Author: jpadkins

#30DaysofPride Day 18

My little sister posted this the other day and I swear it felt like someone punched me in the gut. It was hard to breathe. It brought me back to after my brain surgery in 1997. Looking back, it was probably the best thing that ever happened for me because had I not had the…
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#30DaysofPride

I took a couple of days off for some well-being issues. The heat was really getting to me on the beach and I moved over to a campground so I could plugin and get some air. Being in the campground is a whole different experience.  While on the beach people were constantly driving by but really it…
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#30DaysofPride Day 14

I remember this instance when I was new to the whole gay thing when I was at the original Backstreet (there have now been a few different iterations) with my brother. I had only been to the club a couple times at this point, but it was quickly becoming my favorite place There was something…
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#30DaysofPride Day 13

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando reminding us again for the whole idea behind PRIDE celebrations to begin with – overcoming adversary so that you can be you! For those who don’t know about the Pulse shooting, an Islamic terrorist walked in and shot up the LGPTQ+ club killing 49…
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#30DaysofPride Day 12

When it comes to a legacy that I am leaving it would be for my nieces, nephews, and other relatives to be able to live their truth no matter what that looks like. A shocking number of my nieces are somewhere on the rainbow (lesbian, bi, or non-binary) and have the whole gambit throughout the…
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#30DaysofPride Day 11

I have only had one great love of my life so far. Sure, I have dated many, I even had a ceremony in West Palm Beach in a desperate attempt to keep my then-boyfriend DJ. But the one that will always linger is Edward. We met in a little bar that all my friends worked…
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#30DaysofPride Day 10

I talked about how there are  so many times you have to come out yesterday, but there is always the first. The first person I admitted it to shockingly wasn’t the guy I was having sex with, but my friend Jeska. We were super close friends prone to hours-long conversations on the phone. I am…
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#30DaysofPride Day 9

As I have gotten older, being gay has less to do with the rainbow flags and pride celebrations and more about just being comfortable in my skin. You don’t just come out once. There are a ton of little instances. The most recent that I can remember was at the hotel bar in Orlando. Gabbie…
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#30DaysofPride Day 8

When talking about PRIDE we mustn’t leave out the Pride celebrations! My very first one, I went over to Windsor with a couple of other people from One X. We got lost and ended up somehow marching in the parade carrying the big pride flag. I am telling you, you can’t make this up! Pride…
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#30DaysofPride Day 7

Ok yes, I missed yesterday, and I apologize that you didn’t have anything witty or wild or inspiring from me. I took yesterday to get some stuff done for me around the house and even went and blew some folks away with a song or two. I love when I can silence a bar. (And…
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