aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Talk of the Green Iguana

My talk with the students went well. Too bad I didn’t see this before I went in:

The rumors about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Green Iguana just wouldn’t go away.

The story goes that the Florida governor frequented the Green Iguana, a bar in Tampa, back in the early 1990s when he was just starting his political career. He was less careful back then, people say, and during his partying at the Green Iguana, he was openly gay.

When I got Rick Calderoni, the bar’s well-known owner, on the phone, I expected him to stonewall me about it.

He didn’t.

Calderoni, who is gay, confirmed that Crist came into his bar quite often and that the two of them became friends.

Getting to the point, I asked him if he knew Crist to be gay.

“Yes,” he answered bluntly. “I just wish he would come out and admit it. That would be a great thing if he did.”

Via Wonkette, who has more:

• One rumored ex-boyfriend of Crist’s served as regional director for Kitty Harris’ delusional, delightful U.S. Senate campaign.
• Another rumored ex-boyfriend is also an ex-felon.
• Crist is linked to a “wealthy socialite from the Hamptons” named Jennifer Faga.
• If John McCain asks Charlie Crist to be his running mate, nobody will care about any of this completely pointless, stupid, sleazy, and wrongheaded speculation.