Let me tell you about the power I felt after I finally said "no".
It was a big moment.
I had been in the closet for a long time, and I had a lot of friends who were gay and in the closet. But I had never been openly gay.
I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror and staring at myself. I was a bit too upright, and I had some hair on my cheeks. I was wearing a tuxedo coat and a navy dress shirt. But I was in my underwear and my jeans were on the floor, and my face was covered in sweat.
I remember thinking: if I can't change, I'll leave.
The next morning I went to work, and the news of my affair was on every front.
It was in the paper that the young lady with whom I had been having my affair, the wife of my friend, was married.
The newspaper had a picture of me in my tuxedo coat with my girlfriend.
The newspaper ran a headline saying: "O.K., but America needs a Gay Men's Crusade."
And the newspaper ran a headline saying: "O.K., but America needs a Gay Men's Crusade."
There were other newspapers, and they carried the same pictures.
I remember thinking: If only I could get away from this little corner of America.
I decided to make my escape.