Deiree Devoe has become one of my oldest drag sisters. The first time I saw her I thought 'who is hell is that.' She was wearing I gold blouse and short mini skirt. She also had on a men’s jacket with the sleeves pushed up. I would later find out it was her Dads jacket. I’m sure she did not get permission to wear it. At that time, very few of our families knew we where drag queens. She had styled her own hair and did not wear a wig. She looked real. There was no funky wig line.
I was just a young queen; I had never been on stage. But I was using drag as a way to gain access into the bar. I was barely underage. My friends, would get dressed up in drag and go watch the shows. And Desiree had come with her friends to watch the shows too. ”Desiree” was a local queen. She was just a few years older than me. She knew several of the top local queens, and soon became the hostess of a new armature night that the local bar wanted to start up.
Not long after meeting her I got to know “Desiree” as Doug. Doug was the man behind the illusion of Desiree. We became friends. He was a few steps ahead of me. He had his own drag, jewelry, wigs, costumes and had done shows at the bar. I looked up to him. Doug was also the new host and he used his friendship with the other queens to build the Friday night shows. Eventually that would include me too. It was a training ground for new queens to try being a star. He also worked part time at the bar and had another job working at a convince store. We all did what ever we had to do to make ends meet and still buy some cheap drag.
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| DESI |
I remember more than once, buying stuff at thrift store, cutting them apart, and remaking them into drag costumes. Once we even paid four dollars for a sack at the thrift store. You would pay one price for anything you could fit into that bag. I loved “four dollar sack day”. We folded and rolled the clothes to make them smaller and fit more in the bag. We definitely got our four dollars worth. I learned to never throw anything out. It can always become something different with a little imagination.
We were both young and inexperienced in drag. We tried to always hove fun and be creative. We also tried to look glamourus. We wore things backward, inside out, cut them up, pieced them back together and even glued stones to them. We did all in an effort to stretch our budgets and limited resources. It was fun turning lamp shades into hats and coats into dance costumes. Once “Desi” took some football shoulder pads and fabric and chains and created a kick-ass costume for a show. Then she lead a hot -hot guy in stage on a leash. The crowd went nuts for that kind of stuff. Desiree’s also took some netting and a belt an stapled it to look like a 80’s crendilene skirt. She was doing some “Girls just wanna have fun” number. Once I made her a green and white cheerleader shirt out of fabric and hot glue. A body suit and pom poms added to the costumes and out she came; strutting onto the stage and lip syncing to “let’s hear it for the Boy”.
Doug was also the friend I turned to when my parents were not talking to me because I was gay. He gave me a place to stay and tried to mentor me into not giving up. I remember many times relying on friends for support. There were also times of jealousy. Doug had become better know locally and was utilizing me in the shows less. In short, we had some bad times. Too many to count. It was also escalated by third party friends. Many of which were trouble makers. I never under stood why people wanted to stir the pot. If people would have left Doug and I alone, we could have worked out any differences and put the past behind us sooner. For several years we were not close, But I still consider him a good friend. We have both grown and moved on with life. We will always be friends. I never forget the help who helped me when I had nothing, especially Doug. He is funny and smart. And he loves his family. Doug was there as a friend when my Mom died. We still call every once in awhile to gossip and catch up. I some times see Doug when I am in town. Once day soon we are gonna go grab Chinese for lunch, just like the old days. Or maybe just a bag of burrittos from Fas-Pac convience store. Those always killed the hunger pains after a drag show.
Doug does not perform much any more. I am not sure why. Desiree Devoe was very popular in Wichita Falls. I assume it’s personal reasons. We used to joke that one day we would doing shows in the nursing home. I would be 90 years old, still wearing a jet black wig and Desi would come out with a microphone stand duct taped to her walker. Our shows would start at 2pm so that we wouldn’t miss any meals. Who know, that may be how we end up. Either way it’s going to be a hell of a show!
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