Planes, trains and automobiles – my trip to Philadelphia and New York

By BetteAndTinaForever

Sadly, the event at Pure wasn’t advertised as much as the Mazzoni center benefit. We arrived at seven pm and we were the only ones in line. More people showed up closer to eight o’clock when the actual rally was going to start but it sure wasn’t much of a crowd.

Everyone had free entry in exchange for our promise to volunteer during the election. We signed up and went inside, got drinks and took secure spots by the small stage. The music was wonderful and we even danced a little but mostly we just stood around, chatting and taking pictures.

Finally, after eight pm the local representatives from different districts came on the stage and introduced themselves, talking about politics and voting for Senator Obama and for change. The next person to come and speak to us was Tobias Wolff…yes, the same Tobias Wolff that Jennifer Beals interviewed over on OurChart earlier this year (you can check the interviews here, if you would like http://www.ourchart.com/content/weve-got-answersfrom-jennifer-beals-and-tobias-wolff)

During all these speeches, the L Word cast was stationed upstairs, watching the action from above and finally, after Wolff’s remarks they all came down and took center stage. Ilene was the first to speak but eventually all the cast members read from their notes. We heard from Jennifer Beals, Rose Rollins, Kate Moennig and Daniela Sea.

Jennifer was the only one spoke extemporaneously. When I saw her in New York, I thanked her for the passionate speech and remarked that she was the only one who was not reading. She replied that she had written out most of it so it was easier to know what to say. You can read more about Jennifer Beals in New York in my third report.

You can all watch Jennifer’s part of the speech in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo-ocAaEVOI

They left right after that and we stayed at the club just a little longer. When we went outside, there were cars waiting by the side door to take all the ladies to their final destinations. I saw Ilene walking out of the club and told her that I hoped she kept Bette and Tina together at the end of Season Six or she might end up with a big riot if she didn’t.

Okay, I know what you all think. B&TF always talks about TiBette as if nothing and nobody else is important. Well, I’m just trying to keep up with my reputation of being an avid and loyal TiBetter. Imagine that there might be a day when I will talk to someone from the cast and not ask even one TiBette question. It happened before, actually, so it might happen again but don’t hold your breath. TiBette will always be my first passion.

Anyway, enough about me. After I told Ilene about the riot, she replied with her usual laughter and gracefully slid into her car. She had her daughters with her in Philadelphia and they were there also.

Jennifer left quickly because she was in a hurry…maybe she wanted to get back to her daughter and do some trick-or-treating, as she mentioned during the VIP event the night before. We watched them leave and then went back to our hotel. Another night was over, another event and after that I had a long ride to New York.

By the way, something weird kept happening to me at the rally. For some reason I was pestered twice by two different ladies. At first, a girl approached me from behind when Tobias Wolff was speaking. She asked for my name (and believe me, it wasn’t a pick up line or I would gladly have given her my name and my phone number). So I inquired as to why she wanted to know it, she said, “They wanted to know the name of the girl in the red shirt.” I have no idea who “they” were but I told her my first name. Then she asked for my last name and that was when I got a little nervous.

I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I was cheering like everyone else and I don’t know why she was asking me that. I’m always reluctant to give out my last name and it’s not like everyone can pronounced it anyway, so I just told her, “Tell them that I’m the Russian girl.” It worked, she left.

Then later another girl came up to me. I saw her before and I knew she worked at the club. She leaned closer and asked me to come with her. This time I was really getting upset. The people on the stage were speaking and I wanted to pay attention. I asked again what was wrong and why I had to go with her. The girl replied that I either have to come with her or stop leaning on the rail that was separating the stage from the fans.

My reaction: WTF? Everyone who was standing close to the rail and was leaning on it but again, I was the one “they” chose. I pointed it out to the girl and she just said, “Just don’t lean on it and keep it between me and you.” Another WTF from me.

Maybe evil spirits were hard at work…it was Halloween after all; maybe it was the flirting rituals of Philadelphia’s lesbians that I know nothing about, being in the closet and all. I don’t know and it still remains a mystery to me. It didn’t spoil my evening though, because I got to see the cast and hear another passionate speech form Jennifer Beals. She’s really good at them and I’m glad that all her hard work in encouraging people to vote paid off. Senator Obama is our new President and I know we’re all ready for some changes.