Thank you for your insights, Ben. It is indeed a dilemma, being accepted for what one is not, or run the risk or being rejected for what one is. One should just BE, regardless of acceptance of irrelevant people.

Well, if a prospective partner asks, THEN the issue becomes relevant, not before! Let me give an example. I work as an engineer in a company, and despite being a bachelor, there is absolutely no need for me to discuss at the office if I'm gay or straight, nor to my coworkers to know details of my personal life. If in…

Hmmm.. you have a point (of which I'm not convinced, but don't reject it either).

Exactly. Gay people are... just people. They should be thought of like blond people, or coffe-loving people or tall people. The only obligation sholud be to themselves (and maybe loved ones), there should be no obligation to come out to society. There are special cases like Adam's, that can help people with his coming…

Yes, you have a choice between answering, not answering, lie, or come out. You should not feel pressure neither to lie nor to come out, and if you do, the rest should not define you as "that gay guy" any more than "that left-handed guy".

Feels like a celebrity stopped to talk to us, didn't it Tyler? Which it kind of is.

And you can answer "Yes, I do", show them a picture if you like, or "No I don't", but that's that. It should not be admissible for mere acquaintances to follow a negative answer with an "Are you gay then?" any more than they could follow your affirmative with an "Are you straight then?"

I tend to agree with you, there should be no need to come out of the closet, less so as a special announcement... or to hide in a closet, for starters.

That was my intention from the begining, to say that coming out should not be more of a spectacle than "confessing" than one is left handed (I often use that comparison)... there should be no need neither to hide in a closet nor to come out of it.

Rarely. I read LH mostly at work (don't tell my boss!), and since I share my office it would be impolite to impose my coworkers with whatever I may be hearing (and if I wear headphones my boss might think I'm watching a movie).

Ha ha ha... thank you for your comment on my grammar. English is not my native language, so I am always afraid of making a mistake and keep consulting my grammar with experts (Google, mainly)

... the same thing that applies to straight people DOES apply to gay people

It didn't crossed my mind you were being mean, I felt you meant a "Does it matter Adam is gay?". We LH readers have Adam as a friend.

I don't need to imagine: As a bachelor I have been asked that very same question several times (Is that a social thing, being nosy?). A new neighbour. A new coworker. A cashier at the supermarket. "Do you have a wife?" "No, I don't", and not even following with a "why do you ask?". Someone once asked "But you wear a…

I briefly have a similar reaction "Wow Adam is gay?" followed by "... so what?" and "ok, let me read his story"

I feel that the same thing would apply... I can't imagine an stranger asking someone "are you straight?" or "do you have a wife and enjoy sex with her?" and the answer being other than "Why is that your business?". And if it is not an stranger, he would know if the other person has a spouse.

I think no one should even feel the need to come out as a special announcement. If a friend or close relative asks, do tell, as naturally as possible, without pride nor shame. If an acquaintance or stranger asks, smile and answer "thanks for your interest, but that is private matter".

Ok, maybe it wasn't two weeks, perhaps 12 days old. I should have written it, but I was still learning to write.

Precisely what I was going to add. I always let the oil cool for half an our and then pour it in a glass jar through a paper coffee filter. Call me cheap, but this way I can reuse the oil several times.

When I was two weeks old I thought "I like this 'sleeping during the day' thing, maybe I will keep doing it". More than 50 years later, I am still doing it. I napped during my years in grade school, during high school, during college, during my first and second jobs, and I regulary nap 30 to 40 minutes each day at…