Another "Brokie" passes away

Today the Courier-Post reported that Robert Baxter, a critic and reporter who covered the arts scene in south New Jersey for the Courier-Post from 1979 until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Baxter was 69 and died of pancreatic cancer.


To many online friends in the "Dave Cullen Ultimate Brokeback Forum,", Mr. Baxter was known by the name "Tacitus." Like many people who saw Brokeback, many gays and some straights, Mr. Baxter was inspired by the film to re-think his life and many of the fears and conflicts over his sexuality that had cast shadows over his life. He had already survived a violent gay-bashing and had seen friends take their own lives due to the rejection of those closest to them. In remembrance of Mr. Baxter's many contributions, the Courier-Post ran a 2006 column in which Mr. Baxter told readers about his struggles and gradual self-acceptance as a gay man. In 2007, the Ultimate Brokeback Forum published an anthology of posts, "Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film." Much of the Courier-Post's memorial reprint was taken from on of "Tacitus'" entry in the book.

His earlier experiences did include a same-sex couple in Wyoming, the setting of Brokeback Mountain:

You can imagine, I'm sure, the thrill I felt when I met Bud and Manuel. I was 5, maybe 6, holding onto my grandmother's hand when she introduced her cowboy pals to me at the county fair. When Bud leaned down and shook my little hand, I caught the pungent smell of fresh sweat and stale tobacco.


From their scuffed leather boots to their weathered Stetsons, they looked like real men. Lean, muscular, with big, calloused hands and strong faces, tanned by the sun. The kind of cowboys Marlboro later glorified.
Bud owned a cattle ranch. Manuel was his foreman. They built barbed-wire fences and rode the range together on horseback. They also shared a bed.

Bud and Manuel were gay cowboys even though neither man would have known what that term meant 60 years ago. In those days, gay folk were called queers and homos.

Nobody who knew Bud and Manuel would have dared to ask if they were gay, but everyone sensed Bud belonged to Manuel. They formed an inseparable pair, just like my grandmother's married friends. Somehow, the names of the two men fit together as comfortably as Charlie and Mary or Harry and Alice.

I've thought a lot about Bud and Manuel since I saw Brokeback Mountain. They are long gone, but I wish they were here to share their story with me. How did they forge a relationship in rural California when society -- from our families and churches to our government -- shrieked "No!" or shouted "Don't you dare!"

Baxter noted that despite the often mortal dangers faced by gays in that setting and era, the intrepid couple managed to have "the ranch -- and they shared the love -- Jack and Ennis could never find."


The Courier-Post reported that "Mr. Baxter, 69, was a critic and reporter whose work reflected a high degree of talent and expertise. But many people on Thursday remembered his passion, describing a quiet and reserved man with a lifelong love for the fine arts, particularly opera.

" 'He was such a wonderful gentleman, and so dedicated to the arts in South Jersey,' said Cynthia Lambert, executive director of the South Jersey Cultural Alliance.

" 'I'm not sure there are words to express what Robert was to the South Jersey arts community,' said Bruce Curless, artistic producing director of the Ritz Theatre Co. in Haddon Township. 'As a patron of the arts, they come no better.' "


for more information about "Beyond Brokeback", see the Dave Cullen Ultimate Brokeback Forum.