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The Bear Column
by Jeff Glover for the San
Francisco Spectrum
This just in…
Cue newsroom music… “This just in… The next president
of the United States is…”
By the time you read this you may very well know who our next president
is, however it’s more likely that the results will be tied
up with voting tabulation snafus and the one side insisting on recounts
of recounts.
Personally, I find the state of politics in the United States to
be very sad. We have a nation full of single-issue voters who are
swayed by ads telling them how bad the other guy is, rather than
by letting us know what they’re going to do to get our economy
back on track or how they’re going to pay down Mr. Bush’s
gigantic deficit.
It really is the “single-issue” voters that amaze me
more than anything else. I found out recently that my Aunt is voting
for George Bush. When I asked her why, she said, “Because
he’s against abortion.” I pointed out that she is a
poor, divorced, retired senior who is directly affected by a number
of issues such as Medicare, healthcare reform, Social Security,
and out of control government spending. While we all have an opinion
on abortion and a few other hot-button issues, to choose a president
based solely on one of them is socially irresponsible. And, frankly,
it’s just plain idiotic.
That would be like voting for a gay candidate just because he was
gay. Being gay doesn’t necessarily mean that a politician
is going to have your best interests in mind.
Nonetheless, let’s hope that the next 4 years are good ones
for everyone, not just wealthy corporations, special interests,
and government bureaucrats.
Mr. SF Bear
Last month in San Francisco we had a contest that was a little
more to the liking to us bears and that was the Mr. San Francisco
Bear & Mr. San Francisco Cub contest. On Sunday, October 10th,
on a busy afternoon at the Lone Star Saloon, we watched 2 contestants
for Mr. Cub and 5 contestants for Mr. Bear. Judging the contest
was current Bears of San Francisco president, Darwin Bebo, BOSF
Treasurer, biff wilson, past BOSF president, Mark Katzenberger,
and current Mr. San Francisco Bear, Dave Hayes. After a few rounds
of questions and answers and the obligatory fur show, we had our
winners: Joe Carlin, Mr. San Francisco Cub and Ron Waer, Mr. San
Francisco Bear. Thanks to all the contestants that participated
and to John Caldera for putting on the event and helping promote
the bears in San Francisco!
BOSF Events
Mr. John Forrett, the Activities Director for the Bears of San
Francisco has a few things planned for you this month, starting
with a new venue and a new bar! On Thursday, November 11th, from
7:30-9:30pm, the bears will be headed over to Oakland to The New
Bench and Bar for some cool music, drink specials, dancing and a
look at the new Bench and Bar location! Keith and Charles have outdone
themselves and want us to come on over for some fun. We will be
given our choice of music to listen and dance to as well as special
drink prices for everyone attending! Stay afterwards for some Latin
Music and dancing if you don't have to get up early the next day!
Don't worry about driving or parking, BART can get you there and
back!
On Thursday, November 18th, is another IBR Planning Meeting. The
IBR Information Page is up on the site and online registration should
be up soon on their website at http://www.bosf.org.
BOSF’s beer bust this month on on Saturday, November 20th
from 3-7pm at the Lone Star Saloon. Bring in a non-perishable food
item for the AIDS Food Bank and receive 5 free raffle tickets. The
cost is $8.00 for BOSF members and $9.00 for others, which entitles
you to free refills of draft beer or soft drinks. Stop by the half-hour
before the event begins for the General Membership Meeting.
Need a Beer Bust change of pace? Check it out… BOSF is doing
a 2nd Beer Bust this month the very next day, Sunday, November 21st,
at The Eagle! Cost is $7.00 for BOSF members and $8.00 for others.
There’ll be food at 4:30 or so… Stop by and join us!
Bear of the Month
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Bear of the Month, John Caldera |
Seeing as last month was the Mr. San Francisco Bear contest, there’s
a certain bear in San Francisco that’s always there to contribute
to the San Francisco bear community and that bear would be John
Caldera.
Since winning the first title at International Bear Rendezvous
as International Mr. Bear in 1992 and being a founding member of
The Bears of San Francisco, John has worked tirelessly in the bear
community. He produces several bear contests and bear events each
year, which always raise a considerable about of money for various
causes. Some of my favorite events that John puts on are the fun
Bears & Boxers theme nights at the Lone Star Saloon. Always
a lot of fun… And, many a bear has enjoyed the infamous Bear
Hug parties that he’s been putting on for many, many years
as well!
John is also a leading member of the Alexander Hamilton Squadron
#448 here in San Francisco, which actively promotes the welfare
of our GLBT brothers and sisters that have served in our military.
A fantastic organization and one that is near and dear to John’s
heart.
Thanks for all your hard work in the community, John. Your contributions
do not go unnoticed and are appreciated by all San Francisco bears.
What else to do?
On weekends, The Lone Star Saloon is a great place to hang out.
They have beverage benefits on Thursday (8-11pm), Saturday (3-7pm),
and Sunday (4-8pm). The Thursday and Saturday busts are typically
pretty mellow, whereas the Sunday bust is the busiest. Other good
weekend choices are The Loading Dock with themed nights for the
leather bears, The Eagle with live bands on Thursday and a popular
beer bust on Sunday, and Daddy’s or The Edge in the Castro
for some late night fun.
If dancing is your thing, you’ve got Planet Big SF which takes
places twice monthly on Sundays at The Stud (9th & Harrison
right by The Lone Star). You can find out their schedule on their
website at http://www.planetbigsf.com.
During the week, your first stop should by the Bears of San Francisco
website at http://www.bosf.org.
There you will find any happenings that BOSF may have during the
week such as a dinner night, game night, bowling, or special events.
Another great stop is the Starbucks on Castro & 18th. At just
about any day and any time you’ll find bears sitting out front
or visiting inside. It’s often the first destination of many
bears that come to visit San Francisco!
On the last Friday of every month, the bear meet up for Bear Lunch
at 12:30pm. You can find out more info at Chris Head’s yahoo
group: BearLunchSF.
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