Yesterday my cousin Tim Tipton sent me a message that I should post my and Bill's picture to the new Facebook website "Gay Marriage U.S.A." I thought "Why not?" Bill and I have been together a long time (48 years) and why not show others that it is possible to stay with the same person you love even if you don't have the many legal and financial benefits of marriage just like heterosexuals have? Yes indeed, "Why not?"
Imagine my surprise this morning when Cousin Tim calls me and asks me if I saw Facebook this morning. As a matter of fact when he called, I was just turning on my computer to check my e-mail and perhaps to update my blog about my morning visit to have an ultra-sound. Well guess what folks? My "little posting" of the Before and After picture of me and Bill went viral on Facebook!
My first thought was "OMG! Bill's going to kill me!" Bill is of the Old School of Thought that things like gay should be kept a secret and not discussed in public or polite society. Believe me folks, I've been working on him for many years to convince him that it is ALL RIGHT to be open about his gayness and our relationship. We have had many a battle over my openness and his desire to stay in the closet so as not to "offend anyone." It's only been the last couple of hears that Bill has stuck his big toe and finally the rest of his feet out of his self-imposed closet. I think the way I won him over to my way of thinking was convincing him that many people just don't care that we live together. They are more concerned about their own lives than to waste their time worrying about those two old men who live next door to them who always have those fabulous flowers out in the driveway (I just put in winter pansies yesterday folks!)
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| Winter Pansies in driveway |
Bill's down in his room now reading the over 27,000 (so far) comments on our Facebook photos. That should keep him busy the rest of the afternoon.
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| Bill reading FB comments on his iPad a few minutes ago |
Never in our lifetimes did we ever think we could live openly as a gay couple let alone get married....for real. Nothing against civil unions and individual states legalizing gay marriages, all steps in the right direction but to us, the only thing that matters is getting married for real and that means same sex marriage recognized on the Federal level with all the legal and financial protections that are now applied only to heterosexual married couples.
Our goal is to be married on our 50th anniversary with is in July of 2014. At that time I will be 73 years old and Bill will be 86 years old. Two old guys, two old GAY GUYS but not too old to get married.
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| Me and Bill 1978 |
