A Road Trip to Love

Last week I had something happen to me that I haven’t experienced before. A young man sat at my bar. I immediately felt his energy and walked over. He seemed young, so I asked for his ID. He also seemed very nervous and uncomfortable. Something inside told me to make small talk to help put him at ease. His ID was from Colombia, so I joked with him about the recent Miss Universe pageant. I asked if he lived in Los Angeles or was just visiting. He said he was visiting his mothe

“Uncle Chris, is she your girlfriend?” Suddenly I was a teen again. I felt like I did before I was out of the closet and someone would bring up the word “gay.” I could feel the hair on my neck rise, the color burn into my cheeks and the knot in my stomach. How is it that I, who have been out of the closet for 10 years, who’s life is dedicated to LGBT advocacy work, an individual who mentors gay youth and prides himself on visibility, who was in fact visiting Arizona to give a