The things we remember …
Good day to you all. As I write this, it is a gloomy rainy morning. Some people tend to get gloomy and sad on days like this, letting the weather affect their mood. It affects me too, but in a good way. I love overcast, drizzly days.
Now my pups are not fans of any kind of wetness outside. I force them outside and make them get off the porch to do their business, and they, for the most part, do it. But I can usually guarantee that I will find a little turd on the floor somewhere from one of my little shits. My dogs can be very sneaky and stealthy when it comes to pooping in the house. It doesn’t happen often, but I can usually tell by the way they are acting that there is a turd somewhere just waiting to be found.
I guess I would feel more like they do about drizzly days if I got rained on when I went poop.
A few weeks ago, during the first show in the Rose Room, I was hanging with some friends near the bar in the back when a cute straight couple walk up to me and asked if I remembered them. I hate when anyone asks me that question because, inevitably, the answer is going to be no.
The guy said that didn’t matter but that the two of them were at the show about two years ago on one of their first dates. He said that they were sitting in the front row, and that I picked on them “ferociously!” I was like, “Oh crap.
This is not going to go well.” So, I said in my best Gilly voice, “Sawwee.”
He was immediately apologetic saying, “Don’t be sorry! It was awesome! You roasted the fuck out of us. You said that she,” pointing to his girlfriend, “looked like Kim Kardashian if she shopped at TJ Maxx and that I looked like a budget John Cena.”
I looked at them, and the read was valid. I said, “Well, that does sound like me” … long pause, then another “Sawwee!” He laughed and said to stop apologizing that it was hilarious, but there is more to the story. Now I am invested, and I want to know everything.
He proceeds to tell me they loved what I called them so much that they wrote it into their vows when they got married just a few weeks ago, right before Valentine’s Day. I laughed and asked if he was serious. He said yes, that their preacher literally said, “Do you take this budget John Cena to be your husband?” and “Do you take this T.J.Max Kim Kardashian to be your wife?”
I laughed and was strangely flattered. He said, “Wait!” There is more to the story!”
Apparently, about a month or so after they came to the show the first time, they got into a huge fight — lots of yelling and a little bit of crying. He said he was sure they were about to break up. In the middle of yelling at each other and arguing over something petty, she yelled “Fuck you, you budget John Cena!” And, without missing a beat, he yelled back, “Screw you TJ Kim K.!”
He said they both stopped, looked at each other and just busted out laughing. They both had tears in their eyes but couldn’t stop laughing. He said he looked at her, laughing in the middle of a stupid argument, and realized that he was absolutely in love with her. And he knew in that moment that he was going to marry her.
As he is telling me this, I am teared up, on the verge of boo-hooing. I just kept saying, “That’s awesome.” I was almost speechless.
He said they came out that night in hopes of seeing me to tell me their story. I was so glad they did. It totally made my night — even when they told me neither of them could remember my name from that first night at the club; they had just been referring to me as that big, red-headed drag queen.
I told them, “I am Cassie Nova,” and we did a shot to toast their recent nuptials. Cheers to John and Kim! Thank you for letting me be a part of your love story. (I never did find out what their actual names are …. Sawwee!)
It is so strange to think of the impact you have on people, sometimes without even knowing it. It amazes me what people will remember about you. I have people tell me what song I did and what I was wearing the first time they ever saw me in the show.
It shouldn’t surprise me; I remember so much from those early days of coming out to the clubs or anything I got to do to be around gay people. It is like your senses are heightened. You want to remember everything and take in the whole experience.
The first time I saw Celeste Martinez perform in a show was at The Wave. She was wearing a black velvet gown with black velvet gloves, and she did “Left in the Dark” by Barbra Streisand. She was incredible. Tasha Kohl was wearing this crazy geometric headpiece dress. It was all one piece and so cool. She had tassels hanging from each finger that made all of her movements so theatrical. She performed “Why” by Annie Lennox.
John and Kim remembered me as “the big, red-headed drag queen.” Fucking straight people, I swear. No flair for the dramatic at all. Geesh!
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova
