Family and Friends Magazine has always made the Fly smile. No doubt numerous members of the uptight set, certain that sodomy, and sodomy alone, is to blame for all our nation s woes, have picked up this free zine, fooled by the wholesome-sounding name, only to discover that F&FM is the Mid- South s premier publication for the gay, lesbian, and transgendered community.
The July issue was particularly eye-catching considering the bold-faced cover blurb reading, Al Gore exclaims, I m gay, damnit! as he leaves town with male lover. Alas, that delicious headline was just a spoof of supermarket tabloids. There was, however, was a curious profile titled Meet Your Neigbor about an androgynous person named Rob who looks like Elvis circa 1976, loves barbecue, claims to be a lesbian and who came down all the way from Detroit to enjoy Memphis Gay Pride Parade. Rob s favorite animal? None, (s)he answered, I hate animals. Rob s partnership status? Courtin , naturally. But when F&FM asked Rob to name her/his favorite thing about Memphis, things got a little weird. My Pooh, (s)he answered. While we ve heard that the water in Memphis can be therapeutic, let s hope Rob was talking about a little yellow bear named Winnie.
