In 1972 Father’s Day became a national holiday, a few weeks after I turned 7. I don’t think I understood or gave much thought to the meaning of the American holiday at the time. I simply longed to be with my dad, a dad I thought was funny and fun…one I wanted more of. Reality [...]
One of the hardest elements of sharing my family story is in the revealing of family secrets. Divulging secrets can be looked upon as breaking down or betraying family trust. In my heart I feel as if I am sharing what has been kept just below the surface for as long as I can remember. [...]
Mostly he tried to stay true to himself. After divorcing my mother he went on to foster two long-term life partners. Ironically both were named Jim. He felt strongly about social causes, read intensely about the Holocaust, stating adamantly, we should never forget. In Palm Springs he helped open one of the first gay [...]
Bruce Jenner is the latest high profile person to join the LGBT community. After watching his come-clean interview by most accounts, he was surprisingly honest and inspiring as he delivered his beautiful, touching story. I was moved to tears, something I didn’t expect. Moreover I found his story to resonate with me, cause me to [...]
Earlier this year hosting cable station TLC launched a new Reality TV show, ‘My Husbands Not Gay.’ Husbands are attracted to men but are working with their church to live a straight, heterosexual life with their family. There has been much controversy over what the show does to gay rights, how the church supports the [...]
I think I have one memory of my family all together. Strapped in my stroller, well into dusk, my mom stands behind me gripping the handle. The colors of Disneyland rides are streaked like a photo whose camera lens has been set on a long exposure. Blurry streams of color are all around me. Sounds [...]
18 Yr Rose & Thorn Essay My wedding anniversary was last Saturday, 18 years and counting. The romance began in the midst of my seventeen-year professional marketing stint, included a move in and out of a gaggle of neighborhoods of Chicago, to the north suburb of Evanston, landing in Boulder, CO. Waking up, suddenly, to [...]
There’s no right way, really. I want to be honest, but I’m scared. If I share my true, deep in my bones feelings about how I felt about Dad being gay, I’m bound to hurt someone. But I must do it for myself, and for my children. And because I’m just sure it will help [...]
The last several years I talked to Dad about making my thoughts public. I did so because I’d lived decades sensitive to his situation; intimate with the stigma he carried. He quoted Shakespeare saying, “It’s much ado about nothing.’’ After a lifetime of turmoil, staying tight lipped about his early homosexual relationships, in his mind, [...]
