I love living in the Northeastern United States, where we get to experience the changing of the seasons. Sure, I’m going to miss the dash from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned car and watching my flowers wilt in the heat. But fall is now here, and it brings apple cider, brightly colored trees and the 30th anniversary of the Philly AIDS Walk/5K.
Once again, thousands of people will join to run and walk to help the AIDS Fund in its mission. “Getting to Zero” is the theme this year: zero new infections, zero deaths, zero stigma. One of the people responsible for helping achieve that goal is Tim Johnson. As the assistant director of AIDS Fund, Johnson will coordinate the logistics of the event. Teams and participants are still welcome for the Oct. 16 event, so be sure to check out the website and get involved!
PGN: Do you remember the first walk that you participated in, and what was your impression?
TJ: The first AIDS Walk I did was in 2011. I think going into it, I had a pretty naïve and narrow conception of what the demographics would be. Because of my very limited knowledge of what I perceived the AIDS epidemic was like, I assumed it was going to be mostly gay men but when I got there I realized, Wow, there are all sorts of people out here: all different races, all different ages, genders and gender expressions. It was an incredible thing to see, so many different kinds of people coming out to support the cause.
PGN: I understand you originally got involved with the AIDS Fund through GayBINGO?
TJ: Yes, I was a BVD, Bingo-Verifying Diva. The first time was for the Halloween Bingo in 2010. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I knew a couple of the drag queens that did it regularly. They invited me to come along and once I started, I didn’t want to stop. Again, like the walk itself, I got to meet so many different kinds of people.
PGN: Had you ever done drag before?
TJ: At that point, I’d been doing drag for about two months. One or two shows out in the suburbs but that was it. GayBINGO was how I really got my feet wet with performing. I began to meet other drag queens and they’d say, “Hey we’re doing a show, do you want to be in it?” or they’d invite me to different events, so I started getting a lot of bookings after that.
PGN: Where in the suburbs did you perform drag?
TJ: I was living out in Norristown and there was a bar there called The Beagle Tavern that wasn’t necessarily a gay bar but it was gay-friendly. They did drag shows, and a lot of the themed nights, like trivia night, were hosted by drag queens.
PGN: Is that where you’re from?
TJ: Yes, right nearby in a quaint little town called Eagleville: one of those places where everybody has a beautiful little yard and trees. My parents still live in the house I grew up in.
PGN: Tell me a little about the fam.
TJ: My mom has been a registered nurse for about 40 years — working mostly in maternity — and she’s still doing it. My dad has been an operator for a waste water-treatment plant. I have two siblings: an older brother and a younger sister. [Laughs] So I’m the middle child and all that that implies.
PGN: What was little Timmy like as a kid?
TJ: I went to a small private school that was part of the church that my parents went to. A lot of my early experiences were centered around the church. I never really felt like I fit in.
PGN: How so?
TJ: I just wasn’t like the boys that I knew or that my parents wanted me to be friends with. They’d push me to go out and play soccer and I’d go play inside with the girls.
PGN: What did you want to be when you grew up?
TJ: My first ambition was that I wanted to be a mailman [laughs]. I have no idea why. When I got to college, I worked in the mail room on campus. Dreams do come true!
PGN: What extracurricular activities did you participate in?
TJ: I played the violin for years and was in a strings group. I started in first grade and played through high school. I also played clarinet and percussion and was a member of the handbell choir and sang in the choruses. I never competed in any sports but they would have these fine-arts competitions and I’d always go to them. There was a poetry reading that not many people participated in, so it was easy to win trophies! I was big into taking pictures so I’d enter photography exhibits as well.
PGN: Very musical and something you’ve continued.
TJ: Yes, I’ve been singing with the Gay Men’s Chorus since 2010.
PGN: What’s a favorite song you’ve done so far?
TJ: That’s hard, we’ve done so many good ones! There’s one song that we did years ago and it’s such a favorite we’re doing it again at our next concert. It’s called “Over the Skies of Israel.” It’s a Hanukkah song that we’re doing for our Christmas concert.
PGN: Where did you go to college?
TJ: I went to Bob Jones University in South Carolina.
PGN: What? A gay boy at BJ’s? The bastion of conservative values? Were you aware of your budding homosexuality?
TJ: I was aware that something was different very young but because of the environment that I grew up in, I didn’t have any words for it. I’d say I started understanding what I was feeling, the attraction to boys, in middle school and somehow I still ended up at Bob Jones!
PGN: When did you come out to yourself?
TJ: I started working when I was about 16 and that was when I started meeting people that weren’t part of my church/school bubble. That’s when I was able to put words to the things that I was going through. When I was a senior, we didn’t have proms at my school; we had more of a formal banquet. A friend brought a male friend as her guest. He was a gay guy from another school. I brought a friend who also was from another school and the two of them started saying, “I think Tim’s gay.” He was the first openly gay person I’d ever met and at first I denied it, but then he and I talked it out and I came around.
PGN: So how does a gay boy from Norristown end up at Bob Jones U, famous for it’s uber-conservative views?
TJ: I ended up there because my church and high school had a really strong relationship with Bob Jones so they’d send their recruiters to our school. Plus, my parents told me they’d pay for college if I went to Bob Jones. Anywhere else and I was on my own. I figured it was smarter to get my education with their help so I found a major that I liked — book publishing — and went.
PGN: Did you hear much homophobic stuff at home and church growing up?
TJ: Daily. It was so ingrained in the culture, especially in middle school where boys can be ruthless and awful. They’d preach “Do unto others,” but they seemed to think that didn’t apply when it came to homosexuality.
PGN: What was the worst incident?
TJ: I remember one time when I was at Bob Jones, some guy came up to me after an event and said, “I need to talk to you.” He was a total stranger and he said, “I saw that you had your arm around another guy (I’d had my arms around the back of a friend’s chair), and that kind of behavior is not tolerated around here.” I responded, “I don’t know who you are or why you think it’s your place to talk to me like this. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” Well, he went and reported me to the Dean of Men and I was called in and interrogated. They ended up putting me into conversion therapy to cure me. [Laughs] Didn’t work.
PGN: Wow! What did they do?
TJ: Well, it was near the end of my last year and it was mainly … it’s so bizarre to talk about this. They assigned this guy to me and he mainly talked to me about the situation and gave me Bibles with certain verses pointed out, I was supposed to take note so we could discuss them the next week. He also taught me “practical ways to not appear so feminine” as well. I know it was all nonsense but I only had a few months left, so I pretty much went along just so I could graduate.
PGN: Are there that many passages about homosexuality in the Bible?
TJ: There are only a few, but they drill them in as much as they can.
PGN: So they didn’t have you hooked up to shock you whenever you saw a cute guy?
TJ: [Laughs] It wasn’t that extreme! But I’ve heard of that happening, I’m sure it does.
PGN: How did you get to Philly?
TJ: After school, I had a hard time finding a job in my field so I moved back in with my parents and went back to the job I’d had in high school.
PGN: How did you get involved with the LGBT community? The Beagle?
TJ: Pretty much. There was also a little bar in the strip mall called the Blue Sky Café, and they did a gay karaoke night so I went and met people there. I also auditioned for a play at the community theater and got a role and, not to reinforce stereotypes, but it was a good way to meet other gay guys.
PGN: Did your parents know anything?
TJ: I hadn’t come out to them yet. To be honest, I was in my early 20s and still scared of what might happen because I knew how they were and what they believed, so I laid low. I didn’t know if they would throw me out, but decided not to risk it until I was ready to be on my own. In 2010, I moved into the city and that’s when I told them.
PGN: How was it received?
TJ: Um, it was weird. I told them I was gay and my dad carefully put down his paper and said, “No, you’re not.” I said that, yes, I was and my mother casually said, “You can’t be honey, that’s not the way we raised you.” I guess I was expecting anger or fireworks and they were just very calm and basically dismissive: “Nope, you’re wrong.” It was rough for a while; we didn’t talk for several months. I slowly started coming over again and spending time with them, but it was definitely “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” They didn’t want to hear anything personal.
PGN: So you moved to Philly. What was the theme of your first bingo night?
TJ: It was the Witches of GayBINGO and the tagline was, “Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” It was a blast. As I mentioned, I was just getting my feet wet with performing and the audiences at GayBINGO are great. To start out, they’re huge — 500-700 people — and they all just throw love at you and want you to have fun. They take pictures with you and tell you how beautiful you are. I’d never had that, people who wanted to be around me like that. Or had a chance to be in the spotlight like that before. It was incredible.
PGN: And now you’re doing the logistics for the AIDS Walk. That’s a big undertaking. What does it entail?
TJ: I handle the logistics for GayBINGO as well, coordinating the volunteers and ordering snacks and supplies. You go through a lot of Bingo dabbers with a crowd that big. I make sure we have enough BDVs to help things run smoothly and entertain everyone. I make sure our Bingo license is up to date, negotiate the contract with the vendor, etc. I coordinate things, but I definitely don’t do it all myself, I get a lot of help. I do similar kinds of things for the AIDS Walk but there are a lot more volunteers for that. I handle all of the volunteers, make sure we have the correct permits, order the supplies for the event, check in with entertainment, make sure we have enough bathrooms, get tents set up. There’s a lot that goes into it.
PGN: So if someone wanted to volunteer, what’s available for them to do?
TJ: There’s something for everyone. We start the day at 5 a.m., so we need people to help set things up and get the supplies out. We need people to monitor the AIDS Memorial Quilt. We need folks to hand out water and stickers. We need cheerleaders to cheer people on at the end. There are a lot of different ways people can get involved. I’ve learned a lot of the job first by volunteering myself and then just being in the trenches, learning what works and what doesn’t.
PGN: I read that before getting involved with all this, you worked as a travel agent. Have you been to many places in your life and time?
TJ: Yes, that was my first job when I moved into the city and it was great. I got to meet a lot of people. Ironically, I didn’t travel much when I was with the company, but I’ve been a lot of places on my own.
PGN: What was a favorite adventure?
TJ: I took a trip with my dad to Mexico and he considers himself to be someone who doesn’t vacation, he “travels.” So no lying on the beach for us. We traveled deep into the Yucatan to visit a series of ruins in areas most people have never heard of, never mind traveled to. We took a bus into some small town near ruins he wanted to see and we couldn’t get out. Despite my high-school Spanish, we couldn’t figure out the bus schedule and ended up there for an extra night and day, and it was the weirdest spot. It was a party town in the middle of nowhere. A bus covered in lights would drive around town at night and people would get drunk and ride around. There was also an enclave of German farmers for some reason who lived in the area. It was bizarre but fun.
PGN: What’s a job you’d like to try for a month?
TM: I loved that show “PanAm”! I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a flight attendant back when air travel was still glamorous.
PGN: You studied publishing. What magazine would you want to edit?
TJ: Definitely Bon Appetit.
PGN: What would someone do to woo you?
TJ: I’m old-fashioned. Pick me up at my door and take me to dinner. For an extra bonus, flowers are always a nice touch.
PGN: Indeed.
For more information on the AIDS Walk/Run, go to www.aidswalkphilly.org.
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].