and were interested in male athletes.”
Leon smiled. “The Lord says that the truth can never be hidden. I guess he’s right. You’re talking about two men who came to our fair city in the late fifties – Mr. Lonnie and Mr. Jim. They were wrestling promoters and came with buckets full of money to spread around.”
“To spread around for what purpose?” I asked.
“Allegedly for some tender southern white-meat chicken,” Leon chuckled.
I looked at Mrs. Todd, bewildered.
She just shook her head.
Jimmy twittered nervously and interceded on our behalf. “Behave now, Leon. Mrs. Todd is a regular church-going woman and I don’t think Mrs. Reynolds is used to rough talk either.”
“My apologies, ladies. Like I said, I’m not used to female companionship, at least, in a long time.” Leon coughed into a handkerchief. “You ever heard rumors about Rock Hudson coming to Lexington?”
“Yes, when I first came here, people would say that Rock Hudson was in town,” I responded.
“He came here to visit Elizabeth Taylor when she was filming Raintree County and liked it so much that he came often. Now why would a big star like that come to our little country town so often? Don’t know? Let me explain it to y’all. Lexington in those days was filthy rich; horses and tobacco was king. But Lexington was also a little cosmopolitan island in a redneck southern world. There were a lot of smart people in Lexington those days due to IBM, Transylvania, and UK, who believed in minding their own business. Where else could Henry Faulkner and Sweet Evening Breeze go prancing around without gettin’ beat up all the time? There were some altercations, but for the most part Lexington was a very tolerant place for its “eccentrics.” As long as people didn’t come right out and talk about certain things, nothing was said. You might say Lexington was protective.”
I took a sip of my drink, not taking my eyes off Leon, who was enjoying being the center of attention.
“Now I am setting up what Lexington was like. Famous people like Tennessee Williams and big movie stars flying in all the time to go to parties. Those were the days when people socialized more. Everyone was having picnics, throwing parties, giving barbeques. People spent the evenings on their porches, going to other people’s houses for dinner or out to dance all the time. Even on weeknights, downtown was packed with folks. People got out. They didn’t stay home watching their TV like they do now. Lexington was a very social town.
“It was in this atmosphere that I went to work for two men who lived on Lakewood Drive. It wasn’t long before I knew what they were.”
“Hustlers?”
“Much, much more.” Leon paused for dramatic effect. “Mrs. Reynolds, they were predators, sure and simple. They preyed on young men. They liked them fresh off the farm and Lexington was their hunting ground.”
“How would they prey on them?” asked Mrs. Todd, alarmed.
“I can only tell you what I saw. They’d throw these lavish parties with starlets from Hollywood, using them as bait. There was always lots of food washed down with liquor and they showed dirty movies in the basement. Then they’d get these boys drunk and take advantage of them. If that didn’t work, they used money to coax the boys or gave them expensive gifts.”
“I don’t understand how you can make a heterosexual man do homosexual acts if he’s not,” said Mrs. Todd.
“If you’re poor or young, you can be coaxed to do anything. Besides, at their age of 18, 19, 20, you can manipulate young’uns to do lots of stuff they wouldn’t do when older and more mature. These guys were promoters and good at getting people to do what they wanted.”
“You actually saw them have sex with these boys?”
“No ma’am, but what could they have been doing behind locked doors and those boys comin’ out looking all embarrassed and sheepish.”
“How does that play into the Thin Thirty?”
“Their
Leon smiled. “The Lord says that the truth can never be hidden. I guess he’s right. You’re talking about two men who came to our fair city in the late fifties – Mr. Lonnie and Mr. Jim. They were wrestling promoters and came with buckets full of money to spread around.”
“To spread around for what purpose?” I asked.
“Allegedly for some tender southern white-meat chicken,” Leon chuckled.
I looked at Mrs. Todd, bewildered.
She just shook her head.
Jimmy twittered nervously and interceded on our behalf. “Behave now, Leon. Mrs. Todd is a regular church-going woman and I don’t think Mrs. Reynolds is used to rough talk either.”
“My apologies, ladies. Like I said, I’m not used to female companionship, at least, in a long time.” Leon coughed into a handkerchief. “You ever heard rumors about Rock Hudson coming to Lexington?”
“Yes, when I first came here, people would say that Rock Hudson was in town,” I responded.
“He came here to visit Elizabeth Taylor when she was filming Raintree County and liked it so much that he came often. Now why would a big star like that come to our little country town so often? Don’t know? Let me explain it to y’all. Lexington in those days was filthy rich; horses and tobacco was king. But Lexington was also a little cosmopolitan island in a redneck southern world. There were a lot of smart people in Lexington those days due to IBM, Transylvania, and UK, who believed in minding their own business. Where else could Henry Faulkner and Sweet Evening Breeze go prancing around without gettin’ beat up all the time? There were some altercations, but for the most part Lexington was a very tolerant place for its “eccentrics.” As long as people didn’t come right out and talk about certain things, nothing was said. You might say Lexington was protective.”
I took a sip of my drink, not taking my eyes off Leon, who was enjoying being the center of attention.
“Now I am setting up what Lexington was like. Famous people like Tennessee Williams and big movie stars flying in all the time to go to parties. Those were the days when people socialized more. Everyone was having picnics, throwing parties, giving barbeques. People spent the evenings on their porches, going to other people’s houses for dinner or out to dance all the time. Even on weeknights, downtown was packed with folks. People got out. They didn’t stay home watching their TV like they do now. Lexington was a very social town.
“It was in this atmosphere that I went to work for two men who lived on Lakewood Drive. It wasn’t long before I knew what they were.”
“Hustlers?”
“Much, much more.” Leon paused for dramatic effect. “Mrs. Reynolds, they were predators, sure and simple. They preyed on young men. They liked them fresh off the farm and Lexington was their hunting ground.”
“How would they prey on them?” asked Mrs. Todd, alarmed.
“I can only tell you what I saw. They’d throw these lavish parties with starlets from Hollywood, using them as bait. There was always lots of food washed down with liquor and they showed dirty movies in the basement. Then they’d get these boys drunk and take advantage of them. If that didn’t work, they used money to coax the boys or gave them expensive gifts.”
“I don’t understand how you can make a heterosexual man do homosexual acts if he’s not,” said Mrs. Todd.
“If you’re poor or young, you can be coaxed to do anything. Besides, at their age of 18, 19, 20, you can manipulate young’uns to do lots of stuff they wouldn’t do when older and more mature. These guys were promoters and good at getting people to do what they wanted.”
“You actually saw them have sex with these boys?”
“No ma’am, but what could they have been doing behind locked doors and those boys comin’ out looking all embarrassed and sheepish.”
“How does that play into the Thin Thirty?”
“Their
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