happy gay pride. i look over the years and i see so much hate for the gay life style but does that make me ashamed the answer short and sweat...NO.

people hide behind religion with gay and non gay resoning. while at the age of 10 i was a camper at a salvation army camp here in the central ohio area and was molested by the camp counsler. upon the leadership of the salvation army finding out this happened they fired him and had him leave the camp without informing the police or seeking help for many campers in which he had sex with. the simple reason they didnt want to turn him in was they knew he was going to be a minister and didnt want to hurt his life long dream and with him being gone nobody would be hurt. but what i found out in the following year at the camp not only did he have sex with me but he had sex with several children all under the age of 12.

another thing to question on the salvation army is while they accept money from all sources of life even our gay money few people realize that over the past two years the salvation army has been giving our government and other anti gay groups funding. they as a church have forgotten its founders cause for the church movement. william booth started the salvation army for love of all persons and most of all the people not accepted. he accepted the drunks, the poor, the blacks, and several others in his early movement of london england yet here...his same church finds ways to put the gay community down and ban them from employment and membership in the church.

the united methodist is another such church. i attended a umc for over a year and while they accept gay money and open there church to some gay people they continue to vote from conference to conference that gays will not be accepted. on another point of the umc i find it interesting that the church will open its doors to you as long as you give them your money but when that money stops they will forget all about you. and in one case of a umc i was sent monthly statements telling me what i owed the church and they knew i was very ill at the time.

my daughters senior year at westland high school was a bust due to my life style. i had taken out an add in the fall program to commend her on her years at westland. one parent found it offensive that i signed it with my partners and my name and quickly edited the add out of the program. her reason was we didnt want to hurt your daughter. its funny and i laugh now since five years ago ive had over a dozen of those band members come up and congraduate me on me being honest and told me they too was gay and was afraid to come out back in school becouse of reactions from school mates and parents. my daughter while not understanding at the time has opened up alot and now shes very happy for my partner and i.

emploeement thats another touchy area. i worked at a local hospital for 15 years and moved up the ladder with hard work. my x wife also worked at the hospital. when she and i divorced thats when things became ugly. she found it to be her job to tell everyone about my life style. i thought it would get better if id transfor to another job at another hospital but did they not only know already about me they continued to let her harass me at work and home whereas i had a break down from lack of sleep and harassment. its funny how at the hospitals partys etc. id see the staff of that hospital point me out and one night i even had someone damage my car. when i filed a complaint with the hospital i was told i was getting what i deserved. yet its funny how i had a boss come on to me and right before he got married he quickly fired me saying he just couldnt see me with the hospital any more. was he afraid that his wife would find out. its truely funny now that i think about it...at least 80% of our married men have had a homosexual affair and still continue to do it behind their wifes backs.

family now thats another story. ive not been to a family christmas party, wedding, funeral, or event for over five years now, my sister states that she doesnt want her boys to catch it. my oldest brother says its a sin and gods going to let me burn in hell. another brother says his mother in law and wife feels we are the down fall of america and has asked me not to call. and yet another brother almost had me arrested for stealing furniture he had given me when i divorced and had me evicted from an apartment that he and i lived in up until the time he found out about me. another brother feels its a faze and the people im hanging around with. he even had me attend his church whereas they tried to brain wash me and change me striight and yet to this day he is a closeted homosexual. my father accepts some but still doesnt want me around. its funny how family members are the ones who hurt you most when you face the truth.

as for my life now...i have been with a partner now for over five years. we have shared good and bad times. his family while not accepting of our life style still accepts me and loves me. i spend all my holidays with them and accept them as my family now. my partner has had to put up with alot of health issues as i have a liver disease that has has its up and downs. at time the medicine has been very costly and yet he makes sure i get the medicine and see the doctor. he has stayed at my side threw many jobs as the employeement world still does discriminate against the gay world. we was commited to each other four years ago at a mcc church here in columbus and on that day i was and still am the most happy man around. love truely does happen in the gay world and straight people need to open up to it.

so with this i want to wish all a happy pride and let you know that while we all have some bad times we also have good. be who you are and be proud.