by Chauncey Dandridge

Hey, I’m Chauncey Dandridge. I’m from Harrison, New Jersey.  My family was very macho. There was always sports on the television. I’m one of three boys, grew upSo I had already been a club kid, partying, doing ecstasy, doing this and that, but I think right after 9/11 is when I picked up doing crystal, crystal meth. I would use it to hav...

by Todd Gloria

Hi, my name is Todd Gloria, and I was born and raised in San Diego. I’m a third-generation San Diegan and I now serve as the mayor of my hometown.  I was probably about fouSo I would clean my room because I was never going to have my parents go in my room and say, “Go clean your room.” I wasn’t going to have them interact with my t...

by Natasha Sumner

I’m Natasha Sumner and I am from Santa Rosa, California.  Growing up, I was a rough and tumble kid. I loved to be out in the dirt, out in nature. It was the place where I fToday, as you can see, I kept my hair short and revel in it all the time and really enjoy it. You know, I can’t say that these fears of mine and these sort of belief systems...

by Will

My name is Will, I’m from Houston, Texas.  From an early age, I realized I was different and didn’t fit in with other children my age. I loved the color purple and fo...

by Jozef Szekeres

Hi there. My name is Jozef Szekeres and I’m from Sydney, Australia. As a boy, I knew that I was a little bit different from the other boys and girls. Well, actually, probably I ...

by Antonio Cerna

Nathan: Welcome to this week’s Story Update. This week is especially special because we’re speaking with the second storyteller ever on I’m From Driftwood, Antonio. So firs...

by Jose Ramon

Hi. My name is Jose Ramon. I’m from the Bronx, New York. I was 13. I lived on Riverside Drive on 160th and Riverside. Beautiful neighborhood. My mother and father were both born...

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 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...