Well the 1 yr memorial for Christopher Vattuone was a big success. Friends came from all over to be part of this event. New York, San Francisco and all parts of San
Diego county, they flonged to Clairmont to reminisce and remember our dear friend on the year of his passing. It was a great night. Eric put together a film festival of Chris movies such classics as “Trauma Magdalena”, “Mourning of the Dead”, “Deceived”and “Bruise” were seen
after many years. A shrine of pictures was up showing the many stages of Chris’ life (and hair length and outfits) with offerings and candles beneath. A giant picture of him as Ginger La Fosse Knotts
De La Hoya (his drag alter ego) graced the patio table, surrounded by a floofy feather boa. Laurie created another shrine too with hearts and pictures. We tried to reach him in the séance room via a Ouija Board I got at Toys R Us all to no avail. Maybe it was too
forced or the mood wasn’t right or maybe the fog that loomed over Clairmont got in the way. Well he didn’t come through but somehow it didn’t matter, I think he was smiling down on us and pleased with all the Chris worshipping going on. We demised that when a bag of tortilla chips on the food table caught on fire, Chris had something to do with it.
That was when we were doing the “What Do You Know About Chris” trivia game was going on in the living room. He was never one to be upstaged so we figured he made the candle fall on the chips to take all the focus off of yours truly running the game. There were no tears or sadness during the night just joy and fun memories. After the trivia game (which
Kenny won) there was some story telling which was rather informative. Many people from different phases of Chris’ life came forward to give their testimonies. Kenny told us when he knew
Chris was gay, Eric told about Chris’ meeting with one of his idols Peter Byrnes of Dead or Alive, there were many stories. One fact that came out during the trivia game is that many people didn’t
know he was on “The Price Is Right” his favorite game show. Unfortunately the video of this has gone missing so we couldn’t witness him rolling the dice and spinning the big wheel with Bob Barker. Surprise guests turned up like David, Gail and Lyndsey who made a shrine of vintage Dead or Alive records.
Carla and I put together a great party and everyone had a wonderful time. By the end of the night there were whispers of making this annual event, but I was done. I sat between Carla and Tamara on the couch with my cell phone and finally deleted his number from my phone. It was closure for me. Closure on a friendship that spanned over 25 yrs. and it was time to move on. I don’t want visits to San Diego be trips down memory lane or pilgrimages to Chris’grave. We all have our time on this earth and when it’s up, those left behind mourn for a while and then move on. Time for new
traditions and friendships. Eric and I plotted out some ideas by going out to The Hole (Pt. Loma’s only gay bar) and meeting some new locals. More time with family and the living. Today I’m going to mark this new phase of my Southern California tradition with a trip to Disneyland with my family (God help me!)
Diego county, they flonged to Clairmont to reminisce and remember our dear friend on the year of his passing. It was a great night. Eric put together a film festival of Chris movies such classics as “Trauma Magdalena”, “Mourning of the Dead”, “Deceived”and “Bruise” were seen 
after many years. A shrine of pictures was up showing the many stages of Chris’ life (and hair length and outfits) with offerings and candles beneath. A giant picture of him as Ginger La Fosse Knotts
De La Hoya (his drag alter ego) graced the patio table, surrounded by a floofy feather boa. Laurie created another shrine too with hearts and pictures. We tried to reach him in the séance room via a Ouija Board I got at Toys R Us all to no avail. Maybe it was too 
forced or the mood wasn’t right or maybe the fog that loomed over Clairmont got in the way. Well he didn’t come through but somehow it didn’t matter, I think he was smiling down on us and pleased with all the Chris worshipping going on. We demised that when a bag of tortilla chips on the food table caught on fire, Chris had something to do with it. 
That was when we were doing the “What Do You Know About Chris” trivia game was going on in the living room. He was never one to be upstaged so we figured he made the candle fall on the chips to take all the focus off of yours truly running the game. There were no tears or sadness during the night just joy and fun memories. After the trivia game (which 
Kenny won) there was some story telling which was rather informative. Many people from different phases of Chris’ life came forward to give their testimonies. Kenny told us when he knew 
Chris was gay, Eric told about Chris’ meeting with one of his idols Peter Byrnes of Dead or Alive, there were many stories. One fact that came out during the trivia game is that many people didn’t 
know he was on “The Price Is Right” his favorite game show. Unfortunately the video of this has gone missing so we couldn’t witness him rolling the dice and spinning the big wheel with Bob Barker. Surprise guests turned up like David, Gail and Lyndsey who made a shrine of vintage Dead or Alive records. 
Carla and I put together a great party and everyone had a wonderful time. By the end of the night there were whispers of making this annual event, but I was done. I sat between Carla and Tamara on the couch with my cell phone and finally deleted his number from my phone. It was closure for me. Closure on a friendship that spanned over 25 yrs. and it was time to move on. I don’t want visits to San Diego be trips down memory lane or pilgrimages to Chris’grave. We all have our time on this earth and when it’s up, those left behind mourn for a while and then move on. Time for new 
traditions and friendships. Eric and I plotted out some ideas by going out to The Hole (Pt. Loma’s only gay bar) and meeting some new locals. More time with family and the living. Today I’m going to mark this new phase of my Southern California tradition with a trip to Disneyland with my family (God help me!)
1 comment:
Post a Comment