Well, ain’t this somethin’. You wanna know about this Charlie Brown fella, huh? He was one of them drag queens, over there in Atlanta. Guess he was a pretty big deal, been around for ages. Like, four decades? That’s a long time to be dressin’ up and puttin’ on a show, ain’t it?
People sayin’ he died all of a sudden, back in March. Seventy-four years old, they say. Don’t seem so old these days, but I guess it’s a good long run. Folks over there, they call him an “icon.” Means he was somethin’ special, I reckon.
Hear tell he was funny. Made people laugh. That’s a good thing, makin’ people laugh. World’s got enough sadness, ain’t it? He did his thing at all sorts of places, but this one place, Charlie Brown’s Cabaret, that was his spot. Had his name right there on it!
- Been doin’ this drag stuff for fifty years. That’s longer than I been married, and I been married a good long while!
- Wrote a book, too. A “memoir,” they call it. Guess that’s like tellin’ your whole life story.
- Had a husband, too. Fred Wise, his name was. They was together when he passed. At least he wasn’t alone.
People in Atlanta, they’re all upset he’s gone. Sayin’ he was a “pioneer” and a “reformer.” Don’t rightly know what all that means, but sounds like he did some good. Shook things up, maybe. Made things different.
You know, it takes all kinds to make a world. Some folks like to dress up, some folks like to sing and dance, some folks like to watch. And some folks, well, some folks just like to talk about it all. Like me, I guess.
It’s sad when someone goes, ‘specially when they was bringin’ joy to folks. But sounds like this Charlie Brown, he left a mark. Made a difference. And that’s somethin’ to be proud of, ain’t it?
Don’t know much about drag queens myself, but I know about people. And it seems like this Charlie Brown, he was a good one. He made people happy. And that’s what matters in the end, don’t it?
Atlanta’s gonna miss him, that’s for sure. But they got their memories. All them shows, all them laughs, all them times he made ’em feel somethin’. That’s what stays, long after a person’s gone.
So, there you have it. What I know about Charlie Brown. Ain’t much, maybe, but it’s somethin’. Just a fella who lived his life, made folks happy, and left a mark on the world. Can’t ask for much more than that, can ya?
Tags: Charlie Brown, Atlanta, Drag Queen, LGBTQ, Cabaret, Memoir, Icon
