Jack

Jack, age 6

Portsmouth, RI (1963)

This photo was taken in my parents living room, which I fondly remember with 50's furniture and knick-knacks, and which I cherish till this day. And there I am posing with my Kimono, a gift from my Aunt Irma and Uncle Jim who were stationed in Japan at the time. In pictures of me as a child I always seemed happy and always smiled for the cameras.

But from an early age I realized I wasn't like the other boys, and I always knew that. I wasn't a fan of sports (although my father and grandfather loved them with a passion I never understood). While I was happy to play sports, I didn't care much if I won or lost - I was just happy to play.

As such, I was usually picked last to play on a team. I absolutely loved playing with GI Joe dolls, but mine were never fighting - they were usually packing up their uniforms to go on vacation to the beach. LOL!

I always loved the idea of vacations and travel. When I got older, (around 13)
I use to pack a small suitcase and take a bus to the local airport and sit at the departure gates pretending I was going on vacation. At the end of the day I would simply take the bus home.

In hindsight I guess kids knew I was slightly "different," and I guess I don't remember a time in my life that I didn't know I was different, although gay wasn't the word I attributed it to. I never formed a lot of friendship with other boys while growing up, and more easily formed friendships with girls. But I did have a couple of good male friends while growing up in high school.

During college, I formed a number of strong male friendships, with a strong emphasis on drinking. However, I guess my choices of TV watching in the 60's being the annual airings of The Wizard of Oz and Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella should have told me something.

Like many others my age, my efforts at being straight and entering marriage eventually failed. However - that marriage resulted in two wonderful children am I thankful for every day, who accept me the way I am. Coming out wasn't a perfect experience for me by any means, and I put it off until my early 40's. But then again, coming out is usually not perfect experience for anyone.

I have a great family who I love dearly. I have to especially thank my partner of 15 years who has made my life complete and who I love dearly. He challenges me to be a better person almost daily. Without him, I would probably have remained in the closet for many more years, wasting additional time.

Life is very good being the real me.
And I don't have any doubt about it - I was born this way.

Jack's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Mark Goddard (Major Don West on "Lost In Space")

Stephen

Stephen, age 10
Providence, Rhode Island (1977)

Yes, this is me, "Little Stevie" as my family called me, dressed as Henry VIII with my beloved Miss Piggy as Anne Boleyn. Having an older gay brother studying costume design in college definitely informed and helped in my playtime activities.

I spent hours dressing up Miss Piggy as different women in history.

Sometimes with accompanying self-costumes as her matching male companions, or sometimes just as their off-screen stylist.

I have many pictures of her dressed as Cleopatra, Carmen Miranda, and Eva Peron at varied times in her life.

I even had Miss Piggy giving speeches on the balcony of the Casa Rosada, in her traveling clothes for the "Rainbow Tour," etc.

I was a confirmed Anglophile at an extremely early age and this photo shows me at the peak of my powers. I mean, look at the details. It's as though Miss Piggy just stepped out of a Holbein portrait. Even my "stippled" Tudor beard is a revelation.

The first time I took a trip to London in the late 1990's and visited Henry VIII's historic home, Hampton Court, all I could think of was this picture. I remember thinking to myself, 'Yes. Miss Piggy and I got it right!'
 

Eat your heart out, Jonathan Rhys Meyers!

I think I always felt different, and I somehow always knew I was gay.
Thank God, because I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Stephen's first, famous-person same sex crush:

Mark Spitz (US Olympic Swimming Legend)
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Click here - "Born This Way: Real Stories of Growing Up Gay" book
Click here - "My First Gay Crush Blog"

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