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Haha. You’re my people. For real.

I wish the mods would stop removing comments and instead refute them.

Would be more helpful and productive.

Shit, I’d put my money on it’s actually him.

I know! Like, what do they think this guy is? A queer?

I struggled with my back being numb and tingly for 3 years over a pair of shoes wearing like this. Nearly drove me insane and a decade later I still have issues from time to time.

I have worked a front facing customer service job in 7 locations over 80 miles of road for 24 years. I have had people walk up to me and say, “This is my best friend angryseal! He helped me get through my divorce with Steve.” and I have no clue who they are. My wife hates going shopping with me because people are running up and giving me hugs everywhere we go and then keeping me still talking for an hour.

It’s a very poor area for the most part and I’ve talked a lot of people through a lot of shit over the years, just standing there like a bartender in a Bible Belt area with no bars. I guess it makes sense that some people have developed friendly and fond feelings for me. It’s just been so many people that I can’t keep up with them all. I’m an extreme introvert with the personality and friendliness of an extreme extrovert, so that has made life exhausting for me at times, but I love people and care what they’re going through.

I’ve had people pop in during hard times in their lives and then come by daily to talk for hours for a few months. I guess I’m just good at coming up with what folks need to hear in those times.

There’s a guy who promises me that he’s going to come to town and shoot me one day because I convinced his wife it was ok to leave when he blacked her entire face. He likes to periodically remind me, “When I come back down there I’m gonna kill you bud. You took everything from me. My wife got on drugs because of you. She’d still be sober if she’d stayed with me.” I remind him each time that his wife left because he blacked her face and that she wouldn’t have left and ended up on drugs if he hadn’t, you know, blacked her face. I always wish him well and hope he doesn’t kill me one day.

I can’t imagine having a front facing job where the entire country knows who you are, and half of them love you religiously.

I can’t stand Donald Trump, but I’d be in a mental hospital right now if I were him. Same goes for any world leader I guess. I can’t imagine remembering anyone outside of my family in that situation.

It’s a recent photo (as in the last 20 years), photographer just prefers black and white.

Still rad though.

I’m so glad he did.

I knew two openly gay men when I was growing up. Only two. The world was so unkind to them for so long. They were the butt of every joke. I knew their names before I knew them.

The one man had the double whammy of being black and gay in a rural coal mining town. He was a teacher, and he had to deal with parents fighting to have their kids taken out of his class every year, afraid the “spirit” would get in their kids.

About 10 years ago I was at my lowest point. A drug addict without a dime to my name. My car broke down, so I borrowed my mom’s car. It broke down the first day. This man heard me crying to my mom on the phone at her job and asked to speak to me. He said, “You get you a ride down here and I’ll let you use my van. You keep it as long as you need it.”

I drove his giant Ford van around for more than 4 months. It was so badass, had the old CRT and N64 ports in the back. I put a console in there for him and gave him a pile of games. He was always hauling the local poor folks around to the grocery store and appointments and things. Every time I seen him after that he had folks playing Mario Kart in the van haha.

Everyone had comments too. “Ooooh. What did you do to get that van?” I’d always fire back, “let me drive your car and I’ll show you.” Haha

This is the part I try so hard to communicate to bigots when they go on about how gayness is just in fashion these days.

I’ll pass them this article. That straight world they remember so fondly existed because they pushed men like this into the closet with their bigotry.

They’ll probably say something like, “Well they flaunt it and shove it in my face now.”

I wish the world would just be cool.

My older kids went through a phase where they were just randomly saying “butt” for like a year. By the end of it I couldn’t stand my own ass.

“Hey dad, dad, DAD!”

“What is it kiddo?”

“Butts! Ahahahahaha. Just picture it, crack down the middle, poopin’, just hanging out being a butt.”

When I realized I hadn’t heard the word “butt” for a few months, my sigh of relief could have changed the orbit of the planet.

Nuh uh. I swored on the bi-bull three times. That ain’t in there. I never heard my preacher say that and all he ever talked about was the bi-bull.

Jesus, I am propelled everywhere I go by farts. Makes the kids laugh so I guess I’ll be alright.

No, no, no! You got it all wrong. It’s the kiiiiiiiids.

Gettysburg, wow. (Improvise me boy. Remember, Robert E. Lee not in favor)

Poor little feller. I’m glad you tode eem what was what. You’re good fer lookin out fer the poor little feller.

I’m signed up to his mailing list for fun. He described it as the darkest day in American history. I’d say roughly half of the country agrees with that assessment.

Saaaad.

I can’t believe it’s been a year. Damn. I really didn’t think I’d make it. I half worried I’d go crawling back.

My last two comments, one year ago were, “Memmy for Lemmy. Been happy all day.” (though voyager is my app these days) and, “Thank you. I already love it. I hope this is where all of the old heads go.”

That was a response to my introduction to lemmy.world.

I meant it when I said I was leaving. I wasn’t 100% sure I could make it after using Reddit for so long, but here I am.

Exxxxactly