I spent the last week tooling around San Diego and visiting a friend of mine. He lives in Hillcrest which is just about the gayest place I have ever experienced. I thought for sure I would be read as a butch lesbian but surprisingly was pegged as a boy almost 100% of the time. This caused me much elation and enjoyment.

I would like to tell you a story to give you an idea of exactly how homolicious Hillcrest is. While walking down the street in the middle of the day a drunk man came up to us. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. I realized this man was absolutely wasted, toothless, and could barely keep himself upright. He stumbled around us asking, “How do I get to University Ave?” Turns out, he was on it and my friend quickly pointed this out to him. Flustered, he continued to stumble around, almost falling over. We asked if we could help him find anything but he was too far gone to even articulate his needs. We turned around and left realizing we really couldn’t do anything for him. We got a few paces down the sidewalk only to here him call after us, “HEY! WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT CHAZ BONO SOMETIME!”

My mouth dropped open in shock for a few seconds and then I burst out laughing!

For those of you who do not know, Chaz Bono (formerly Chastity Bono) is the son of Sonny and Cher who came out as transgender not too long ago. Not only did this drunk homeless man read us as trans guys, he was also up on current events and had the wherewithal to yell at us down the street! Even the homeless people know what’s up in San Diego.

Garrett Hoffman is an blogging his transition at TheColu.mn and at TranformGarrett.blogspot.com

Related posts:

1. The Fifth Column: Man Voice
2. The Fifth Column: Ouch!
3. The Fifth Column: The Dreaded Period
4. The Fifth Column: My Name
5. The Fifth Column: Hey, Kid! How Old Are You?