Man. What the hell is going on?
 
Aside from the whole we're-all-getting-older-so-we'd-better-get-used-to-it thing, that is. 

Man. What the hell is going on?
 
Aside from the whole we're-all-getting-older-so-we'd-better-get-used-to-it thing, that is. 

 Bowie flipping off the paparazzi. He's carrying a copy of Uncut "100 Icons" in which he's #7. Apparently Uncut later used this photo in a promo, but (so far) there's no indication of a setup.

OK. Had to see that twice before I got it. Brutally true so far.

 
 

Bowie flipping off the paparazzi. He's carrying a copy of Uncut "100 Icons" in which he's #7. Apparently Uncut later used this photo in a promo, but (so far) there's no indication of a setup.

OK. Had to see that twice before I got it. Brutally true so far.

I have a good friend, a very smart guy, who has a sort of redneck-sophisticate personality. He is loud and brash and unafraid to go skinny-dipping in the boss' pool at an office party. He was more than a little rough around the edges and put quite a few people off, but if you got past the exterior he is great fun to be around—intensely creative and willing to put in the effort to bring his ideas to life. Impulsive as hell and utterly unconcerned what anyone else thought of him. A lot of fun to be around.

He was a huge David Bowie fan. Named his beloved dog Ziggy. He was also utterly disgusted by gay people. Nowadays you'd call him a homophobe, but that never was an accurate term; he just found gay things icky, and he had a hyper-masculine personality. He is the only person I've ever had suggest an evening of gay-bashing, and I'll never know if he meant it or not.

When the Ziggy Stardust movie came to town he had to see it, and invited a bunch of friends along. And Ziggy was ever so gay.

You gotta wonder how someone listened to all that music and looked at all those album covers and never figured out what was going on, but the '70s were like that. All kinds of bands affected androgynous appearances as a fashion statement. It meant nothing other than yet another way to epater le bourgeoisie and establish yourself as a rebel hipster. I mean, did anyone think Alice Cooper was gay? Seriously? So maybe he gets a pass on that level of density.

The movie shook him up a bit.

Fast forward a few decades. He's out now, comfortably bi, posting pictures on Facebook wearing a Speedo and kissing boys at the Pride parade. My wife (who was there that night at the movie theater) says in retrospect she can trace the change back to that night.

I hope so. That would be a fitting legacy for Mr. Bowie.