1. The Journey Begins

Thank you for choosing to be here…my goal is to try to help you see through my eyes what my journey has been and where it has taken me so far. My Hope is that while you may not agree with my life choices or how I have arrived at this point in my life that you keep an open mind and heart because there’s a real possibility that someone you know and love may be going through the same struggle…and it’s those people that need your love the most.

Chicago, Illinois, 1952,  summer in the city. The Second World War is history and the US is high on being one of the victors. On the far south side, in a walk-up apartment building that looks like 100 others on the street, there’s a knock on the door, My mother, a tall, slender woman answers the door to find the family next door standing there. As she opens the door, the lady of the house next door begins to speak…”Mrs. Mallo, we don’t want your son playing with our children anymore. There’s something very wrong with him. He doesn’t like playing with our boys. He only likes playing with our girls. He doesn’t like to play with guns and tanks and rifles and boy toys. He likes playing with our daughters and their dolls.We think that he is sick in the head and we don’t want him playing with our children anymore. There is something very wrong with him and if he comes on our property or near our children again we will call the police. Do I make myself clear?” My mother was shocked and embarrassed and said “of course, I’ll keep my son away for your property and your kids but I don’t understand…”