Ruth opened the BAY AREA section of the Chronicle and saw a cartoon she didn’t quite understand and a half page of angry letters to the editor. She flipped to another page and noticed a small headline:
“BODY FOUND IN RUSSIAN RIVER -
Unidentified Man found near Forestville thought to be 3rd Drowning Victim this Season.” Ruth pondered this news for a moment. Tim must be at the Russian River right now if he was still up at Nick’s place in Monte Rio. She read on: “Canoeists find body of nude male near Hacienda Bridge…”
She scratched the cat behind the ears and said, “Well, Bart, I wonder how far Monte Rio is from Forestville. I’ve never heard of this Hacienda Bridge. It sounds Spanish. I hope Tim comes home soon. I can hardly wait to see him.” Ruth yawned and closed her eyes as the Chronicle fell from her lap onto the floor and she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
To Be Continued…
About the Author
Like Tim Snow, Mark Abramson grew up in Minnesota and also worked for a time as a waiter in the Castro, but is better known as a bartender and producer of events such as “Men Behind Bars” and big dance parties on the San Francisco piers, “Pier Pressure” and “High Tea.” He also had an Aunt Ruth Taylor, but his maternal grandmother was not a psychic. His other grandmother might have been, but she died before he was born. And his mother doesn’t drink at all, unfortunately.
Mark Abramson’s writing has appeared in the gay press as far back as Christopher Street magazine, Gay Sunshine, Mouth of the Dragon and Fag Rag and more recently in the Lethe Press anthology Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling. In addition to the Beach Reading series, he is working on his Castro Street diaries which recount true tales of life before AIDS in the great gay Mecca with friends such as John Preston, Rita Rockett, Randy Shilts and Al Parker.
More to Come from Lethe Press
The Beach Reading Series
Beach Reading
Cold Serial Murder
Russian River Rat
Snowman
Wedding Season
Neutriva Dreams
Love Rules
Seersucker
Cold Serial Murder Page 20