Puppies, Wildflowers and Greeks Part One (Off to College) Down a winding country road, tucked deep in the Appalachian Mountains of Central West Virginia, a young, bright eyed boy; the son of a coal miner, began his quest for knowledge and love. Far from the hustle and bustle of any major metropolis, this inquisitive youth would face many challenges in a very rural setting, before his energetic mind and innocent heart would mature into manhood. On a cloudless day in late June, 1965, six month old Jimmy; who was wearing only a cloth diaper, sat on a blanket in the open sunlight, near the watchful eye of his mother as she tended to her daily household chores. Jimmy shared the small blanket with five (three weeks old), chubby, German Shepherd puppies as their mother, also, sat protectively nearby. Although, growing up in a small coal mining community would pose numerous cultural and economic barriers for Jimmy in the years to come, his early childhood was filled with an abundance of love, comfort and lots of puppies to keep him smiling. The early years of his life rolled by quickly. As he grew, Jimmy excelled in school and the community. He was a popular kid and easily made friends. Both parents were nature lovers and taught him to respect his environment. He picked wildflowers and planted trees with his mother. He would voluntarily help his parents with the garden they planted each year that provided much of the food supply for the family of seven for the entire year. Jimmy had two brothers and two sisters. He was the second born, but the oldest of the three sons. His father was also the oldest son and Jimmy liked sharing that in common with his dad. There were things that might have suggest that Jimmy was gay growing up. He designed clothes for his sister's dolls; he liked to arrange flowers with his mother, he chose yearbook over football in high school, and although his family rarely had money left over from bills for the extras, Jimmy dressed better than any kid in his class. However, hard work humbled him and kept his feet on the ground and his appearance was never effeminate. These 'extra talents' were viewed by most who knew him as just that, 'extra talents'. Jimmy never remembers a time growing up that he did not feel totally accepted by his peers for who he was. He carried himself well, and most of the other boys were envious of the attention he got from the girls. He liked school and was always on the honor roll (often perfect grades). However, there was something very distant from his native environment that called for him. He craved the culture and lifestyles of far away places that he only caught glimpses of on TV and read about in the tabloids and books. It was rare during this time to see a gay character at all in a mainstream movie or TV show, and even more rare to see them portrayed in a positive way. But on those rare occasions, Jimmy remembers his heart rate speeding up, and a surge of excitement that settled in his groin area when he saw a gay man portrayed on TV or the big screen. He rarely gave his sexuality much thought. It was something he would address later. After graduation, Jim was now ready to conquer the world. College had been a dream since he could remember. His academic history, especially in mathematics, and his SAT scores, easily met the requirements for acceptance into the Civil Engineering Program at West Virginia Institute of Technology in Montgomery, West Virginia. Jim felt a little nervous as he entered the classroom. It was his first college lecture. His first class this morning was Trigonometry. He chose a desk near the back of the room, adjusted his notebook and pen on the desktop and let his eyes scan the room. It was an exciting moment for him. Everyone was so friendly and intelligent, he felt like he belonged at Tech and could not wait to make new friends there. The professor, Barbara Crist, was already into the lecture when the door abruptly opened and the most attractive guy Jim had ever seen, came rushing in and hurriedly seated himself in a front desk right in front of the professor. Although, she appeared a little annoyed at his tardiness, she was very cordial and forgiving, being that it was the first day of class and mostly freshmen students. Professor Crist introduced herself again and Jim felt little tingles in his stomach when he heard Jay, introduce himself to the entire room. Damn, Jim thought to himself, He had never seen another guy that caught his attention in this way. He and the rest of the class chuckled as Jay took the bold opportunity to invite them all to a 20 keg rush party at the Sig Ep house across the railroad tracks, by the Seven Eleven Store that night. The professor, also seemed amused. Jim jotted the directions to the party down on his notepad. He was going to like this place! After class and unconsciously waiting and watching Jay exit the classroom, he decided to check this Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity house out. It was located directly across the street from the Engineering Building that he was just in for Trigonometry class. Jim paused in front of the building as he noticed Jay crossing the railroad tracks and entering the frat house. Apparently this guy was a member of this fraternity. Jim smiled and headed back to the dorm room. He was going to his first frat party tonight! (to be continued) 
Above: The photo that inspired this story. Writer Jim Lawson at age 6 months. Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community. Jim Lawson webcowboy42@aol.com
Into the Light Puppies, Wildflowers and Greeks Part two (Rush) As he hiked the 300 yards or so back to the dorm room, Jim's mind raced with preconceived images of what a fraternity party was going to be like. By the time he arrived, the party was already going strong. There was a small line forming outside the entrance into the fraternity house yard and excitement filled the air like that of a group of fans waiting to see their favorite rock band in concert. This was unlike any party Jim had attended in high school. It appeared to be very well planned. Members of the fraternity were strategically stationed in various spots and given specific duties for the evening. Two or three at the gate as greeters, one by each keg and two behind the bar. Someone was acting DJ and there was even a dance hall room with a large revolving disco ball. Jim noticed, to his surprise, that he was greeted by each member as he passed through the gate and found his way to the bar. Each had a firm, professional, yet friendly, handshake, accompanied by genuine smiles. Unaware, at the time, what the term "rush party" actually meant, he interpreted this as just a very friendly group of people. It also impressed Jim that everyone was so damn sexy! Many of the women appeared to even be a little over dressed in his opinion. Black cocktail dresses, perfect hair and makeup and trained smiles, almost gave the appearance of 'The Stepford Wives', he thought to himself. It was a bit more formal than Jim was used to, but he blended right in and had no trouble socializing with them. It was Spring 1984, the legal drinking age in West Virginia was still 18 under the grandfather clause, so there were no minors present. It was nice to be treated as an adult and given full benefits upon graduation of high school. This, Jim thought, is how it should be, since the draft had recently been reinstated and tension was building in Iran, and he could be drafted into the military at any moment and have to defend his country on the front line. Why would he not be allowed to legally consume alcohol? Although still not giving much thought to his sexual preference, Jim could not help but notice that the men who belonged to this fraternity were extraordinarily attractive men. They all seemed to have that All- American, golden boy, jock look. There was a very sexy tone to the entire evening. Speaking of sex appeal, Jay (the guy from Trigonometry class) entered the room from another part of the building. He was dressed in relaxed-fit Levis, a black T-shirt with a gray, wool, sports blazer jacket. Somehow, this unusual combination of dress/casual worked very well for Jay. He added a sporty touch to his appearance by wearing a pair of Timberline hiking boots (very popular at the time). Jay was not a tall man, probably around 5' 8". He appeared muscular and well proportioned. His hair was just a bit too sun-bleached and he was very tan. He was also, apparently, very popular. As he made his way through the crowd, greeting and shaking hands, Jim realized that he was not the only one that had noticed Jay's entrance. Everyone in the room seemed to have diverted their attention to this stud. Both men and women chanted his name as he passed through the crowd. As Jay was exiting the open doors to the large porch of the colonial house, he stopped in the doorway and turned back around. He looked directly into Jim's eyes and said "hey there, glad you could make it!" then returned to greeting his way through the open double doorway. "Has anyone given you a tour of the house yet?" another voice asked. Jim looked around to see who was talking. He almost dropped his glass of draft beer. His jaw dropped open and he stuttered a little as he replied, "no, I haven't made it past this room yet." They were standing in a large foyer, a room full of trophies and fraternity composite photographs was to the left and directly opposite that, was the entrance to the bar and dance floor. "My name is Lee, I am president of Sigma Phi Epsilon." Lee was porn star quality hot! He gave Jim some kind of weird handshake. He must have noticed the puzzled look on Jim's face. He smiled and said "I will explain that later." and led Jim out of the room through the crowd, pausing to greet people in their path, but persistently making his way through the crowd. Follow me, he said, my room is on the third floor. (to be continued) Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community. Jim Lawson webcowboy42@aol.com
Puppies, Wildflower and Greek (Part Three) Brotherhood Jim followed Lee up the stairs to the third floor of the house. The individual rooms of the frat house were all named. Lee used a key to unlock a door marked "The Penthouse". Inside, the room lived up to it's name. Especially, compared to the two small rooms of the unit in the dormitory that Jim shared with three other men. The Penthouse was actually three rooms and more like an apartment. Jim was impressed and actually a little aroused. This guy was sexy beyond description. Jim had a seat on the sofa and Lee disappeared into one of the adjoining rooms. There was a light tap on the door to Lee's room. Lee reappeared from the side room and opened the door. Two other members of the fraternity entered the room and Lee re locked the door. One of the two guys Jim quickly recognized as Jay, and Lee introduced the other as Scott, the Vice President of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Lee had brought something with him from the other room. Jay seated himself beside Jim on the sofa and Scott sat in a nearby chair. Lee placed the contents of his hand on the large glass-top coffee table in front of the sofa. He pulled something out from under the sofa and also tossed a Ziploc baggie containing marijuana on the table, beside the red glass water bong that he had placed there prior to sitting down on the other chair, opposite Scott and adjacent to the sofa. Very cool!, Jim thought. "This place was awesome!" Scott loaded the bong and passed it to Jay who took the first hit. Jim was next; reload, and then Scott followed by Lee. Jim had not been a big partier in high school, but he had seen and used this type of smoking apparatus before. As the guys joked and chatted casually about the events of the evening, Jim felt more and more comfortable with these three men. At this point, he had no knowledge of just how close he would become to each of them. As Lee returned the bong to the other room, the other three exited the room and waited in the hallway as Lee locked the door once more with his key. A bond had been formed between Jim and the three frat members. Jay and Scott both shook his hand again and promised to see him downstairs later. Lee continued the guided tour of the house with Jim. The house was quite impressive, but very stereotypical of frat houses that Jim had seen on movies like "Animal House". On the second floor Jim noticed a door marked "The Closet". Little did he realize at that time that this would ironically become his next home, for two semesters and a summer session following just one semester in the dorms, this would become his room in the frat house. The irony of Jim literally living in "The Closet" in the frat house, is still a favorite topic today when he gets together with his old friends and frat brothers from WV Tech and Sigma Phi Epsilon. After a brief tour of the house and after shaking more hands than Jim remembered shaking when he attended church services with his mother back in Webster County, The two young men rejoined the party on the first floor. Since the time they had gone upstairs, the place had become wall to wall packed with people. The antics and images of the frat house now truly resembled a scene Jim remembered from "Animal House". Lee excused himself and left Jim at the request of his girl friend to join him on the dance floor. Jim refreshed his beer at the bar and stood in the foyer looking at composite photographs of former frat members that hung on the wall in chronological order by graduation years. Jim was joined by Scott and a dude that Jim had not yet met. Scott introduced Bobby to Jim. Like Jim, Bobby was interested in pledging the fraternity and as Bobby pointed out, their names were the first two names on the list. Bobby had a very cheerful and down to earth attitude and personality. Jim studied Bobby's appearance and actions with a strange curiosity of just "what was this guy's deal?" Bobby's forwardness and confidence almost seemed a bit abrasive to Jim. There was an immediate sense of competitiveness between the two of them. Until now, Jim felt like he had been given special attention from the fraternity members and had been handpicked by the president to tour the house, but this guy Bobby, seemed to have an advantage over Jim with the fraternity members. He already knew them by name and apparently they were acquainted with him as well. This unconsciously caused Jim to react a little defensively toward Bobby and the two men, who would later refer to each other as "Best Friend" and form a bond that still exists today, did not immediately take to each other. That, however, is another story; another book; perhaps, even a series of books. I dedicate this article to my long time friend and fraternity brother, Bobby. He was my first...my first true friend! Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community. Jim Lawson
Above: The photo that inspired this story. Writer Jim Lawson at age 6 months.
Into the Light
Puppies, Wildflowers and Greeks
Part two (Rush)
As he hiked the 300 yards or so back to the dorm room, Jim's mind raced with preconceived images of what a fraternity party was going to be like.
By the time he arrived, the party was already going strong. There was a small line forming outside the entrance into the fraternity house yard and excitement filled the air like that of a group of fans waiting to see their favorite rock band in concert.
This was unlike any party Jim had attended in high school. It appeared to be very well planned. Members of the fraternity were strategically stationed in various spots and given specific duties for the evening. Two or three at the gate as greeters, one by each keg and two behind the bar. Someone was acting DJ and there was even a dance hall room with a large revolving disco ball.
Jim noticed, to his surprise, that he was greeted by each member as he passed through the gate and found his way to the bar. Each had a firm, professional, yet friendly, handshake, accompanied by genuine smiles. Unaware, at the time, what the term "rush party" actually meant, he interpreted this as just a very friendly group of people.
It also impressed Jim that everyone was so damn sexy! Many of the women appeared to even be a little over dressed in his opinion. Black cocktail dresses, perfect hair and makeup and trained smiles, almost gave the appearance of 'The Stepford Wives', he thought to himself. It was a bit more formal than Jim was used to, but he blended right in and had no trouble socializing with them.
It was Spring 1984, the legal drinking age in West Virginia was still 18 under the grandfather clause, so there were no minors present. It was nice to be treated as an adult and given full benefits upon graduation of high school. This, Jim thought, is how it should be, since the draft had recently been reinstated and tension was building in Iran, and he could be drafted into the military at any moment and have to defend his country on the front line. Why would he not be allowed to legally consume alcohol?
Although still not giving much thought to his sexual preference, Jim could not help but notice that the men who belonged to this fraternity were extraordinarily attractive men. They all seemed to have that All- American, golden boy, jock look. There was a very sexy tone to the entire evening.
Speaking of sex appeal, Jay (the guy from Trigonometry class) entered the room from another part of the building. He was dressed in relaxed-fit Levis, a black T-shirt with a gray, wool, sports blazer jacket. Somehow, this unusual combination of dress/casual worked very well for Jay. He added a sporty touch to his appearance by wearing a pair of Timberline hiking boots (very popular at the time). Jay was not a tall man, probably around 5' 8". He appeared muscular and well proportioned. His hair was just a bit too sun-bleached and he was very tan. He was also, apparently, very popular. As he made his way through the crowd, greeting and shaking hands, Jim realized that he was not the only one that had noticed Jay's entrance. Everyone in the room seemed to have diverted their attention to this stud. Both men and women chanted his name as he passed through the crowd. As Jay was exiting the open doors to the large porch of the colonial house, he stopped in the doorway and turned back around. He looked directly into Jim's eyes and said "hey there, glad you could make it!" then returned to greeting his way through the open double doorway.
"Has anyone given you a tour of the house yet?" another voice asked. Jim looked around to see who was talking. He almost dropped his glass of draft beer. His jaw dropped open and he stuttered a little as he replied, "no, I haven't made it past this room yet." They were standing in a large foyer, a room full of trophies and fraternity composite photographs was to the left and directly opposite that, was the entrance to the bar and dance floor. "My name is Lee, I am president of Sigma Phi Epsilon." Lee was porn star quality hot! He gave Jim some kind of weird handshake. He must have noticed the puzzled look on Jim's face. He smiled and said "I will explain that later." and led Jim out of the room through the crowd, pausing to greet people in their path, but persistently making his way through the crowd. Follow me, he said, my room is on the third floor.
(to be continued)
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
webcowboy42@aol.com
Puppies, Wildflower and Greek
(Part Three)
Brotherhood
Jim followed Lee up the stairs to the third floor of the house. The individual rooms of the frat house were all named. Lee used a key to unlock a door marked "The Penthouse". Inside, the room lived up to it's name. Especially, compared to the two small rooms of the unit in the dormitory that Jim shared with three other men. The Penthouse was actually three rooms and more like an apartment. Jim was impressed and actually a little aroused. This guy was sexy beyond description.
Jim had a seat on the sofa and Lee disappeared into one of the adjoining rooms. There was a light tap on the door to Lee's room. Lee reappeared from the side room and opened the door. Two other members of the fraternity entered the room and Lee re locked the door.
One of the two guys Jim quickly recognized as Jay, and Lee introduced the other as Scott, the Vice President of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Lee had brought something with him from the other room. Jay seated himself beside Jim on the sofa and Scott sat in a nearby chair. Lee placed the contents of his hand on the large glass-top coffee table in front of the sofa. He pulled something out from under the sofa and also tossed a Ziploc baggie containing marijuana on the table, beside the red glass water bong that he had placed there prior to sitting down on the other chair, opposite Scott and adjacent to the sofa.
Very cool!, Jim thought. "This place was awesome!"
Scott loaded the bong and passed it to Jay who took the first hit. Jim was next; reload, and then Scott followed by Lee. Jim had not been a big partier in high school, but he had seen and used this type of smoking apparatus before. As the guys joked and chatted casually about the events of the evening, Jim felt more and more comfortable with these three men. At this point, he had no knowledge of just how close he would become to each of them.
As Lee returned the bong to the other room, the other three exited the room and waited in the hallway as Lee locked the door once more with his key. A bond had been formed between Jim and the three frat members. Jay and Scott both shook his hand again and promised to see him downstairs later. Lee continued the guided tour of the house with Jim.
The house was quite impressive, but very stereotypical of frat houses that Jim had seen on movies like "Animal House". On the second floor Jim noticed a door marked "The Closet". Little did he realize at that time that this would ironically become his next home, for two semesters and a summer session following just one semester in the dorms, this would become his room in the frat house. The irony of Jim literally living in "The Closet" in the frat house, is still a favorite topic today when he gets together with his old friends and frat brothers from WV Tech and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
After a brief tour of the house and after shaking more hands than Jim remembered shaking when he attended church services with his mother back in Webster County, The two young men rejoined the party on the first floor. Since the time they had gone upstairs, the place had become wall to wall packed with people. The antics and images of the frat house now truly resembled a scene Jim remembered from "Animal House".
Lee excused himself and left Jim at the request of his girl friend to join him on the dance floor. Jim refreshed his beer at the bar and stood in the foyer looking at composite photographs of former frat members that hung on the wall in chronological order by graduation years.
Jim was joined by Scott and a dude that Jim had not yet met. Scott introduced Bobby to Jim. Like Jim, Bobby was interested in pledging the fraternity and as Bobby pointed out, their names were the first two names on the list.
Bobby had a very cheerful and down to earth attitude and personality. Jim studied Bobby's appearance and actions with a strange curiosity of just "what was this guy's deal?" Bobby's forwardness and confidence almost seemed a bit abrasive to Jim. There was an immediate sense of competitiveness between the two of them. Until now, Jim felt like he had been given special attention from the fraternity members and had been handpicked by the president to tour the house, but this guy Bobby, seemed to have an advantage over Jim with the fraternity members. He already knew them by name and apparently they were acquainted with him as well. This unconsciously caused Jim to react a little defensively toward Bobby and the two men, who would later refer to each other as "Best Friend" and form a bond that still exists today, did not immediately take to each other.
That, however, is another story; another book; perhaps, even a series of books. I dedicate this article to my long time friend and fraternity brother, Bobby. He was my first...my first true friend!
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
bravenet.com