forgive the distraction...as I continue to come out.

[w8liftinglady]

...and sit alone in the gay-hating catacombs of Texas.
Thank you all for being here for me.
I'll never forget your ...honesty and kindness.

[RKP5637]

1. All your posts and discussions are great!!!

:hug: :yourock:

[w8liftinglady]

2. thank you...it's been a looooooonnnngggg journey!

[UpInArms]

3. we love you, dearest w8liftinglady

:grouphug:

[w8liftinglady]

9. you have made me feel so good!

:pals:

Time to step up to the plate!

[Vanje]

4. Heres to you

Red-State Sistah!

[w8liftinglady]

10. Thank you,sistah! I'll try to make you proud!

[ruggerson]

5. Thank you for helping to make this forum vibrant and interesting

You rock! And so does GLBT.

[w8liftinglady]

7. I've decided we will RULE the greatest page!

[Kurovski]

6. Holy tap shoes! You came out!? welcome aboard, mama!

:D :hug: :loveya: :thumbsup:

[w8liftinglady]

11. thank you,friend!

[myrna minx]

22. Admit it - you won the toaster!

:loveya: Welcome home w8liftinglady.

[Kurovski]

23. No, honest, I was as surprised and thrilled as can be.

Besides, I already gots a whole passel 'a toasters...in my closet.

[dsc]

8. I feel for you

Texas, yuck. You do make help this forum worthwhile.

[w8liftinglady]

12. thank you..there are A LOT of us in Texas...

although Perry would like you to think otherwise.....

[stevenleser]

13. Recommend moving to my neighborhood in Astoria, NY. We love our LGBT neighbors...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCnHWas3HQ

:-)

[w8liftinglady]

14. aw,man- I'm a paisan...would fit right in!

[stevenleser]

15. It's really a great place too. Here is a small writeup from the Gay NYC Guide

Queens

After Brooklyn, Queens has the outer boroughs' most visible lesbian and gay population. It's home to more gay bars than any borough but Manhattan and also has a large queer African-American and Latino population. Most of the gay scene is centered around Jackson Heights, but you'll also find some noteworthy restaurants and businesses in increasingly trendy Astoria and Long Island City.
-----------------------

I love living here precisely because of the diversity.

[w8liftinglady]

16. dang! part of me wants to leave when my kids leave home...

part of me wants to stay here for the gay population that lives here
It's tough when you have kids.

[stevenleser]

17. I hear you. Let me know if you want to make a trip up. Ill happily show people around!

I love my town!

[Zorra]

18. Distractions like this are so very welcome and wonderful.

And so are you, sister! We're here for you.

[Scottybeamer70]

19. HUGSSSSSSSSSSSS

:yourock:

[pinto]

20. Have really appreciated your posts, w8liftinglady...

I don't post much, but read a whole hell of a lot. Hang in there. :hi:

[cate94]

21. Your posts are great!

Thanks for all the effort!
I wish you lived in a more welcoming place. Texas would be a hard state to live in right now.

:hug:

[William769]

24. You are not alone in spirit.

:hug:

[Billy Burnett]

25. "The gay-hating catacombs of Texas"

More like the self-hating catacombs of Texas. ;)

For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction!

Some of the greatest gay clubs I've ever played were in Texas.

Congrats on being born again. lol :hug:

[noiretextatique]

26. one of my texan cousins just posted on facebook

about the wonders of her loving god, who has the ability to "cure" gay people. i asked her to pray to her god for tolerance and a healing for her arrogance.
:hug: from oakland, ca :hi:

[w8liftinglady]

27. Oy... see what Texas has to offer?

well..Oak Lawn in Dallas is a great GLBT neighborhood.

[HillWilliam]

30. I've lived in Austin twice

loved it and loved living life as "me". I've not lived in Houston, but I hear it's pretty blue. I've visited it quite a few times. My partner and I are now back in my home state of NC, living WAY out in the sticks. When we bought our mini-farm, we were scared a little we'd bought into a scene from Deliverance. Not so: Caswell County is blue as hell. Our neighbors love us and we're thrilled. We may be way out in the sticks, but we *love* it here.

[bigwillq]

28. ....

:hug:

[HillWilliam]

29. Love you, dear

and always love reading you. Wherever your journey takes you, HillbillyBob and I still walk with you.
:hug:

[Jamastiene]

31. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

:hug: anyway. I was once where you are now. Physically (geographically may be a better word), I still live in my own little overly homophobic hometown, but I have found that not everyone even in my little Bible Belt town is a hatemonger. Before the internet, I did not know that.

It has changed my world. It means I don't have to move to be happy. I have finally found the neighborhood of my dreams and the home of my dreams (although most people would consider my little home in the jungle a hovel in the jungle). I don't care what they think. I got video of a rabbit and a squirrel having a picnic together the other day, right out my window near the edge of the jungle. I love it here. I'm finally "home."

The internet helps you meet people and make friends despite being trapped in a gay hating area of the country. Believe it or not, even down here in the Bible Belt, there are people who do not hate GLBT people. I've met some people by that six degrees of separation theory. I don't know how it happened, but I've managed to meet people in my own area through the internet who are not like the other vast majority here.

Best of luck working through the minefield that is coming out in red state hell. You'll eventually get there. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just trudge through it and you can find happiness in the future.