Occasionally, he would reach out or his face would hint at a smile, like when I held up a photograph of a young soldier with whom he had served in World War II. My father passed away a little over 10 years ago, after a decade of heartbreak and illness, a slow and quiet fade from the world. I dug out a lot of old photographs to show him in the last few years of his life to try to rouse him from his catatonic state. I probably left my 'I LOVE MY GAY DAD' T-shirt next to the box it had come out of, though I might have taken it home with me and buried it in a drawer. What I do know is that I don’t have it anymore. The truth, though, is that I lacked the courage to stand all the way up for my father and his comrades against a homophobic and indifferent world. My dad didn’t push me. The city has some of the best be it bars, clubs, saunas, or inventive go-go boy shows when it comes to catering to the LGBT crowd. I’m glad you got things straight with yourself and the world, but I’m not wearing a shirt that defines our relationship so simplistically.” Bangkok's gay nightlife is touted as a hub in Southeast Asia for good reason. I told my dad, “I love you, but not because you’re gay. I was 22 and in full possession of that youthful self-consciousness mixed with self-serving pseudo-idealism.
