Pass the Tissues, I've Got Issues

In twenty-six years sober and active in AA, I've never once told my story. That's because I'm a gay male alcoholic. In the beginning it was painful to have to try to talk around what really happened. Others could talk about wives, husbands, boyfriends, and girlfriends, but talk about same-sex relations was taboo. In fact, when the first gay group started here in Springfield, announcements about it were greeted with uproarious laughter. Speakers routinely told jokes about queers and fairies and it was considered okay.