2001-05-15 - 11:24 a.m.

strangest thing yesterday. sort of sad too. i met with kris during his lunch break and we went to the mcgill green space (roddick gates) to hang out, make out, and eat. as we walked back from spending a good hour together a man began to look at me intensely and smiled.

so i said, "do i know you?" to which he responded "eet ees not a creeem to kees like yoo do?" at that point i couldn't understand him and asked him to repeat - then answered his question.

but he was intent on knowing more and continued to look at kris and i while saying, "i want to find love", and "do you like the girls too?"

both questions didn't seem to be within my realm of being able to help him so i said, "sorry i can't help you" and he said "but do you like girls too? i just want to know do you like girls? do you only like the boys or girls too? thees ees ok this keesing boys? i want to find love!"

i began to feel weird. it's hard to put it into typed text but his interaction was slightly sleazy. so i said, "i don't want to talk to you anymore can you walk ahead of us?" to which he responded, "but do you like girls too? i neeeed to find love!"

by this time, i was getting pissed off. as much as he's obviously not up-to-date on canadian queer culture and even as obviously excited as he was to see other queers, i'm not willing to be divulgent of my own version of sexuality nor a cultural interpretor.

but it made me feel both saddened and intensely lucky. evidently his version of men kissing in a park is one filled with codified criminal guilt from wherever he was from. i realised the degree that i take for granted my ability to be public with queer displays of affection in montreal.

there's no reason to wax on about luckiness to be here but i've got much more of an inner insistence on going to that generalised "there" where he comes from. it's the "there" where "they" still lock you up for keesing someone of the same gender in public.

and they should come here and see what we're up to. just like this guy who was ecstatic about seeing men kissing so should other people from countries which still have sodomy laws come to the green space at mcgill and bear witness to queer PDAs.

it's too bad the man we met didn't realise it's not just about sex, but just like me, he'll learn.