Adventure in the Desert: Flora and Fauna

"A desert is a place without expectation" - Nadine Gordimer.
Obviously the woman had never been to Palm Springs. Oh there was plenty of expectation . . . Anything built within shuttle distance of Hollywood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, & West Hollywood was ripe with expectation.
I drove down early Friday morning to Palm Springs, the traffic was laughable it was so easy to navigate through. What normally is a 2hr+ drive ended up being just about 90 minutes. Of course setting the cruise control to 90mph had a little something to do with it. So with a 'trenta' iced coffee in the cupholder and Vivaldi on my iPod I sailed onto Palm Canyon Drive like I owned the place. 


Palm Springs is a small town with a big attitude. Not a bad attitude, just a big one. What can you expect from a sleepy desert town that found itself becoming the playground of the rich & famous? Dot-Com kids found 'Zen' there, moneyed Republicans built their 'compounds' there so that world leaders could play a round of golf away from the riff-raff, Hollywood Royalty for generations found the healing waters of Palm Springs quite restorative, celebrities with bad 'habits' found healing at 'The Betty', the 'Rat Pack' played there, Bob Hope & Bing Crosby, Walt Disney had a house there, even Liberace found relaxation & young men in speedos in the desert. And where there are rich & famous, you'll find the gays. Who else is going to make a pile of sand chic enough, luxe enough, grand enough to spend millions on estates and 'get-a-way' homes. You're gonna need decorators, hairdressers, florists, caterers, architects, gardeners, shopkeepers, spa owners, and everything else you're going to need to feel pampered and adored.


There's a huge Gay Community out in the desert. Young & old alike find it a great place to play, and gay seniors find that it's a safe place to live out your rainbow hued golden years. There are LGBT restaurants, shops, bars, clubs, hotels, spas, a gay 'district', a gay pride weekend, the Dinah Shore Golf Classic, even an LGBT Center with many programs for all age groups. Think WeHo with sand! Palm Springs attracts LGBT vacationers from all over the world with freeway access and an international airport. Bears, Chubs, Club Kids, Twinks, Daddies, the Leather Crowd, Cowboys, Military (an air base & a marine base are nearby), Preppies, Log Cabiners, EcoGays, Rice Queens, Drag Queens, Biker Boys, MotorHeads, and even those undefined boys and girls can find a home or at least a place to play in Palm Springs.

So, back from the travelogue and back to the adventure. The reason for my sojourn to the desert was a 3 day party for Big Boys and their admirers. Why would someone throw a party like that you ask? Well, it's because Big Boys need some fun in the sun, and they need to be able to do that in a 'safe' space. Let's face it, how many people turn their heads or move locations when their view of the beach or poolside is marred when a big person plops themselves into your view? Ok . . . how do you think the big person feels when you do that, because let's face it, none of you do it subtly. It's always with sighs of exasperation as you move, stuff your things into your beach/pool bag, fold up your chair or grab your towel in order to move the offending fat person out of your line of vision. Am I wrong? If I am I'll apologize, but I doubt there are many of you that will demand that apology. In fact, there are more than a few of you squirming a little uncomfortably right now, aren't you? The truth hurts? Well, that's the reason for these little events, so that a Big Boy can strut his stuff without some jerk making him feel like shit because he doesn't fit into your parameters of beauty or hotness. What you have to understand is that in a chaser's or admirer's eyes, that Big Boy is the epitome of beauty & masculinity. Everything thing a chaser or admirer finds hot is manifested in a Big Boy's bulk. Now don't get me wrong, not all fat boys are created equal. We go up and down the scale as there are men who find us hot on various levels. Some guys like them husky, some a little fluffier than normal, some like them really beefy, and some have to have them as big as possible. There's a Big Boy and an Admirer for every pound on the scale.

 And whomever said that "No Man Is An Island" has obviously never been to a Big Boy pool party.