How Working Undercover Taught My Dad About Being Gay (+)
by: popsiclestand
Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 11:54:43 AM EDT
http://pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7911(Walking in another person's shoes is a strong motivation toward tolerance. - promoted by Julien Sharp)
The title may be a little misleading. It sounds like the intro to some bad noir detective novel. I guarantee you, it's not that.
My father is a very interesting man who has lived a very interesting life. He grew up in a little town called Fuquay, NC. He went into the Airforce when he was very young. He's a veteran, but I've never actually been interested enough in his armed services past to ask him any of the details. He went from the military to working as a bailbondsman, then as a private detective doing undercover work, then working at the Department of Juvenile Corrections (where he met my mom), then into business for himself making hoses and parts for the Department of Defense, then onto being a computer network engineer. The latest job will probably be his last change of careers, mainly because he loves what he does...and he's, sadly, getting older.
As I stated in another diary, my father was a rock of support during the hard time of coming out for me. We often talk about issues affecting gay people. I remember that his only worry about me being a lesbian was that I was becoming another type of "minority" on top of being a woman and being black. He said he worried for my safety and hated the fight I would have to endure to get respect in this world. Beyond that, he was glad that I was living truthfully.
