fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
[Originally published in February 2012.] When I was about 13 I had to endure a week at Reverend Schlep’s Summer Camp for Men and Boys. It’s a right of passage in my family. My grandfather took my father. My father took my older brothers Mark and Karl, Jr., when they reached the right age. Now…
Tim Schaefer married his boyfriend in 2007. He gave his father, United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer, a choice: Will you officiate at the wedding? Tim said that he didn’t want to put his father in a hard position, but at the same time, he thought it would seem disrespectful if he didn’t ask. So he…
[Ed.’s Note: This piece was first published in August, 2012. It is loosely inspired by real events.] Mrs. Cobb stood in the classroom doorway during recess watching her flock. Two of her colleagues stood by an adjacent classroom talking, their voices deliberately hushed. Mrs. Cobb paid no attention to them, nor did she take their…
Shirley and Patty were invited to attend a local revival to give a presentation on the intersection of African-Americans, gays, and the black church. They asked me to come, too, and I said yes, though I had my reservations. Unlike Shirley or Patty, or their friend Grace who they also asked to come, I was…
I have a jingle going through my head that may or may not be from an old Boy Scouts ad. It went something like, “Join the Boy Scouts of America Today, and together we can form a better USA!” A manly male chorus sang it a cappella, with an echo, giving it an almost hymn-like…
Bernard kept a cutout newspaper article folded and stuffed in his wallet. The article’s story went like this: A middle-aged man with mottled skin and ratty clothes pushed his way through the throngs entering and exiting St. Peter’s Square until he stood in a fairly obscure spot between a street vendor and traffic sign just…
When I was about 13 I had to endure a week at Reverend Schlep’s Summer Camp for Men and Boys. It’s a right of passage in my family. My grandfather took my father. My father took my older brothers Mark and Karl, Jr., when they reached the right age. Now it was my turn. If…
I am not a Christian, but I will gladly say Merry Christmas. I am not a Muslim, but I will gladly say Ramadan Mubarak. I am not a Hindu or a Jain or a Sikh, but I will gladly say Happy Diwali. I am not a Jew, but I will gladly say Happy Hanukkah. I…
