From Jeb Alexander's Diary

More retro-blogging from the diary of Jeb Alexander, a gay man who lived in DC from the turn of the last century until his death. In the late 1920s, Jeb lived at the YMCA, then located at 1736 G street, NW. There he made several friends with other residents, including Isador Pearson, who, shall we say, was a real flamer. He liked to wear makeup and occasionally women's garments. That was too much for the Y, apparently, from this entry:

Sunday, 7 January 1927

A cloudless day. Patches of snow on the walks. Isador arrived in a cab to pick up his belongings that had been packed by those magnificent Christians of the YMCA. I watched the scene from inside the lobby door. The packages and bags had been placed outside. Thompson, the malignant desk clerk, stood on the sidewalk with his arms crossed. The cab pulled up and Idador emerged, wearing a brown suit with a tan handkerchief tucked in his pocket, and a tan felt hat. Thompson pursed his lips as Isador, attempting a futile, jocular conversation, began to load his possessions into the back seat of the cab. He got in front with the driver and as they pulled away, his eyes met mind through the glass of the door and he waved vigorously, calling, "Thank you Jeb, dearest." Thompson turned around. My heart sank when I saw the expression on that reptilian beast's face.

Thompson wiped his feet on the mat. "I didn't realize that Mr. Pearson was a friend of yours. " I replied, "He's a classmate in my art history class at George Washington University. We share school books." "Can't you share with someone less unnatural?" My voice shook, but I told that reprehensible beast, "I consider it a valid economy to be sharing books with Mr. Pearson."

Waiting for the elevator took an eternity. I found myself imagining that I was helping Isador put his packages in the cab, until the details became so vivid that it almost seemed that in fact I had helped him. And after all, there is no benefit in having two of us evicted from the Y. It is bad enough for something so humiliating to happen to one.

I'm thoroughly enjoying reading this diary. One of my frustrations, though, is there are gaps in the narrative the editor doesn't explain -- like what was the catalyst for Idador's eviction? And, from earlier entries we know Jeb is taking an art class, but until this entry we don't know where and it wasn't clear he was doing so with Isador.

This all took place during Prohibition and Isador was a source of bootleg liquor and Jeb and his friends would party at the Y, drinking, smoking, playing the Victrola and dancing. It was also at the Y that Jeb is reunited with his college friend, C.C. Dasham, who we'll be hearing a lot more about as the story unfolds.