The Prince of Like Tackles Love

Nothing much in the way of wedding news broke today, so I thought I would take the chance to share the story of how we met and got engaged...

Once upon a time there was a Prince, the Prince of Like, who was approaching the end of his youth. Everyone liked the Prince of Like, even the people who resented him, they just couldn't help it. What the Prince searched the kingdom for was someone who could see past the dense layer of likability to the love hiding underneath. In his mind was a clear picture of the mysterious suitor who had formed in his mind when he was just a little prince, still unaware of his bittersweet curse and how it would shape his life.

When manhood came, the prince left the King and Queen to spend all his time among the people, determined to uncover the one who would see the amount of love he carried within. The caboodle of people who liked the Prince grew, but all were too blinded by charms to consider sharing anything more than like. Dejected, he often returned home to wail out tones of solitude, which tended to drive the King and Queen batty. They would send him out again in hopes his search was fruitful, but it never was.

Once, when back at home, the Prince of Like was caught off guard when a carriage rolled into the courtyard. A young woman emerged who the Prince instantly recognized as a distant relative on his mother's side. She had been traveling, on her way to begin a life in another kingdom. It was as much of a surprise to herself as to where she now found herself.

"I tell you that I traveled a route I knew, but a feeling came over me." said Duchess Andrastasia. "Then the trees all bent to the east even though the wind was coming from the north. I've always wanted to go where the trees were pointing."

With another familial hug, he indicated the door and asked, "What leads you to this other kingdom?"

Andrastasia looked both ways then leaned in before whispering, "Love."

It had never occurred to the Prince to search another kingdom for love, but once it did he pounced on the chance, leaving the next morning with the Duchess. Andrastasia indeed found the love she sought, but for the Prince it was much of the usual. There were a couple of times he came closer than ever before, only to feel their love withdrawn after it had only caressed the surface. Resorting to a visit with a witch, he got the accidental love of a confused incubus. After the torment of severing that spell, the Prince of Like decided, no more.

The wire age came, and people connected through gazing mirrors and typing boards. There were people who had a lot of extra time to decide what to wear as they communicated robustly about meeting. The term is not appropriate for this type of story, but it rhymes with "fruity shawl". It was one of the chattervations where the prince first saw him. His image was really small and hard to make out, but there was a familiarity about him. He was drawn to the man.

Italia76: cant drive
Italia76: ben drinking
Meowchap: shoot. no car :(
Italia76: :(

It wasn't in the stars for them to meet yet. The Prince of Like had one visit home to make before he returned, and the Prince of Love wasn't ready to see him yet.

As Autumn took hold, the Prince of Like was back to unthreading a web in search of someone to test. One day the little image was back, the handsome man in a cap. The Prince was convinced he had to meet him, so there was a little chit, then a little chat. Through a minor process of beg, borrow and steal, the Prince's F-150 carriage pulled up at the destination.

Without taking his eyes off the Prince of Love, the Prince of Like emerged from the carriage and approached the man, as a moth to a flame. He walked up to the man who stood out in the mid night glow and kissed him, for this was the man who had haunted his love since he was a child. The kiss created a connection that was physically straining when apart from each other.  The Prince of Like never knew it would be this, all instantaneous and such an intense need. Welcoming it, he vowed to never let go.

Despite popular theory, they couldn't resist moving in with each other for very long, and as the winter solstice came, the Prince of Love made a decision. On his birth, a great wizard bestowed upon him a different type of bittersweet curse. While everyone would love him, he wore two rings that allowed him only to share his love with one person who he felt strong enough about to give one of the rings.

The Prince of Love gave the ring to the Prince of Like. For the first time, one gave love to another and one felt love given for the first time.

The Prince of Like brought his Prince home to adore for eternity. They lived incognito in the land, giving up lives full of searches and heart ache to finally exist in a blissfully, normal way. The two learned together the secret of true love, and of how easy it was to love each other. The Prince of Like knew, as he had somehow that night under the moon, that this was his man, whom he had felt uncontrollable love for his whole life.

And they were going to live happily ever after.

Catwoman and the Earlobe of Justice

When I was growing up, there were barber shops for men and hair salons, or beauty parlors, for women and children. My father did quite a bit of travelling, so when it was time for a haircut, my mom took me to see Terri at Audrey & Adrienne's Coiffures. Being gay, it was a treat for me to listen in on the gossip, see the assembly line of wash & sets, and look though the hardcover hairstyle collections that always seemed about a decade out of date. But one of the best things about going to the salon was the shampoo. You always knew a professional shampoo in two ways: smaller size/larger price and the smell. Suave and Pert smelled like piss compared to Redken. The other thing about the professional shampoo lines was that you could only get them in a salon.

Fast forward 15 years or so to find me working for one of the companies I feel brought about a turning point in the availability of the better shampoo brands. With locations in most of the Atlanta malls, this store carried most major lines, all the popular ones at any rate. There were, of course, the additional grooming necessities for hair and nails, even a small amount of expensive makeup nobody had ever heard of. But since you still had to be a working salon to sell these products, there was nestled away in the back of the store a styling chair or two and shampoo bowl. I enjoyed my time there, I learned many things, made many friends. And we partied. Lots of partying.

I worked in several of the Atlanta locations, but when I was at Cumberland Mall I had my closest interaction with a celebrity, an idol to many kids of the day. All of us pretty much did every job, so whoever was not ringing up one customer could help the one coming in. I was hanging about one day, looking disinterestedly available, when I noticed some customers eyeballing a couple who had just come in. Then I saw that a light crowd had not quite gathered, but lingered outside our store. It was what I imagined working in a shop in Beverly Hills to be like. I studied the couple in their slight disguises. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, she had on a long dark wig and also wore sunglasses. I didn't recognize either of them. I glanced around and ascertained that it was my turn, I was up to bat.

I used one of our pre-approved variations of "what do you want" to find out he was interested in getting his ear pierced. Now, this was a new process for me, but it was also quite easy. First things first, I coolly handed him the release form and began getting prepped for the procedure. I wore no gloves, for this was in that window of time when we could pierce in the open without as many safety issues. Ready, I took the form from him, giving it a glance as I set it down. I was about to pierce the ear of Atlanta Brave's baseball player, David Justice. He was at the height of his popularity at that moment, and in that moment I knew who his companion was. This was during his tumultuous relationship with rising star, Halle Berry. A brush with fame double-header.

Sadly, there's really just nothing left to share besides the piercing. It went smoothly after a brief discussion in regards to which ear to pierce. Nobody went so far as to mention the dreaded 'gay ear' fear, but he did seem to think Halle's input on the matter was important. I don't remember anything remarkable about his lobe, like a freckle shaped like a smurf or a strange odor when pierced. The couple was very nice in a casual, reserved sort of way, but didn't sign any autographs that I noticed. So, going against the rules and regulations of J.K. Templeton, Inc, I failed to include his release form in the piercing book, keeping it as a souvenir. I've always wondered if this unique autograph was worth any money. That is if the day it would have been hasn't already passed. He did almost kill Halle Berry, though.

I saw him once a few years later at the Atlanta nightclub, Velvet. He remembered me when I reminded him. You never forget your first. To this day I've always wondered if once in a long while he looks at the hole in that meaty lobe and thinks of me. Aaaah, he probably just thinks, "crazy bitch made me pierce my ear."