When I was about 15, a neighbor went to Los Angeles on vacation, and she brought us back a copy of the LA Times as a souvenir. I thought that was a pretty cool gift since I had never been to a large city.
This was in the early ’80s. LGBTs were still deep in the closet. I had known I was gay for several years by this point, but I had never told anyone, and I had never met an out gay person. However, I was aware of gay ghettos in large metro areas like LA. I had recently seen American Gigolo, which had given me my first glimpse into a gay bar. I knew the film was set in and around Los Angeles, so I scoured that paper looking for any telltale signs of gay life in the city.
I found what I was looking for in the classifieds. It was an ad for an apartment. The special thing about this apartment was that it was for a gay man or a gay couple. All the apartments in the building were for gay guys. Wow!
This set my imagination on fire, and I could feel the hope swelling inside me. Imagine an entire apartment building filled with gay men! I was sure they’d all look like Richard Gere or the cute blond boy. (If you remember the film, you know who I’m talking about.) I immediately started dreaming of moving to LA and living in such an apartment building. I was sure we’d all be the best of buddies and hot, friendly sex would always be available. It would be like heaven.
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