My GLBT family: How did you meet your significant other?

[Rowdyboy]

4. Today is my guys 63 birthday....we met 23 years ago (3/7/89) on a Monday night at the only gay bar

in Jackson Mississippi. He was 39, I was 35; it was his first night out as on openly gay man after a somewhat troubled 18 year marriage (they're still close friends-we spent Christmas with them).

I had moved to Jackson the previous year because I was sick of being alone in rural Mississippi. At least Jackson had a gay bar and it quickly became my "Cheers". After a year I was pretty depressed, pretty much convinced that I would end up alone. I overheard a conversation where this guy made a disparaging remark about George Bush and that caught my attention (an astonishing number of gay men in Mississippi are conservative Republicans-its sickening the crap they take in order to 'fit in&quot . He was cute, 5'9" with salt and pepper hair and a mustache. I zeroed in and kissed him before he left the bar (his two gay "escorts" were scandalized!

The next night we had dinner at my trailer-beef stir fry. One thing led to another.

Now we live a wonderful old home in a historic district with a Jack Russell, two yard cats (their choice not ours), a garden with 49 heirloom tomato pants, and a good friend on the city council. We hosted last years neighborhood adult Halloween and will probably do it again this year. We're both retired, spend all of our time together and somehow make it work. At the risk of rubbing it in, life is good.

Not perfect though. I found out 14 years ago that I was HIV positive (he isn't-it happened before we met). We're very lucky that my insurance keeps costs within reason-at least so far.

Every morning I wake up happy because I'm the outside of the "spoon". Every night I go to bed and hope that I get one more day with him. He's the best friend I've ever had and he smells good too....

I know it doesn't happen often but just know that it can happen. It happened to me...