Closet? What Closet?
Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Lesbian & Gay March on Washington, Acceptance of Gays and Lesbians . . .
National Coming Out Day is celebrated each year on October 11th to commemorate the 1987 Lesbian and Gay March on Washington and the first unfurling of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall.
I was but a young cub then, but I made the trip from NY to DC with my BFFs Carol and Lynn. it was an amazing experience, I was 24 (OMG when did I get old?) and freshly out of the military. AIDS was devastating the community. At the time, I was a community outreach volunteer for GMHC - teaching safer sex workshops at the Center on 13th Street.I remember being completely overwhelmed by the quilt. But, I also remember the magic of the candle light vigil as we surrounded the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Everybody welcomed everybody, we were one community.
A lot has happened in 20 years. I've grown older, wiser and wider. I moved to Chicago and then to San Francisco - "the holy land." Carol moved to Florida and then to Arizona with Ali. Lynn got married and we lost touch.We've made great strides along the way, sadly lost friends and lovers and lived our lives the best we could. We fought and won victories. But we are not done.
I look forward to looking back 20 years from now. We'll wonder what the fuss was about regarding marriage, we will have forgotten "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and adoption will be a non-issue for the community. And Larry Craig will still be considering resigning.Hopefully, my biggest concern will be what happened to my hairline. Apparently the hair on my head has taken up residence in my ears. And that's a good problem to have.
Come out come out - wherever you are . . .