As one of my best friends, who is gay, confessed after being asked when he first realized he was ..... gay?
"I knew, as soon as I came out of my mother's birth canal, batting eyelashes and screaming for a pink blankie to replace that horrid, powder blue one."
He has had the rare pleasure of coming out and embracing his homosexuality at a very young age, giving him full clarity on the beautiful soul dwelling within him. He was raised in a loving, churchgoing community who recognized him as a child of God, with God-given dance and musical talents.
Ask him about the latest America's Got Talent or Dancing With the Stars competitions and he's more than qualified to analyze and forecast final outcomes, better than weathermen the weather or betting odds-makers the spread. But ask about a player, team or game in sports and his eyes go cloudy and wide, mouth dry, memory vacant and he develops an uncharacteristic stutter. As blind staggers overtake his body, he seems fit to be strapped into a strait jacket and shipped off to Nurse Ratched at the nearest mental ward.
It's as if you have given him a fast-acting poison, causing spots to appear before the eyes as all other senses start shutting down. What you are left with is a babbling, confused, sissy who doesn't know a Dodger from a Laker, nor a Warrior from a 49er.
Sports are his kryptonite; he and all his friends know it. We sports fans have teased while attempting to teach him the intricacies of the games, with little success. He always gets that 'deer in the headlights' / 'spots in front of the eyes' look, whenever anyone tries to explain a play, a strategy, a rule or penalty call. Whether it be on the basketball court, baseball field, or as he's so proud of learning, the gridiron, my friend is lost at sea in the waters of sports. If you have never heard a person call a touchdown a home run, then you just haven't lived as a sports fan.
This, a man who worked for an investment firm, plays classical piano and can read music, has taught ballet and toured the countryside with dance companies. A man intrigued by computers, who after retiring went back to school, earning an AA degree in Information Technology. A man who designed and maintained multiple websites along with helping friends with theirs.
A fearless man, who after proudly sporting a 'fab-u-lous' mane of reddish-brown dreadlocks for twenty-plus years, chopped off his cultural crown as a process of revitalization and renewal.
Today, he is a man who is as busy and active in retirement, as he was while employed in the workforce. A renaissance man, full of art, music, faith, love, wisdom and freedom. A joyous, happy man, who lives life on his own terms and need only a friend, a pack of menthol cigarettes, access to media entertainment and a clean, humble abode to call home.
A man I am so proud and honored to call my close friend and a fellow child of God. Everyone should have a close friend like Donald, aka Chocolate Grey. You can learn so much from a friend like him. Oh, and did I mention he's gay???
Raiders News: Carl Nassib Comes Out
Blind Staggers reference: Johnny Pye and the Fool-Killer by Stephen Vincent Benet
1 comment:
Thanks RaiderLegend, but enough about me. What we would like to know though, is what you think about Carl Nassib coming out, or gays playing professional, in general.
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