Relationships
Many knew the cost
When I was growing up in the 1960's and 1970's as a gay boy we didn't have any role models to look too. I do apologize for the length of this post, I know it definitely will hit the 600 word mark. Most younger generation LGBTQ will ask why are so many people coming out in their fifties and sixties? Or as my first boyfriend said, I love you late bloomers. We had no one to look up too and if you read some of these examples listed below, you will understand why, starting with Mr. Rohrer. I, like Mr. Rohrer of the Dallas Cowboys had no positive role models. But Mr. Rohrer was told if he was gay, then it would destroy his football career. Jeffrey Charles Rohrer (born December 25, 1958) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Yale University and was drafted in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft. Early life and collegiate career
Lawrence Edward HincheePublished about a year ago in Pride
Their place.
Ann peeked anxiously out of the window, her brilliant white nets still fresh from their recent wash, the sweet scent reaching her nose. She fingered them gently, pulling them back into place; the breeze had misplaced them slightly and now they weren't hanging right. Ann had become very particular over her nets the past 15 months, how they hung, the way they smelled how they may look from the outside. The outside, the beautiful, scary and forever changed outside. Ann stepped back slightly, this window had been her prisoner and saviour all at once; allowing her glimpses of the normality that slowly started to grow again, hesitant first meetings through the window, opened just enough to have a conversation until fear had made her close it, lock it and step away again when the second wave came, then she simply peered through it longingly, waving at neighbours and watching the world creep back to life once more, while she felt trapped and left behind. Forgotten.
Claire LambPublished about a year ago in Pride
You Deserve to Feel Special
Peter dropped a stack of paperwork the size of a textbook on Aleesia’s desk with an audible ‘thump’. She scowled at it, as it joined the other scattered papers over her desk, before turning her glare at the man hovering over her desk. “What is this? Ad hoc?” She at least managed to keep her tone even. The last thing she wanted was to start some workplace drama with one of the project managers.
Kassandra CherryPublished about a year ago in Pride
Summer Love
James sauntered through the meadow, carelessly smelling the flowers in bloom. The creek that ran through the meadow bubbled happily nearby and the birds sang a merry song of summer. All was well, and James had not a care in the world. James didn’t know it yet, but this would be the best summer of his life.
Caleb GeigerPublished about a year ago in Pride
Cake of the Gods
“Delivery’s here!” Marnie called from the back of the shop. I frowned – we weren’t due a delivery till Thursday. Probably another mix-up at the suppliers.
Angel WhelanPublished about a year ago in PrideThank you for Loving out Loud, Femme:
Recently I've been sifting through words I wrote in college and high school. Yes, I'm one of those folks that have saved every journal, and most papers I wrote during recent past lives; I'm so glad I did. Finding words from my younger selves has been like finding little brass keys, which unlock doors to portals that lead me home.
Sur Ren Dirt (she/they)Published about a year ago in PrideTether
Basha’s stall smelled the way it always had: comfort and dust, soiled straw and the particular low-grade dread of a daily chore. Trina let her gaze wander the barn, letting each familiar stall and tool settle her. She noticed, with some satisfaction, that though the barn had been recently repainted, the painter had skipped the spot on the stall door that marked a succession of years and heights. Some people measured their kids in the house. Trina’s parents marked the passing of ages and inches in the place she felt most at home.
So What are you Really Saying?
Last week, we officially launched our podcast, Soul in Love! We have so many stories we want to share with the world! From our struggles to our experiences to our ups and downs, but mostly all of the things that have kept us Soul in Love for nearly a decade! Black and LGBTQ+ love is so important, and we decided to share our love story while also highlighting other Black and LGBTQ+ couples.
Bryce and Val Marie HendersonPublished about a year ago in PrideLooking
His profile picture drew me in. He was ruggedly good-looking, wearing an old camo hat. He had beautiful blue eyes and a scruffy beard, and His plain t-shirt highlighted his broad shoulders and toned chest. His jeans fit just right and looked dingy as if he had been working outside in a dirt pile. His work boots were well used. You could see the veins on his hairy arms, and it was evident from his picture that he was a blue-collar guy.
J. Delaney-HowePublished about a year ago in Pride
All Lights Coming At Us from the Sound!
And there is the wedding tonight on the beach, all the guests dressed up and it rains and I’m there to film, given a camera older than myself to hold and thank god it’s a short ceremony because I almost drop it it’s so heavy. Everyone looks up and the bride comes down from the big winding stairs in the reception hall, where the ceremony relocates during the storm. And she walks to where her husband stands, where I stand with my arms shaking under that heavy thing, recording this moment in sharp black and white. The camera drifts to Erin, her standing in the corner, pinned up, her blue dress, her face soft in all the light coming in through the windows—it’s still sunny even though outside it thunders. The bride begins to speak and I focus back on her, and she says I do and she’s kissed, and she and the groom have their first dance and they eat; Erin and I sneak out to the beach when we notice it stops raining. Now it’s dark, two hours of wedding gone by the same way all weddings do. We take off our shoes and run out to the water, the sound lit up with the skyline of the city and all those apartments on the water.
Bobby CrossroadsPublished about a year ago in Pride
My Pride Story
One Sunday at church, during my Sophomore year in High School, circa 2013. “So. What team do you play for?” “Oh I don’t play sports,” I responded, confused by the seemingly out-of-nowhere question.
Phoenix MoonMothPublished about a year ago in Pride
Sunshine under the Rainbow
Being "gay" was grounds for damnation in the community and church that I grew up in as a little boy. The thought of the word would mentally transport you to a deep dark place of fire and brimstone or gloom and doom with a final resting place in the pits of hell. My parents were never vocal on the issue directly as right, wrong or indifferent, however, I can remember the preacher in the pulpit quoting the scriptures of abomination against God and the kids in the neighborhood being outright hateful towards anyone that was “that way”. By the time I was a teenage boy, I fit well in the category of homophobic and there was nothing you could do to change my views or convince me to want to have anything to do with this “those people”.
Michael C BurrowPublished about a year ago in Pride
