STORMY FOSTER RETURNS: Chapter Seven
POP CULTURE CANTINA
presents
A MARVELOUS LIE PRODUCTION
A MOCK SCREENPLAY
in sixteen chapters
STORMY FOSTER
RETURNS
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CHAPTER SEVEN:
"ANOTHER TEAR FALLS"/
"I NEED YOU"
THE YEAR 1991
DISCO BANG SHANG A LANG,
HILO, HAWAII
THE FIRST AIDS CASES IN HAWAII WERE DOCUMENTED IN 1983. IT TRIGGERED A MAJOR PANIC, BECAUSE THE DISEASE WAS INCURABLE. EVEN THOUGH THAT SAME YEAR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL DISCOVERED HOW IT WAS SPREAD, RUMORS WERE STILL RAMPANT THAT AIDS WAS EASY TO CATCH. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT IT FLOATED IN THE AIR LIKE COLD OR FLU GERMS!
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WHAT FOLLOWED WAS THE WORST OSTRACISM AND VILIFICATION OF GAY MEN THAT I’D SEEN SINCE THE 1940s - AS BAD OR WORSE THAN DEACON DIAMOND’S ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL WITCH HUNTS! IT HAS SET THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT BACK NEARLY TWENTY YEARS, AND HAWAII WAS ALREADY LESS SOCIALLY PROGRESSIVE THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
NOW THE PUBLIC IS OPEN TO CONVERSION THERAPY SCHEMES, AND THE MOOD IS EXACERBATED BY A SEX CHANGE MANIA THAT’S SPREADING IN EUROPE. BASED IN ITALY, THE DIAMOND TRUST HAS REVIVED THE IGNORANT NOTION WE FOUGHT AGAINST SO HARD: THAT HOMOSEXUAL ORIENTATION IS UNNATURAL AND NEEDS CORRECTING. OUTRAGEOUSLY, THE TRUST PUSHES THE ENVELOPE EVEN FARTHER: IT ADVOCATES MANDATORY SEX CHANGE FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN!
GAY EUROPEANS ARE BEING PRESSURED TO EITHER “AFFIRM” THEIR BIOLOGICAL GENDER WITH HETEROSEXUALITY, TRANSITION TO THE OPPOSITE SEX OR IDENTIFY AS “NON-BINARY” - A GENDER-NEUTRAL STATUS THAT OFTEN IS A STEPPING STONE TO SEX CHANGE. GIVEN THE INCREASINGLY REACTIONARY MOOD IN THE UNITED STATES, IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THAT STARTS HAPPENING HERE, TOO.
I WASN’T SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT ALEXANDRA DIAMOND, DIRECTOR OF THE DIAMOND TRUST, IS THE WIDOW OF A DESCENDANT OF DEACON DIAMOND. THAT DISCOVERY INEVITABLY STARTED ME THINKING ABOUT THE WAR YEARS!
I PULLED OUT MY SCRAPBOOKS, TURNED THE YELLOWED PAGES AND FOUND HIS IMAGE IN FADED PHOTOS THAT MY BROTHER FREDDY TOOK: STORMY FOSTER, HAWAII’S FIRST GAY ACTIVIST, AS WELL AS THE FATHER OF MY SON TORCHY. BUT THE DIAMOND TRUST’S ACTIVITIES AREN'T MY ONLY REMINDER OF HIM - THERE'S ANOTHER ONE THAT IS EVEN MORE STARTLING.
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STORMY FOSTER PHOTO SET,
CIRCA 1943
IN ITALY, THERE IS A RAP MUSIC PERFORMER CALLING HIMSELF STORMY FOSTER! THAT NAME ISN’T SO UNCOMMON THAT AN ARTIST WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO CHOOSE IT, BUT HIS CHOICE WASN’T ACCIDENTAL. THIS YOUNG MAN CLAIMS TO BE A REINCARNATION OF THE ORIGINAL STORMY! HE EVEN PERFORMS IN A COSTUME SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE GREAT DEFENDER - THE DISGUISE THAT FREDDY AND I CREATED FOR STORMY TO WEAR WHEN HE DEFENDED LESBIAN AND GAY HAWAIIANS FROM VIGILANTES.
TO MOST PEOPLE WHO’VE HEARD OF THE GREAT DEFENDER, HE'S NOTHING MORE THAN AN URBAN MYTH - HISTORY HAS LARGELY FORGOTTEN HIM. YET, THIS RAPPER IS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT STORMY AND HIS WORK! THE SONGS THAT HE WRITES AND PERFORMS ARE MODERN DAY VERSIONS OF STORMY’S EARLY GAY PRIDE MESSAGES. THEY EXPLICITLY UPLIFT GAY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE SUFFERING FROM HIV/AIDS.
I PURCHASED AN ITALIAN POP MUSIC MAGAZINE AND READ A PROFILE OF THE FORMER DON SEÑORITO - THAT’S THE NAME HE ORIGINALLY PERFORMED UNDER. HIS GIVEN NAME IS McKENZIE ABSALOM, WHICH IS UNBELIEVABLY SIMILAR TO NIRMAHL BEN-ABSALOM, STORMY'S BIRTH NAME - BUT THAT MAY JUST BE A PUBLICITY CLAIM. THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT ACCOMPANIED THE PROFILE SUGGESTED A STRONG PHYSICAL RESEMBLANCE. I ASSUMED THAT IT WAS ACHIEVED WITH STYLING AND MAKE-UP.
STILL, I WAS BURNING UP WITH CURIOSITY. I HAD TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM! I TRACKED DOWN THE NAME OF HIS MANAGER AND WROTE TO HIM AT HIS OFFICE IN MILAN. I TOLD HIM THAT MY NAME IS IRENE BANG SINGAPORE, AND I EXPLAINED MY CONNECTION TO THE ORIGINAL STORMY FOSTER.
I DIDN’T REALLY EXPECT A RESPONSE, BUT LAST MONTH I GOT ONE! THE MANAGER’S NAME IS ALBERT FOX, AND HIS LETTER TO ME WAS VERY LONG AND DETAILED. HE DIDN’T SAY SO, BUT I GATHER THAT HE IS A GAY MAN FROM HIS DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GAY HISTORY.
HE’D SEEN RARE PICTURES OF STORMY FROM THE 1940s, AND WHEN HE BEGAN WORKING WITH McKENZIE ABSALOM HE SAYS HE IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THE RESEMBLANCE. IT WAS ALBERT FOX’S IDEA TO “REINCARNATE” THE GREAT DEFENDER. WITH AIDS RAGING AROUND THE GLOBE AND GAY COMMUNITIES UNDER SIEGE, HE FELT THERE WAS A NEED FOR SOMEONE TO TAKE UP STORMY’S MANTLE. HE THOUGHT RAP MUSIC WOULD BE AN IDEAL VEHICLE, AND IN McKENZIE ABSALOM HE FOUND A WILLING ALLY.
THE YOUNG MAN HAD BEEN KICKING AROUND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOR A WHILE, AND HE HAD FRIENDS WHO’D SUCCUMBED TO AIDS. OTHERS HAD BEEN HARMED BY THE MANDATORY SEX CHANGE MOVEMENT. IN FACT, HE’D ALREADY WRITTEN SEVERAL RAP SONGS THAT CONDEMNED IT! FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THIS NEW STORMY FOSTER WAS NOTHING BUT A CYNICAL PROMOTION DESIGNED TO SELL HIP-HOP RECORDS - YET I SENSED THAT ALBERT FOX’S SOCIAL CONCERN WAS SINCERE.
HE SENT ME HIS OFFICE PHONE NUMBER IN THAT LETTER. MR. FOX ANSWERED MY CALL IN HIS CRISP BRITISH ACCENT, AND EVERYTHING HE TOLD ME DEEPENED MY INCLINATION TO TRUST HIM. HAVING WORKED IN SHOW BUSINESS AS LONG AS I HAVE, I'M NOT EASY TO DECEIVE! WE TALKED EXTENSIVELY, MORE THAN ONCE, AND LAST WEEK WE AGREED TO MEET IN PERSON. McKENZIE ABSALOM WANTS TO MEET ME AS WELL.
THEY OFFERED TO PAY FOR MY PLANE TICKET TO MILAN, BUT I’M A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN WHO CAN PAY FOR HER OWN PASSAGE. TODAY I FINALIZED THE RENEWAL OF MY PASSPORT, AND AFTER LEAVING THE POST OFFICE I WENT TO SEE A MUSICAL COMEDY FILM THAT MR. FOX TOLD ME ABOUT.
BUTT NAKED BEACH PARTY IS A PROFOUNDLY SILLY MOVIE - IT'S MAINLY A VEHICLE FOR THE ARCHIES AND THEIR MUSIC. THE ONLY REASON I'D EVER WANT TO SEE A FILM LIKE THAT WOULD BE IF SOMEBODY OF INTEREST WAS IN IT, AND IN THIS CASE, STORMY THE RAPPER MAKES A GUEST APPEARANCE. WELL . . . I WAS FLOORED BY JUST HOW MUCH McKENZIE ABSALOM DOES LOOK LIKE STORMY! I COULD’VE SWORN THAT IT WAS REALLY HIM LOOKING OUT AT ME FROM THE BIG SCREEN. EVEN THE VOICE IS IDENTICAL. TEARS WERE ROLLING DOWN MY CHEEKS - I COULDN’T STOP THEM!
I FOUND MYSELF ASKING IF IT WERE TRUE: COULD McKENZIE ABSALOM ACTUALLY BE A REINCARNATION OF HAWAII’S GREAT DEFENDER? AND IF SO, WAS HE ALSO CARRYING OUT A DIVINE MISSION? COULD HIS RISE AS A RAP STAR BE THE WORK OF MOTHER PENIS AND FATHER VAGINA, THE PAJARO ISLAND DIETIES?
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STORMY FOSTER
FALL FASHION SPREAD
MY FRIENDS THINK I’M CRAZY FOR DROPPING EVERYTHING I’M DOING TO FLY OFF TO ITALY; BUT I’VE BECOME SO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN THIS ARTIST, THERE’S JUST NOTHING ELSE FOR IT! I’M ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT MY EX-LOVER JOSIE JAMES; ALBERT FOX WAS ONCE THE MANAGER OF JOSIE + THE PUSSY CATS, AND HE DESCRIBED HOW JOSIE HAS FALLEN UNDER THE SPELL OF RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGUES. SOMEHOW, I’VE GOT TO SPEAK WITH HER; WE WERE SO VERY CLOSE! MAYBE SHE’D LISTEN TO REASON IF IT CAME FROM ME.
SO THOSE ARE MY MOTIVES FOR GOING OVERSEAS, BUT I ALSO NEED A BREAK FROM THE STRESS THAT I’VE BEEN UNDER FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS. IN 1988, MY HUSBAND BASIL CAME TO ME WITH SOBERING NEWS: HE’D TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE HIV VIRUS!
AS A “LAVENDER COUPLE” OF MANY YEARS, HE AND I HAD ALWAYS LIVED SEPARATE SEXUAL LIVES; OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS TOTALLY REAL, BUT BOTH OF US HAVE HAD MULTIPLE INTIMATE PARTNERS. AS A CLUB OWNER, I WORK WITH ENTERTAINERS. MANY OF THEM ARE LESBIANS OR BISEXUAL WOMEN AND, WELL, LOVE AFFAIRS CAN AND DO BLOSSOM. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I MET JOSIE - WE WERE LOVERS IN THE EARLY '70s AND SHE EVEN LIVED WITH US FOR A WHILE.
BASIL IS AN ACTOR AND A MUSICIAN, AND HE CROSSES PATHS WITH ANY NUMBER OF ATTRACTIVE GAY MEN. ONE OR MORE OF HIS LOVERS TRANSMITTED THE HIV VIRUS TO HIM. EVEN THOUGH HE TESTED POSITIVE, HE POSED LITTLE OR NO DANGER TO ME, OUR CHILDREN OR OUR GRANDCHILDREN. I KEPT REMINDING HIM OF THAT, BUT THE DIAGNOSIS UTTERLY DEMORALIZED MY HUSBAND - TRAUMATIZED AND RACKED WITH GUILT, HE GREW EVER MORE NERVOUS, DESPONDENT AND WITHDRAWN.
PSYCHOLOGICALLY, HE WENT TO A PLACE WHERE I COULDN'T REACH HIM - AND THEN THAT HAPPENED PHYSICALLY, TOO! ONE DAY, HE JUST UP AND DISAPPEARED FROM OUR LIVES. THERE WAS NO WARNING, NO GOODBYE NOTE, NOTHING! HE DIDN’T PACK ANY CLOTHES AND ALL OF HIS BELONGINGS WERE LEFT BEHIND, INCLUDING THE MEDICATIONS HE WAS TAKING. THOSE ABANDONED PILL BOTTLES SENT A LOUD, CLEAR AND DEVASTATING MESSAGE TO ME: MY POOR DARLING WENT OFF SOMEWHERE TO DIE ALONE, ALL BY HIMSELF!
BUT BASIL ISN’T DEAD, NOT YET. I WOULD KNOW IF HE WERE DECEASED; I CAN FEEL HIS LIVING PRESENCE IN MY HEART. IN THE MONTHS SINCE HIS DISAPPEARANCE, I’VE SPENT EVERY WAKING HOUR THAT I CAN SPARE TRYING TO FIND MY HUSBAND AND BRING HIM BACK HOME - AND THAT’S STILL GOING TO HAPPEN. I SWEAR IT! MY SEARCH IS NOT OVER. I’M JUST PAUSING IT FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
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