For example, take that of Jason Chaz Draven. You know how you hear all the time about the gay guy from Hickville, USA, whose family disowns him? Jason's that guy. Twenty-three years old and from Idaho, Jason's been here for nearly three years. Of course, he wasn't always known as Jason Chaz Draven - a name that many may associate with The Crow, one of Jason's favorite characters; the name is one he has earned only recently, after working out the legal logistics involved in changing one's name which cost him nearly a year and several hundred dollars. He figures it's only fair; if his family disowned him, he reserves the right to disown his family name.
Of his three years in San Francisco, nearly two of those years have been spent working here in The Broadmoor, the hotel which I, for the moment, anyway, have the pleasure of calling home. He aspires to greater things, like having his various writings - which he refuses to show me - published, but he feels limited by his present lack of a college education. In fact, Jason feels limited by many, many things; he is the antithesis of The Ass-Slapper, and surprisingly more so than I. (The philosophy behind Ass-Slapping is one I lack the time to get into here, but, rest assured, it's the main theme of the novel(la) I'm presently working on and it will arise in time. By the by, I'm loving the fact that I just used parentheses within parentheses, but that is neither here nor there.)
He is the brunt of many a joke and cruel word amongst the staff here, and it is this underdog-ness that has, perhaps, most drawn me to him. There are few things in life I enjoy more than rooting for the underdog, and Jason affords me the opportunity to do so in spades. In our time spent together, over a slice of Vegetarian Pizza (though he certainly isn't one, I figured I'd take this opportunity to mention the fact that I have not consumed flesh in nearly a month, by choice, though I don't think I've been going on long enough yet to reserve the title of "vegetarian") or a mixer at a local bar or club, he whines and moans, quite frequently, about his complete and utter failure of a love life.
Not unlike another gay man I know back east, by the way, but I digress.
His foibles are a source of great amusement for me, though it's only fair that I say so mine are his.
Though he'd never say it in so many words, he's presently in love - or, at least, in a very deep like - with one Reuben Buhler, another member of the staff here who has been working here for nearly as long.
Reuben Buhler was born and raised in New Zealand and he retains a rather charming accent which draws constant attention to this fact. At the age of seventeen, give or take, he moved to Utah, where he has family. He lived there for quite some time as a member of The Church of Latter Day Saints - more commonly known as The Mormon Church - until he was formally excommunicated due to his failed "struggle" with homosexuality. Shortly thereafter, he came out to San Francisco and began work at The Broadmoor. Reuben stayed here for several months, until, one day, after his family had dropped in on the city on an unannounced vacation, he was unexpectedly dragged back against his will to Utah. After some disputes at home, he came back here and has been here ever since.
Reuben is twenty-seven, though he retains a naiveté which makes him seem over a decade younger. While he identifies himself as a homosexual, he has yet to engage in the physical act most commonly associated with it. He has yet to engage in any physical act between two people. Reuben has not yet had a boyfriend. In fact, he hasn't had a girlfriend, either. He hasn't been in any form of romantic relationship in his entire life, and he has this ewww-that's-icky mentality about sex that might make more sense (to some people) when I say that it is very similar to that of one Min Yoo.
Reuben is a child, through and through, an idea which both disgusts me and intrigues me to no end. Similarly, it disgusts and intrigues Jason, though, being a straight man, I am satisfied with being merely Reuben's friend while Jason is not. And Reuben, from his end, gives me the impression that he can not handle any form of relationship or commitment with anyone, perhaps because of a somewhat failed family life growing up, perhaps because of his religion (despite his excommunication, Reuben still considers himself to be a practicing Mormon; in fact, part of the reason he came to San Francisco was to find a church where he could practice where no one would recognize him and draw attention to his excommunicated-ness), perhaps because of his childish nature, perhaps because the sky is blue.
It also disgusts and intrigues Amy Pearce, his fag-hag (though neither one of them is familiar with the term). Amy is a friend of his back from Utah, who started working here a few weeks after I and who will be leaving to return home August 16th.
Amy is twenty-one. After dropping out of both college and beauty school, she found a job teaching highschool students with Down Syndrome; her own sister is one her pupils. Amy is an extremely compassionate human being, and I must confess I had an ever so slight crush on her until one day, when Kerry's wife was giving her speech at the DNC, our topic of discussion turned to politics. ("Walter, Bush is a just and righteous man and Clinton is a liar who royally F-ed up our country.")
I thought long and hard, and I can honestly think of no greater turn-off to hear from a girl. But I digress.
Amy, in her own way, is also naive. In fact, while I admit it would be unfair to come to a conclusion based on two members, I'm beginning to think naive is a state of being attached to all Mormons. However, she lacks Reuben's childish nature. While Reuben simply is the way he is, Amy gives off the vibe that she is the way she chooses to be.
If that makes any sense.
But it will probably make more sense when I continue this later...