Have you ever asked a drag queen for makeup advise......

I have. Years ago.

Back when I was teaching, one of my students was a famous drag queen. Famous in my city -- at least at the university in my city -- fraternities would hire him to show up for parties. And, of course, he worked lots down in New Orleans. But, most of the boring people I hung out with didn't know about him, so the first time he showed up in my reading lab (in full regalia) I was, er, quite surprised??

He was most kind -- and apparantly quite used to reactions like mine. He was also the most beautifully made-up man woman person I've ever met. He dressed tastefully (as a woman -- for class), too. In fact, the couple of times he showed up dressed as a regular dude, it was shocking how plain he was.

I found myself asking him about makeup application, and he had expert advice. He even brought samples to class and attempted to give me some demonstrations -- much to the public disapproval of my supervisor (who actually privately thought it was quite funny -- but asked me if I was out-of-my-mind).

My drag-queen-makeup-mentor was a dear. But, under the surface, there was a vast sadness about him also. He only hinted at some of the things that had happened to him, but a couple of my aides and some other students knew some of the horrific things that had happened in his life. I don't know about other aspects of his life, but I must say that I only hoped I could maintain the grace and dignity (doesn't that sound odd??) that he showed in his interactions with me.

Still....it just isn't fair for a man to be that damn pretty!