*Tour-ette on a rainy Monday evening in Cherry Grove at the end of LGBTQ Pride Month. 6/27/2022

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Sybil Bruncheon's "My Merry Memoirs"... LGBTQ Pride Parades of the Past - 1984

Pride Month Memories... WHERE WAS I 40 YEARS AGO?:

On every Pride Parade Day, I spend the day thinking about Lou Maletta, the Gay Cable Network on Channel J, and all the adventures we had together there and around the city and with Mark Bailey and all our GCN friends in Cincinnati. Although I first officially met Lou in 1983, and then began collaborating with him on stage and club events, and three different cable TV series that ran from 1984 to 1993, I feel like I'd known him forever. Right after we taped our first show together at the beginning of November in '84, we began spending every week together working on exciting projects, fundraisers, upcoming shoots on location all around NYC, and in various downtown theatres in front of studio audiences, and of course, the Gay Pride Parade!.....this photo was taken outside the Plaza Hotel on our first parade together, and back when the Pride Parade was hours long, winding from Central Park West up at the west 70s, crossing 59th Street to Fifth Avenue, and then all the way down to Greenwich Village and back across Christopher Street past the historic Stonewall Inn to the Hudson River for the festival. As I said... HOURS!

This first parade we did together had so many funny and fascinating moments for us; the balloons began to deflate and pop almost immediately in the heat against the hot metal of the car! Every block of that long parade route stunned and surprised us! We had only been on that early incarnation of cable television (only ten channels and all on a dinky box of pushbuttons labeled "A" through "J" and perched precariously on top of your TV with NO remote!). But as we drove down the parade route, we couldn't believe the throngs of people that screamed out "Sybil" and rushed the car for autographs and photos (and this was LONG before the convenience of cell phones and selfies!). The buzz and the hoopla grew and grew, block by block of course as we moved farther and farther downtown we went.

There's Lou's partner of many years, Luke Valenti driving!!! Luke would have all of us convulsed with laughter whenever I saw him. Lou said that Luke made him laugh more than anyone on Earth, and that it was their secret to their long marriage!! Lou will certainly be in my heart and memory forever. I still find myself chuckling at all the funny times we had, the poignant moments we shared, and the many friends we loved... and lost. Lou's sense of humor was tremendous too, and his lifestyle fooled no one.....If you spent any time with him at all, you would see that he was an incredibly learned and sophisticated man under all the leather and paraphernalia!!!... and he revealed his classiness only when it suited him!!!! He was my producer with whom I clashed and bickered, and laughed and conspired! Lou was always happy for my successes, and gave great advice when I asked for it! We made some fun and funny shows together, some of which still exist in archives here and there, and we chuckled at the thought that we were often portrayed as the Bette Davis and Jack Warner of the Gay Cable world... Many thanks, Lou, for so many gifts!!!... and sweet dreams to you, old friend.

(Photo by Diana Di Prima. Sybil's gown by Cliff Boone and Morrie Breyer of A.Q.U.A., and her jewelry by Jesse Galvez of J. Antonio and Larry Verba)

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Sybil Bruncheon's "Thanksgiving Through History!"...

(Overheard at the very first Macy's Parade! 79 AD): "I don't care what you say Scrotus! My man-tiara does NOT make me look like a parakeet!"...

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Sybil Bruncheon's "THANKSGIVING Headlines From Yesteryear!"...

... Here is an actual photograph of the moment in the Macy's Parade when a gigantic creature broke free from its handlers and began eating the crowd. Despite the privations of the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, Macy's succumbed to public pressure and replaced living beasts like this one with more reliable balloon facsimiles....although the element of excitement and potential danger was sorely missed by parade-purists... especially children who seemed to like the idea of seeing their fellow classmates torn to pieces by huge monstrous cartoon characters. The use of hydrogen DID create some possibilities for mishaps especially with cigar-smoking pixies and Santa’s elves lurking about in doorways and public restrooms, but within a few years, helium had eliminated that as well, and the parade slumped off to a forlorn ritual of honking brass bands, drunken and vomiting clowns, and prancing muffins... that might try to pinch your bottom…

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… from Sybil Bruncheon’s “EASTER EGGS-traordinairies”… a girl’s first Easter bonnet…

….it had all started so cheerfully. Marjorie had been shopping for a new hat for her first Spring in the big city... at Madame Whimsey's Chapeau-zeree on Fifth Avenue... when the nice young man came up to her and smiled oh so politely and introduced himself. He wasn't on the staff but was a customer himself and indeed a hat-designer too, or so he claimed. Gerald (or at least he introduced himself as "Gerald") whisked her quickly out of the shop in front of the vexed manageress. He brought Marjorie to his studio in a dingey corner of the East Village...At first she was concerned, especially when they descended the ramshackle staircase of loose boards and chipped paint in the back alley...but when he jiggled the rusted padlock loose and finally pried the creaking door open, she was stunned at what she saw.

An immaculate… no! ...A sparkling studio of polished shelves with beautifully carved hat stands everywhere made of exotic woods from the most extraordinary foreign lands. And on each one, a hat of such complexity and grace! Detailed and rich in both color and materials, but still timeless and not cheap or faddish. Truly works of art! Art, but meant to be worn, actually worn! Was it possible?!?

Gerald was thrilled at her delighted gasps and amazement and offered her tea and honey biscuits while she studied them all. Her questions tumbled out, about those silk flowers or these feathers, the gorgeous ribbons, netting, the velvets and satins....every detail,  and none of it escaped her attention. He seemed very pleased with her, and the afternoon went beautifully. After an hour so of laughter and chat and shared stories, he delighted her with the invitation to wear one of his wonderful bonnets for the Easter parade the very next morning! Marjorie was stunned! And what was even more wonderful?... he would make a bonnet especially for her!!

He sent her home and went right to work. Needless to say, Marjorie spent a sleepless night in great excitement and expectation! You see, she'd never had someone design something just for her! For her!...Little Marjorie May Merriweather from Mills Corners, Montana. And here she was in the big city of New York, on her first Easter parade in a special hat designed and created just for her!

And at 9 o'clock in the morning, there was Gerald smiling brightly, as brightly as the perfect April sun that shone down on them, holding the big striped lavender and lilac hat box proudly in front of him; holding it out to her! He placed it on the broad stone bannister of a townhouse staircase on the side street where she waited, and with a flourish, he swept the lid away to reveal his masterpiece. At first, she was confused, as if someone was playing a joke on her but not letting her in on the fun. She wasn't hurt, per se, but. ...well... baffled. And his warmth seemed so genuine, his delighted pride so winning, and his deep green eyes danced so merrily, she couldn't resist. It wasn't quite the hat she expected. ..or hoped for, but it WAS a gift, and her upbringing had been so very strict about courtesy, about "please" and " thank you"....She stood stock still as he carefully fitted it at just the right angle to flatter her eyes, her adorable ears, her shining auburn hair, her glorious skin....oh, he knew everything to say... and in minutes, she knew she was the loveliest girl going to the parade that morning. He stepped back and sighed admiring her and his "masterpiece"! That's what he called it... his "masterpiece".

Gerald escorted Marjorie down the block on that sparkling morning past the stern stone stoops of the townhouses standing in the early quiet, but as they neared the avenue, voices, music, laughter, and the bustle of New York began to drift towards them...towards their ears and their smiling faces. Gerald offered Marjorie to the gathering throng with the same flourish he had used on the hat box, and she spun out of his hands with a charming little pirouette and a girlish chuckle. She felt beautiful! Beautiful! ...beautiful as she had never felt before. Ever.....and then she moved into the gathering crowd of nodding smiling people, passing and chatting and smiling. She didn't even notice that Gerald slowly fell behind, still smiling, eyes sparkling...and knowing...something.

As Marjorie moved down a block or so, she saw that people as they passed, would smile, say "hello", and study her bonnet, glancing at first, but then study it. She felt flattered, even a little excited that she was creating what seemed like a bit of a stir. She moved on and on, suddenly remembering Gerald, but when she turned, he was gone or, no! There he was, standing on a stoop but too far back on the block. Too far back for her to call out a "thank you!" and too far back for him to hear her if she had. She could still see him,  and even at that distance, she could see that he was watching her, still watching... and smiling. She smiled and waved... and Gerald nodded and smiled back... and then, how funny! He gave her a thumbs-up sign and waved again. And then she moved on and lost him in the bustle and growing crowds... or was she lost herself?

And as she moved on, smiling and nodding,  in the glorious morning light, she didn't notice her hat had begun to change, slightly at first... only slightly. The large floret on the side had begun to turn, ever so slightly... and slowly, perhaps like a dial..or a wheel... or a gear. And the light lavender netting that rose out of the crown of the bonnet ruffled a little in the breeze, and billowed... almost, was it possible?... like... smoke? It was... smoke. Smoke...rising, slowly rising... and the gear.. was that a faint clicking... or was it ticking?... ticking and a faint whirring. .. inside... whirring away inside. Little machine parts, clicking, and ticking, and whirring... and, was it possible? Were they... counting down? Was there counting down?...

That's what Marjorie felt... counting down... right before the sunlight, so bright and warm! Before it all became brighter and warmer... so bright! So very bright! Brighter than the sun itself. Brighter and hotter even than the sun itself.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "CHRISTMASES PAST!"... The Broken Railing...

...and then, just as everyone was having a lovely time, and Miss Grendin ran up to tell the whole party that they would be wining and dining at the Rainbow Room, the flimsy railing at Macy's gave way and everyone; Mr. Dutworthy, Countess Jenxton, Captain Farntbuttle, and Santa himself plummeted down onto the parade-goers. It was only as the ambulances arrived that it was discovered that the man playing Santa was actually the REAL SANTA CLAUS!.... and that he would be paralyzed from the neck down...permanently.

Countess Jenxton, who had only sprained her "cankle", and was known to be an inveterate optimist even in the face of both the San Francisco earthquake (which she survived) and later the Hindenburg (on which she was a passenger!) said simply that, being paralyzed, Santa could now have millions of children sit on him for days at a time with NO discomfort!... and everyone agreed later at dinner at the Rainbow Room that it was nice how things sometimes worked out, wasn't it?... And Santa's nice nurse helped him nod his head and wiped the dribbled mince pie and whipped cream from his chin.

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Sybil Bruncheon's "Thanksgivings Past"... sur-REAL.....

It was never clear and certainly never explained why in 1933 with the Depression raging and tensions building in Europe that the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade committee turned the design of the floats and balloons over to Salvador Dali...All that could be determined later was that he should have been more closely supervised by the staff of the store...or at least by the in-house employee psychologist, if only to avoid possible scandals and lawsuits. But on Thursday morning, November 30th, when his unexplained "Fish With High Heels" sailed down the avenue and it was met by a shrieking crowd, nothing could be done. Nor was there much help that medical and police personnel could do for the dead and dying among the stampede victims. The toll might have remained at only a few hundred, but the hideous thing broke loose from its handlers and drifted North-North-East into Yonkers where it began its clumsy rampage of terror and destruction into Duchess county and on up into Connecticut before a squadron of biplanes shot it down and burned the hated thing in a bonfire in Hartford on the steps of the state capitol...

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