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Another Brokie's passing

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Marge_Innavera:

A devoted Brokeback fan, Robert Baxter, passed on last week at the age of 69, of pancreatic cancer.  Mr. Baxter had been an arts critic and reporter for the New Jersey-based Courier-Post since 1979.

Of the same generation as Ennis and Jack, Mr. Baxter was one of the Brokies who was inspired to make radical changes, coming out as a gay man rather late in life.  He shared this experience with his readers, telling the story of a journey out of fear and self-doubt, as well as a cherished memory of meeting a real-life Ennis and Jack who managed to have their 'sweet life' despite all the odds.  Posting at the DC forum under the name "Tacitus", Mr. Baxter contributed three entries to the forum's anthology,  "Beyond Brokeback".

After his passing, the Courier-Post printed some of his classic columns.  One, taken from "Beyond Brokeback", told the story of his coming out and what BBM meant to him.


--- Quote ---You can imagine, I'm sure, the thrill I felt when I met Bud and Manuel. I was 5, maybe 6, holding onto my grandmother's hand when she introduced her cowboy pals to me at the county fair. When Bud leaned down and shook my little hand, I caught the pungent smell of fresh sweat and stale tobacco.

From their scuffed leather boots to their weathered Stetsons, they looked like real men. Lean, muscular, with big, calloused hands and strong faces, tanned by the sun. The kind of cowboys Marlboro later glorified.
Bud owned a cattle ranch. Manuel was his foreman. They built barbed-wire fences and rode the range together on horseback. They also shared a bed.

Bud and Manuel were gay cowboys even though neither man would have known what that term meant 60 years ago. In those days, gay folk were called queers and homos.

Nobody who knew Bud and Manuel would have dared to ask if they were gay, but everyone sensed Bud belonged to Manuel. They formed an inseparable pair, just like my grandmother's married friends. Somehow, the names of the two men fit together as comfortably as Charlie and Mary or Harry and Alice.

I've thought a lot about Bud and Manuel since I saw Brokeback Mountain. They are long gone, but I wish they were here to share their story with me. How did they forge a relationship in rural California when society -- from our families and churches to our government -- shrieked "No!" or shouted "Don't you dare!"
--- End quote ---


Read the rest of the column at http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100827/NEWS01/8270344/Real-life-cowboys-offered-hope-to-young-man-growing-up-gay-in-America

Blog obituary at http://talkingwithcoyotes.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-brokie-passes-away.html

Marge_Innavera:
Postscript:

I'm not sure Mr. Baxter was a BetterMost member; there's no "Tacitus" on the members' list.  If anyone knows whether he posted here under another name, please let me know.

Sophia:
Thank you, Marge for sharing his story, letting us be a part of it. I never knew Mr Baxter but I hope he had a good life and lived a life that he wanted.  :-*

milomorris:
Very uplifting story, especially the part about Bud & Manuel. If only Jack & Ennis could have met those guys...

Lynne:
Thank you for posting this, Marcia.  It is very inspirational.

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