naiveté and not extending an olive branch to the press. She’s learned from Round One … she knows the tactics of the opposition and has promised to file a bill in the Senate sometime this year or early next year.

In Massachusetts, right now, as most of my readers know, there is a new compulsory mandate for health insurance. Since my salary falls under 300% of the federal poverty line, I started researching ways I could get into this new health care system back in November 2006. After a little bit of correspondence and missing paperwork, the folks over at “MassHealth” gave me a Neighborhood Health insurance plan when I disclosed that I had cancer. So far, neighborhood has been a god-send, fully covering every appointment and procedure related to my illness.

This is what happens when you live in a compassionate society like the one in Massachusetts. When people are sick, they should go to the hospital and not have to go bankrupt in the process. Hillary knows this; she has fought hard for this and that is one of many reasons why she will receive my vote twice in 2008.

Bad Tourism Director

Hey everybody, check out this story I scooped for the venerable Boston's Weekly Dig. It's all about Provincetown Tourism Office Director, Bill Schneider, who lied repeatedly about a Book Club endorsement from Oprah. You can even read the phoney interview transcript at http://www.billschneider.us/.

This is a proud moment for me as a reporter and as a lover of the Outer Cape, for Provincetown is the last place on Earth that needs fabrication!

The photo provided was taken by my partner, Eric Hess, during P'Town Carnival 2003. Really no lie, I swear. This is the kind of image on Commercial Street that you can't make up. Provincetown shouldn't pay liars to tell tales.

Simply Stated

GAY

80 Border Street East Boston
August 3–29, 2007
Please join us - Opening Reception: August 9, 6-9 pm
Third Thursday Potluck Reception August 16, 6-9 pm


What do people think of when they hear the word ‘gay’? Pink triangles, black leather? Disco and gardening? Is the word still a cause for celebration for some or has it become banal in marriage-friendly Massachusetts?

Twenty odd artists of Atlantic Works Gallery are tackling the word ‘Gay’and all its visual implications. Presentations stretch from a queer riddle of the sphinx, to a lascivious Craigslist montage to an actual closet that urges the viewer to stay huddled inside. The full spectrum of GAY will be shown in the freshly renovated gallery on the coast of East Boston.
Only four of the presenting artists are in fact, homosexual, giving the show a visionary twist and hetero vantage. Artists’ media will range from paints to photography to jewelry to installation to Video. Entertainment includes gay, vocal house by DJ Dylsnick and surprise guests.
“Gay” will run from August 2 through August 29 at 80 Border Street, East Boston. The opening party will be held on Thursday, August 9 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. “Third Thursday,” the open-house reception will run on Thursday, August 16 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, connect to www.atlanticworks.org or call 617-549-4911