I grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago in the 1950’s and being gay was not an option. You were barely deemed to be sexual, let alone gay! My mother died when I was ten, but I remember her telling me never to be afraid of who I am. I had no idea what she was talking about then, but today I suspect she recognized my sexuality would one day result in some form of marginalization. She was right. In 1990, forty-five years after I was born, with the help of a loving priest coun