Artwork © Eric N. Peterson

 

The Stage Is Still Ours

Another day sitting at the bar, a draught resting in my hand
waiting for the curtain to rise and our show to begin. the old
stomping ground hasn’t changed in thirty-five years. Just older,
more worn, and more wrinkles on the leather stools, matching
the afternoon clientele. Mid-afternoon the same peeps come in,
and resume the same places as the day before, as if rehearsing
for a Broadway play. a bit more flamboyant and the years
have perfected the cattiness, sarcastic, and acid tongues.
There is always a director to appear in a grand ole way,
to start the show and the tales of yesteryear. So much
has changed yet remained the same. Relive the times
before Facetime, chatrooms, and Messenger. Our chat
room was the bar, not a device in the palm of our hand.
this was our Grindr. Now we sit and reminisce of
the past and who has since passed. Today it’s so much
different than the time when friends were dying left and
right. Those that were left, had so much to hide back then.
lived in fear of discovery, fear of sickness, fear of death.
now alive to see the recklessness reappear as it did way
back when. Alive to see youth be able to be young and carefree.
how lucky we are to be part of life now while still a prisoner
to the fear that was. soon the shots of Jamison, Old Grandad,
Makers Mark will be making their entrance, stage left.
throw it back and continue. minutes turn into hours and
happy hour will end. We older queens will take our bow and
perhaps a curtain call before we head to the exit. The second
and third acts for the evening will soon be making their
debut. For now, we must go and get our rest, the dawn of
tomorrow will bring us back and we must be ready to
perform another show.

 

After 31 years in banking, John Ganshawretired to follow his dream of owning a Southeast Asian hotel. This led to many new experiences enabling John to see the world through a different lens, leading him to write his story through essays, poetry, and an unpublished memoir. John’s work has appeared in Dreich, Runamok Books/Growerly, Post Roe Alternatives, Fleas on the Dog, OMQ, Free the Verse, eMerge, Unapologetic, and others. Nothing is as it seems, and experiences are meant to shape us not define us. Life has hope, truth, and adventure, all leading to stories that should be written and told.

Eric N. Peterson is from Atlanta, Ga. He’s been drawing cartoons all his life. He leans towards the absurd, imaginative, and the surreal, as that’s where all the flavor is.