During my years as a newspaper columnist and councilmember, I was asked to do a number of odd and interesting things. I served as a judge for contests -- clam-eating competitions at Ivar's and the oyster slurp at Anthony's. I helped pick the "top ten best dishes" for the Taste of Seattle and spotted winners at the Oyster Olympics.
Some of the jobs for which I was drafted were no hardship. I was called into service to pick finalists for the Seattle Firefighters Calendar. But the most unusual job for which I was tapped was as guest caller for Drag Queen Bingo. On a Tuesday night, sometime in the aughts, I found myself pressed into service announcing numbers like B-6 and G at an event held in the Temple de Hersch Sinai auditorium. I showed up on the appointed evening not knowing what to expect, although Drag Queen Bingo was scarcely new.
Seattleite Mark "Mom" Finley, who studied theater at the California Institute of the Arts, gets credit for having invented the art form in s. Finley, who stands seven-feet in heels, is entrancing to behold when he applies the right makeup and dons a curly blond wig.
The "mistress of ceremonies" was wearing fishnet hose, sparkly leotard and a feathered boa. In my plain black suit, I couldn't have been more underdressed. To make proper eye contact, I had to tip my head back at a degree angle.
Tree-top-tall Glamazonia had to bend almost double to explain my task. The Temple de Hersch auditorium had been outfitted in long cafe-style tables covered in bright-colored tablecloths.
