It indeed gets better

Bizarre and surreal are two of the more appropriate ways to describe Manchester Memorial High School’s Class of 2000’s 10th year reunion at Jillian’s in the Queen City on Saturday, Nov. 27. The evening, however, proved far more meaningful than simply catching up with old classmates.

To put it bluntly; high school sucked. “Yellow teeth,” “open ass” and even “faggot” were three of the more common taunts to which I was regularly subjected. My weight also provided additional fodder to those who took it upon themselves to torment me. High school proved an isolating, depressing and even hopeless experience. And June 7, 2000,--graduation day--was nothing short of a personal emancipation.

Fast forward more than a decade: I am a proud gay man, I live and work in New York City, I have lost more than 80 lbs., people know, (largely) appreciate and (even respect) my work and I have a wonderful boyfriend. I struggle with insecurities and a sense of inadequacy to this day, but I continue to turn the page on those who tormented me (and the hometown I maintain largely incubated them.)

The rash of LGBT teenager suicides over the last few months have provided an all too tragic reminder that bullying remains a serious problem in this country. I could have very well become one of those statistics, but life happily dictated otherwise. It indeed gets better. And last night’s reunion provided some welcome closure.



After graduation on June 7, 2000.



With an MMHS classmate at Jillian's on Nov. 27, 2010.

Winter in the Northeast

As the majority of the country continues to shiver under an Arctic air mass, perhaps it is appropriate to remind those who live in warmer climes they are indeed fortunate. Here are two videos from Boston and New Hampshire I shot over the weekend.



Snow covered roads greeted Paul and I as we drove through Manchester, New Hampshire, on Jan. 2.




Walking through Boston's South End on Jan. 2 after a quick trip to the supermarket.

The (newly equal) state of marriage in New Hampshire

Less than 48 hours after gays and lesbians began to legally marry in New Hampshire, state Rep. Bob Thompson [D-Manchester] and Michael Jacobsen tied the knot at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Manchester.

House Speaker Terie Norelli [D-Portsmouth] was among the dozens of people who braved blowing snow and increasingly treacherous roads to see Thompson and Jacobsen exchange vows.

"I was tearing up," she said at a reception at the Club Canadian on the city's West Side. "[I thought about] how proud I am to preside over a legislature that did the right thing."

New Hampshire lawmakers approved a bill last spring that allowed gays and lesbians to marry. Governor John Lynch signed it into law in June. And the Granite State is now the fifth state to allow marriage for same-sex couples.

As a native Granite Stater who grew up in the Queen City, I honestly never thought I would see the day a gay couple could legally marry in my hometown. I teared up inside the church last night as Bob and Michael exchanged vows and the Rev. David C. Boyer proudly proclaimed them married "under the authority invested in me by the state of New Hampshire." Their wedding was truly something to cherish. And I am thankful lawmakers in my home state stood up and did the right thing to allow committed and loving couples to enjoy the same recognition others in New Hampshire are able to enjoy through marriage.







The Rev. David C. Boyer presided over the wedding inside the Unitarian Universalist Church in Manchester.



Bob and Michael exchange their vows.



Paul and I inside the church.



The wedding cake.



The newlyweds cut their wedding cake.



Couples from across the Granite State dance in salute of Bob and Michael.



An arguably appropriate message inside Club Canadian.



Some of Bob and Michael's family and friends inside Club Canadian.



State Rep. Patrick Long [D-Manchester] wows wedding guests with some karaoke.



Leaving the Queen City late last night.

A personal validation: New Hampshire sheds its conservative reputation

I must say I was quite shocked to learn last Wednesday night students at Manchester Memorial High School, my alma mater, had chosen two lesbians as best couple for the yearbook. And Erica Morin and Shelby Wozmak suddenly provided the latest example of how my home state continues to shed its conservative reputation.

It is no secret I do not like the Queen City. Even as a teenager I wanted to leave my hometown and see what the rest of the world had to offer. That journey continues nearly five years after I moved to New York, but the current debate on marriage for same-sex couples, transgender rights and other progressive issues in Concord is frankly something I could not have even imagined a decade ago as I sat in class at MMHS.

My classmates routinely subjected their fellow gay students to sustained harassment, taunting and even violence in rare cases. I am ashamed to admit my silence simply enabled those who exhibited their homophobic tendencies to continue to do so. I came out in a small town in the Lakes Region after I completed my freshman year at the University of New Hampshire in 2001, but the legacy of those gay students who faced almost daily harassment in the halls of Memorial remains with me to this day.

One can argue I continue to make a difference through my reporting. I am able to share people's stories with my readers. I am also able to chronicle how a specific place, such as New Hampshire, continues to transform itself into an arguably better state in which its residents can live. And Erica and Shelby's story has proven to this cynical reporter his alma mater has begun to do the right thing and accept those who are different.