A Gay Ol' Time with the Cousins!

I guess it's true when they say "misery loves company" because it can be really lonely being the only one hated in the family.  I sometimes wish that I had a gay cousin or aunt or even a family pet to share my sorrows with.  You know, to feel my pain and understand what I'm going through.  Unfortunately, I am the only black sheep in my family so there's no sympathy coming my way.  Well, I guess I'm not the only black sheep, but I'm the only gay black sheep, because let's face it, even those who've gone to jail for having a meth lab in their kitchen are held in higher esteem than I am.

Brian, however, is lucky.  He has a gay cousin on each side of the family.  On the Barrus side is his cousin Patrick, a really fun guy who lives in Logan and who is currently preparing to backpack across Europe.  He's seriously cool.  He's come down to visit us several times recently, the most recent visit being on Thursday night.  He and his friend Ellen were in town and they came over after Brian's company party.  We stayed up all night discussing politics and books and movies, and it was refreshing to talk with people of similar viewpoints.  I'm really grateful to know Patrick.

On the Kesler side is Brian's cousin Brett.  We recently discovered that Brett was even in the area (he had been living in Washington) when we went to the Bath and Body Works next door to the Zales I work at.  Who knew we were work neighbors?  I decided that it would be cool to get to know Brett, so Brian and I took him out to dinner and a movie on Friday night.  We ate at Yamato's and while I struggled with my chopsticks, we got to know that Brett writes music, plays the piano and is very funny.  Later we killed some time at Barnes & Noble before catching the late show of the new Steven Spielberg movie War Horse, which was surprisingly better than I thought it would be.  We all had a great time and hope to get together again soon.

With Patrick and Brett, we feel like we have something in common that binds us together.  We understand what it's like to be misunderstood and judged.  We can assure one another that everything will be okay and that life is still worth living.  In short, we can just be ourselves and have a gay ol' time!

And to those out there reading this, just remember that there is more to sheep than the color of their wool.  Take the time to notice.