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Message: <blockquote data-quote="maxfieldjadenfox" data-source="post: 3109014" data-attributes="member: 18003">Okay, but you asked...My friend Larry "does" Cher. One of my fondest memories is of him standing in my living room at about 3 AM after a Halloween party, saying,"I'm done with this bitch" and dropping first the wig, then the falsies and other acoutrements on the floor. Looked like Cher had blown up...A few months ago, his long-time partner was killed in an accident. Larry called me and asked me to sing at the memorial, which would be at the local gay social club. "Rick always loved to hear you sing." So, of course, I said yes. I got to the club early, and found out the accompanist had flaked, so I would be singing acapella...erk! I asked the bartender where Larry was and he pointed toward the back room. I composed myself, because I knew it would probably be an emotional scene. When I went around the corner, there was Larry, all done up as Cher. This was a surprise to me. Nobody told me it would be a drag memorial service. Next to him, helping with the wig stylage, was my friend PJ, also known as Fontana Divine, as Liza, resplendent in red sequins. Suddenly, I felt very underdressed in my velvet top and jeans. But, a real woman can never hope to compete with a drag queen in the glitz department, so why bother? Larry told me he was sorry about the accompanist, but was I still willing to sing? I said of course. He told me where to sit, when I would sing, and excused himself to finish preparing. I went out and sat in my assigned spot and prepared myself by drinking a beer. Through the course of the evening, drag kings and queens eulogized Rick in words and lip sync. My friends Wendy and Kari sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." When people were particularly moved, they walked up to the performer and gave him/her money. A custom perhaps unique to this area. The same $10-$15 probably just makes its way around the room through the course of the evening, but it's kind of an honor. It was finally my time to sing. I sang Sarah MacLachlan's Angel. About halfway through, I realized that the audience was singing with me. Nice. Then, the drag queens began to line up to give me money. I was so flummoxed I sang the end of the first verse twice. Guess nobody minded... Last, Larry came out and sang a duet with an Ernie (from Sesame Street) puppet singing the Peter Cetera part.Well, here we are againI guess it must be fateWe've tried it on our ownBut deep inside we've knownWe'd be back to set things straightI still remember whenYour kiss was so brand newEvery memory repeatsEvery step I take retreatsEvery journey always brings me back to youAfter All the stops and startsWe keep coming back to these two heartsTwo angels who've been rescued from the fallAfter All that we've been throughIt all comes down to me and youI guess it's meant to beForever you and me, After AllWhen love is truly right(This time it's truly right)It lives from year to yearIt changes as it goesOh, and on the way it growsBut it never disappearsAfter All the stops and startsWe keep coming back to these two heartsTwo angels who've been rescued from the fallAfter All that we've been throughIt all comes down to me and youI guess it's meant to beForever you and me, After AllAlways just beyond my touchYou know I needed you so muchAfter All, what else is livin' for?After All the stops and startsWe keep coming back to these two heartsTwo angels who've been rescued from the fallAfter All that we've been throughIt all comes down to me and youI guess it's meant to beForever you and me, After All  Tears were running down his face as everyone lined up in front of the stage, which was littered with money by the end of the song. Turns out he wasn't going to be able to afford to fly to South Dakota (where Rick was from) for the funeral, but the drag queen donations (and mine <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />) made it possible. All in all, one of the most surreal and amazing experiences of my life.</blockquote>

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