Toulouse Pride

Though a smaller affair than Madrid Pride, Toulouse Pride was excellent. It had a similar structure, though in addition to the rolling stages full of DJs and dancers there were a series of speeches to kick it off. One was by a sister of perpetual indulgence! The sound system was such that the deaf could understand better than the hearing unimpaired. I think that says something about their efforts for equality.

The parade started and the crowd was very confused. I tried to follow one float, but couldn’t keep up. Then I realized that a drum corps was coming up behind me, so I hung back. That ended up being the best possible decision and I stuck with them for the remainder of the 2 or 3 hour parade. I just danced and danced and danced and danced. A pair of girls who were hitting on a drummer, and a gaggle of very enthusiastic women who all knew each other followed the drummers with me. With the gaggle there too I didn’t feel like I was alone in the crowd. It really didn’t matter though, because nothing really does when a dozen drums are beating.

My shoulders are burnt, my head hurts from dehydration, and Stop Making Sense just ended on my music-device. But those are the worst things of today, so hey! This is great.

On the way back a dude in a tutu was asking for kisses so I kissed him. First kiss of Toulouse, weeee. Well, this time around at least.

This evening I tried to find a punk concert, but I got sketched out in the neighborhood as I approached the approximate location. There are actually a million things going on in Toulouse tonight, but I’m too tired from dancing in the heat without enough water. Also I just walked for an hour and a half trying to get to this show. Bleh.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I anticipate a slow day, but whatever. Maybe I’ll get to reflect on what my two decades mean to me.