April 1987. Page 9

Casselberry-Dupree
Concert a HIT

By: Anita

Contois Auditorium was filled to
capacity and the crowd got what they came
for. They came to hear Casselberry-Dupree
put on a traditional African, gospel. country,
folk, reggae concert. From the opening
African blessing, a chant they did a capella,
to the close of the second encore, the two
singers from "the African country of
Brooklyn" had the crowd swaying.

This concert was the main event of
International Women's Week and it seemed
that all were pleased with the response.
The week was kicked off Wednesday with a
poetry reading and would continue with
workshops on Saturday and a film festival
on Sunday. but this Friday was for dancing.

The bare-footed pair boomed out eight
songs including the opening chant, "Johnny
Too Bad," a reggae selection "The Klan," a
folk song and songs by Randy Newman and
Michael MacDonald.

After a short break the duo picked up
where they had left off, shaking the house
with "Stir It Up". They followed that
immediately with the type of music that
"falls in the gap between spiritual and
gospel: country" and we heard their
rendition of the Eagles hit "Take It to the
Limit". Another eight songs filled the
second half as the crowd began dancing in

   

i

any open spaces they could find. Included
in these eight were some from their new
album "City Down".
everyone moving to their trademark reggae
sound.

The crowd wasn't going to let this
singing pair off after just sixteen songs,
though. Standing on its feet, the full house

The title song got

cheered until Casselberry-Dupree returned
and sang "Did Jesus Have a Baby Sister?"
and "Coming In From the Cold". It was an
evening of song. dancing, a little preaching,
and a lot of fun. But Jacquee Dupree and
J. Casselberry didn't seem the least bit tired
as they stood in the lobby and autographed
albums. This pair is hot!

@Letters Home

Dear Jody, Chuck, and little Ada,

Anita and I are driving away from your
house right now and I am filled with
nagging doubts.

I sensed some stiffness and awkwardness
as we parted. I will never know whether it
was real or imagined unless I tell you
something I have never told anyone. I am
833/-

'I\vo years ago Mary told me that you
and Chuck were angry with me for not
attending her wedding to John. No one at
the time understood why I was so upset and
angry. All of our mutual friends had been
censuring me for my unreasonable jealousy
and interference. What no one knew was
that Mary and I had been in an intimate
relationship for five years and I was in the
midst of a divorce.

I am not telling you this to slander
Mary or to excuse my jealous rage. I
simply want to explain why I was incapable
of sitting in that church watching Mary and
John get married. I would suspect that
Mary would not want you to know this
about her so please respect that privacy.

I met Anita after Mary and John had
been engaged for a year and I was in a
personal crisis. Meeting Anita brought me
out of my depression. We became friends
instantly and only later became intimate.

Our desire to be together was overpowering,
no obstacle too great. Anita has continued
to be a supportive and growing influence on
my life. '

I told you this because it was a secret
that made me lose touch with you for two
years. I don’t want to lie or gloss over the
truth anymore. There is a song about
telling your friends that says "some cry and
some never speak again." Whatever your
reaction is, positive or negative, I want it to

be honest and something you are
comfortable with. If you would rather not
be in touch with me, I'd rather that be out
in the open. Whatever you decide, I’m glad
I had the chance to see you both again and
I'm glad the truth has been told.

Love, Dot

Letters Home

"Letters Home" is for more than just
letters to parents or children. We welcome
your coming out stories in whatever form
you’ve recorded them. We don’t want to
limit the column to just exchanges with
family or just letters. Please share with us
your experiences with co-workers, friends and
acquaintances. Recollections of those
conversations are fine.

In short, we want "Letters Home" to be
a forum for sharing all our coming out
experiences. Some of our readers have
told us that it is their favorite OITM
feature! Help us continue the tradition by
sharing your stories.

Dear Dot,

We really enjoyed your surprise visit. It’s
so nice to be dropped in on once in a
while--keeps life interesting. I'm sorry we
couldn't spend more time together but I had
a mid-term on Monday. Both of us were
glad that we finally got to meet Anita. She
is really a super nice gal, and I can tell,
also a very special person.

I was glad that you felt comfortable
enough, after two years, to come and see us
and tell us about your relationship with
Anita Neither of us were surprised, In fact,
I think we knew how you felt about men
and women before you did. Sometimes

 

"outsiders" can see things more clearly than
we can ourselves. We aren't crying and we're
certainly not going to stop speaking!

I think, more than anything else what I
felt when I read your letter was relief. All
of the cards are on the table, so to speak,
and we can now go on with our lives. I
hope we can stay in touch a little better
now that we’ve said hello again!

Must go now -- Miss Ada wants
dinnerll NOW!! and so it must be delivered.
Bye for now -- write soon. Thanks for

dropping in and we were really glad to meet
you Anita!

Love,
J o