by Michael Dain

1960s: A Trip To The Met Was “The First Time I Remember Any Attraction For Men.” I first became aware of being attracted to men when growing up in the mid-sixties, when I was1970s: Melba Moore Performing At Bathhouse Changes Gay Teen’s Life. Okay, so in the early seventies when I was around 15 and attending Bronx High School of Science, still feeliComing Out To Parents In 1975: “You’re Our Son. We Love You. Be Home By Midnight.” Okay, so around in 1975, just a little before I turned 18, I was talking with my brother.1981: After Protest At Harvard, “I Was Out For All The World To See.” After high school, I took some time off because at the time I didn’t think I wanted to go to college. 1985: “Heartbreak Is A Natural Part of Relationships.” Here I am in Boston in 1985. After taking a hiatus from Divinity School, I had resumed taking classes again and I met mFear Surrounding AIDS In The 80s: “I Might Have Already Been Infected. I Didn’t Know.” I started hearing about AIDS or as it was called in the press at that point, Gay Rela...

by Ted Chapin

Coming Out To Parents in the 1970s Wasn’t Easy But “Time Heals All.” Every every gay man knows at some point in their childhood, certainly by puberty, that – what their a1970s: Embracing Interracial Gay Love. “This Is Just A Great Big Family. Let’s Drop All The Prejudice.” Jacob and I moved to Philadelphia in 1972 because I was starting th1978: Celebrating Thanksgiving With Family Of Choice. “They Wanted To Welcome Me To Their World.” Well, I came out in 1970 in New Haven in the year after Stonewall. And the wReceiving A False-Positive HIV Test In The Mid-1980s: “I Thought This Could Be It.” Eric and I got to San Francisco in 1978. It wasn’t a good place to bring a boyfriend bec1988: “God, If You’re There, Please…I Need To Fall In Love With Someone Who’s Not Going To Die.” Well, it was April, 1988. I was living in San Francisco. There I was, a1990s: Following Societal Progress Gay Man Has To Learn “How To Be A Spouse Of A Gay Executive.” We were living in San Francisco. It was in 1993 that we had to move to Boston2000s: A Civil Union In Vermont And A Marriage In Massachusetts. “We Celebrate The Day We Met.” Well, Torrence and I moved to Boston in 1993. We were part of that South End g...

by Jay Blotcher

1970: Gay 10-Year-Old Boy Finds Creative Way To Convince Mom To Buy Teen Magazines Well, I grew up in a small town called Randolph, Massachusetts, which is about 15 miles south o1982: Following Homophobic Police Taunt And Arrest, AIDS Activist “No Longer Believed The Police Only Arrest Bad People.” I graduated college in May of 1982 and a friend of m1983: Gay Man Transitions From Bathhouse Towel Boy To AIDS Activist. Being a gay man of 22 years old in New York City is an experience for anybody. It’s learning who you are, i1989: ACT UP AIDS Activist Takes On The New York Times In the latter part of the eighties and the early part of the nineties, my life in New York City was dominated by AIDS activ 1992: Friend Who Died From AIDS “Gave Us The Gift of That Absurd Memorial.” So it’s April of 1992 and I’m at Beth Israel Hospital on the east side of Manhattan. And it�...

by Michael Anastasio

“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 count...

by Richard Eric Weigle

“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 count1967: “From That Moment On, I Never Had One Moment Of Guilt About Being Gay.” The year was 1967. The war in Vietnam was raging. I just graduated from college and I was lucky 1970 Greenwich Village: “I Felt Like I Had Really Found Heaven.” In 1970, after a long stint in the Peace Corps and traveling back through many, many countries, I arrived bacPre-AIDS Greenwich Village: A Time Of “Free Love, Open Sex And Tolerance.” I feel very fortunate to have lived in Greenwich Village in the 70s, pre-AIDS. t was a wonderful t9th Grade English Teacher Rescues Former Student From Sexual Mishap. In the 1980s, I was teaching in New Jersey, commuting out from Grove Street, from Greenwich Village, and I ha1985: Rock Hudson’s Death Hurls AIDS Into Public Consciousness. In the early 80s, it was still a wonderful time because it seemed like everybody was curious about gay life. Peo“It’s Just Incredible To Think Of What We Lost [To AIDS].” The late 80s and early 90s was a sad time for many gay men. There was, there were a lot of people dying. I lost mLife After Fifty As A Gay Man. Life after 50 as a gay man. Well… you know, I have always been lucky in meeting people on the street. Whether I had my dogs or a grocery bag or a...

by Janet Hart

My name is Janet Hart and I’m from San Francisco. I grew up within the gay community. My mom came out when I was about 5 years old. My sister was probably about a year old. And ...

by Rick Stuckey

I’m Rick Stuckey from Chicago, Illinois. I’m Lutheran. I grew up Lutheran. I went to a Lutheran high school. And I always felt a little different. It was summer, it was June, ...

by D'Ontace Keyes

My name is D’Ontace Keyes. I am from Chicago, Illinois. In 2009, within Philadelphia, I was studying at the University of the Arts. It was my sophomore year and it was a really ...

by Pearl Bennett

“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 countTRANSCRIPTS: “IN THE LONG RUN, I’M GOING TO BE HAPPY I TOLD HER THIS.” My name is Pearl, I’m a transgender woman. I didn’t transition until I was 50 years of age. Back i“I’M NOT TAKING THIS DRESS OFF.” In 1997, give or take a year or two, I was working out on Fire Island, a barrier island, off of Long Island, and I worked at this little res“THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING PUBLICLY AS A WOMAN: “HE YELLED, ‘THAT’S A MAN!’” The year was 2000. I was living my life as a woman, as Pearl. I had not changed my “JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE DOG RUN.” During that first year before any, before my transition, I, the day before, I went to the dog, took my dogs to the dog run as Ken. And I wen“THAT’S HOW I CAME OUT TO THE FAMILY.” The big hurdle for me was telling my family about my living as a woman now, living as a transgender woman. What I did is, I went to a “MY NAME WAS PEARL FROM THEN ON.” The year was around 1997. I went out, it was Gay Pride weekend. I marched in the Gay Pride parade with some friends in New York City. They we...