by BetteAndTinaForever

“Say Hey if you’re gay!” – An incredibly true adventure of a straight girl in San Francisco

PART 2

Then organizers began explaining to Jennifer and Ilene where to sit inside the car and since she was put on the left side of the convertible, we decided to stay on the same side of the street.

Ilene forgot something in the tinted car and I used that opportunity to shake her hand (she didn’t have any bodyguards around her) and then I showed her my Bette&Tina t-shirt and told her to get Bette and Tina back together. What can I say? I’m a die-hard TiBette fan and I use every chance I get to say so. Of course, Ilene didn’t give me an answer in her ‘I-don’t-really-know-what-I’m-doing’ shrugging gesture but she smiled at least. I know she gets this every time from other TiBette fans, so I’m glad she wasn’t irritated at me.

Some people (2 to be exact) were able to stick their hands between the bodyguards and get Jennifer’s autographs. I didn’t have anything with me since I didn’t want to bother her on such a glorious day so I asked JB to sign my t-shirt. Unfortunately, the car began moving and it was moving fast so we had to run to keep up with that.

I kept running and walking throughout the rest of the parade route, taking pictures and short videos with my digital camera. On the way JB signed some stuff member’s shirt, so here you have – 3 lucky people (at least the ones I saw) got JB’s autographs, which is a hard thing to do since she rarely attends fan-based events. Jennifer Beals is so elusive and shy.

My friend was able to get Ilene’s autograph on her season 1 DVD, which was nice. It really looked like Ilene was there just for the support and was totally keeping a low key, letting Jennifer shine and be admired.

As I mentioned, I had followed JB’s car for the rest of the parade and when the route took a left turn, her car went straight through a special gates, heading for the Civic Center where she participated in the press-conference. Excerpts from the conference, parade and JB’s speech at the Civic Center can be found on the KRON 4 (The bay’s area News station)

During the press-conference she was mainly talking about unfairness towards gay people and this is one quote that I really liked: “To say that one person’s love is more valuable than another person’s love is absurd and ultimately really hurtful for generations in the future.”

After the parade was over we went to the Civic center and got the best spot right in front of the stage. After some waiting and then a number of musical and dancing performances, all the Grand Marshals were introduced and it was mentioned that Jennifer will arrive later.

We were entertained by two colorful personalities whose names I can’t even pronounced and finally Jennifer Beals showed up. First, Ilene was introduced as a creator of the series. She was met with a round of applause but as soon as JB was announced the screams and applauses went up higher and louder.

Jennifer was completely touched by the welcome and she began her speech with “Say Hey if you’re gay.” I screamed ‘Hey’ to be a part of the community but I would say anything in JB’s presence because I was completely mesmerized.

I don’t even remember her speech except for the beginning when she said: “What a glorious gorgeous gay gathering…what a celebration of pride and liberation and diversity and love…No one does Pride Parades better than San Francisco.” I was too busy recording, drooling and being hypnotized by her voice and her looks to remember the rest.

So, after 2 days of wandering the streets of San Francisco, running after Jennifer Beals during the parade and being exposed to the California sun, I got home completely exhausted, with a 3rd degree burns, heat stroke, empty fridge and my only thoughts were that I was truly blessed to see Jennifer Beals and participate in something so wonderful and glorious.

It was great to see a lot of gay families there who are fighting for their rights to have legal unions just like everyone else. If everybody could be free to be themselves and to be proud of who they are, this life would be much better and more enjoyable.

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