I don't crack the mic and talk about it much, because frankly I know the music is the star of the show. I'm just here to keep the trains on time, so to speak; and to interact with you so I know what songs you're digging and to do my best to hook you up with cool swag like concert tickets, money and trips and stuff.
So it may surprise you to learn I'm gay.
It's National Coming Out Day; if you're gay, you can confide that in me, if no one else.
I stopped apologizing for surprising people with this revelation a few years ago because I don't feel like it's something I need to apologize for, if I'm being honest. I'm also fortunate in that I never felt the need to apologize to those I love for being gay. It's not that easy for everyone, though, and if my penning this blog post makes it just a little bit easier for the next generation of LGBTQ youth, then I'm only too glad to take the heat from anyone who's disappointed in my revealing this today.
Anyone outraged can go fly a kite. A big ol' rainbow-colored kite.
I came out to my Dad - the last person I'd ENVISIONED ever telling in my family - when I was 23. He wound up being the first loved one I told, oddly enough. Years of deer hunting trips and rooting on our favorite baseball and football teams, and weekends and afternoons under the hood of cars aren't supposed to net a father a gay son, and my Dad did all of that with me, and it didn't change anything about me, through no fault of his own. I still root on the Braves, the Falcons and the Dawgs, and I still have the inclination to grab a toolbox and wrench set and wanna fix it myself instead of paying four prices to have someone else do what I'm capable of.
And I'm still gay.
I always laugh when someone makes an insinuation that I, my husband, or someone else who's gay, is "soft," or "weak." Growing up gay - particularly in the south in my day - isn't for the soft or weak. Constant fear for your job isn't for the soft or weak, either, and it's hard to believe, in 2017, that it's still possible to lose your job for just that reason in at least 28 states again thanks to a very recent Department of Justice decision. In short, being gay isn't for the soft or weak; but it's getting better every day, current political climate be damned
Happy Coming Out Day, America. We're here ... and you know the rest. I'm glad the majority of the country's not only gotten used to it, but come to realize we're all equal.
Anyone who disagrees ... it's a nice day for kite flying. Go.