Delusions of Grandeur

Andoe spins tales from The Gayly region

by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief

“Habana Inn: The Gay Times Square of the Plains was the Habana Inn, and guys from Amarillo to Wichita to Tulsa to Little Rock, and even some slumming it from Dallas would succumb to its siren song every weekend…” (pg. 122, “Delusions of Grandeur”)

I don’t know Chris Andoe well, but he is a great storyteller. He had the Ledo Lounge in OKC packed with fans and this young man can tell a story! He is animated, interesting and very entertaining, as is his book, Delusions of Grandeur.

“Much of the book takes place in Tulsa and OKC, among other places,” said OKC resident Danny Theisen. “Chris is based in St. Louis…the book is chock full of funny stories, just got my book yesterday in the mail and I cannot put it down.”

Andoe, who now resides in St. Louis, was raised in Tulsa and lived in OKC twice, so quite a few of the colorful tales take place there, some right at the Habana Inn. He said his second book will be a prequel, covering “the early years,” and will be set in Oklahoma.

“I was in Tulsa visiting family and decided to get a group together for drinks at the Bamboo Lounge, the oldest gay bar in the state [Oklahoma]…The tired old bar rarely got new blood so my entourage caused quite a stir. A few of the well-worn regulars were jockeying for a position, asking who we were and how long we’d be around. We kept stressing we’d only be there that evening and added to the intensity by playing “One Night only” from the Dreamgirls soundtrack before we busted out of there. As we left, phone numbers flew like confetti.” (page 71)

Tales of the ‘Mayor of the OKC Gayborhood, Lloyd Spartan’ in Andoe-land, begin on page 13 and continue throughout the book: “Lloyd was a large man who loved to drink, and many considered him the best story teller in Oklahoma. He earned the moniker ‘Mayor of Gay Oklahoma City’ because he knew everyone who’d ever…” (page 13)

“Stretching from Oklahoma to New York, San Francisco to St. Louis, Chris Andoe's stories capture the heart, humor and ironies of gay life. England had Dickens; San Francisco had Maupin; we have Andoe!” - Patrick Dilley, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

“I love, love, love this book. Part satire, part murder mystery, part autobiography, part biography, part gossip column, and part brutal honesty -- as is looking into a clear mirror under fluorescent lights. The reader doesn't quite know where one part ends and the other begins -- and that's the delightfully delicious part!” - Joseph Paul Smith, Bishop of San Francisco.

Copies of Delusions of Grandeur are available at Jungle Red in OKC (in the Habana) and on Amazon.

The Gayly – September 12, 2015 @ 10:45am.