Gay as a Maypole

This post, as has the last couple of days, comes to you from sunny, tres gay, Fort Lauderdale. My partner and I just got back from a morning walk along the ocean, where we passed Sebastian Beach, the "gay" beach. Being morning and all, it was quite vacant, save for a group of six guys setting up for the day. I tapped my partner, motioned to them, and asked, "so, you think they're gay?" Looking over at their rainbow beach umbrella, his response was an expression he has picked up from me, which is, "gay as a Maypole."

We walked along, and I started pondering this expression, rolling it around in my head. What in God's name can be gay about a pole in which multicolored ribbons are strung, and people parade around it, braiding these ribbons. But, then it started to dawn on me, that the Maypole is very communal, very binding, very gay.

You see, having been here at the gay resort we're staying at, I've been constantly reminded how tight-knit we are, how respectful we are to each other, how we share this gay camaraderie. The multi-colored ribbons of the Maypole, as they wrap around each other, are similar to how each of us intertwines and somehow connect with each other within our Small Gay World. It's a good thing.

So, the next time you hear someone saying "Gay as a Maypole," think of our close, tight-knit community, and say, "yes, gay as a maypole, indeed!"