And if you're trying to cut me down.....

As much as I wrote about being let down by Key West (compared to what I had built up in my head) I want to reiterate that I HAD A FABULOUS TIME on vacation.

I would totally recommend KW as a place to visit.... but it's not for everyone.

There is a strong gay culture tied to the island. For people who have been to Boy Town in Chicago, New Orleans, Montreal etc then you will probably feel that KW is quite mild compared to those cities. For those of you who can't watch Will & Grace with out feeling sick to your stomach .... I would not recommend it as a vacation spot.

Me on the other hand LOVED the whole thing. I was a boarder line F_ _ H_ _ in college (if you don't know what F H stands for, you really don't want to know). So the Gay scene in KW was a nice throw back to my younger years.

We went to La Te Da to go see a (what I call classy) cabaret style drag show (think 'The Birdcage' with Nathan Lane). It was a blast. An absolutely fabulous live show. The guy did 5 famous ladies. He dressed like then and sang like them (amazing) and did the most out of this world impression of Liza Minnelli that I have ever seen, I almost fell out of my chair (literally) from laughing so hard. He told a few really corny dirty jokes and told some stories. It was quite tame.

Then I dragged (ha! no pun intended) Mason to Aqua nightclub for another show. This was the drag show that I was use to. Over the top outfits, lip-syncing - that kind of thing. One guy did Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass" with the dress and head wrap - the whole thing.

It was beautiful. And it was right then and there that it dawned on me what I had not understood about Drag Queens, the culture of it all and what drew people to the shows.

Drag Queens are not truly female impersonators. Even though they are men dressed like women, they don't really look like a real woman. Their make-up their clothes and shoes are all OVER the top. Exaggerated. They are like modern-day clowns. Dressed up to entertain but with a sadness underneath the surface. I think that is why I am drawn to them. It's like in one moment they are glittery and beautiful and yet tragic, satirical and misunderstood. What drama! It's a character and theater.

Not all drag queens are gay guys, and most do it as a hobby, they don't live like women in their real lives. The whole term 'drag queen' denotes someone dressed up for the purposes of entertaining.

It seems silly now to think that this had not dawned on me until just recently. I guess I am a bit slow with the up-take.