The world has changed a lot.
Del Rio Texas just elected a gay mayor.
How much has it changed?
Well, after college (1981) I drove to visit a friend in Houston and stopped in Del Rio, Texas. Being a waiter, and knowing that the wait staff knows where everything is, I ask a nice young lady at a restaurant in Del Rio, where there was a gay bar.
She immediately shushed me and sat down. I remember quite clearly what she said, "Honey, don't ask that in Del Rio. They'll kill you." And the word kill was drawn out.
I laughed, but I did take her advice. I spent an extra day in Del Rio hiking around a nature preserve, but did not ask about bars again.
