Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

 

Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

Noel Laflin

10-11-20

 

Every day, nowadays, is something-or-other National Something Day. 

Yesterday, for example, it was National Cake Decorating Day.

Tomorrow is National Kick Butt Day.

Today you can celebrate National Sausage Pizza Day, Clergy Appreciation Day – started by Hallmark cards, of course – and last, but by no means least, National Coming Out Day.

I was just reading some stats which concluded that 9.5 percent of today’s youth, between the ages of 13-17, identify as LGBTQ, an astonishing number to me.  Shoot, when I fell into that age category – twenty years before the first National Coming Out Day was first celebrated - I thought gay meant happy – such were the times and my lack of street lingo, let alone sexual experience.  But I had an inkling about what I might be back then, even if I didn’t have a word for it, other than queer. And queer was the last thing you wanted to be as a teenager in the 1960’s.

But by the mid ‘70’s, I had finally come out to myself, and that was a fine start. Eventually, that led to discussions with family and straight friends – all of which went really well, looking back on it.

That article I alluded to earlier mentions that coming out is not a one shot deal – but rather a series of coming out scenarios – sometimes lasting for years. And for some folks – both young and old alike – it just doesn’t ever happen at all.  Sometimes that’s by choice, which is fine, and sometimes because of perceived persecution or violence brought upon them if they did so, which is not fine.  But that’s just the way it is unfortunately.

My life has been a cakewalk in comparison to the folks who can’t come out.  I was fortunate to have a loving family and enlightened straight friends - although I once had an employer who wasn’t so enlightened by my acknowledgement of being gay, and it cost me that job.  But life, by way of a straight friend, provided me a better job a short time later, so there is that. And besides, that organization that fired me is now in bankruptcy due to their antiquated way of thinking and will most likely just shrivel up and die any day now. So, there is that too.  Ain't karma a bitch sometimes ...

And so, this October 11, 2020, you can either celebrate your sausage pizza or your pastor – I’ll take the pizza, by the way.  Or maybe for some, they can step out of the closet instead, if so inclined.

And if so inclined to take that first step, close that closet door firmly behind you.

The world has a much more colorful wardrobe just waiting for you to try on. In fact, there’s damn near a rainbow of colors from which to choose.