Among the many clichés upon which we depend not to disappoint us - three on a match is unlucky; okay, when was the last time you saw a match? 1956? or if two famous people in a given field die, there will a third so you start paying attention to the news.
Get a grip - these have just been abolished: "bingo and crocheting are for old ladies in nursing homes." Yes, it was a shock to me, too. I am old and my future of throatily calling out "Bingo!" or whipping great big needles through nylon rope just died. And I'll tell you who stole both.
The other day we were having lunch with our great friend, T. We hadn't seen each other for awhile and thus had a great deal of ground to cover. T and I grabbed our phones and started trading looks. He opened the bidding with shots of Michael, his new squeeze and I countered weakly with a shot of Fred, our cat. Yes, well ... work with whatcha got.
Photos over, we started talking. When T told us of an incident at bingo, I held up a palm in "Stop right there. " T, bingo?!" I said in disbelief.
"Oh, yeah. Every Wednesday night at the Crest. Tuesdays we bring our crocheting." I nearly slid under our table so great was my disbelief that groups of handsome (mostly) middle aged gay guys were playing bingo. My heart would have to deal with crocheting later on. Bingo had been enough to nearly kill me.
Come to find out, Gay Bingo (its given name) began back in the 1990s when a group called the Chicken Soup Brigade, Seattle, was looking for a fund-raiser. One of the group discovered that with bingo which was hosted and run by drag queens, one could get fun and make cash. Today Gay Bingo is found in not only densely populated places (Los Angeles, New York, etc.) but in Utah and Alaska, too.
Putting it in the capable hands of drag queens was a stroke of genius. DQs (not Dairy Queen) will crucify anyone with a very well-chosen insult. Even their names are funny - Anna Conda; Annie Depressant; Lauren Order; Mary K. Mart. A scholar explained that these double-meaning names are "Homophonic" and gave this example: You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish.
I think gay bingo sounds like terrific fun as I have always found DQ wit insanely funny. I should live so long and be so funny. But gotta pass on the crochet. So not my thing. Yo, gays, have at it - flash those needles!
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