The following is reposted from the South Florida Gay News and was written by Tana Velen
Man in Uniform
Openly gay firefighter breaks stereotypes
Are you a man who thinks sports are boring, loves the color pink, or dresses like Cher at the Oscars on Saturday nights? Well then, you must be gay. Those are the rules, right? And if you can’t slide your feminine figure into those stereotypes whelp, you must be straight!
Even at a college which generally isn’t know for being LGBT friendly, they still have a strong LGBT group of students. These students have created a great video to let others know it gets better.
Jonathan is a X-Ray and MRI Tech at a hospital in South Florida. He has had a great experience being openly gay and working in the healthcare industry and would like to encourage others to do the same.
Bear To Make A Difference Fundraiser
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending “Bear to Make a Difference” in Denver Colorado. This is a fundraising event held annually for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. This year marked the events tenth anniversary, drawing a record attendance of 650 people.
The following is reposted from the Huffington Post Gay Voices and was written by Judy Shepard
October is very hard for me.
It’s not that the early autumn in Wyoming isn’t beautiful. If you haven’t experienced the crisp air as the nights come earlier each day, or the last few cricket chirps of the season that follow the brilliant orange sunsets, you can’t really know the peaceful, quiet contemplation this time of year brings those few of us fortunate to make our homes here.
Like most others have said, I always knew that I was different from the other boys. I remember having my first crush on a boy when I was in 3rd grade. He was my best friend at the time and I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but I knew that I liked him more than my other friends. We were together all of time, until his family moved away and that was the end of that.
Transitions
Transitions is the name of the newsletter which I have been receiving at work the last few weeks. This is a new newsletter which we are only receiving temporarily. The reason for the newsletter? After 50 plus years, the fire department which I have worked for my entire career is going on its last call.
Darran was a police officer until receiving a career ending injury while on duty. He now teaches at a police academy and is a fraud investigator with a major U.S. bank.
Bryan is a successful realtor in South Florida. He is also heavily involved in his local church.
For me, personally, I always knew I was “different” from everyone else. From an early age, I really was unable to put my finger on just what that difference was. Growing up, I lived in a generally accepting, “talk about anything” kind of household. I had a very normal childhood including two great parents, a solid family, and a nice array of friends. Fortunately, this laid the groundwork for me to be able to comfortably determine what my “difference” was.
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