ABSTRACT
I was b o rn in N icaragua. A fter m y p arents d ivorced w h en I w as fo u r o r five, I grew up in M assach u setts. A ll th e w ay back in th ird grade, I c o u ld n ’t w ait to play hou se, play daddy, and p u t th e kids to bed, so I co u ld give m o th e r a
good n ig h t kiss. A t fifteen , I m e t a lov er w h o was tw en ty , and w e stayed to g e th
er for n in e years. I to ld m y fam ily I was gay w h e n I w as fifteen d u rin g
T h an k sg iv in g d in n er. M y tim in g was priceless. A t th a t tim e, m y m o th e r w en t
fro m o n e side to th e o th e r . O n e m in u te sh e was te llin g m y g ra n d m o th e r ,
“Keep an eye on K arla ’cau se sh e ’s a good lo o k in g w o m a n , and th e boys w ill be
a fter h e r .” T h e n e x t was, “Keep an eye on K arla becau se sh e has a lo t o f m ale
tend encies , and I o n ly see h e r h a n g in g o u t w ith w o m e n .”
