by João Kiser

I’m João Kiser from Milledgeville, Georgia. I came out when I was 16 and then I joined the military at 21, which was something I did not want to do because of the kind of mI remember the last day, the day before he left because they deployed – you go back really early in the morning. The hardest thing was getting up to go to work and he was li...

by Wayne Glass

My name is Wayne Glass. He, him, his pronouns. And I am from St. Paul, Minnesota. I grew up in Montgomery, Alabama as well as Spokane Washington. The reason why I lived in so many...

by Sho Barksdale

My name is Sho Barksdale. I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Animals have always been a big part of my family’s life. Growing up, I’ve had cats, dogs, hamsters, rats, snapping ...

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 Adam Sandel

My name is Adam Sandel and I’m originally from Hopkins, Minnesota. When I moved to San Francisco in 2001 when I was officially coming out as a gay man, I didn’t know anyone bu...

by Abby Fink

I’m Abby Fink and I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I recently came out to my grandfather. He was kind of the last one in my family to know. His name is Irving and he’s t...

by Desmond Kidney

Ah, first love. First heartbreak—and second. This story does not feature my fumbled makings-out while skipping chapel on the roof of the science building. This story is not abou...

by Brent Roelofs

In light of the recent tragic suicides as a result of gay teens being bullied, it has brought back a lot of memories of the struggles and pain that I went through when people foun...

by Jeffrey Anderson

Our elderly next door neighbor passed away last Friday. Even though she was up there in years it was still a shock to hear that she had died. Leo and I had known Eunice (not her r...