The Laramie Project Page #2

Trish Steger, owner of a shop in town,

referred to him as Matt.

Matt used to come into my shop.

That's how I knew him.

It was the first time I ever heard him

referred to as Matt instead of Matthew.

Well, what was he like?

I don't know.

How does any one person

ever tell about another?

Matt was a blunt little sh*t.

Know what I'm saying?

He was a little guy, 5'2".

Soaking wet, I bet you (7 pounds, tops.

They were saying he weighed 110 pounds.

I don't believe it.

I say, "Are you Matthew Shepard?"

He says, "Yeah, I'm Matthew Shepard,

but don't call me Matthew, or Mr. Shepard.

"Don't call me none of that.

My name is Matt.

"And I want you to know that I am gay,

and we're gonna be going to a gay bar.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

I said, "No. How are you paying?"

The fact of the matter is,

laramie doesn't have any gay bars.

For that matter, neither does Wyoming.

He was hiring me to take him down

to Fort Collins, Colorado...

...which is about an hour away.

He was struggling when he first came here.

Reaching out, trying to fit in.

- I'm sorry I'm late.

- My sister Romaine.

She was a close friend of Matthew's.

Matthew really wanted

to get into political affairs.

That was all his big interest was,

watching CNN and MSNBC.

Those were the only TV stations

I ever saw his TV tuned in to.

So why did he move to laramie?

He told me he was thinking about

going back to school.

So I told him, "Go to the University

of Wyoming, go to laramie.

"You can really find a home there."

I was Matthew's academic advisor,

so I Knew him in a very specific context.

But I can tell you that Matthew

was very shy when he first came in...

...to the point of being somewhat mousy,

I'd almost say.

But soon, his shyness began to give way

to this person...

...that was excited about this track

that he was going to embark on.

Whenever I think of Matthew,

I think of his...

...incredible beaming smile.

He'd walk into a room and just be, like...

He'd smile at everyone.

He made you feel great.

He was just starting to say:

"There are opportunities here.

There are things I can do in this world.

"I can be important."

I heard from Matt

about 48 hours before the attack.

He told me he'd just joined

the gay and lesbian group on campus...

...and he was really enjoying it,

getting ready for Pride Week.

He was totally stoked about school.

He was really happy being there.

I can only say this in retrospect, of course.

I think that's where he was headed,

towards human rights.

Let me tell you something.

There's more gay people in Wyoming

than meets the eye.

- You think?

- I know for a fact.

I mean, they're not particularly...

What do you call the queens,

the gay people, queens?

You know,

the run-around, f*ggot-type people.

They're more like the ones who'II...

...throw a bale of hay, jump on a horse,

brand them and kick ass.

Know what I'm saying? As I always say...

...you don't f*** with a Wyoming queer

'cause they'll f***ing kick you in your ass.

- But that's not the point.

- What is the point?

People of Wyoming do not give a damn

one way or the other if you're gay...

...if you're straight, bisexual,

trisexual, it doesn't matter.

- Really?

- That's what I just said. It doesn't matter.

I was the first out lesbian

or gay faculty member...

...and that's in 1((2.

That's not that long ago.

They asked me at the interview

what my husband did.

So I came out then.

When I first moved out here,

I knew it was gonna be hard as a gay man.

There would be times

when I would go to Denver...

...and I would go to the gay bars there, and

people would ask me where I was from...

...and I would say, "laramie, Wyoming."

And I met so many men down there

from Wyoming.

So many gay men who grew up here

and they were like:

"This is not a place where I can live.

How can you live there? I had to get out."

But every once in awhile, there'd be a guy:

"Gosh, I miss laramie.

"I mean, I really love it there.

That's where I want to live."

And they'd get this starry-eyed look,

and I think...

...if that is where you wanna live, do it.

So I get into my office one day and

I have a message to call this woman back.

So I call her back and she goes,

"I hear you are a lesbian.

"I hear you are one." And I'm like, "uh-huh?"

She goes, "I'm one, too." She wanted

to come over and meet me immediately.

She also warned me about the fact...

...that there's other lesbians in this town

who would not be seen with me.

That just to be seen with me

would taint them irreparably.

That just to be seen with me

would be a big problem.

I love this land.

I mean...

...I really love this land.

I'm gonna make this brief, quick, just

get it over with, but it will be everything.

Factual, just the facts. 10:00.

I punch in, my regular time for Tuesdays.

At 10:
30 we're having karaoke night...

...so there's maybe 20 or 30 people

milling around.

That's when Matthew Shepard

comes in alone, he comes in and...

...he sits right where you're sitting

right now, orders himself a Heineken.

So what can I tell you about Matt?

Well, manners...

...politeness, intelligence.

Taking care of me, as in tips.

Everything, he just offers conversation.

He comes in,

he's always dressed nice, clean-cut.

Didn't seem to have any worries.

He wasn't waiting on anybody.

He just wanted to enjoy his drink

and the company around.

I guess it was maybe 11:30 or 11:45.

That's when Russell Henderson

and Aaron McKinney came in.

They come in, approach the bar,

they sit here and order a pitcher...

...and as you know, they pay for the thing

entirely in dimes and quarters...

...which, let me tell you,

is something you just don't forget.

You don't forget something like that.

$5.50 in dimes and quarters?

It's a freaking nightmare

for a bartender.

Money meant nothing to Matthew

because he grew up with a lot of it.

He'd have handed over his wallet

in a second...

...because money meant nothing to him.

I mean, his shoes might have

meant something, but...

They can say it was robbery

all they want to, but I don't buy it.

Not even for an iota of a second.

Iook, when they came in,

Henderson and McKinney...

...to me, they didn't seem

to be intoxicated at all.

They came in,

they order a pitcher of beer...

...they take it back there into the pool area,

and they just kept to themselves.

It was going on for half an hour...

...and then I noticed Russell and Aaron

had been talking with Matthew Shepard.

Some people are saying

he made a pass at them.

Hell, you don't pick up regular people.

Aaron and I have been together

for two years.

Aaron said that a guy walked up to him

and said he was gay...

...and wanted to get with him and Russ.

Aaron's really bad about that.

He doesn't like to be around gay people

at all, and neither does Russ.

They just don't like them at all.

So he got aggravated with it

and said he was straight...

...and he didn't wanna have anything

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes