Decision (Originally Published 28 Apr 2008)

Current mood:contemplative

Once again, changes are taking place at the Westside Lounge and I have taken this as an opportunity to do something I have been trying to do for a long time.  That is, shut the Café.  It's been overdue and, of course, I am both at odds and at peace with the decision.  I love to perform and I am so proud of my legacy, the years of entertaining, the start I gave to so many talented performers over the years, the friendships I made and the skills I have learned.  It's been a great ride and I have met such wonderful people and done things that I would not have been able to without my show but, as I said, it's time.  Don't get me wrong, I am not hanging up my heels altogether, I'll still do charity shows and special events but the grind of a regular show has worn me down and the climate in this city has changed.  The writing has been on the wall, in blinking rainbow neon, that my relevance is no longer…well…relevant.  It's no big deal.  Where my musical tastes lie is far from the current crop you hear and see on the radio or the music channels.  In addition, our gay Spanish community has grown over the years and those that have seen me in the flesh can easily tell that I am FAR from a ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Latina.  I have heard Joey G.'s critiques for quite a while now, that I need to do different music because of my audience but my response has always been that they came to see Mortimer's Café, they know what kind of show I bring.  This may be part of the reason why, I guess, my audience has dwindled to this point and management wants to change the Friday format.  Change is good.  It's something I firmly believe in.  I have changed over the years, from being a supervisor in the coin department in the casinos, to a drag performer, to a club promoter to barback then bartender, with stints as a housekeeper and maitre' d in-between.  I will be a mess that night. When I made the announcement during my last show I started misting up a bit, by the second of May, I'll be a puddle. 

So, that's it, the end of an era (personally) is upon me.  I only know what I am going to do as my last number.  It's the first number I ever performed and I still have the same exact dress.  Even though it's in hideous condition, the damn thing has been moved around the tri-state area for nearly twenty years, I'm going to wear it and wear it proudly! Miss Patti has made souvenirs for the event that go with my last number.  Hot cats and cool chicks, I so hope you can attend this "historic" night. 

It's about bloody time!