What I want for X-Mas.......

I spent my teen years in New York during the eighties and one of my first jobs was working at Todaro Bros on Second Avenue.  I had not been exposed to such delicacies in my 16 yrs of life in the Boogie Down Bronx! The experience of working in a gourmet food store and learning as well as tasting all of those fascinating flavors made me into the self-proclaimed foodie I am today ....Thanks, Lou & Phil!  Anyways.......

During my time at Todaro's, I became good friends with a young man named Tony.
Tony was my first openly gay friend.  You see, if I had gay friends before I certainly was not informed of their...you know...gayness.(is that a word?)  I did know of a few gay men back at the block but Tony was different.  Tony was my friend.  We would just have a blast whenever we were together we would frequent lots of gay bars & clubs but the greatest impact was made by The Monster.  Talk about a mixed crowd!  When you walk into the monster the beautiful piano bar draws you in and the lounge atmosphere keeps you there.  Once you've had a couple of drinks while socializing with an array of personalities the urge to dance & express comes over you.  The winding staircase takes you beneath the city to an underground night club where the music, vibe and everything is just right!  Anyways, I digress, the point is that it was Tony that opened up a wonderful world of new people.  People that weren't afraid of who they were even though people around them tried to make them feel inferior.  My relationship with Tony developed me into the accepting person I am today.

I may be straight but I am NOT narrow. 

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like the Repeal of DADT.  Is that asking too much??

    Bid to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask’ Law Draws Support in Senate  
Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Advances
Huffington Post DADT Entire Page
DADT Repeal Act 2010 (How They Voted)