Our roles as community elders

[+ The Big Guy]

@Charlie thank you for this post.  I enjoyed reading about your experiences.  

[CheckCar]

20 hours ago, Charlie said:

I guess I qualify as a gay elder, since I came out when Dwight Eisenhower was President. In my 20s, I was active in the small, pre-Stonewall gay rights organizations, and I took part in the first gay picketing of Independence Hall in 1965. I was living with my second partner a few blocks from the Stonewall the night of the riot. In my 30s, I was active in the new post-Stonewall national gay rights organizations, and carried the flag at the head of a Gay Pride parade during the Bi-Centennial in 1976. I also taught the first gay literature course ever offered at my college. In my 40s, I was active as a volunteer in AIDS organizations, and ran an AIDS information hotline. By my 50s, my energies were starting to flag, and I turned to professional and family responsibilities. In my 60's and 70s, my contributions to gay life were mostly financial.

Thank you so much for sharing this! Your post makes me wonder if this site should have a “memoir” forum where we can collect our own oral histories. You CLEARLY have historical memories that need to be documented!

[+ Charlie]

2 hours ago, CheckCar said:

Thank you so much for sharing this! Your post makes me wonder if this site should have a “memoir” forum where we can collect our own oral histories. You CLEARLY have historical memories that need to be documented!

I have already written an unexpurgated memoir of my first thirty years. Unfortunately, my lawyer recommends that it not be available until I am safely in the grave, along with everyone named in it.

[+ nycman]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

I have already written an unexpurgated memoir of my first thirty years. Unfortunately, my lawyer recommends that it not be available until I am safely in the grave, along with everyone named in it.

Are we allowed to buy "advanced" copies….

Ok, maybe just a few "excerpts"….

Ok, maybe just one scandalous name?

Edited July 1, 2022 by nycman

[+ Charlie]

10 minutes ago, nycman said:

Are we allowed to buy "advanced" copies….

Ok, maybe just a few "excerpts"….

Ok, maybe just one scandalous name?

An occasional excerpt, with sections blacked out.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Charlie

[+ nycman]

5 hours ago, Charlie said:

An occasional excerpt, with sections blacked out.

I’ve still got my fingers crossed for a blind mention as "the cute young whore on Lombard".