The whole Dreamland crew were just so.... themselves.

The world is full to the brim with posers, and as a gay man I see the worst of it. Gay men frequently like to believe that they're "chic" and able to appreciate the weird and bizarre, but give them anything more exotic than Ru Paul or a leather harness and they quickly show their true colours.

To me The Addams Family and The Munsters were the normal ones-- they were caring, considerate people who tried to make a difference in the world; they abhored mendacity and greed, and were all about being themselves and revelling in it.

So the Dreamland crew. Edith Massey, long one of my cherished idols and icons, was one of the most natural and gifted actresses of the twentieth century, and Divine was.... well, Divine.

John never hesitated to create a festival of "bad taste" which was in truth, good taste, for beneath all the trash and the taboos we feel that REAL family values are being celebrated, and not by posers.

I can just hear Wednesday Addams say, " The Devil? oh, we had him to dinner last week. And tomorrow evening John Waters is dropping in".

Peace.
Michael Simmons