said he was going to break my ass and he did.

I was so sore I cried later I swore I would never do it again.

And I didn't until I was in the Army in Germany And then it was with a German and he was gentle. SINGING

I was singing in the Army and then when I came out, I sung at the Apollo, twice. First time was with a kid star I hate to sing against kids. Everyone loves kids. We tied for first prize.

Next time I got 3rd prize. We had half-of-Englewood there clapping for me, this was amateur night, but there are more people there from Harlem for their boys.

BOB

Bob was my first lover, first real lover, first person I lived with, probably the last.

I met him first at the St. Marc Baths. He likes to go there. I don't. It's filthy I like to go to the Everhard.

Then I didn't see him for about a year and when he saw me again, he dated me, didn't recognize me.

But we made it.

He was a sex-pot. He could come twice without pulling it out, then be ready for more in the morning.

I moved in with him.

It was a nice apartment, Danish Modern, two rooms but very separate so we had lots of privacy I used to cook. At first we shared the clean ing but then neither of us were cleaning so we had a woman in once a week. We paid her $5 for a half-day, then later seven. She really cleaned.

I was a good cook too. Later when he was sick with the mumps, he had a girl then and she tried so hard to cook it was funny, but she just couldn't cook. Anyway when he was sick she came over, but she couldn't come in because she'd never had the mumps, she came to the door with a big, big bowl of chicken soup and

Bob came to the door and said he didn't need it, that I was there and I was doing for him. It really shook her up.

You only hear the bad things about Bob from Basil but I knew the good things about him. He was very good to me. We shared everything we had. When we were going to go away for vacation we saved together

We went to Haiti. We were going to go to Guatemala for another vacation when we broke up.

I knew we were going to break up but I wouldn't admit it to myself.

He was always going off. So was I, but he wanted to lie about it, make a big scene, or confess and make a big scene.

And then there was this big thing about his going straight. Whenever he went away on vacation alone he met a girl.

And he found he could make it with her

At first, the first time, when he came back he didn't tell me.

But I knew something was off. He kept going into the bathroom to get undressed. And I said, "What is it?" And then he confessed.

And I said to him, "Well Bob, what's going to become of me if things really work out between you and the girl?"

And then he said, "Well, I really don't know

Just like that "I really don't know"

But he knew

Anyway it never worked out with the girls. After a while he just couldn't get it up, to be very blunt about it.

But he was very nice to me. Any time we went out together he took me along. I met all his friends. I never met his mother or father

His mother called on the phone. I talked to her I explained that I was the person who was taking care of the cat and watering the plants when

15