It’s all very 50’s

A few weeks back, the headmaster at my school stopped me in the dining room and asked if I liked the symphony.  I quickly responded that Dac is a classical musician, so we enjoy the symphony a great deal.  He then proceeded to ask if Dac and I would be interested in joining him and his wife at Boston’s Symphony Hall.  I knew that this was something that I had to do, but I did say that I had to talk to Dac about the date and would get back to him.

I came home, checked the date with Dac, and we decided that we would go.  I told my Headmaster the next day and the plans were in place.  We made plans to meet up for dinner before going to Symphony Hall.  This past Thursday was the big night.  Before I left for school that morning, Dac said to me, “This is all very 50’s…Going out the symphony with the boss.”  I had to laugh because it was so true.  I mentioned this during dinner and we all had a good laugh.  It did have an “Ozzie and Harriet” feel, but this was the updated gay version.

During dinner, I made a comment about how Dac and I enjoy the time that we spent together and respect each others interest.  My Headmaster immediately commented to his wife that he was so happy to be out with a couple who was happy.  He and his wife have only been married about two years and apparently many of their other married acquaintances tell them that their happiness will not last.  I told them that Dac and I have been together for almost 8 years and we are not past the “happy phase”.  We actually don’t thing that it is a phase.

This was another opportunity to see how a married couple, who are older than us and hold influential positions in the community, freely and respectfully likened Dac and my relationship/marriage to theirs.

Jos76

We were moonstruck

Meeting someone for the first time is sometimes difficult. Sometimes it’s easy. Back in November of 2000, after many emails and phone conversations that went on for hours (sometimes all night and had to end so we could go to work), Dac and I decided to meet for the first time. We had been talking for about two weeks and essentially knew everything there was to know about each other. We were not close by. Dac lived in Boston and I lived about one and a half hours away. Just the same, we talked a lot and agreed that we would meet up for the first time. The plan was for me to go into the city. I liked to do that, given that I lived on Cape Cod and it was November…the off-season.

We agreed to meet outside of a “T” (subway) station on Mass Ave (that’s local talk for Massachusetts Avenue). We had seen pictures of each other so we sort of know who we were looking for, but just to be safe we pulled out our gay genes (and jeans) and said, “I’ll be wearing a….” I drove into Boston, found a parking spot (I still don’t understand how!) and went to the Hynes Convention Center “T” station. Dac was there.

We had dinner at a small Greek restaurant nearby and then went back to Dac’s apartment to watch a movie. It was Moonstruck.

It was and is our favorite movie and we had quoted the entire movie to each other on the phone. When we got to the end of the movie, we both realized that we were experiencing something out-of-the-ordinary. “Will I ever find another guy who likes this movie so much, wants to be in a relationship, and is normal?” We had a brief conversation about whether or not we wanted to “be in a relationship with each other,” decided that we did, and have been together for over seven years since.

Dac will point out that I left out the part about the picture that I sent him. It was from my freshman year in college (I was 18) and we met when I was 24. I looked a little different (I had more hair in college). Honestly, it was the only picture I had.

Jos76