HyperLoop555

COURTESY OF REX OGLE   Rex Ogle in 1998. #Disowned #Family #Gay #LGBTQ #Rejection #Religion #LALGBTCenter By Rex Ogle Guest Writer We were on the back porch, smoke rolling up from the nearby barbeque grill, the smell of chicken roasting in the air. My father was more silent than usual.  He took a hard swig from his beer bottle. I asked, “You okay?” Out of nowhere, my father says, “If you choose to be gay, then you’re no longer part of this family. You want to live that lifestyle? Then do it somewhere else.” His gaze drifted toward the woods. He didn’t want to look at me. The thought of me, of what I was, sickened him. Shame overwhelmed me. Sweat soaked through my shirt as I held back the bile in my throat. I asked how he knew. My stepsister had outed me.  Stuttering, I tried to explain it wasn’t a choice. But at 18 years old (and caught completely off-guard), I had no defense. Not that it would have mattered. My father, as wi