by Edward Lemay

“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 count1961: “I Couldn’t Bring Myself To Write The Word ‘Homosexual.’” The year is 1961. I had just graduated from high school and I was on my way to St. John’s University, w1962: Falling In Love With A Fellow Classmate In Seminary School. I was born in 1943, and this happened when I was a sophomore at St. John’s, so 1962. At St. John’s and in manHomework Assignment: “Go To A Singles Bar And Pick Up Women.” This was in 1962 or 63. I’m a student at St John’s and St John’s was known as “The College Behind the PinSabotaging Relationships With Women: “I Think My Subconscious Kicked In.” I had been trying to change my sexual orientation. I’d been trying to be straight and so much of meVisiting A Gay Bathhouse: “It Was A Great First Time.” I had been in therapy to become a straight person, and part of the therapy was to date women. I found, actually, a very,“I Was Very, Very Fortunate In The Sixties That My Parents Were So Accepting.” It was the late Sixties. I was visiting my parents in Minnesota and, fortunately, there was an a“Luke Will Always Be Just A Very, Very Incredible Person In My Life.” So it was the late Seventies I was living on Devisadero and saw this ad in a San Francisco gay newspaper ...

by Mark Segal

“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 count1956: “SOME PEOPLE CALL THEM QUEER.” The first time that I recall ever knowing about gay people – homosexuals, “those kind of people,” queers, was when I was about 6 ye“WITHOUT GENERAL VON STEUBEN, A GAY MAN, THERE WOULD BE NO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” One evening, I was sitting on the couch, just relaxing, watching TV. It was a typical tal“WE CREATED A MOVEMENT. THAT’S THE LEGACY OF THE GAY LIBERATION FRONT.” Just before I was supposed to graduate from high school, I left. Went to New York, that was in May of1972: ACTIVISTS HIJACK LIVE SHOW, DEMAND GAY LIBERATION Philadelphia was known for – is known for American Bandstand. It’s the birthplace of American Bandstand and all those t“[YOUR ACTIVISM] IS RUINING IT FOR THE REST OF US.” We knew the way to do what we wanted to do, which was to get our LGBT people before the mainstream of America. So we wanted“I’M PROBABLY ONE OF THE LUCKIEST GAY ACTIVISTS IN THE WORLD TO HAVE HAD [MY PARENTS].” About 1970, to further gay youth, I created the gay youth organization inside Gay LibAFTER FOUNDING LGBT-FRIENDLY SENIOR HOUSING IN PHILADELPHIA, “I’M A CRADLE-TO-GRAVE ACTIVIST.” In every part of our community since 1969, when Gay Liberation Front started, ...

by Ann Brown

I’m Ann Brown and I’m from El Paso, Texas. So back in 1988, when I graduated University of Texas at Austin, I moved to New York. And that was a huge move for me, coming from t...

by Ken Henderson

My name is Ken Henderson and I’m from Globe, Arizona. I dated girls in high school, I noticed boys a lot but being gay wasn’t something that really seemed an option to me at t...

by T.J. Mannix

My name is T.J. Mannix, I’m from Boca Raton, Florida. I realized once I had an inkling that I was gay, I realized that if I won awards and if I got trophies and if I got honors ...

by Victor Mendolia

I’m Victor Mendolia and I’m from Selden, New York, which is on Long Island. When I was 16, I started going out to Fire Island, to Cherry Grove. I had recently left this born-a...

by Doug Rice

I’m Doug Rice, I’m from Rochester, New York. Robert and I met in 1983 at a record store I was working at. He came in as a customer and I’d just gone to a Talking Heads conce...

by Ron Huberman

I’m Ron Huberman and I’m from Boston, Massachusetts. I first met Harvey Milk when I walked into his camera store on Castro. In the summer of 1975, I was teaching school at tha...

by Sandi Marx

It’s my first day at my first job and I am scared shitless. I am sitting in the reception area at J. Michael Bloom which was this huge popular talent agency at the time and I wa...