Some of my best friends

About seven years a go, there was a new sitcom called Some of My Best Friends.  The title comes from the familiar phrase that I heard so many times in college, “Some of my best friends are gay.”  My read when hearing this was, “You don’t scare me.  I know people like you.”  The TV show starred Jason Bateman and Danny Nucci.  Jason Bateman played a character named Warren who is a twenty-something writer living in New York.  He is a writer who has just ended a relationship with his boyfriend.  While looking for a roommate, he comes across a straight, Italian guy from Brooklyn and he decides to move in.  The comedy and mayhem ensue.

The character of Warren is a normal guy for the most part, even a bit conservative.  He has a friend (played by Alec Mapa) who is his more flamboyant side-kick.  I have seen all seven (yes, seven) episodes of this sitcom.  It only lasted a few weeks.  Compared to Will and Grace, it is much better written and funnier.  So, why did Will and Grace last several years while this show was cancelled after only seven episodes?  My guess is that it is because the characters of Will and Jack represent what people think gay men are like and they believe the over-the-top, flamboyant, promiscuous lives that these characters lead.

The character of Warren, in my opinion, much more closely represents regular gay men who are looking for, or are in, a relationship.  But, people may not be ready to accept the normalcy of a gay relationship and still choose to look at gay people as a source of comic relief.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Jack and Karen are funny (the show should have been named Jack and Karen instead of Will and Grace), but this representation of gay people does not help our cause.  Unfortunately, this is all that the viewing public is ready for.  Maybe in a few years we can get another show about a “regular” gay character that lasts more than seven episodes.

Scene with Jack from Will and Grace

 Scene from Some of My Best Friends

Miami, You’ve Got Style

Dac is a musician. As I mentioned in a previous post, he is a classical musician for the most part, but he also dabbles in more contemporary music. Everyone in our church looks forward to his musical contributions, be it a classical piece or a contemporary song. I have gotten very good at standing next him as people come up and compliment him afterward. I love it because I am always so proud of him. I have no musical talent at all so I am always impressed by what he accomplishes. I don’t mean to make it seem like it is effortless for him. It most certainly is not. Dac spends hours practicing at home and makes sure that everything that he performs in church or in a concert is excellent.

After seven years, I have begun to get a bit of the music bug from him. I can’t carry a tune to save my life and can’t tell if I am singing too high or too low. When I ask Dac if I should I sing a note higher or lower, he usually responds, “Can’t you hear it?” to which I respond, “Uh…no.”

There is one song that I can mostly sing in tune and of all things it is the Miami song that Rose and Dorothy sang on an episode of the Golden Girls. This is possibly the gayest thing that I have ever admitted to. For those of you that don’t have the “gay gene,” the Golden Girls was TV show in the 80’s about four women in the golden years of their lives (50-80 years old). I’m convinced that the innate ability to sing this song must be genetically linked to the gay gene. What else could possible explain it?

There are times when Dac and I are driving down the street and one of us bursts out with the lyrics to Miami and we sing the entire song together. Maybe there are some things that are different between a straight and gay marriage after all.

Enjoy Rose and Dorothy singing the original!

Jos76