Comments on: I'm from Driftwood.

I'm from Driftwood.

piratebowling — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:09:42 -0800

Part short story forum, part attempt to reach out to isolated teens struggling with their sexuality. I'm from Driftwood; true stories by gay people all over.

By: lunit

lunit — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:00:29 -0800

This is great. Thanks.

By: jammy

jammy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:06:49 -0800

wow, what a great project - thanks much for this! (this story, in particular, was moving and poignant - made me cry, sap that i am)

By: greekphilosophy

greekphilosophy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:41:39 -0800

Thanks, piratebowling. I'm from Galveston, TX.

By: umbú

umbú — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:50:45 -0800

The "I'm from Clear Lake. But my dog is from Leander. I was able to adopt her, I'm pretty sure, only because I'm gay" post is nicely done. He sneaks up on you with his insights.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:53:26 -0800

Thanks for this post. I want to take a closer look at the stories. I'm from Pasadena, CA.

By: Smarson

Smarson — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:37:52 -0800

I'm with janmmy - the "I'm From Glasgow" one got me good. If I'm this sappy at 7:30am, then pretty much I'm gonna be useless the rest of the day.

By: cider

cider — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:59:12 -0800

What a great site -- I really enjoyed reading these stories. Thank you!

By: DigDub

DigDub — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:17:17 -0800

Very well thought out pieces. ::sigh:: if only the interwebs were around when I was growing up ... would've made the world a little less lonely. Much love piratebowling. I'm from Fort Collins, CO.

By: rtha

rtha — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:18:39 -0800

I don't dare get sappy right now, so I will save the reading for a little bit later. Thanks, piratebowling! I'm from Honolulu, HI and Boston, MA.

By: thankyoujohnnyfever

thankyoujohnnyfever — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:40:17 -0800

Being from Crowley, Texas it's nice seeing other gay Texans from the sticks tell stories like this. And it looks like more than a couple of us moved to Brooklyn. Great find!

By: greekphilosophy

greekphilosophy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:43:42 -0800

When I submitted my story, I got an email back quickly from Nathan, the editor that he would be posting it sometime next week. I said that I suspected as much, since things were already pretty Texas-centric on there, and we don't want people thinking that all we've got in Texas is steers and queers, right? Then I wondered which the state exports more of...

By: pomegranate

pomegranate — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:33:11 -0800

And I'm from Beaumont, Texas. When I was in my early 20s in Austin I worked a toll-free help line for gay and transgendered teens. It was not that long ago, 1988-1993 or so, but these kids were SO isolated in ways those of us under 25 truly can't begin to imagine now. Suicide calls were a weekly occurrence. I can't tell you what a huge difference the interweb made for these kids. Thanks, Al Gore!

By: polexa

polexa — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:15:06 -0800

This is such a great idea for a project, and my friend I sent it to pointed out that the images with each post are maybe actual satellite photos of the towns from google earth/maps. I noticed at the bottom the categories are states, and there's only * Arizona * California * Kentucky * New Jersey * New York * Tennessee * Texas I'm from Northville, MI.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:55:34 -0800

Echoing pomegranate, I volunteered in the 80's, at probably the same Austin toll free line where she worked (I'm betting it was the same one), and the web has made such a difference. The isolation, while not gone, has certainly been lifted a little. I know what my gay and transgender friends went through growing up in the 70's and 80's, and it was gawdawful in so many areas. The calls that came in were heartbreaking. I hope this site gets a lot of traction, and I'm going to do my part to spread the meme around.

By: hooptycritter

hooptycritter — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:08:01 -0800

excellent post. plan to share wide.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:56:50 -0800

That Glasgow story. Ouch. I'm from Toronto, Canada.

By: wg

wg — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:40:40 -0800

Life goes easy on me now, but it might not have been so had I not left town for college. I'm from Ripley, WV.

By: josher71

josher71 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:22:28 -0800

My brother wrote the Kingsport TN story.

By: greekphilosophy

greekphilosophy — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:18:59 -0800

My story was posted today. :) I'm from Galveston, TX.