Get the Dish with Miss Priscilla Pride!
by Miss Priscilla Pride

Summer Flings, Fall Reflections!

Priscilla is aware of the events that took place on September 11, 2001. I mean no disrespect with my report on my August activities. We must remember that life existed before the shocking events, but just maybe we all need to admit that we were not living life to its fullest! We all get wrapped up in our daily routine (work, errands, fights with friends and neighbors, and other mundane and trivial things). The events of September 11, 2001 should teach us that life can be short, is precious and can be taken away at any time, and without warning! Please look up the definition of the word community. See that one definition is a body of people living in the same place (Long Island) under the same laws (most we agree to and others we all want changed to include sexual orientation). Another definition of community states just two words, similarity and likeness. Both of these words share a synonym, comparable. My thoughts: we all differ in many ways and we are alike in many others. That's what makes us unique. In light of September 11, 2001 we need to find a way to work together and respect our differences. United we are a force to be reckoned with, divided we are weak. So to those who lost loved ones, friends, neighbors and more, Priscilla sends out a huge hug and will keep you in my prayers each night. I will pray for emotional, spiritual and physical healing for those in need. I too have best friends who lost 11 people in the planes that crashed and ask for your prayers for them too.

August on La Isle de Fuego -
"She's havin' a heat wave, a tropical heat wave, her temperature's risin', it ain't no surprisin', Priscilla certainly can, CAN-CAN!" Hola, darlings! Priscilla is back from a Latiny, sexy 10 days in Cherry Grove, or as it I called it 'The International House of Tortilla Chips.' That's right, all the men and women were hard and salty, while both gays and lesbians dipped their finds in the sauce of their choice! Hay Caramba and Hay Dios Mio... sweat/sweat... fan/fan!

The flavor of the season was Latin all the way! The boys from Venezuela, Miguel, to name one and the other Latin and South American cuties, Wilfredo and the other waiters and bus boys, at The Bay Leaf made my 2001 jaunt ever so special. Dears, if you can still make it over before October 14^th, get there and quick! Joanne and Sean assembled the most delicious crew, from Chef Steve Giambrone (I love hot, sexy Italian men who know how to use their hands) to Pastry Chef Valerie Weiss (what she does with custard, pie crust and whipped cream is sinful -- and the desserts are great too!). If you miss Valerie this season on Fire Island, don't fret! You can catch her at The Boston Tea Party on Merrick Road in Amityville. RUN, HURRY... I would, but I'm still licking my chops from all those heavenly desserts she made especially for me! Chef Steve's culinary confections and Pastry Chef Valerie's tantalizing taste treats make The Bay Leaf the most heavenly Dining Den of Delectably Delicious Delights! If you miss them this season, quelle damage, but one can bet that they will return in 2002! Who knows? Chef Steve and Pastry Wizardess Valerie may just be at Priscilla's, catering a private function this winter! HHHmmm, who gets an invite? If you're lucky the postman will ring more than twice when he delivers your invitation!

Priscilla spreads it around. It was August 10^th, a summer storm hit the Isle fast and furious but not before I dipped in the pool wearing my new bathing creation - "Half Moon'. It's from the house of One-Leg Casino, half-brother to Oleg Cassini. The family still won't talk about One-Leg's accident but Priscilla is determined to get to the bottom of Half Moon's history and why One-Leg picked it as his signature beach wear ensemble for the 2001 season. When I know, you will too! After a nice swim I went to my room at The Belvedere. Yes, drag sisters are welcomed; we still have the right parts so to speak in all the right places. John and Scott are such dears; they gave me a lovely room on the bay side of the house, away from adoring fans. As I changed for dinner the sky turned black and the winds picked up. I turned to my hot El Salvadorian roommate, CARLOS -- he puts the spice in my Enchilada, and gasped. We thought we were off to see Dorothy in Oz, instead we had the worst storm of the season and the power went out. I ran into Carlos' arms and screamed. (Not because it was dark, but thunder & lightning excites Carlos ever so much. I screamed 'cause I nearly got speared to death!)

We decided that Cherry Grove in the dark is no fun, so we water taxied to The Pines. Carlos is so in the know! The owners of The Bistro, General Manager -- Michael Terranova & Chef -- Bruce "Mac" Macintyre, flew into Carlos' arms. Kisses were exchanged as they whisked us to a private table outside on the deck under the stars and the balmy night breezes. The storm passed but the soft breeze was a perfect compliment to the fabulous mildly spiced shrimp and the tender/juicy rack of lamb. The red wine selected was subtle and warm, the perfect libation for this sultry night. Hostess Karyn Beck and waiter Allen Durgin handled the crowd with grace and style. The Pines was the only island with power. You simply must visit them next season!

We ate for hours, desserts too. Of course getting back to The Grove in a water taxi proved to be an exciting experience. Every time the boat swayed and hit a little wave I landed in Carlos' lap. Once on The Grove we stopped in at Cherry's for a little cocktail and karaoke. The place was charming and packed as usual. Carlos left the next day leaving me alone, enraptured in my memories of the night before. I strolled the Grove in a daze and walked right into Michael Pepito, co-owner of The Bunkhouse, Top Of The Bay and other sordid ventures too numerous to mention! He invited me to dine with him that evening and said he had a big surprise for me. After Carlos I thought there was no one bigger, OOPS! Anyway, I showed up at 7 PM to The Top Of The Bay in my new ensemble entitled Smother by SoTearHer. She is the evil twin to the Hungarian designer Sotera whose new line is sheer in the right places and leaves things to your imagination in others. Well, evil twin SoTearHer is twisted, and I was smothered in diaphanous gauze that left nothing to the imagination.

The big surprise, you ask? Well, as I flounced in once up those damned stairs, I looked over at Michael's table and screamed, BARRY JONES...DARLING IT'S BEEN TOO LONG! Yes dears, Socially Speaking and Priscilla at the same table, Michael is so, so wicked! After dishing all the good dirt, there was poor Jim, Barry's adorable partner, picking up after Barry. You see, Jim and Barry are on the Board for GALFOLI who host annually The Dock of the Bay. So there we were, all of us mortified by the way, sitting at a table that needed room for the two flat boards attached to Barry's hips, one with faboo basket items and the other with baskets, bunting and wrapping. It seems Barry can go nowhere in August without these 2 make shift tables since he creates all the "Silent Auction" and "Raffle Baskets" from scratch. Jim cracks that whip and Barry snaps to, let me tell you. It got embarrassing though when Barry wanted to make a basket of our table scraps and planned to raffle it as "star trash"...poor dear, she works so hard!

Anyway, Priscilla attended The Dock of the Bay this past August 19^th. Let me tell you, anyone who is anyone in the Long Island GLBT community was there, and those who were not...well, let's just say they missed one of the most exciting events of the season. Well deserved awards were presented to Jon Cooper (married to a cutie -- damn), Tom Maligno (so sweet you want to pinch those cheeks), Camille Gnolfo (just a bundle of energy) and Helen from Club 608 (she even got a new buzz cut for the event -- you go girl. Only thing...if only your hairdresser knew for sure that she should buzz your hair two weeks prior to the event, the new do would have been perfecto!) The one and only complaint voiced by most was the food. Now, I don't want to knock it too harshly, but GALFOLI dears...remember: Priscilla is a full figured gal, therefore wraps and salads don't cut for me. I need meat and plenty of it. We'll work on that next year together!

September -- "There's No Place Like Home..."--
Labor Day and The Bunkhouse go hand in hand! Priscilla judged a Miss Long Island, Miss Bunkhouse, Miss Gay Pride Long Island and Drag King contest...that was sure as hell one mouthful. Sisters to the left of me, sisters to the right of me, gagging on hairspray, starting 2 hours late, some of these gals needed more time. Honeys, please! The next millennium could come and go if we gave you more time!

Well, it was worth the wait. Priscilla questions the judges...and I was one...for Miss Bunkhouse. No names will be mentioned but suffice to say that China won over Victoria Weston. MICHAEL PEPITO and LARRY NEMEROFF, hear this. Mr. Socially Speaking and Priscilla will not judge another contest if a) you don't supply calculators next year to add up our sheets and b) you don't get 2 other judges who don't need binoculars to judge. Were those two other sisters blind????? Or just plain biased??? We'll never know.

Miss Long Island, one has to perform in this event, went to Miss Mirkala Cristal! Her rendition of Annie Lennox's and The Eurhythmics song "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This" rocked The Bunkhouse. The crowd went wild when she performed and was crowned. I am so weepy writing this, she is my soul sister! You go Mirkala; you finally got the crown! Well deserved too and she should have been last year's winner in my judging opinion, but the scandal will never be resolved! I know, let it go, let it go...breathe, deep breaths! First Runner-up was Ginger Moore, doing a lovely number - cartwheel and all!

Now Miss Gay Pride Long Island 2002 went to Ginger Moore and 1^st Runner-up was Mirkala Cristal. It only proves what I always say, "Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!" These girls stole the show and left some of the others in their dust! But the competition was fierce!

The first ever 2002 Long Island Pride Parade Drag King went to Christine Graziano. She performed and drove the lesbians wild. I was a-scared, they were screaming so loud! Christine is such a dynamo. Well the event was a huge success and I can't wait till next year.

HOT OFF THE PRESS...EXTRA, EXTRA!!...EXCLUSIVE TO COMMUNITY CONNECTION...
This just came in over my fax at home. My two soul mates, Lady Ashley Brooke & Ivana Adulation, moved back to Long Island. Lady Ashley Brooke was forced to leave England when the scandal broke. According to The London STAR, it was Lady who forced fed Fergie those cookies and pies causing Fergie to lose her Weight Watcher's contract. I don't buy it. The cookies in question were OREOS... please... anyone who is anyone knows Lady only sucks down MILANOS and only Mint flavored at that. As for Ivana... well, let's just say no one in her entourage is speaking or leaking any news of Ivana's being escorted out of Russia. Rumor has it that Ivana's animal fetishes rival that of Catherine The Great, horses and all! HHHMMM, I hear the braying now!!! Giddy up, WHOA, NOOOOO!

Well, COMMUNITY CONNECTION's got them for a new article entitled LA VUE. I hear tell that they will review anything from CDs to theater, from restaurants to fashion trends on Long Island. Their first assignment will be a review of The Rocky Horror Show performed at Forevergreen on 9/28, 9/29 & 9/30. I can't wait!

Two events that kicked off the Long Island Fall Season were The Long Pride Parade Committee's Annual Fall Dance held on 9/22 at the Sayville VFW and the annual AIDS Care, Inc. brunch held on 9/30 at RS Jones. Darlings, I danced off so much water weight at the first that I needed to chow down at the second to keep this full figure! DJ Denise of Twisted Dee Productions spun the dance music for the Parade Committee's annual Fall fete and everyone was up and having a great time. Even Mr. Borman had his dancing shoes cleaned, polished and spit shined. I caught him making time with Mr. Black Shirt -- you go Billy Boy!!!!!

As for the Brunch -- RS JONES is simply the best! The spread was superb, the atmosphere was charming and the crowd was pleased by it all. AIDS Care, Inc. runs such a lovely event and does such great work! You go kids!!! Applause, applause...kisses and hugs!

Upcoming Events -
Priscilla expects to see all of you at some of the Fall Faboo events this year, no excuses! Let's see we have the October 24^th "MEN IN ROUGE" event at The Bunkhouse. This Drag Extravaganza will benefit 3 worthy organizations that help those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS: AIDS Care Inc., Positive Rainbows and Thursday's Child. To all the volunteers of these organizations Priscilla blows many kisses and applauds your commitment to our community.

Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY) is sponsoring another prom -- this time for adults. The Pride Benefit Prom -- A Prom for Adults will be at the Island Hills Golf and Country Club in Sayville, NY on Saturday, November 3, 2001 providing adults with the chance to re-live their prom experience, perhaps differently from the first time. Tickets are $100 and it's Open Bar! Now, Priscilla is thinking of taking Sealed Bids from my admirers, match the highest bid and that lucky winner gets to take me to the Prom! Any takers???? Call me at 516-562-5319. I'm serious! All money will go to the kids at LIGALY!

And of course, there is the event of THE SEASON: The 6^th Annual Winter Ball hosted by The Long Island Pride Parade Committee, Sunday -- December 2^nd, at The West Lake Inn in Patchogue. Anyone who is anyone will be there, so don't miss it. Tickets are $60 per person, cocktail hour and dinner!

My Prom ensemble will be yummy & my Winter Ball outfit will sizzle. Come and join me at these faboo events!

CIAO for now! Kisses, Priscilla!

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