“The Bush administration last year rewrote the rules for allowing gay men and lesbians to receive national-security clearances, drawing complaints from civil rights activists…
“Rules approved by President Bill Clinton in 1997 said that sexual behavior may be a security concern if it involves a criminal offense, suggests an emotional disorder, could subject someone to coercion [...]
Years ago in the Sugarhouse neighborhood of Salt Lake City a record-store clerk reverently took a CD from my hands. “You are about to buy,” he said, “one of the greatest albums in the history of rock music.” “Dude,” I said, “I know.”
My childhood history with sports was checkered. My dad (who’d been called “Coach” my whole life) would come home, announce he was coaching fourth grade basketball, and suddenly there I was, on a team I hadn’t signed up for, passing a whole season without scoring a single point. One year he announced I’d be playing [...]
As I wait for the N train at Kings Highway, I try to pay attention to the unique sounds of my subway stop. It’s an outside stop, so already I have a different palette of noise to choose from. I hear seagulls (I’m just stops away from Coney Island), pigeons having sex overhead, conversations [...]