Barry Kropf

​About Barry

 

I was born in Brooklyn Jewish Hospital (wasn’t everyone). I grew up in Rego Park, Queens, ages 5 through 14, and Oceanside, Long Island till I went to college. I hated the suburbs. I like living in the city. I’ve been working for the same federal agency, but not at the same job, since 1973.

 

 

​Questions

 

Barry, how long have you lived in Washington? My freshman and sophomore years, starting in 1965, were at American University. I moved back in 1973 when the US Civil Service Commission offered me a job.



That certainly must have been an interesting time to be here.  Turbulent eras for important political people are not the same as for individuals. The 1970s were an interesting time to be gay. Lambda Rising had just opened. I was out, but I wasn’t very active. I didn’t hang out in bars. I graduated from New York University in January 1970, and even though Stonewall was happening half a mile from where I was living, it didn’t register.I’ve been here in Washington long enough that, in 2009, I got to watch the gay director of my federal agency give an award and a public apology to Frank Kameny, a scientist in the U.S. Army Map Service, who was fired for being gay [in 1957].



How did you hear about the Front Runners?  A friend I met at the gym was a member of DC Front Runners, and, when he moved to New York he joined the NY Front Runners. I thought I wasn’t athletic enough, or competitive enough, or ‘A list’ enough to join Front Runners. But I ran with New York Front Runners, and everything was just fine. There’s no pressure when you’re in another city, you can try something new, and, if it doesn’t work out, they are never going to see you again anyway. I decided if I could run in New York, I could run in D.C.



I think those kinds of fears are common, initially.  Anyone joining a new group is going to wonder if they’ll fit in and be accepted. If people can understand that it’s OK to be there and observe and they’re not expected to be competitive, they’ll be fine. Of course, you can be a competitive runner in the Front Runners. If you are interested in becoming a stronger and faster runner, or in getting ready for a marathon, Front Runners is great. The track workouts are a current incarnation, but not the first one. The race circuit encourages people to get better. There is a lot of support for improving your running skills, as it should be.



Do you miss…  Running? Oh, yeah. Bad feet, though, meant running wasn’t an option anymore. I used to do regularly 20 miles a week. My favorite route was the towpath just past Chain Bridge. There’s a wooden trestle over a spillway there.

 

Do you have a favorite Front Runners memory?  Perhaps the first time I walked in the New York pride parade with Front Runners. The parade started at Central Park and went down Fifth Avenue to the Village. It was walking in a sea of gay people. It’s an amazing feeling of being connected to thousands of people like me. Also, the first time I walked into the opening ceremony of the Gay Games, in 1990 in Vancouver. The cheers of the crowd are a stunning surprise. I’ve never felt more welcomed with open arms.



How has the group changed over time? For a long time it seemed like Front Runners recruited no members in their 20s and few in their 30s. Then there was a cluster of twenty-somethings—Rob Geremia, Conrad Zeutenhorst, David Thews—and suddenly there were people of all age ranges.



I don’t go to Mixtape, or the bars until 4 in the morning, or Code, which is not to say that some people my age don’t, but I don’t. Some of the twenty-somethings are comfortable talking and hanging out and going to brunch or the theatre. I really like the Front Runner first friday happy hour, which began only in the last couple of years.



What’s kept you coming?  It’s become a habit. Even if I show up late, as I often do, and walk by myself, I’m getting the miles in. The exercise is a good deal of why I come to the Front Runners, and it’s nice to have coffee after that and to talk to people.

 

Have you always been interested in theater?  Yup. I think the life of the mind is really important. I try to read good books—or maybe I should say, watch interesting TV. I try to visit museums and such. I find theatre to be extremely engaging.



Do you have a favorite playwright, play, or genre? For the past couple of years it has been the musicals of Steven Sondheim. Sondheim is engaging on many levels: the melodies, the words, the stories, the sentiments. Theatre and the arts help you to find your place in the world.



So, you’ve been little gun-shy about being profiled. Why’d you relent? You asked me. And if you recall, I did say no.

 

About five times.  If you want a profile, I’m certainly happy to oblige. It’s the least I can do. My very best friends come from the Front Runners.

 



Interview by Stephen Sawchuk, Design by Micah Norgard

June 2012