Sunday, October 05, 2008

Heavy Medalist

Greg Louganis is still a hottie. In case you were wondering.

He spoke Friday evening at a benefit for Alexandria's same-sex domestic violence programs. It was a deeply personal talk, mostly about being gay, HIV positive, and in an abusive relationship. Very moving.

You know what impressed me the most? Not the Olympic medals, but the fact that he'd trained a Jack Russell terrier to be an obedience and agility champion. Seriously, have you ever tried to get a Jack Russell's attention? Unless you're dangling a live rodent by the tail, it's a hopeless pursuit. As for getting it to obey a command, it would be faster - and easier - to master quantum physics.

It probably helps to be Greg Louganis. I'm sure even a dog would do whatever he asked; I know I would.

We got to meet Nipper, the protégée, after the talk. She was adorable, poised - and, yes, extremely well behaved.

Anyone who wanted to cripple our little city could have strolled into the Hilton that night with a machine gun, because all our officials, to their credit, were there to support the queers. Vice Mayor Redella
"Del" Pepper (who looks and sounds exactly as you'd expect a Del Pepper to) read a proclamation designating October as Don't Beat Your Gay Partner Month or some such. Bless her heart, she referred to the guest of honor as Lou Ganis. (Or was she saying Lou Gayness - in which case, touché, madame.)

The diver wasn't the only hunk in the room. Our chief of police, I discovered, is strikingly handsome, a classic silver fox, and the deputy fire chief made me think about playing with matches.

For some reason, the crowd was extra friendly to Little Wheelchair Girl - lots of smiles, greetings, offers of food and drink. Alas, no private audience with Lou Ganis ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have always liked him. In fact I sat through a second performance of "Jeffrey" just to see him in person. He did not have a well trained pup then, but there's something special about him...