by Richard Wandel

“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“1960s: In Retrospect, I Think Of Him As My First Love.” I had this friend in in high school. He was clearly my best friend. We didn’t use words like that necessarily, but hKicked Out Of Monastery in 1969: “They Noticed My Homosexuality Before I Did.” So I’d been, all together, I was in the monastery for six years. From the time I graduated higFirst Meaningful Sexual Experience As An Adult: “I Knew That Meant I Was Gay.” So in 1969, after having been in a monastery for six years, I left. And I returned first brieflyFollowing Gay Man’s First Protest In 1970: “I Knew Where My Place Was.” It was in the summer of probably 1970. I had recently, the fall before, left the monastery that I hadProtest At Radio City Music Hall: “There’s A Great Deal Of Fun In Standing Up For Yourself.” It must’ve been about 19, probably 71, maybe 70. I’m bad at dates but in thaOne Week As A Gay Activist in 1971: Rejection, Assault, and Gunshots. If you want to have an idea of what it was like even in New York City or New York State in the early seventieFollowing The Funeral Of A Gay Friend: “I Left That Church Promising Myself Never To Go Back In.” So after being a gay activist in New York City for about five years – so ro...