Video Interview, Tim Tompkins, November 30, 2012
- KEVIN INDOVINO: We're rolling.
- CREW: I don't know.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK, Tim, we're just going to kind of go along.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Sure.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Shoot at the head here.
- Because I heard initial interview with you
- was like a long time ago.
- TIM TOMPKINS: No, all right.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I'm trying to remember
- what we've talked about.
- If I seem to remember, you started coming out
- like it was in the 1970s?
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yes, my junior year college.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK, can you just very briefly
- talk to me a little bit about what gay life was
- like back in the '70s.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, for me, it was very difficult.
- My father was a man's man type of guy, carpenter contractor
- type, a real leader.
- And I was his number one child, his oldest son.
- And it was a real struggle for me
- to be able to come home and say to my parents, especially
- my dad, that I was gay.
- So when I did finally come home to do that,
- I was kind of a nervous wreck.
- And my mother sensed immediately something was wrong.
- And she had been working in a mental health
- center at the time.
- And Dr. Susan Hanson, who is still a friend of mine today,
- in fact, I'm going to see her Saturday
- night on a social basis, did a favor
- and saw me for three hours that Saturday morning.
- I came home that Friday.
- And I met with her from 8:00 to 11:00 AM.
- And I just remember her saying this.
- She said, you know, you're already doing great.
- You know, I'm the Student Development chairman
- and I was a straight-A student.
- And she said, you're already doing great.
- Your whole life has been accomplishment.
- You're only 23.
- She said, what do you care if anyone realizes you're gay?
- And you know, I just thought about that statement.
- And the influence, she could pound on some.
- She was a very good psychiatrist.
- So to be honest with you, I left her office,
- I went home, I told my parents.
- And they were fairly accepting.
- A couple of times my father said, well, are you sure?
- But months later, he said, you're my son,
- I love you no matter what you are.
- And I never had a problem after that, ever.
- And you know what?
- To be honest with you, after that meeting with her,
- I never really felt bad about being gay again.
- But from the age 7 or 8, when I realized I was gay, to 23,
- it was always in the back of my mind--
- what would people really think of me?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So what-- you did come to terms with it.
- Where was the social scene?
- How were you meeting other gay people?
- What was available back than?
- Because this isn't like what we have available now.
- TIM TOMPKINS: All right, yeah.
- It's a whole different world.
- Bars.
- Country thing-- I've really never
- been a bathhouse type or an adult bookstore type.
- So I would go out and socialize at the bars.
- And that's how I met people.
- And it didn't take me long.
- I realized that was going to be a part of my life.
- So I probably made a conscious decision because of that,
- opened up a gay dance club.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Can you talk to me
- a little bit in terms of just kind of expanding
- on what we just said, about really,
- those were the only options--
- unless you went to some seedy underground place
- or something--
- of even finding a gay community out there.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yeah, and even that wasn't easy at times.
- I think it was very limited, obviously.
- I mean, these kids today enjoy complete freedom.
- And on the street dance club now really, gay kids
- come and dance at the street dance club.
- No one really hassles them, and they're comfortable.
- It's a wonderful thing to see.
- And now people can meet each other on the internet.
- It's really all completely transformed.
- But you are primarily going to go out
- to a bar in the '70s or '80s or that time period.
- But you know, it's kind of fun, to be honest with you,
- when you finally got there.
- You had all this pent up demand.
- You might've fooled around a couple of times
- you were there, for most of my age group, I think.
- But by the time you were at college or right
- after, you were ready to take your life into your own.
- And that's what you did, for most of us, I think.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, at some point, interestingly enough,
- you ended up owning a bathhouse.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yep.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Talk to me a little bit about that.
- And again, I also want to get that sense
- of a place like the bathhouse.
- At that particular time, it was one of the only places
- that you could go to be gay.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Exactly.
- So how did I end up owning the bathhouse?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Yeah, just talk to me about your experience
- with coming to own the bathhouse.
- But again, what did the bathhouse represent back
- in those years?
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, clearly back then, that was just
- another safe outlet for people.
- Some people didn't want to drink.
- And some people didn't want to beat around
- the bush over the dance floor over at the bar.
- And they just wanted to go meet people.
- And the bathhouse performed, I think,
- an important role, quite frankly.
- I mean, even within the gay community,
- there's a certain amount of prejudice against bathhouses
- still today.
- But you know, they're all over the world.
- To some of those people I say, get over it.
- [LAUGHS]
- KEVIN INDOVINO: We touched upon something
- about it playing important role.
- Talk to me about that.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, again, it was just so limited
- what you could do.
- Maybe you would meet some common friends somehow
- and have dinner parties at your home, or go out to a bar.
- Or there was the bathhouse.
- And with a bathhouse, you never know who you might meet there.
- In a gay bar, you probably met usually gay people.
- But in a bathhouse, you could meet bisexual people or people
- that hadn't come out of the closet.
- So there is, I think, a special attraction for some people
- to definitely go to bathhouses.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: At some point, particularly here in Rochester,
- they almost came to the point where there
- was a gay bar on every corner.
- There was a lot of these when I came out in the '80s.
- Gay bars were everywhere.
- And you were very much involved in that.
- So talk to me about that.
- Talk to me about all of sudden we just kind of
- exploded out on the scene for a moment.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, keep in mind, back then,
- the baby boomers were out and about.
- So when I was 24 and 25, there's three times as many of us
- as there is this generation of 24-year-olds.
- It was a fun time in sense of that.
- And there was lots of people out there.
- So at that point, the town could definitely support seven bars.
- And I think it did for a long time.
- I mean, this town especially.
- At one point, we were in the top five per capita for gays
- in America, I remember that.
- Before, I think, a massive migration
- to bigger cities and a lot of young gay people spurts.
- So there was a lot to choose from in terms of that.
- But it's a different market now.
- I mean, Forbes put on their extinct business list--
- I think, three years ago, cover of Forbes.
- One of the top 10 businesses to be extinct would be gay bars.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Right, yeah.
- It's interesting that there was a role there,
- again, that, I think, in that time period,
- gay bars played for the gay community.
- They were no longer the secret underground place
- that you'd want to meet up with somebody.
- But they actually became part of the social scene
- and became part of the gay activism.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Absolutely.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Talk to me about that transition.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I can remember
- when I had The Liberty.
- It was just my first nightclub, and it was a gay men's club
- predominantly.
- We had the first fundraiser for 10 millions at The Liberty.
- I can remember Sue Cowell and I bringing up
- Tim Sweeney from New York City to talk
- about some new, strange disease.
- This was even before it was called
- GRID, let alone HIV and AIDS.
- Just some strange disease out there.
- Tim Sweeney later became president of Gay Men's Health
- Crisis in New York City.
- So he came up.
- And I can remember just spreading the word.
- You know, anyone to pop at the gay club.
- And we probably had 100 people show up.
- I might have given free drinks to help entice him there too,
- I don't remember.
- But there was a lot of people that turned out.
- And I remember the look on their faces.
- Like, well, this sounds scary.
- Little did we all know what it would turn out
- to be what it did at that meeting.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But that, again, was the first time
- that a gay bar was stepping up to become
- a proponent for a cause.
- I lost my question there.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I think you're talking
- in terms of activism and bars.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Right, exactly, the bars.
- TIM TOMPKINS: It was an easy place
- to mobilize people, and get them energized,
- and educate them about the topic.
- So we had some meetings with the Gay Alliance
- and then, eventually, AIDS groups when
- it was obvious it was a crisis.
- So yeah, it played a very important role, particularly
- in this town.
- A few of us really got involved in politics too.
- So it was interesting how it all worked out.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: We're going to move in that a little later.
- But there was, from other bar owners that we talked to,
- there was also this camaraderie between all the bar
- owners about their development.
- Because it could have been so easy for you
- guys to be in competition with each other.
- But yet you all, actually, kind of came together
- as part of this community.
- TIM TOMPKINS: I think for the most part, that's true.
- I mean, unfortunately, my place, The Liberty,
- put Jim's out of business.
- And there were some people sad about that.
- And I would say too, Jim's was my first gay dance
- club I went to.
- And I didn't intend putting him out of business.
- But that is the competitive laws of economics works.
- And they just said the hell with it and closed it.
- But after that, I'd think, for the most part,
- we all get along.
- I did some remodeling as a general contractor
- with Bob Lambo and Gary Sweet.
- They owned the Ebony Pub building.
- And Jesse Brulo who owned Friar's.
- And I would say it is probably my only gay mentor in life.
- And he's an astute businessman.
- So we did get along.
- And Jesse sensed that I would probably go into business.
- And even before I thought of The Liberty,
- he said, let's you and I open one together.
- It's kind of funny how that worked out away.
- But the poor guy was the first person
- I really knew to die of AIDS, unfortunately.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Because you just mentioned something there,
- and there was a question I was going to ask you before, again,
- just kind of being out on the scene, before you
- were a bathhouse owner, before you were a bar owner, some
- of the places that you went to.
- You talked about Jim's.
- Talk to me about Jim's.
- What was Jim's like?
- Describe it for me as if I've never heard of Jim's before.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, if you have all this pent up demand
- and you are used to hanging around your straight friends
- at college, or coming home on weekends
- and seeing your high school friends, to go to Jim's was
- a thrill and amazing.
- All of a sudden, you see all these guys that
- are there to meet other guys.
- I can remember coming home on weekends
- and meeting my high school friends,
- but then looking at my watch thing--
- it's time to go to Jim's or Friar's and have
- a real good time.
- Not that I didn't enjoy my straight friends.
- But I was ready to make the gay life happen, for sure.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So you became very well known as a business
- owner, bar owner and all that.
- And then you just said AIDS hit, HIV and AIDS hit.
- Talk to me about the first time that you really
- heard about this.
- You mentioned the topic that you did at The Liberty.
- But talk to me about when you finally realized that, oh,
- my god, this is something that's going to do-
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I'll go back to Jesse Bulo from Friar's.
- He was the first person I really knew well.
- i can remember the phone call.
- He called me up and he said, why me?
- And I believe, at first, we didn't have the acronym HIV
- or AIDS when Jesse got sick.
- And I can just remember crying to me
- on the phone, how horrible this was.
- And there were no answers.
- And then I recommended another doctor, I remember,
- on the phone.
- But he was too early, too soon and never got
- even the initial medicines which are now noteworthy.
- But did save some people to another point in life
- to get on the better medicines.
- But poor Jesse died.
- And he suffered greatly.
- And I think those us who knew him suffered as well.
- But then it just started to catapult.
- You know, I am at the gay bar and the spa.
- And I was popular, I had a lot of gay friends obviously.
- And it's just one person after another started to get sick.
- It's not like we'd say, oh, I am HIV positive.
- These people got sick before we even
- knew you could get sick from what's called unsafe sex now.
- So almost certainly, it really just transformed
- your existence.
- It was a frightening time, to say the least, I think.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: And the climate at the bars changed too.
- Talk to me a little bit about all that.
- TIM TOMPKINS: I think the bars maintained themselves
- in terms of business, and activism,
- and people coming out.
- Certainly the spas.
- I can remember these two guys wanted
- to take out a third partner at the Rochester Spa.
- And I can remember buying it and buying into it.
- And the next week or so, Newsweek
- had that article about Jack Campbell, who owned the Club
- Baths chain, and--
- what was her name--
- Anita, the orange shoes.
- Yeah, Anita Bryant.
- They were on the cover, going at it,
- sparring together on national TV.
- And I thought, well, that was a very smart business decision
- to buy this business right now.
- And in fact, that business went right down.
- It dropped in half.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But at some point,
- you could easily just walk away from businesses.
- But you didn't.
- You actually became very active in AIDS awareness
- and AIDS activism.
- What was it that sparked that for you
- that you made the decision to say,
- you know what, there's more that I can do here.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, it was just feeling
- sorry for friends, employees, former employees, customers.
- It's just hard to see people get sick.
- You know, some people had already
- struggled with being in the closet.
- And I'm a true believer that a lot of gay people
- have addiction problems because they had pains growing up
- or problems with a family not accepting me.
- I was lucky in that respect, and I think lucky in general
- throughout my whole life.
- I'm sure some people made some comments about me
- behind my back.
- But no one has ever made fun of me being gay my whole life.
- But I know a lot of people suffered.
- And I think that coupled with AIDS
- is unbearable for a lot of people.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You were initially
- involved in the start of HPA.
- Is that correct?
- TIM TOMPKINS: You know, I was a little more involved
- in the startup of AIDS Rochester, I think.
- But a close friend of mine Dan Meyers and a few others
- actually started HPA.
- I always helped in terms of fund raising or things like that.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK, so that's somebody in Rochester.
- Talk to me about initially being involved with that
- and getting that up and going.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I can remember
- I was asked by Sue Cowell to basically
- be one of the founders with her and John Altieri.
- But because I owned the spa, I felt, well,
- there could be problems down the road.
- So I actually sent Alan Davidson,
- who was in (unintelligible) at the time.
- So Alan Davidson, and Sue Cowell,
- and John Altieri became known as the founders of AIDS Rochester.
- But I basically was heavily involved, very, from day one.
- And that's an interesting history too At first,
- it was a struggle.
- And it was even a struggle sometimes raising
- money for that organization from the gay community.
- Because people weren't really totally getting it yet maybe.
- And there certainly wasn't a lot of state and federal funding
- initially.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But you persevered.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yeah, I think a lot of us persevered,
- definitely.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: A lot of you persevered.
- And AIDS Rochester became one of the benchmarks
- for organisations around the country.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Absolutely.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I want to get a sense from you--
- not only your sense of pride for that in what you
- did to make that happen.
- But also what is it saying about Rochester,
- who we are in this community?
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I mentioned earlier that per capita
- was a lot more gay people in Rochester.
- But I also think--
- I'm going to use the word intelligence.
- There was lot of smart gay people
- in this town over the past 30 years in my opinion.
- And part of it is partly due to the liberal influence, I think,
- at the U of R. But even politicians way
- back when accepted things here before other places I feel.
- I can tell you when I had The Liberty in 1984,
- some old nasty sergeant in the police department
- would come in, stand at my bar, at one of two,
- and just dare us to serve a drink after 2 o'clock.
- And at the time, Gordon Urlacher was a police captain.
- And I had met him a few times and then
- I thought we had a bind.
- So I called up captain Urlacher.
- I said, you know, this guy comes in on the weekends.
- He stands here.
- He looks like he hates us, and I'm sure he does.
- And Gordon Urlacher said to me, he said,
- you're never going to see him again.
- And I never saw him again.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: That's nice.
- TIM TOMPKINS: It was a rough, tough police chief who got it
- back in the '80s too, right?
- And Mayor Ryan got it too.
- He is very friendly, I thought.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, you know what,
- I'll ask about the AIDS thing just a little bit.
- Again, rallying this community for that cause,
- just talk to me about some of the things
- that you were personally involved in, and again, some
- of the things that you take great pride in initiating
- or supporting, or being involved with that really brought us
- together as a community.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well I don't want to take too much credit.
- I just think that this is a great time
- for getting people together and making something good happen.
- I'm sure there going to need to be a lot more people involved
- in the AIDS Rochester.
- And it's just amazing how all of us
- came together and made that happen.
- And I give credit to Bill Valenti,
- who broke away from Strong and made CHN happen.
- And I also give credit to Strong.
- Because Strong is really--
- I mean, they trained Bill Valenti.
- Strong never really sought much attention,
- but they also played an amazing role in this community.
- You get some of the best health care.
- Richard Reichman, with Anthony Fauci, NIH before he
- headed up Strong.
- And again, here's a guy, married, kids,
- very gay-friendly.
- I still see this guy today to have dinner now and then.
- He's just that type of guy.
- So blessed we have been with people that rallied,
- straight and gay, for that cause.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Talk to me about when
- you decided to turn more away from activism
- and more into politics.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, I don't know if I turned away, but--
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You did in your own ways kind
- of a little bit of activism, but from a different approach.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Part of the way I get involved in politics
- was to influence political leaders for AIDS funding.
- It didn't take me long to realize
- that to get attention with some political people,
- you have to raise money and you have to get their ear.
- So part of my agenda was to get a little more involved
- in politics.
- I'm sure, to a degree, it's a trial,
- even though I was always interested in politics.
- But one of it certainly was to move the AIDS agenda
- line in our society.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But it became more than that.
- It became more than AIDS.
- It became then gay marriage and civil rights.
- TIM TOMPKINS: I know.
- I was asked to be on the board of directors of ASPA
- a long time ago.
- And when I got there, Sue Cowell was involved,
- Merck and Duffy were involved, and John Altieri.
- And I thought, all right, well.
- And I can't remember how long I stayed on.
- But again, I saw the AIDS funding
- maybe even locally going down.
- And even to a degree, ASPA was competing
- with raising money for AIDS.
- And I also thought between Merck and Duffy, and Sue, and John,
- this is a powerhouse.
- Maybe I'd better get back to Rochester
- and worry about the AIDS group.
- So I eventually resigned from ASPA, although personally,
- it probably would have been more fun to maybe stand there.
- But I felt my duty was to stand on the AIDS mark for sure.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So overall, my question to you then is why?
- What drives you so much that you became so supportive and so
- active in whether it's AIDS or political movement?
- Because you could very simply just stand back
- and say, OK, I'm a businessman, I'm
- catering to the gay community a lot.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, on any given day,
- I say to myself, why don't you just step
- back and be a businessman only?
- [LAUGHS]
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Why don't you?
- TIM TOMPKINS: First of all, everyone
- that knows me knows I'm a highly motivated individual, sometimes
- to the point where, I think, some people around me
- say, OK, enough already.
- But I wake up every morning, I'm ready to go, no matter what.
- And it's not just about successful business.
- I really like putting things together, and seeing it
- through, and making it happen.
- It's just the way my personality is.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: And this is going
- to be kind of an unfair question because you've done so much.
- But what do you think has been your greatest
- impact on the gay community, what's the impact on community
- as a whole?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I think my involvement with AIDS,
- definitely.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: A lot of people look at AIDS now
- as not being as big of a deal as it was.
- Unfortunately, young people don't realize how big of a deal
- it is.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yeah.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Where do you think we are today?
- Where do you think we stand (unintelligible)?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I'll tell you where I think we are.
- Six months ago, a 31-year-old friend of mine in New York City
- called me up.
- And he had had too much to drink,
- and he had unsafe sex with someone
- who knew he was HIV positive.
- He was not only HIV positive, he knew
- he had a high viral load, which is like it's a weapon, right?
- And even though this person knew I was on New York State AIDS
- Counsel and that I'm on every board for AIDS in this area,
- he was too embarrassed to call me.
- Now, if he had called me within time,
- I would have said, immediately go to NYU
- and get on some medicine.
- And this is sad.
- Some of us know, but most of us don't
- know that if you have unsafe sex with HIV positive person,
- you can take medicine the next day.
- And within 48 hours, they think, they
- had maybe an 80% chance of not becoming HIV positive.
- That was a little pet peeve I have right now.
- So I'm lobbying with Dr. Valenti, and Strong, and MOCHA
- project, and every place that wants some of my support.
- I want to see PEP on their websites,
- post-exposure prophylaxis.
- This is my current cause in terms of AIDS.
- But people are always going to have unsafe sex.
- Some unscrupulous people are going to be HIV positive
- and knowingly give it to other people, unfortunately.
- The problem never really seems to go away,
- in my life at least.
- It keeps coming back.
- I accepted that position on New York State AIDS Council
- and I get really upset that no one's been promoting
- post-exposure prophylaxis.
- So I made a few statements at the board meeting.
- And then we devoted 20 minutes of the AIDS Council meeting
- to it.
- But there's still so much work to be done about that now.
- Because if we can prevent some people
- from becoming HIV positive by taking $700 worth of medicine
- for a month or two, it seems like it's very important to me.
- But it's not out there enough, unfortunately.
- It's kind of sad.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Let's go back to politics a little bit.
- So we've got gay marriage passed in New York now.
- And I'm sure you had some involvement in that,
- supporting the people, get them into power to make it happen.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Bob Duffy was texting me midnight that night.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, let's talk about that.
- Talk to me about when it finally passed.
- How did that make you feel?
- What was your first emotional response to that?
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, my first response was,
- it's about damn time.
- Because it took a long time, even
- of massive political activism and a lot of fund raising.
- So my first response was, OK, it's about time.
- My second response is, it's certainly well deserved,
- and people should have a right to marry whom they want.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But how did you feel
- knowing that you had a pretty significant role in helping
- to make that happen?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I could say I felt good about it.
- But it's just another day for me.
- I got my causes.
- And I'm always on to the next one.
- When that's been reached, I'll celebrate
- for a few minutes and--
- KEVIN INDOVINO: That's good to hear.
- My next question to you is so we got gay marriage passed.
- What's next?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I think PEP for me is my prime interest right now,
- definitely.
- And aside from gay and AIDS issues,
- I am very worried about economic opportunity.
- Because I've been fortunate.
- A lot of people see me as successful as a businessman.
- And I'm certainly what they call a self-made businessman.
- I had a lot of attaboys and pats on the back.
- But I had to create it all myself.
- I worry, are young entrepreneurs going
- to have the same opportunity that I had?
- It really bothers me.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Conflicts for you
- within the business community.
- I can't imagine you're out there promoting yourself
- as a gay businessman within business community.
- How does a gay businessman fit within the business community?
- Is it more challenging for you?
- TIM TOMPKINS: It's never been more challenging for me.
- I've seen other people struggle with that.
- And some people feel they've been
- treated worse because of that.
- I'll be honest with you, I've never felt that way.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Why do you think that is?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I think maybe it's partly my personality.
- I think I've gotten away with it if you will.
- I don't know, I never hid the fact that I was gay.
- You know what I mean?
- You know, I started out as the young guy,
- opened up big gay dance club.
- And I bought into a bathhouse.
- And you know, it's such a small town,
- I think everyone knows I'm gay.
- And I never wave the flag.
- I never really felt like--
- why should anyone wave the flag?
- I'm Tim Tompkins.
- I happen to be gay, right?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, and that brings up
- another question I was thinking about earlier to ask you.
- And you just reminded me of it.
- It's that, no, when I think of Tim Tompkins,
- I don't think of Tim being out there waving the rainbow flag.
- I don't think of you being out there marching in the parades
- and doing all stuff.
- But yet you are making a significant difference.
- TIM TOMPKINS: I have marched in a couple of parades.
- But you know, sometimes the parades get a little too wild
- and crazy for me.
- I'm not going to say I'm a ultraconservative, obviously.
- I might feel more laid back in some areas, I suppose.
- I think I'm just a worker.
- That's the way I would describe myself,
- whether it's working for a cause or a business.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: And I think that's where
- I'm trying to get at.
- You don't have to be out there marching in the parades
- or waving the flag to make a difference.
- You came at it from a business sense,
- you came at it from a political sense.
- TIM TOMPKINS: If I see something wrong,
- I'm going to try to fix it.
- That's my personality.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Now, there was some involvement with you
- with the Gay Alliance as well, right?
- TIM TOMPKINS: Some, yeah.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You used to run the board for a while?
- TIM TOMPKINS: I don't know if I used to run the board.
- I certainly helped with fund raisers.
- You know what, I've always been sought out
- to try to give my opinion in situations that are hard.
- I remember Evelyn Bailey and Chick Parker calling me,
- saying, we've been to 20 banks, we can't get a mortgage
- to the Gay Alliance.
- And at the time, I was brokering a lot of money around town
- also, and I got the mortgage.
- But in and out, I think I've been
- involved in just about every aspect of gay or AIDS life
- or aspect.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: What does this say about Rochester,
- the small little city that we are,
- that we are able to support an organization like the Gay
- Alliance?
- And there are bigger cities that would be
- envious of this organization.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Again, it speaks to this town.
- Partly just because of numbers.
- Probably just because of the economic times we lived in.
- And apparently because of a very intelligent, caring community
- I mean, I'm still amazed at what this community does
- all the time.
- It's incredible.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You mentioned something
- that I wanted to talk about here.
- Let me go back and touch on it a little bit,
- about helping the Gay Alliance get
- a mortgage for the building.
- Tell me that story.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, first of all, you know,
- as a businessman, I know if one bank says no, most banks are
- going to say no.
- I didn't even realize that they were doing it.
- And when they called me up, it was like Chick and Evelyn
- there, two of my heroes in the gay community, for sure.
- And I said, well, let me see what I can do.
- And I remember I was lending money for a gentleman called
- Nathan J. Goldberg, who probably was,
- again, another great mentor in my life.
- So he certainly solidified and coached me
- in a serious way in terms of private lending.
- So I had quite a few mortgages for him at that point in time.
- And he had three daughters.
- And a couple of times, he would say, you're not Jewish,
- but you're like my son.
- It was his favorite line.
- So we get along very well.
- And I called him one day and I said, Nathan,
- there's a group of gay people that want to buy a building
- to have offices and meet.
- And you know what, Nathan was an amazingly open-minded person.
- And I'm sure-- he didn't voice this, but I'm sure he thought,
- well, like Jews wanted a place to congregate--
- I just know how he thought.
- I remember him saying to me, that makes sense.
- I said, but there's one other problem.
- I said, you know, I don't know how
- we'd get this loan guaranteed by anybody individually
- at the board members, right?
- I said, we're going to put a mortgage on the property.
- And he said, well, you better guarantee the payments are
- going to be made.
- And I said, yeah, I'm not worried
- about the payment being made.
- So that's how we get the mortgage for the Gay Alliance.
- (laughs)
- KEVIN INDOVINO: If you were to have a message for the younger
- gay generation now, what it ii is they need to be looking to,
- the challenges that they still need to get--
- what would you tell them if you were
- speaking to a bunch of young--
- TIM TOMPKINS: The first thing I'd say is be safe.
- Because people their age group are still
- getting AIDS, which is very discouraging for an old man
- like me that put all their time and money behind people
- not getting AIDS.
- So that probably would be my first message.
- Second, sometimes I think the younger gay community doesn't
- really have an appreciation.
- And this isn't coming from some ego statement on my part.
- But they don't necessarily get what our age group did.
- Nor do they necessarily directly appreciate it maybe.
- I think one problem with the gay community
- that they can be too focused upon youth.
- And they're interested in their own gender,
- in their own generation of interest.
- So that would be my--
- that warning and that slight disappointment let's say.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I think we covered it, Evelyn.
- Can you think of anything?
- EVELYN BAILEY: Tim, what kind of involvement
- would you have with the HIV vaccine trials at Strong?
- You supported that heavily.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Yeah.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Yeah, let's talk about that.
- Talk to me about the vaccine trials.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Well, the vaccine trials were a big hope.
- And who knows if that's going to be the answer still today?
- A few years ago, we got a little more excited again.
- But then the tests weren't necessarily
- done properly we found out.
- Let's hope it someday really happens.
- But still, the answer is safe sex
- and if we can get the kids to do it.
- But eventually, probably, obviously, there
- will be a vaccine.
- It certainly has proved to be one of the hardest vaccines
- to make happen.
- If you compare polio or TB, the amount
- of money in research put in the HIV vaccine
- would be astronomical.
- But again, we are lucky to have Strong and U of R complex here.
- They were recipients of huge NIH grants,
- which I understand right now are probably in jeopardy.
- There's been a shift.
- Jack Reichman left, he retired.
- And that was a guy who carried a lot of international weight.
- So I'm not sure if the vaccine trials
- are going to continue at Strong like they have.
- And I think that some people tire of the expense
- and without a result. So I hope the vaccine trials do well.
- And I always think positive.
- I think eventually it will happen.
- And I got a local guy, Dr. Michael Keefer
- is in charge of that now.
- And it's always been his project with declaration
- and a supervisor.
- And Mike is a great guy.
- He's really involved.
- Another example of a straight person or outsider
- who is totally comfortable in the gay community and totally
- caring person.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: There is one person
- I want to ask you about because I ask everybody about this guy.
- It's Tony Green.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Tony Green.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You know Tony a lot, like me.
- I can't imagine--
- TIM TOMPKINS: Sure I did, yeah.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Tell me about Tony Green.
- TIM TOMPKINS: Tony and I fought over a couple of boyfriends
- at times.
- (laughs) We had competitive bar interests at times.
- But we were always pretty friendly.
- And I can remember Tony calling me up quite a few times
- after I'd raised some money or make a donation
- to AIDS Rochester.
- And he would get emotional, and tear up,
- and said, oh, Tim, I just really want to thank you very much.
- Again, he is one of the first bartenders
- I ever saw out there.
- I mean he is funny and a great bartender.
- I don't know, I couldn't not say it again.
- These people were great.
- (laughs)
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Great
- CREW: Done deal.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I just thought there's an interesting story
- I just heard the other day.