Terry - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I'm a writer living in Chicago, Illinois since 1996. I am originally from Des Moines, IA where I grew up the adopted son of a rural family. I went to college in New York City where I graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. From there, I headed to Nashville, TN as a singer/songwriter.I am a former Mr. Gay Iowa, have been out and enjoying that lifestyle since I was twenty-one and don't regret a minute of it (well, perhaps a few minutes....)My first book, "Dancing With Tina" was published in 2007 by STARbooks Press and is an in-depth memoir of Crystal Meth Abuse in Chicago's gay community.www.dancingwithtina.comI have recently finished my second book, "A Barrel Full of Monkeys - OR - More Baggage Than Ann Miller Brought On the Love Boat", a collection of short stories and essays detailing a somewhat diverse and wacky gay life.I am currently working on my 3rd book, "Buh-Bye", a fictional piece on the ups and downs of co-dependent relationships. I am also working on a 4th book entitled, "A Home in the Meadow", about America's National Parks and a book called "After the Ball is Over" which details the WHY of my drug period rather than just the WHAT.

My Interests

Hiking the National Parks, reading, travelling, alligators (don't ask), songwriting, westerns (yes, that's a bit out of the ordinary for a gay man but I don't care, I make up for it with my Judy Garland quotes), roller coasters and whatever happens to catch my fancy...I would also like to help others either having problems with/or trying to understand crystal meth use in the gay community. Although Dancing With Tina was written for ME in order to understand "what" happened, not necessarily "why", I pubished it because I really do want to help others. Life's too short to think you have no options and there can ALWAYS be hope.

Music:

Motown music, bel canto opera, the Grand Ole Opry, jazz, just about anything from a violin concerto to a jug band....

Movies:

Auntie Mame, The Women, Grey Gardens, How the West Was Won, That's Entertainment!, Seven Samurai, about any MGM movie ever made...

Television:

I Love Ethel...I mean...Lucy, Reno 911 (yes, it's a guilty pleasure), Family Guy, the History Channel, Turner Classic Movies

Books:

Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass", William Mann, Ernest Hemingway, Garrison Keillor, Patrick Dennis, "Stonewall" By David Carter, "My Life and Other Unfinished Business"...

Heroes:

Ethel Mertz, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Oldach, Peter Staley, Susan Kingston, John Muir, Horace Albright, Buffalo Bill, Dolly, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas and everyone I've met who has the strength and humor to just be who they are and not care about what everyone else thinks...

My Blog

Gay Pride Essay

The best birthday I ever had turned out to be my 40th. I was a bit nervous about it, not because of the 40 thing, I thought it sort of cool I'd lasted that long, finally reaching the decade most of my...
Posted by Terry on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:50:00 PST

"Rock Bottom" a documentary on Crystal Meth by Jay Corcoran

Films about meth, books about meth, news articles, whatever...at times they can really get to a person who was once there. Sort of like Tina Turner when she commented about her own movie, "Why wo...
Posted by Terry on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:15:00 PST

Interview with "Out In Perth" Magazine - Australia

Just briefly, for the readers of the article, could you please outline what led you to use crystal meth? I had tried Meth a few times in the year before the book starts, but at that point it simply s...
Posted by Terry on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:51:00 PST

Interview with SX News - Sydney, Australia

Tell us about yourself? Well, I'm 40 years old, was adopted as an infant in a rural Iowa community in the U.S. , and went to college in New York City to study music and acting. I came out at th...
Posted by Terry on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:36:00 PST

Interview with Gaydar Nation-UK

1. Not only have you been a singer/songwriter, but you're also a former Mr. Gay Iowa! When did you start writing fiction? Well, Dancing With Tina is Non-Fiction, it's a true story. My p...
Posted by Terry on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:32:00 PST

Interview with the Sydney Star Observer

MY HAUNTING DANCE WITH TINA ..TR vAlign=top> Drug abuse is not an issue that is new to the GLBT community. While the proliferation of anti-drug campaigns now seems to numb r...
Posted by Terry on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:25:00 PST

Interview with OutFront Colorado - By Jerry Wheeler

Talking with TerryBy Jerry L. WheelerIn addition to being a writer, singer and former Mr. Gay Iowa, Terry Oldes has yet another distinction former crystal meth user. He uses his considerable wit and...
Posted by Terry on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:21:00 PST

Interview with Express Magazine New Zealand-By Jake Howie

By Jake HowieNot all autobiographies are as easy and breezy to read as a Jane Austen novel. In fact, however captivating and intriguing, Terry Oldes' "Dancing with Tina" is an emotional read, the inte...
Posted by Terry on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:07:00 PST

Susan Kingston Meth Talk Part One

The Talk Part One The following Wednesday after the deluge that seriously made you wonder if two of every animal was going to be loaded onto some boat in Lake Michigan, I was invited to a talk on cry...
Posted by Terry on Mon, 19 May 2008 02:25:00 PST

Susan Kingston Meth essay-the most down to earth talk Ive heard about meth yet

The Talk Part Two Now, think of that same poster but with a picture of gay man with KS lesions and the words 'HIV Mess'. You couldn't do it. You'd be strung up. People would be outraged that you're ma...
Posted by Terry on Mon, 19 May 2008 02:20:00 PST