As a boy, I grew up in a small coastal community in New England. It had a nice snug little harbor filled with lobster boats, sailboats and a few small yachts. Today, it is filled mostly with pleasure craft. The town was, for most of the year, mostly populated with working class people. During the summer months, we had an influx of what my Dad called “summer complaints”, people who “summered over”, and tourists. Once Labor Day passed, the town went back to its quiet soothing self.
My neighborhood was a nice friendly place. Some of my neighbors were first generation immigrants and used to call to their kids in Italian. These families were hard working folks: barbers, bus drivers, auto mechanics and insurance salesmen.
I remember our house looked like it was in need of some fresh paint as did most of the other homes nearby. My Dad bought our house soon after my brother was born. He worked multiple jobs to make ends meet with little left over for expensive house paint. This was soon after the end of World War II and the preceding depression. I guess you could say we were poor, although my Dad never spoke of it. As soon as I was old enough to attend school full time my mother went to work in an effort to improve our standard of living. Gradually things improved including the appearance of our house.
I spent most of my summers and free time with my brother and sister and playing with my neighborhood friends. As I grew older I found myself home alone during most of the summer when my sister found work raking blue berries and my brother had left home.
When I said I played with my neighborhood friends, what I should have said was "friend", usually the boy next door…..my friend David
About Me
- Adon
- New England, United States
- Having been unable to break my silence about being gay or bisexual due to living in a conservative New England community, and being an active Mormon as well as being married to a wonderful woman, I will try to do so here. This is the story of parts my life, beginning when I was a young teenage boy. I have learned that being gay or bisexual can, in ways, be a lonely life. I was not actually alone, but many times it felt like I was. As a boy, I thrilled at the discoveries that I had made about my body and my physical and emotional attractions. I despaired when I realized I couldn't tell anyone. There were times when things didn't end well. There were some sad and traumatic experiences. But, there were also many joyful and wonderful life experiences that I wouldn’t have had if I had given in to discouragement along the way. I believe there is joy in living even with the challenges along the way. Be aware that I have been honest and to some degree explicit in my boyish descriptions of my budding sexual awareness. What I have written is what I felt, thought and experienced at the time. These particular posts are marked with a double star **.
2 comments:
Sounds like a nice place to grow up. And you had David next door.
It sounds like a very pleasant existence. In hindsight you can see things that could have been better, but if you were at all like me you probably didn't realize it at the time.
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