Being The Steel Drummer Part 37

The connection of the birthday of this child and the day Evangeline and I first shared ourselves in the spring-fed pool touches my heart all the more.

The baby is quite beautiful and remarkably tiny. Gisa insists that we shall name this lovely child after beauty itself. I see now, more than ever that these are my daughter and granddaughter. And they are, indeed, beauty itself; they have replaced the perfect beauty from which I was parted so long ago. When I pa.s.s on to reunite with my perfect Angel, I will leave these beautiful beings behind to fill her void and make a difference in the world in their own way.

I stared at Kathryn as she lay the journal on the table and pulled off her gloves.

"That's all there is in the journal? That's the end?"

"It's the last page. She had to squeeze the writing in. I suppose there might be another book somewhere in the world, but we don't have it now. So, they had a baby. It's so remarkable. I wonder what happened to her?"

"Kathryn, I think we know what happened to her... think about it."

"Hmmm?"

"Think about it! Her last name is the name of the city of Gisa's birth! Victoria met her in the Capital of Chile! Santiago... And they named her after beauty."

"Bella? Isabella Santiago?" Kathryn sat back with her mouth open. "I didn't think of... Maggie... she'd be..."

"Very old. But the question is, is she alive or is she a ghost? I didn't tell you that when you saw Isabella in the archives, I saw, well, I saw a ghost, and it wasn't Isabella. In fact it was two ghosts." I told Kathryn who I'd seen in the doorway.

"Maybe you were lightheaded and the stress and bright light made you see something that wasn't there."

"Well, maybe. I have considered that, but I think Piper saw them too. Because when she saw that Samson was alive, she asked me if Suzanne was alive too."

Kathryn shook her head a little bit. We sat together looking at each other, then finally she said, "Is this something you're going to investigate?"

"I'm not sure, but either way, I'm glad we're sharing it."

She smiled and kissed me and said, "I may never sleep."

We both laughed.

"Here," I said turning to the side and putting a pillow between us.

She leaned into the pillow and I put my arms around her. I touched her cheek, feeling the warmth of it with my palm.

She turned and looked deeply into my eyes. I suddenly knew what she wanted, what had been keeping her awake, and what I needed to do.

"I should sing you a lullaby, but I'm not very good at singing, so I could recite something." She nodded, still searching my eyes.

I thought for a minute, took two giant steps and then a flying leap.

I recited: I love your lips when they're wet with wine And red with a wild desire; I love your eyes when the lovelight lies Lit with a pa.s.sionate fire.

I love your arms when the warm white flesh Touches mine in a fond embrace; I love your hair when the strands enmesh Your kisses against my face.

Not for me the cold calm kiss Of a virgin's bloodless love; Not for me the saint's white bliss, Nor the heart of a spotless dove.

But give me the love that so freely gives And laughs at the whole world's blame, With your body so young and warm in my arms, It sets my poor heart aflame.

So kiss me sweet with your warm wet mouth, Still fragrant with ruby wine, And say with a fervor born of the South That your body and soul are mine.

Clasp me close in your warm young arms, While the pale stars s.h.i.+ne above, And we'll live our whole young lives away In the joys of a living love.

"It's kind of a sappy poem, but the point is, I love you, Kathryn," I said softly.

She said gently in a high sweet whisper, "I love you too, Maggie."

The Poems

The poems appearing in this book were all written and published before 1923 and so are in the public domain. The author is deeply grateful for the creation of these poems and to the brilliant women and men who created them. The reader is encouraged to read more of each of these poets' works.

Love Song For Alice B Written by Gertrude Stein A Darting Fear-A Pomp-A Tear- Written by Emily d.i.c.kinson Dim Eden of Delight Written by Anne Whitney O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock...

from Oth.e.l.lo Written by William Shakespeare And shuddering fear, and green-eyed jealousy!

from The Merchant of Venice Written by William Shakespeare I Dreamed An Angel, Angel Twice, Through Death...

Written by Anne Whitney I Love You Written by Ellen Wheeler Wilc.o.x

Author's Notes

The author firmly believes that the words Gay, Lesbian, Bis.e.xual, and Transgender represent a culture of people, not simply an immutable orientation and ident.i.ty, and so throughout this book those words are capitalized in the same way one would capitalize Latino, African-American, Hispanic, or Black, which each similarly represent much more than an accident of birth.

The author thanks real life people Bolton Winpenny and Marc Freligh, who both generously bid at a charity silent auction to benefit Pennsylvania Diversity Network, for the opportunity to have their names as characters in this book. Neither of them are in the profession of their character and their characters' actions and behaviors are a product of the author's imagination. Both of them in real life are active supporters and leaders in the GLBT community.

There are references to real historical figures, events, and places in this novel. While Victoria Willomere Snow and Evangeline Lavender Fen and all their families and circ.u.mstances are the complete invention of the author's imagination, the author has made an effort to fit their stories into the historical timelines of real women artists and poets of the late 1800s and early 1900s, many of whom were Lesbians.

The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the bank panic of the 1870s and the sailing of the Bothnia and Scotia referenced in Victoria's journals did take place, however the interaction of the characters in them is a product of the author's imagination.

Charlotte Cushman, the brilliant Shakespearian actor who played Hamlet and other men's and women's cla.s.sical roles, was a real person who lived in Rome and the United States in the late 1800s. She was a Lesbian and wealthy patron of the arts. She was in historically doc.u.mented long-term relations.h.i.+ps with writer Matilda Hays, artist Emma Stebbins, and actor Emma Crowe, and quite a few other women. Hays actually sued Cushman for support when Cushman began her secret affair with Emma Stebbins. Cushman died of breast cancer when she was 59 years old.

Laura Keene was a contemporary of Charlotte Cushman. She established, for the first time, regular matinees that ladies could attend without the company of a man. Keene's theater company was performing when President Lincoln was shot. Lincoln's head did rest in her lap as he died. Her blood-stained petticoat continues to travel the world as part of exhibitions about Abraham Lincoln's life and death, long after people remember Keene's work. In other words, her underwear is now more famous than she is. Charles Busch's play Our Leading Lady is a fictionalized account of how this event affected Keene. Actor Kate Mulgrew played the part of Laura Keene in the play's first production.

Lesbian sculptor Harriet Hosmer wooed Charlotte Cushman's partner of ten years, Matilda Hays, away from her in Rome in 1854, which created quite a drama between the three women. Hosmer was one of the premiere sculptors of her day whose primary patron was Wayman Crow, the father of Emma Crow, who was one of the two Emmas with Charlotte Cushman at the end of her life. Many young male and female apprentices learned their trade in Hosmer's sculpture studio in Rome.

Edmonia Lewis, who was of African, Haitian, and Ojibwe decent, really did study art at Oberlin College in the 1860s and worked in Harriet Hosmer's studio in Rome. She also had a studio in the same building as Anne Whitney in Boston. She did have a major piece in the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia t.i.tled Death of Cleopatra that was lost for over one hundred years and then found, restored, and now resides in the Smithsonian.

Sculptor and poet Anne Whitney and her life partner Abbey Manning were also part of the circle of women artists in Rome. They lived in Boston in later years. Whitney really did apply for a commission to do a monument of abolitionist Charles Sumner by presenting drawings and sculptural studies. Whitney was awarded the commission, but it was revoked when the judges found out she was a woman. She did indeed do the sculpture of Sumner anyway and it is still in place on the grounds of Harvard University.

History does indicate that Edgar Allen Poe married his wife Virginia Clem when she was thirteen years old, and he was twenty-seven. They were first cousins.

Gertrude Stein regularly sold drawings and paintings by Matisse, Pica.s.so, and other famous artists to Etta and Claribel Cone, often for just a few dollars. The Cone sisters' collection is a major feature of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Historical sources hint that Gertrude Stein was fascinated by Dr. Claribel Cone and had a romantic affair with Etta, which ended when Gertrude began to live with Alice B. Toklas in 1910. In 1921 Gertrude Stein wrote the poem Love Song For Alice B, in reference to the woman she referred to as her wife for the rest of her life.

Mannerbach, the coin silver spoonmaker who created urn-back and bird-back spoons, practiced his craft in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the early 1800s.

Shakespeare coined dozens of sayings and phrases that are part of today's everyday speech; a list of some of those phrases can be found at the end of these notes.

Actor Larry Storch, who lives in New York City as of the writing of this book, really did the voices of Cool Cat and Col. Rimfire and was Corporal Agarn on F-Troop in the 1960s. He began his career in 1949 and is still working today.

In 1986 the author boarded a subway car in New York City and at the next stop Larry Storch and a woman got on. Soon after, a reeling, Bible-spouting drunk came into the train car, followed soon after by a steel drummer. The author remembers it well and wonders if Larry Storch does too. They both gave the steel drummer some money.

The term Coordinative Biography was coined by this author who firmly believes that one's life cannot be separated from one's work. The author also firmly believes that to end h.o.m.ophobia, bullying, and intolerance, students must be taught about the important contributions that Gay, Lesbian, Bis.e.xual, and Transgender people have made to history.

The author encourages the reader to seek more information about these important figures in history and their interesting lives, especially the Lesbian artists, poets, and actors. For extensive information about Charlotte Cushman and the Lesbian artists and writers in Europe in the second half of the 1800s, the reader may find interesting: Across the Untried Seas: Discovering Lives Hidden in the Shadow of Convention and Time by Julia Markus (Knopf - 2000) and/or other works about Charlotte Cushman's life, including her collected letters to Emma Stebbins.

Footnotes

[1] "Good afternoon, beloved sister."

"Do you want to go over to Thai Kitchen for dinner? I'm starving."

"Where's your habanero girlfriend? Why won't she eat with you? Are you treating her right or is she available now? Give me her number and I'll show her a good time!"

Sara looked up and wiggled her eyebrows but then stared at me. "What's wrong?" she asked sharply.

[2] "Get lucky, did you?" I teased as I closed the door.

Sara was dressed for court in a dark tailored suit and white silk blouse. She swiveled toward me in her chair and smiled.

"Not lucky in the sense you mean, potty brain."

"Oh c'mon, you didn't even kiss her?"

[3] "Wait, Rafael, let me give you a tip," I said.

"No, Maggie, you don't have to. It's OK."

"But I want you to have it, please. You need this to save up for... things."

"It's OK really, and I give all the tips to Mariana, anyway."

"Well take this to give to her then."

an incomplete list of everyday.

phrases coined by shakespeare.

A dish fit for the G.o.ds.

A fool's paradise A foregone conclusion.

A ministering angel shall my sister be A rose by any other name...

...would smell as sweet.

A sorry sight All corners of the world All the world's a stage All's well that ends well And thereby hangs a tale As cold as any stone As dead as a doornail As good luck would have it As merry as the day is long As pure as the driven snow At one fell swoop.

Bag and baggage Come what come may Discretion is the better part...

... of valour.

Eaten out of house and home Exceedingly well read Fair play Fancy free Fight fire with fire.

For ever and a day Foul play Good riddance Green eyed monster Heart's content High time Hoist by your own petard I bear a charmed life I have not slept one wink In a pickle In my mind's eye, In st.i.tches In the twinkling of an eye It is meat and drink to me Lay it on with a trowel Lie low.

Love is blind Make your hair stand on end Milk of human kindness More fool you Much Ado about Nothing.

Mum's the word My salad days Neither a borrower nor a lender be Night owl Off with his head.