This was such a touching example for me of a new kind of loving family. My mother always said a family is a married Mom and Dad with 2.5 kids. Somehow, in her eyes, my “gayness” challenges all that… Well, things are different at Anne’s house. She lives with her boyfriend of almost ten years and they have no intention of ever getting married! One of his kids is married to a great guy who has a son and a daughter from a previous marriage. The son and daughter each married awesome spouses this past year and, the cutest thing, the spouses refer to Anne as their “Grandma”. It’s this crazy cuckoo combo of people, family reinvented! When I got up to speak about Anne, I looked over at her and could see by the look in her eyes that I, too, was part of this amazingly offbeat family. I couldn’t be happier!

When we got back to NYC, it was finally time to see Madonna with our lil’ family, our friends Lora and Gillian and the amazing contest winners Mari, Margaret, David and Lauralynne. We love you guys!!!!! (To read more about our contest winners, please click here.)

The concert rocked so hard!!!! We enjoyed a night of 100% high energy fun as Madge pulled out her biggest hits and reinvented each one anew, from an amped-up version of “Material Girl” with Madonna herself on electric guitar to a rendition of “Express Yourself” that resembled a USO number from a 50’s musical. We screamed, vogued, sang, danced and even cried as she dedicated a most beautiful rendition of “Crazy for You” to her fans of the past twenty years.

The song “Mother and Father” really got to me. I was dancing around maybe a bit too excitedly and accidentally clobbered the guy in front of me. Sorry! I just got kinda emotional as the show swelled with images of love and hate, war and peace, family and enemy united. As the beats of “Music” pounded and Mo sang “Music brings the people together,” I felt that same outpouring of love from people of all different ages, only this time it was a screaming crowd of thousands in Madison Square Garden!

The Sunday after the concert was Father’s Day. Keith and I were wandering about town and you’ll never believe what happened. We’re walking on some random street near Grand Central when we spied a crowd of people on one street corner and then a crowd of cameras on the other. We edged closer and saw a cute little girl dancing around, playing with her lil’ brother. Her mom, a blonde-haired cutie in a black tracksuit and dark sunglasses, was chatting with Dad in a newsboy cap. It was Madonna and her entire family! Guy was filming a Corvette commercial and they were spending some quality time together between takes.

After all my bellyaching about how I’ve never gotten to meet her, there she was right in front of me with her entire familia. I couldn’t believe it! My eyes nearly popped out of my head! I wanted to run to her and give her a big hug but instead did what any normal person would do. I hid behind the paparazzi dude and gaped… After a few minutes, Madonna kissed her Guy goodbye and headed for a big black SUV with kids, security detail and film crew in tow. Keith and I ran after and, as they all piled in the truck, I stood there waving at them like a total freak.

They waved back.

7/26/04