Zwerglipatch June 19, 2012 10:52 a.m. EDT
Orland Outland’s novel, Different People, has lead me down the path of self-rediscovery. It has addictions and loves. Hurts and hates. In its ending, it has assurance, adventure, and adoration. Within its pages, too, is enough humor to make one chuckle. This tale of bonding is worth reading. I shall explore more of Outland’s oeuvre.
It is curious to me that I used the phrase “self-rediscovery” in the above paragraph. What reading, this year, “gay novels” has done is made me ponder the years of what I refer to as “research” I have spent. The many characters and varied places I have witnessed are, for me, worth sharing. When I read, I adore being a witness who shares a character’s environment. In many of the novels I have read, the characters could be in any city or village. This could be intentional to show that we, gay people, are everywhere and everybody. However, in Different People, Outland, who lives in Reno, could have, and should have, done more than mention streets and stores. There has to be a peculiar quality that could make Reno more than a name. For all I read, Reno could be Keene, New Hampshire. Keene was the first city I knew, or rather, visited more than a few times a year when I was a youth. As an adult, for cities, I have only lived in Washington, DC, and Manhattan. When on tour with a puppet company, I saw many cities each of which had a distinct personality. With René, travelling has brought even more scenes and vistas from which I can draw if I choose. My path of “self-rediscovery” has brought us, René and me, to Hauppauge at Zwerglipatch where we are readying ourselves to be even more inclusive and sharing. We have created our personal oasis. We have contentment and an adoration of one another that grows continually. Our lives are entwined and cannot be broken. Our hearts are truly one.
The bucolic scene in front of me, Zwerglipatch Gardens, is a scene to share which I have never successfully done. My “research” is ongoing. I have not taken the time to properly share.
