I’m taking the day off to spend with my dear friend Drewski. He starts a new project later in the week, so we won’t be seeing much of each other until it’s finished.
We will be spending the day celebrating the birthday of our dear friend Queen Bea, who passed unexpectedly in 2022, when I was deep in my own “cave” of fear, grief, and isolation. Fucking agoraphobia kept me from going to her funeral. Watching it online, I felt a wave of guilt and sadness for not being there in person, to honor Bea and to support Drewski.
Queen Bea was an amazing, beautiful human being, one of those rare souls who made every room feel brighter just by walking into it. She had that rare, effortless blend of warmth, humor, and no-nonsense honesty that always made me felt seen and understood.
Bea had a way of lifting everyone around her without making it about herself.
Losing her still feels surreal. There are days I half expect to hear her laugh or to see her walk through the door and wrap me in one of her big hugs.
I regret not seeing Bea more in those last years. Fucking COVID.
But I am grateful for the time we were able to share together. Not to mention all the music, laughter, and love. For years, Drewski and I were lucky to be part of her circle of friends. And she spun us right round, baby, right round. Like a record, baby…
Today is dedicated to Queen Bea—to her birthday, her life, and to all the beautiful souls like her who make such a lasting and loving impression, in this life and beyond.
Here’s to Queen Bea. She is the wind beneath so many of our wings.
Keep calm and remember on!
Clint 🌈❤️🩹
P.S. A big thank you to the anonymous sweetheart who sent me the lovely coffee table companion book for Queer Lens. So kind and generous. In the future, if you send me something, please include your name so I can send a personal thank you note. Cheers!
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 7
BIRTHDAYS
1903 = Herbert List = German-American photographer 🌈
1931 = Desmond Tutu = South African archbishop and Nobel Prize laureate
1934 = Amiri Baraka = American poet, playwright, and academic
1940 = Althea Garrison = American politician 🌈
1942 = Joy Behar = American talk show host, comedian and tv personality
1951 = John Mellencamp = American singer-songwriter and actor
1955 = Yo-Yo Ma = French-American cellist and educator
1957 = Michael W. Smith = American singer-songwriter and actor
1959 = Dylan Baker = American actor
1959 = Simon Cowell = English businessman, tv personality, and producer
1964 = Dan Savage = American advice columnist 🌈
1966 = Marco Beltrami = Italian-American composer and conductor
1967 = Toni Braxton = American singer-songwriter and actor
1968 = Thom Yorke = English singer-songwriter
1976 = Taylor Hicks = American singer-songwriter
1979 = Aaron Ashmore = Canadian actor
1979 = Shawn Ashmore = Canadian actor
1997 = Nicole Maines = American actor, writer, and activist 🌈
EVENTS
1913 = Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving vehicle assembly line.
1964 = Walter Jenkins, Lyndon B. Johnson’s top aide, was arrested for having sex in the men’s bathroom of his local YMCA…just blocks from the White House.
1971 = The French Connection is released in theaters.
1977 = Queen releases “We Are the Champions“ and “We Will Rock You” as a single.
1982 = Cats debuts on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre.
1998 = Charmed premieres on The WB.
1998 = Matthew Shepard is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten in Laramie, Wyoming. He dies five days later.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“Books are magic: you never know where they’re going to end up.”
Dan Savage
“But it doesn’t matter what you’re doing. It matters how you’re doing it.”
Dan Savage
“One man’s blasphemy doesn’t override other people’s free-speech rights, their freedom to publish, freedom of thought.”
Dan Savage
A lovely and accurate tribute.
🕯️🕯️🕊️🕊️🌈 For Queen Bea, love and respect Clint, DougT 🇫🇴🇬🇧