I have a horrible case of ADD and you will probably never find me outside between the hours of 8am and noon during "June Gloom" (no one should be subjected to my class 5 humidity inspired "curls"). It also takes something pretty intriguing and special to drag me out of my bed on my day off ... with that being said, I would like to say that Kathy could inspire me to brave a hailstorm to go on a nature walk at 4am if she were there to narrate it.
I am passionate about the GLBT movement and even more so about Harvey Milk. I remember reading about him in high school and have been on a quest to learn more about him ever since, that being said, I was very much looking forward to the tour.
and of course it was spritzing outside.
I met up with my friend and a lovely family from Washington and their daughter who lived in the city. The dynamic of the group was fantastic. I met Kathy, our fearless tourguide and made an instant connection (may be the fact she is from the East coast as well...). She gave us a very insightful history on not only Harvey Milk, but of the Castro (a neighbourhood I know quite well......considering my life is very "Will and Grace" and if being a "wingwoman" were an Olympic sport...)
I digress.
After a muni train ride (which is NOT the subway, people!) We then made our way to City Hall. From the moment I walked into the building, I had a lump in my throat. Her in depth narration of the events that occured on that fateful November day were so powerful that I had to fight back tears (I didn't even cry during Bambi)... Just when I thought I was about to start crying and cause a scene, she would lighten up the mood with her amazing sense of humor. As we walked from the Mayor's Office down the hall to the Supervisor's Pffice (the same path Dan White took on his alleged "twinkie induced" rage) I realized that Kathy did the impossible, she managed to hold my attention for 2 and a half hours!
Long story short, I would HIGHLY reccomend this tour to ANYBODY. It does not matter if you're gay or straight...you will have a good time and feel as though Harvey Milk was a long lost friend of yours...and I dare you not to be friends with Kathy afterwards (impossible!).
I think the most refreshing thing about the tour would be the group of people I shared it with. The fact that this lovely couple (who were a little older than my parents) could talk so openly and freely about things that surely would make my parents blush, made me realize that even in this close-minded, crazy world we live in, that there is hope.
Harvey Milk who once said "if a bullet shall enter my brain, let it shatter ever closet door."
Kathy's tour is doing just that.