Out in the Mountains Out in the (Other) Mountains Hugh Coyle Former Editor of OH" M It’s always an experience to move one’s en- tire life from one place to another, particular- ly across thousands of miles, and I’ve learned that the process of readjustment only multiplies in its complexity when you’re gay or lesbian. Since moving to Montana from Vermont, trading in (if only for a year or two) the Greens for the Rockies, I’ve found myself going through the coming out pro- cess all over again. This time, though, it’s happening much more quickly and without all of the first-time traumas and tribulations. It’s also been somewhat fun. The first thing I was faced with when ar- riving here was finding the gay community. There aren’t many listings under Montana in the Gayellow Pages. I also learned quickly that many many more men wear earrings here than back in Vermont, and it just doesn’t translate into the same probability ra- tios when you follow that handsome frisbee- player around town after spying that little gold hoop in his lobe. At last I came across an ad for a Lambda Alliance meeting in the local student newspaper, and I could hardly wait to attend. Unfortunately, the location was something of a mystery, and it would be two more weeks before I could find my way to the “Lifeboat.” Who would have guessed it was a Campus Ministry building and not a local bar’? I knew only one other person in that room full of thirty gay men and the occasional lesbians (I say occasional because many of them haven't shown up since). Actually, I only lmew that one person’s voice, since he had called in response to my frantic letter which asked for directions to this so-called “Lifeboat.” As with most Lambda meetings, this one had a theme or topic: “Outing.” Ac- tually, it wasn’t so much “outing” as “out- ing one’s friends,” as in holding your loved one’s hand in the local mall. As in talking before a movie about who slept with whom the night before. As in trying to get your male friend’s attention in a crowded res- taurant by yelling out “Yo! Girlfriend!” I shared my experience with the group by way of introduction, explaining that I had just come to town from Vermont and actual- ly wished that someone would do some- thing to “out” me if only to spare me the embarrassment of walking around town with a strap-on signboard that said “Hi, I’m Hugh, I’m Gay, and I’m New to Town Now What Do I Do?” What I did was learn about gay life in Mon- tana over the next few weeks. For starters, I discovered that tl1ere’s not much of a co- hesive community in the state, since the state is large. Travel between major cities necessitates overnight accommodations in many instances, and in the wintertime it’s pretty near impossible unless you’re handy with chains. (Hey, come on. I’m trying to be serious here...) Here in Missoula, the group decided to “out” me by having me staff an information booth in the student center for a couple of hours during Activity Day. Mostly that meant watching cautious young studs creep up on the table to grab one or two of the colorful condoms we had scattered about, then watching their girlfriends waltz right up for an extra handful. (Darn. So much for meet- ing people this way, I was saying to myself.) The music from our Common Threads video drifted through the whole complex as a few lesbians stopped by to pick up information on safe sex. Later, some Alliance members would come by to ask how it was going, but on the whole, business was slim. Still, we were there. The following week, the Emma Goldman Gypsy Players were in town with their pres- entation of Queens Are Wild. This was held in the downtown local Union Hall, and drew a capacity crowd. It was nice to see some folks from the East out here in the West, and during the whole show I kept having flash- backs of a certain photo from OITM fea- turing the Players with Keith Goslant and Craig Balaun. Ah, the bittersweet flutters of homesickness. . Shortly after that there was an AIDS Aware- ness Week Art Exhibit opening to attend, further proof that sometimes you begin to feel like a full-time homosexual just trying to AIDS HOTLINES: Vermont 1-800-882-2437 New Hampshire 1-800-752-2437 New York State 1-800-541-2437 Massachusetts 1-617-522-4090 Maine 1-800-851-2437 National 1-800-342-2437 Canadian 1-613-563-2437 AIDS Community Awareness Project (ACAP) PO Box 608 St. ]ohnsburyVT 05819 (802) 748-8116 AIDS Community Resource Network (ACORN) PO Box 2057 Lebanon NH 03766 (603) 448-4400 Bennington Area AIDS Project PO Box 1066 Bennington VT 05201 (802) 442-4481 or 1-800-845-2437 Health Resource Organizations Brattleboro AIDS Project 4 High Street, Suite 2-3 Brattleboro VT 05301 (802) 254-4444 (Helpline) (802) 254-8263 (Office) Franklin-Grand Isle AIDS Task Force 8 Ferris Street St. Albans VT 05478 0 (802)524-6554 H.E.A.L. Vermont (Holistic Education and AIDS Alternatives Liaison) PO Box 795 Montpelier VT 05602 0 (802) 229-4325 Lesbian Cancer Support Group (802) 660-8386 Northeast Kingdom AIDS Coalition PO Box 40 Newport VT 05855 0 (802) 334-2437 North Star (Holistic Health Care) RR2 Box 3255 MorrisvilleVT 05661 - (802)888-2858 Vermont AIDS Council PO Box 275 Montpelier VT 05601 0 (802) 229-557 Vermont C.A.R.E.S. (Committee for AIDS Resources, Education, and Services) PO Box 5248 30 Elmwood Avenue Burlington VT 05401 (802) 863-2437 (Burlington) 1-800-649-2437 (Rutland and Washington County support groups) Vermont Department of Health 1-800-882-2437 (AIDS Hotline) or (802) 863-7245 (AIDS Program office) VT Persons with AIDS Coalition PO Box 1055 Brattleboro, VT 05302 1-800-698-8792 (VT PWA) 802-257-9277 Vermont Women's Health Center 336 North Avenue Burlington VT 05401 0 (802)863-1386 14