Brogan: Cheers To Those Coming Out!

Diana Ross once had a big hit with a song entitled, I'm Coming Out. It was a catchy tune and became one of her many standards.

As I write this, I am listening to it in the background since October 11 has been designated as National Coming Out Day. It is a day to support those who are "coming out of the closet" and most of us know someone in our lives who has struggled with doing this. There are some fortunate enough to receive a great deal of support but for some, the coming out was daunting.

In my latest book, A Sprinkling of Stardust Over the Outhouse, I write about my own journey, noting that it is not a template for everyone to follow. However, I have always been amazed at our local community, Concord, as well as our State, and the way in which we have welcomed and encouraged diversity.

I worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield when they were in Concord, for seven and a half years. With very few exceptions, my sexual orientation was no more relevant to my one thousand co-workers than my religious beliefs, political affiliation or whether I was left or right-handed.

I knew that I was gay when I loudly announced, at the age of ten, that I was planning to marry my best friend. We did not marry but remain the best of friends many decades later.

It wasn't until 1975, however, that I seriously shared that information with someone, and I could not have chosen a better individual than Harvey Smith.

Harvey Smith, who we sadly lost earlier this year, had been one of my teachers at Bishop Brady High School. He taught English but he also taught much more than that. He inspired his students to stretch themselves, to reach for the stars, to be all they wanted to be. This was a philosophy that filled the school for the most part. Almost every teacher encouraged their students to ask questions and to seek answers. They looked beneath our surface and taught us to delve deep within ourselves. No one did this more than Mr. Smith.

Harvey encouraged me to go out for Track. Harvey taught a Speed Reading Class whose benefits I continue to use, daily. Harvey pushed me into writing the Junior Class Play telling a reluctant me that "Brogan, you can and must do this!"

It only seemed natural then, several years after graduation, to confide in Harvey some information that I felt compelled to share.

Periodically in the 70's we would meet at Memorial Field and play tennis. Harvey could have easily been a champion player had he wished. I showed good form and a sense of humor each time my serve landed in the net.

When I shared my news with him, Harvey never averted his eyes, looking directly at me and taking it all in. When I finished, he said, without missing a beat, "So! It doesn't change who you are. You may have a tough road ahead in some ways, but if you always remain true to yourself, you'll be fine."

As we note this day, I can only hope that everyone who is struggling with finding themselves and their identity, has someone like Harvey Smith in their life, to make that journey just a little easier.