Petrelis Files

For My Third 64th Birthday, the Best Gift

Yesterday was my third 64th birthday. For my previous two birthdays, I opted to be 64 (in gay years) as a tribute to all the living I've packed into my life so far, and because I love the Beatles' tune "When I'm Sixty-Four". There's no reason to pick a new age this year.

What gifts did I receive? Life, liberty and the pursuit and achievement of homo-happiness in abundance.

The best gift was waking up with my life-partner Mike and sharing our continuing, very deep and mutually satisfying love and laughter.

I heard from friends and family, wishing me a happy day, and hope everyone knew just how much pleasure they were giving me. I especially enjoyed the present of seeing my sister Dee Dee and her entire family in New Jersey including the pets, in living color on Skype.

The photo above of Mike and I was one I didn't use in my post yesterday about showing solidarity with the LGBT people and their allies in Russia, as a terrible anti-gay law moves closer to being enacted.

I'm using the photo because it encapsulates our mutual love and affection, shows Mike's smile, is full of vibrant colors and contains a simple yet powerful message calling for justice and acceptance, a key component to my decades of social activism.

In reality, I'm now fifty-four and fabulous!