Ever since I came out, when I was a grad student in '70 or '71, I have carried some kind of small bag. My friends at the University of California, San Diego, may recall that I was never without my red, mirrored Indian satchel -- until it fell apart, dropping random mica chips under the campus's fragrant eucalyptus trees. At the time, I occasionally wore bell-bottoms with lace I sewed on the cuffs and soft beige blouses, hoping not to get mascara on the silk: very hard to wash out. That was when the … [Read more...]