Shirley & Company :: Shame Shame Shame
Two margaritas deep on a spring night, Elizabeth, Caroline, and I are driving up Damen after our regular Wednesday dinner. When we reach the stoplight at Division, a beacon of glittering splendor jumps out of the car in front of us. Gene Lee, affectionately nicknamed “Mantease” (or “Manties” for his gold lamé hot pants), is dancing in the intersection, and the smokers outside the Rainbo smirk, even grin.
We fast-forward the Ian Hixxx Disco Mixxx to track 14, and this song spills out our windows. At the Crotch we hit another red, and we wail “shame, shame, shame” as we pile out of the car. Fingers point from the windows of Filter and Swank Frank. Cabbies clap and whistle, pumping fists in the air; kids on all six of the corners are cracking up. Maybe some of them join in, too.
Can’t stop me now. Hear what I say. My feet want to move, so get out the way. I’m gonna have my say. I’m going to every discotheque. I’m gonna dance, dance, dance till the break of day. With spins breezing and hips rolling and heels clicking, we join Gene Lee in that intersection for the dance break of the century. Horns blare affirmation, and stoplights break the laws of time. We dance that song down to the ground.
Hoping for another red light, we drove side by side for a few blocks. Somewhere around Armitage we heard Dancing with Myself coming from his stereo. With a cool point and wink, he took the expressway downtown into a mystical midnight sunset.
Rumors have been flying about Gene Lee. I first heard from a friend that he’d overdosed, and we even talked about replaying this night in memoriam. Recently I heard that the story was a hoax and that he’s been spotted dancing outside Whole Foods in Oakland. Just as this story passes into our memories, Gene Lee passes into a Chicago legend.
Shame Shame Shame
Shirley & Company (wikipedia)