by Gloria Allen

“What Was It Like? Stories by LGBTQ Elders” is a new program by I’m From Driftwood, in partnership with Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, and SAGE, the countGrowing Up On A Farm In Kentucky: “I Didn’t Know Anything About Being Different.” I was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We lived on a farm and we all lived together. It wasLate 1950’s: “If It Wasn’t For These Women, I Wouldn’t Be Here Today.” It was the late fifties when we got to Chicago. These amazing women, the three women – my motherSexual Assault in the Early 1960’s: “Why Did I Have To Be Treated Like That?” I went to high school here. Englewood High School, I remember going to Englewood. In 1962, I reAfter Friend’s Murder, “I Became Aware And Scared For Myself.” In 1962, I remember, I had dropped out of high school but I went back to finish it up. So I graduated in 1965.Leaving An Abusive Relationship In The Late 1970’s: “I Got Smart. And I Got Tired.” In the late seventies, I’d say ‘76 or ‘77, I had been single since 1967 up until thFounding A Charm School In The 2010’s: “Social Graces Carry You A Long Way.” Since I’ve gotten older, my life has changed a lot. At the age of 67, I was still in the commu“Life Is Beautiful. And For Me, It Has Been Quite A Whirlwind.” Today, my life has really changed for me. Although I’m 72 years old, it’s never too late. I feel good about...

by Stefanie Clark

“What Was It Like? Stories by LGBTQ Elders” is a new program by I’m From Driftwood, in partnership with Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, and SAGE, the countDressing Up In Mother’s Clothes As A Child: “I Knew I Could Be The Woman That I Wanted To Be.” I was born in 1943. I was the younger son in a Catholic family – I had an ol1950’s: “I Had To Be The Man Of The Family… And I Think I’m A Girl.” I ended up going to the seminary, as something a good catholic boy always does, especially the secon1960’s: Coming Out To Wife “Left An Elephant In The Room For The Next 44 Years.” So it’s June 1966. I’m just finishing up college at Seattle University. I just got my fi1980’s: Dominatrix Inspires Trans Woman To Become Comfortable In Her Own Skin. It was August 1989. I got a call out of the blue – a search firm wanted me to come to Chicago anAfter Wife’s Death in 2012, Trans Woman Seizes Opportunity To Come Out To Family. I can remember July 20, 2012 like it was yesterday. My wife had been sick with cancer for over Trans Woman’s Life Changed After Finding A Mentor. I needed acceptance as a human being. Not male, not female, not trans. I just needed acceptance and a friend that could guide “I’ve Been Helped By So Many People On My Journey To Womanhood.” Looking back at all those people that have helped me get to where I am today, I’m just so thankful for whaTrans Woman Finds Companionship Late In Life. “I laugh harder now than I have in twenty years.” I had lived with a woman for 44 years and then had to live alone for six. And t...

by John Hilton

“What Was It Like? Stories by LGBTQ Elders” is a new program by I’m From Driftwood, in partnership with Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, and SAGE, the countEarly 1940s: “I Knew Way Back Then That I Was Gay.” When I was 7 or 8 years old, I noticed in the schoolyard, Public School 187, this beautiful young boy, golden boy. And I weAfter Meeting Bill In The Early 1950’s, “We Were Together For 54 Wonderful, Glorious Years.” When I was 18, I came back to New York, to Brooklyn. My father got me a furnisheDrafted in 1958: “My Eighteen Months Away Solidified Our Relationship.” In 1958, after five months with Bill, I got drafted. Bill would come down every Sunday to Fort Dix, bec“Who Are You!?” How A Domestic Partnership Helped During A Moment of Tragedy. Well, in 2003, we noticed in the New York Times that New York City was offering a domestic partneFamily Opens Up At Memorial For Late Partner: “We All Know. And We All Loved You And Uncle Ike.” Bill and I were together 54 years. I can truthfully say we could never get enoFamily Member To Ailing Gay Uncle: “You Still Have Time To Repent.” When I started getting on the computer and doing email and Facebook, Bill asked me, “What is Facebook all“You Need To Calm Down.” A Token of Love Becomes A Lifelong Passion. Bill told me, three months after we met and I got my draft notice and I was drafted and I was sent for 18 ...

by Harold Kooden

My name is Harold Kooden, and I was born in Chicago. We moved to California, North Hollywood, California. At about eleven, I discovered quite accidentally in one of the johns in t...

by Martin D. Goodkin

I came out in 1948 when I was 12 years old. I was going to the bars and baths in New York City while in my teens. Now at the age of 74, still active, and alone, by choice after 4 ...