Reflection on "Shamelessness" by Mike M.

Reflection on Shamelessness

It was Mardi Gras 1983 and my partner Larry and I were waiting in a long queue to get into Maspero’s, our favorite restaurant in the French Quarter, our home at the time. We had become friendly with the people waiting with us, so when a seater asked if a group of us would be willing to share a table for10, we said “yes.” The others at the table were couples like us except they were male-female couples. We had settled in when one of the women asked if we were brothers, we looked so much alike, she said. Without missing a beat, I said, “No, lovers.” There was a bit of tittering but no big to-do (after all, it was Mardi Gras in the French Quarter). But when I looked at him, Larry had a big, happy smile for me. It was the first time I had identified him as my lover to straight people. This small step was significant because it acknowledged a sexual relationship. Not my roommate, friend, or even partner. My lover. When I saw how much it meant to Larry, I was encouraged to do more. It is a happy memory that was already on my mind because August 12 was Larry’s and my 52nd ann iv ersary. When Dr. Levine suggested in her recent Sunday homily that we probably all have had moments of shamelessness, this memory was sitting there waiting to be shared.

Mike M.