Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:07:18 -0400
From: crazy4u <rnielsen47@gmail.com>
Subject: The Man from Swift Current Chapters 1 and 2; GM High School, College

Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the author,
Russ Nielsen (rnielsen47@gmail.com) To read more of my stories you can find
them at my story site - http://www.saskboystories.blogspot.com/

All the usual disclaimers apply. This is a work of pure fiction. Any
similarities to persons living or dead are coincidental. If it is illegal
to read this where you live, don't read it. If you are under legal age
where you live, don't read it.

This story contains descriptions of consensual sexual contact between adult
males. Passing through Nifty's main page to get here is your way of saying
it is legal for you to be reading it.

Chapter One

Introduction:

I'm really not into introductions but I guess something has to be done to
start this story off. So let's start with the facts:

Name: Glenn Nielsen, Age: 17, Height: 175 cm. (about 5'9" for my American
friends) (I'm really 173 cm.  (5'8") but who's going to really call me on
it!), Eyes: grey-blue, Hair: Blond. Of course, all of these facts can be
found on my driver's license.

Do these facts tell you who I am? Do they define what I can become? Do they
tell you about my experiences or my dreams? NO! They are just a physical
description intended to identify me to the proper authorities.

Oh, I'm supposed to let you in on some of the facts about my family. Why?
You got me. I guess maybe they have a part to play in this story so okay,
let's start with siblings: three brothers and one sister. The oldest, Gary
- 24, is married and has two kids. The next one, Randy – 22, joined the
RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and lives in Vancouver. Then there's
Eric, 20, who still lives at home and helps Dad on the farm and last is the
youngest, Nancy - 16. She looks just like my mother with her flaxen yellow
hair, and grey-blue eyes.

(NOTE: Dad is very strict with her in regards to the boys who have the
courage to stop by the house.  She has always been Dad's favorite and is
super over protective of her. Dad has scared off more than one guy much to
my sister's chagrin.)

Dad: Dad is a very reserved and quiet type. We have never been close. I
know he loves me but we are so different from each other. It is like we
were born on different planets.

Mom: I am very much like my Mom. Mom is a very refined woman. She is a very
accomplished musician and loves the theater and the arts. Dad met her while
he was the university studying engineering.

Mom's family never really like Dad much and it didn't help matters when
they both dropped out of college to live on a farm in the middle of the
Canadian prairie. They felt like he had stolen their daughter from them. In
this case, the distance between Saskatchewan and Atlanta, Georgia, makes
casual visits non-existent and special trips that far south very
infrequent. Most of the time, we meet my mother's parents in Buffalo, NY,
when we go down east to see Dad's family.

Who are we? We are dry farmers. My dad usually plants two crops of wheat a
year. My great- grandparents settled our farm in 1910 moving here from down
east. For my friends who don't know where down east is located, it is what
we call the banana belt of Canada in southern Ontario where the rest of our
family lives. We always tease them that they can't be true Canadians since
they don't know what a real winter is like.

The western part of the family - Aunt Kate (she lives alone since she has
never married), Uncle Dave's family, Uncle Ben's family and us) caravan
down east once or twice a year to visit my Dad's brothers and my
grandparents.

The family down east: Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Gordon live in Fenwick,
Ontario, Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen, Uncle Carl and Aunt Hannah all live
in St. Catharines, Ontario.

When we travel down east, we stay with Aunt Sylvia in Fenwick or with my
grandparents in St.  Catharines. My cousins like taking us into Toronto to
stay with our oldest cousin and take in the sights and sounds of the
city. To be honest, the city kind of overwhelms me. My cousins just laugh
at me when I ask why anyone would want to live in the middle of so many
buildings with so many people around. I love going on those trips since
they are always filled with lots of fun playing games with my cousins and
all kinds of food.

Last June, we went to St. Catharines to stay with my grandparents. My Uncle
Carl took us across the border to Buffalo, NY, while Grandpa went for his
cancer treatments. No one said anything to us kids, but I knew that Grandpa
wasn't responding well to the chemotherapy as I had overheard Dad telling
Mom that we probably wouldn't see Grandpa again in this life when we left
for home.

Dad bought the farm from Grandpa when they moved down east. Dad likes
farming. We lived on the farm next door to Grandpa's farm until last
year. Dad decided that we would move into his parent's house and rent out
our old place to my brother, Gary, and his wife, Jessica. My grandparents'
home is much nicer than our old place. I actually got to have my own room
instead of sharing a room with Eric.

Eric and I get along most of the time. Eric is 6'2" with dark brown hair
and deep blue eyes. He is like my dad in many ways. He went to the
University of Toronto for a couple years but didn't like the big city. He
came home from school last year and announced that he wasn't going
back. Mom and Dad were just a little upset. They had hoped he would be the
first one to graduate from college of us kids since Gary and Randy had both
elected not to go. Eric confided to me that wanted to marry his high school
sweetheart, Laura, and settle down on a farm just like Gary had done. Since
high school, Laura had moved to Shaunovan which meant that Eric started
spending a lot time staying in Shaunovan with our cousins so he could see
Laura.

I hate living on the farm. It is out in the middle of nowhere. There isn't
any internet service and very little in the way of entertainment. Our
nearest neighbors are three kilometers (approximately two miles) down the
road. Looking out the farmhouse windows, all you can see is wheat fields
for kilometers and kilometers broken by an occasional line of trees. Our
farm is very close to the Canadian border with the USA. The closest "big"
city is Swift Current, SASK. We lovingly refer to it as "Speedy Creek."
Swift Current (SC for short) for a small prairie town has most of the
amenities a farm boy would want. There is a very nice aquatic center and
several other recreational facilities where you can rent a skating rink for
hockey leagues, etc. There's a bowling alley and other places where teens
can hang out with their friends. My cousin, Ben, is in the local hockey
league. He and his friends have taken me under their wing and include me in
their activities when Dad lets me and Nancy stay in town with Uncle Dave
and Aunt Mary. Ben is my age and his sister, Cynthia is the same age as
Nancy. The girls usually keep to themselves except when Cynthia decides she
wants to flirt with Ben's teammates. It seems to happen often now days.

My Uncle Dave is the manager of the Canadian Tire store there and his wife,
Aunt Mary, is a nurse and works at the hospital. I really like them
both. They are so laid back and seem to know how to handle teenagers and
their mood swings. I have never seen either one lose their temper. Sure, I
have seen them get angry at us but they have never raised their voices to
us or made us feel stupid.

Well, did I give you enough information to get us started? I hope so. I
kind of got us wrapped up in a lot of other stuff besides facts for a
minute. Sorry about that my friends. Let's get to my story.  Remember, it's
all about me – a farm boy from the Saskatchewan prairie. I don't mean to
come off sounding arrogant but this is my story so don't get in my face
about it! Oh, one last thing. I hope you enjoy journey!

Chapter Two

The Beginning

I awoke in a cold sweat. I remembered my dream so vividly that it kept
replaying in my head. I'd had this recurring dream every night for a while
now.

I was just coming down the stairs from my room when I heard my Dad shouting
from the front room.  Dad doesn't yell very often so something really bad
must have happened. I walked down the hall and into the front room.

I was shocked by what I saw. Randy was crying and his friend, Shawn, was
holding him close to him. As I watched Dad shouted at them, "I will NOT
have faggots in my home! I no longer have a son! As far as I'm concerned,
you are dead to me! I want both of you out of my house as soon as you can
get your stuff loaded in the car!"

Mom spoke up then, "Don, surely you don't mean that?"

I hadn't notice her until she spoke. I could see she was very upset.

"Eva, I meant every word. No good Christian should tolerate sinner living
in their home. You know as well as I do that be a homosexual is unnatural
and should be stamped out! How can you not see that?"

Shawn spoke, "Sir, you speak of being Christian but you are about as
unchristian a man as I have ever met. Do you think that treating your son
this somehow makes you a saint? In my book, you are as big a hypocrite as
those who crucified Jesus because he tried to teach them to live the spirit
of his laws not just the outward appearances. You are worse than they are.'

"How dare you try to tell me anything about being a Christian? You are too
blinded by your sin," Dad said heatedly.

Randy finally spoke up, "Dad you are blinded by your hatred and your
prejudices! Shawn and I will never ever return to your home and rest
assured I will make sure my siblings know what kind of lies you have been
telling us all these years! How you say you love us unconditionally and
will always be there for us. I counted on you being there for me now when I
need you the most but your hatred and prejudice has overcome any love you
ever had for me. I can see now that I never really had a father. I just had
someone who pretended to be one as keep up appearances for all his so
called "Christian" friends. I hope my brothers and sister wise up and learn
never to trust you before they are betrayed by you when they need you most!
Let's go Shawn. We aren't wanted here and I don't want to be somewhere
where I'm not wanted."

Randy and Shawn pushed past me as I backed out to the doorway to the front
room. I was in total shock! First, I had just found out my brother was gay
and that Shawn was his partner. Second, that my Dad had just disowned them.

Dad turned to me and said, "And what are you looking at? Are you a
homosexual, too? It would just be my luck to have two sons who are so
fucked up as to want to do it with a guy. Are you going to be the next one
I throw out of my house?"

"No, Dad," I said my knees knocking together at the sudden verbal attack.

"I haven't seen you dating any girls or even talking about them. It makes
me wonder. Your older brothers were intensely interested in girls by the
time they were your age. You had better make sure you aren't the next one
to get thrown out of this family! I won't tolerate sinners here."

I nodded my head and quickly turned around and went back up stairs to my
room. I was too shell shocked to do anything else.

I had relived that scene over and over, again. The thought of Dad finding
out that I was interested in guys gave me chills. Was I gay? I don't
know. But I did know I wasn't overly interested in girls.

Suddenly, my bedroom door burst open and my little sister shouts through
the door, "Get up lazy bones.  It's time to head into town. Come on! Mom
has breakfast on the table already!"

"Okay, I'm coming. Just let me get showered first!" I shouted back at her.

"I won't promise anything will be left if you don't hurry up!"

"Nancy, can't a guy get a break around here!"

"No, especially if your name's Glenn. Come on get up and get dressed and
let's go!" Nancy shouts at the top of her lungs as she heads downstairs to
breakfast.

Come one, Glenn, let's get it together, I thought to myself. I rolled out
of bed and made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. After Dad threw
Randy out of the house for being gay, I needed to be especially careful. My
memory of that day will be burned into my head for a very long time to
come.  In fact, as already noted, I dreamed about it often. It happened
about three months ago. Randy brought home his lover Shawn to visit the
family. On the second day of their visit, Randy sat down with Mom and Dad
with Shawn to talk about their relationship. It ended in a very ugly scene
with Dad shouting at both of them to get out his house and to never come
back.

They packed up their things and we haven't heard from them since. Mom cried
for days and Dad told us never to mention Randy's name again in his
presence. My brother, Eric, Nancy and I had tip-toed around the house for
weeks trying to keep a low profile. We were all completely devastated by
Dad's insistence that Randy was no longer part of our family. We have
always been a loving family. None of us expected that something like this
could happen to us. I'm sure Randy felt he would our find us (especially
our parents) to be supportive of him and his choices. Both Mom and Dad have
always told us that they loved us unconditionally and that no matter what
we did they would be there for us. Well, that turned out to be the biggest
lie ever told. Dad wasn't understanding or supportive and was completely
the opposite of what he had told us all these years. It made me question
everything else about our home life whether it was all for show. I felt
betrayed by the ones I trusted most in my life.

I feel so uncertain and confused in addition to being angry. The problem
now is that I think I'm gay. I have always had an attraction to other guys
but until Randy came home with Shawn I hadn't really admitted it to
myself. Dad's reaction seemed to be a catalyst for me to really examine my
attitudes towards gays and whether I could apply that label to myself. I
hate labels! Why should I be strait- jacketed into a tidy little corner
called gay or straight? Can't I be both and be happy with who I am? Do I
have to be one or the other? Does it have to be either or? So many
questions...I just can't figure it all out.

I've never had any real interest in girls. Yeah, I have a lot of friends
who are girls but that's as far as it goes. I even dated a few of them once
in a while to try and fit in with the rest of the guys at school.

All of these thoughts keep running through my mind as I look at myself in
the mirror. I've got get moving before Nancy comes back to get me. After a
quick shower, I pull on my clothes and run down the stairs following the
smell of bacon and fresh coffee.

"Good morning, Mom," I said. "When are we leaving for Swift Current?"

"Right after breakfast, dear. Hurry and finish your breakfast so we can get
on the road. You know how impatient your father gets if he has to wait,"
Mom said.

I looked across the table at Mom. It was like looking in the mirror at
myself - blond hair and grey-blue eyes and a deeply tanned face. Mom is
tall for a woman at 5'8" and very slender. Mom always looks like she just
popped off the cover a fashion magazine. I passed Mom up in the height
department just a few months ago. I am so glad to finally be able to put a
stop to my brothers' teasing me about my height. They all got their height
early and are all over 6" Even my sister, Nancy, used to be taller than me
at 5'8" like my Mom. I am still the shortest boy in the family at 5'9" (we
already talked about this bit of data, remember) but they can't call me
"Runt" anymore (or least I hope they don't).

Mom smiled at me and ruffled my hair as she went back to cleaning up the
kitchen in preparation for leaving for the day. I quickly finished my
breakfast and helped Mom do up the remaining dishes and wiped down the
countertops and the table.

"Thank you for helping me, Glenn. You are a good son." Mom said. I gave her
a quick hug when I saw the tears shining in her eyes. I knew she was
thinking of Randy.

"Are you okay, Mom?" I asked.

"I'll be fine. Run upstairs and get your things. We don't want to keep your
Dad waiting." Mom said.

I ran upstairs and grabbed my duffle bag and met Nancy coming down the hall
with her things.

"I can't wait to get to Uncle Dave's house," Nancy said. "It's been like a
morgue around here ever since Randy left"

"Shh!! Nancy you know how angry Dad gets if you say his name in the house,"
I said.

"I know but Dad is wrong this time!" Nancy said.

"I agree and so does Mom but that doesn't change things."

"So what are you two whispering about?" asked my brother, Eric, as he came
up behind us.

We both jumped at the sound of Eric's voice.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Nancy said quickly. Too quickly since Eric
came back with a long drawn out, "Ooh, Really!!"

"We were just talking about Randy, Eric," I said.

"You know Dad's feelings about that," Eric said.

"Yeah, we do and it's not right. Randy is still our brother!" I said.

"You two had better get going. Dad has already honked the horn twice! If
you don't go now, he will come storming in here." Eric said.

We both gave Eric a quick hug. "We'll see you at the end of week. I wish
you could come with us to Uncle Dave's house, too." I said.

"I wish I could come as well but somebody has to help Dad here on the
farm." Eric said.

"Take care of Mom while we're gone. You know how sad she's been since Randy
left," Nancy said.

"I will. Now hurry up!" Eric said.

I looked around the farm as I walked from the house to the car. There are
wheat fields as far as the eye can see with an occasional line of trees
shielding a farmhouse or defining the property line between neighboring
farms. I have spent my entire life on this farm. It's been a good place to
grow up. I can't believe that my whole world view has changed since Randy's
visit. Before that whole episode in my life, I had never considered that I
would ever leave this place. But now, I know I can't stay here and be true
to myself. I don't want to have to always be pretending to be something I'm
not. If I ever slipped and let on that I liked guys, Dad would disown me
just like he did Randy. I am so glad Uncle Dave asked Nancy and me to come
stay with them for a week in Swift Current.

Dad had the trunk of the car open, impatiently waiting for me and Nancy to
stow our gear. We threw our stuff in the trunk. Dad slammed the trunk shut
and jumped into the driver's seat as Nancy and I climbed into the back.

The trip into town was uneventful. Nancy and I listened to some music on
our MP3 Players (Dad doesn't believe in spending a lot of money for name
brand stuff like IPods). Mom and Dad didn't talk much either other than to
comment on this farm or that one as we passed. When we arrived at Uncle
Dave's house, my cousins, Ben and Cynthia, bounded down their front steps
to greet us. They were both excited to have us stay with them for a week.

Cynthia grabbed Nancy by the hand saying, "I'm so glad you're here! Come on
up to my room. I want to show you something!" Cynthia and Nancy quickly
disappeared into the house, both of them talking at the same time.

As Ben came up to me, I checked out all 5'7" of him from head to toe, with
my new awareness of how I felt about guys. For the first time, I noticed
what a good looking guy Ben had become. Ben is the same age as I am...17
and an avid hockey player. Ben's smile lights up his entire face making his
green eyes sparkle under his unruly mop of dark brown hair. His smile is so
contagious. I couldn't help but smile back at him. He grabbed me in a bear
hug and lifted me off the ground in his enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay, you can put me down now," I said just a little out of breath
from being mauled by this bear of a young man who was my cousin. "You've
been working out, Cuz'!"

"You bet! I've got to make up with muscle what I didn't get in height!
Besides, I have to be able to muscle my way around the ice. Otherwise, I'll
always end up on my butt on the ice!" said Ben.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore! Just don't try any of
your tricks on me, okay!" I said.

"Hey, you've grown a couple of inches on me since you here were last," said
Ben.

"Yeah, I grew 3 inches over the summer. Mom is complaining about having to
buy new clothes, again."  I said.

"If you keep growing at that rate, you'll pass up your brothers! Come on,
let's get your stuff and put it in my room. We have a lot of catching up to
do. We haven't been together since before we got out of school last
spring." Ben said.

"Boys, take Nancy's stuff up to Cynthia's room while you're at it," said
Uncle Dave.

"Sure thing, Dad," Ben said.

My Dad popped the trunk open and went inside with his brother leaving us to
bring in the bags.

As we hauled our stuff inside the house, Ben kept looking over at me.

Finally, I asked, "What's up with the looks, man!"

"I just can't believe you passed me up. You have always been the shortest
one in the family saving me from having that title."

"Sorry about that, dude. I am so glad to pass on the title to someone who
so deserves it!" I said. This caused Ben to come up and smack me along the
side my head.

"That's for being smart with your best cousin!" Ben said, laughing at my
wounded look. "Looks like I'll have to teach you some respect for your
betters before we are through this week!"

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try, Short Stuff! You're not as tough as you
seem!" I said.

We continued our bantering back and forth like the good friends we are as
we went into the house with our bags. We have been each other's best friend
since we were little. Our dad's have always been close and we have spent a
lot of time at each others' homes over the years.

Entering Ben's room, I threw myself on his bed and stretched out. Ben sat
down at his desk and turned to me and said, "I wish you could stay here in
Swift Current for our senior year. It would be so cool!  We could have so
much fun."

"It would certainly beat being down on the farm!" I said. If only we could
convince my Dad, I thought to myself.

"Do you want to play some video games?" Ben asked.

"Sure, let's go! I can't wait to show you who is the real master here!" I
said.

"Well, it certainly isn't you! You can't hold a candle to my superior
intellect and reflexes!" responded Ben.

"Like I said, you're all talk and very little action! Let's see if you can
put some reality into those words of yours," I said.

We headed into the family room and turned on the TV and hooked up the video
games. Ben handed me a controller and he took the other one. Pretty soon we
were deeply involved in a game. We are good friends but we are also very
competitive when it comes to video games. We are pretty intense when it
comes to playing each other.

After a while, Mom came into the family room to give me a hug and kiss
good-bye. "Be good and listen to your Aunt and Uncle," she said. "Come out
and say good-by to your Dad, sweetheart."

I just gave her a look that said, "Are you kidding! Why would I want to do
that!"

"Please, son, do it for me," she pleaded. She and I have had many
conversations over the summer and she knows how I feel about Dad right
now. She also knows that she can get me to do just about anything when she
uses that tone of voice on me.

"Okay, just remember I'm doing it for you and not him," I said heaving a
big sigh of resignation as I dragged myself to my feet.

I walked out the front door and up to my dad and gave him a quick hug and
said, "Drive safely Dad. See you in week."

Dad hugged me back and said, "See you later, son."

Both he and mom waved to all of us standing in the driveway as they pulled
away from the curb and headed back home. Watching them leave left me
feeling liberated from the heaviness that had plagued our home for
months. It was like having a big weight lifted off of my shoulders.

Nancy and I had a wonderful time with our cousins over the next week. We
hung out with their friends, played games, and watched videos. Every once
in a while, I would get to thinking about Randy and his boyfriend and how
my Dad had reacted their news. I would get really quiet and moody. It
worried me that my Dad would react the same way to me if he found out about
me. Uncle Dave must have noticed my pensiveness around the house because he
suggested that I accompany him on a quick flight to Moose Jaw see one of
his friends. Uncle Dave had a way of knowing just what to say to get me to
talk to him. I knew from past experience that I could trust him with my
closest secrets. He parked the car at the airport, filed his flight plans
and walked over to his plane and opened the door to let me climb in ahead
of him.

I love flying planes. I have had a fascination with airplanes all of my
life. I have been a passenger with Uncle Dave in his plane many times over
the years. This time, Uncle Dave even let me take the controls once we were
in the air. Uncle Dave loves flying, too. As I said earlier, Uncle Dave has
always known what to say and what to do to get me to talk. Our flight to
Moose Jaw was no exception.

"Okay, Glenn. What's been bothering you? You've been pretty quiet all week
and that's not normal for you"

I just sat there thinking, trying to figure out if he has guessed that I'm
gay. What will he say if I told him I thought I was gay?

"Glenn, you know you can always talk to me. It can wait until you're
ready...no pressure here"

That was all it took for me to begin to unload all of the pent up feelings
of hurt and anger I had been keeping bottled up inside me all summer.

"Uncle Dave, I am so angry with my Dad. He has disowned Randy and told him
never to return home, again."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Randy brought his lover home and told Mom and Dad he was gay."

"Oh...I didn't know Randy had brought home his boyfriend," said Uncle Dave
with a little bit of surprise in his voice.

"Dad always said he loved us unconditionally and it didn't matter what we
did that he would always love us. How can that be true when he can't love
Randy just because he's gay?"

"I didn't realize your Dad was so intolerant and prejudiced against gays
that he would disown his own son."

"It has hurt all of us. It's been really bad all summer ever since Randy
left. Sometimes I catch Mom crying when she thinks no one is around. I'm
tired of the tension and the fear I feel at home. I feel like I'm going to
burst from the frustration I feel and the anger at being betrayed by
Dad. How can I trust him to really love me when he can't love Randy despite
his feelings about his sexual orientation?"

"In fact, I think I might be gay and how will Dad treat me if he ever found
out? The same way he did Randy by kicking me out of the house?"

"So are you telling me you're gay?" asked Uncle Dave.

"I don't know...I'm so confused right now. I get so angry at Dad at times
that I feel like telling him I'm gay, too, just to spite him. Am I into
guys? I've never been with one so I don't really know. I've dated girls but
nothing serious has ever happened. After a few dates, we decide that we're
friends but that's it. I just find it easier to be around the guys."

"Glenn, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I didn't know what
happened with Randy until you told me just now. I'm not surprised that
Randy found a boyfriend in Vancouver."

At this last statement, I looked at Uncle Dave in shock and surprise.

"Don't look so shocked. Remember, Randy stayed with us for the last half of
his senior year of high school after the trouble he had down at Kincaid
Central. He always seemed to hook up with cute guys and wasn't exactly shy
about showing his interest in them. Randy is a good looking guy and likes
to flirt.

Your Aunt Mary figured it out first and clued me one night after Randy and
his boyfriend left to go to the movies one evening."

"So being gay is okay with you?" I asked.

"It's okay as long as that's what makes you happy. Just remember being gay
is choice not something you have at birth. Do I approve? No I don't. Can I
accept the fact that some guys are gay? Yes. Can I treat gays with dignity
and respect? Yes. You should always treat others with kindness and respect
even if you don't agree with them.

Just to be clear, Glenn, you certainly don't need my approval by any means
if your choice is to be gay.  I'm not deeply religious and being gay
doesn't bother me from that perspective but there are plenty of challenges
to face in life without bringing on the additional ones that being gay in
our society throws at you. Being gay requires a lot of courage as well as a
lot mental and emotional strength to be able to withstand the pressures and
prejudices in our world today."

"I know that being gay can be hard, especially at school," I said.

"Yeah, that's an understatement. Teenagers are not very tolerant of those
who are different than themselves. They feel threatened by anything they
don't understand or that is unknown to them.  There aren't very many teens
that have the maturity to deal with someone who is gay. Many of them, jocks
especially, feel threatened somehow by gay guys. This leads them to verbal,
mental and emotional abuse and sometimes violence to help silence their own
fears and/or hide their own sexual uncertainty."

"Wow, I didn't think you would be so understanding, Uncle Dave! My Dad
certainly isn't!" I said.

"Well, one of my best friends in college was gay. Unfortunately, he was
beaten to death by members of the university football team one night on the
way home from football practice. The police tried to portray the incident
as self-defense on the part of the perpetrators and didn't press
charges. It wasn't until we held student protests on campus and signed
petitions to have the police chief removed from his position that a real
murder investigation was conducted. When the case came to trial, they were
convicted of man-slaughter and given reduced sentences. It was like someone
being gay gave them license to kill and the judge and jury sought to
validate that right by giving them a slap on the wrist."

"So, if you decide you are really gay, please be very careful about who you
trust with that information, Glenn," Uncle Dave said. "I don't want you to
get hurt in any way because of the labels people will put on you or the
actions people take based on those labels."

"Labels are dangerous things because people tend to put labels on you and
expect you to behave in certain ways. Labels cause people to ignore the
fact that human beings are very complex creatures.  Labels put up fences to
protect the ignorant from themselves and their fear of the unknown and the
uncertainty that comes with an ever changing world. If they can just put a
label on it, it will become solid and knowable...predictable. It also is
very limiting and prevents us from seeing the true potential of each
individual human being. I hope that people can someday learn to accept each
person for who they are instead of forcing them to accept a "label" or fit
a "stereotype" that makes them feel comfortable."

"Sorry for the philosophy lesson, Glenn. I get a little passionate about
treating people with respect and dignity. Believe it or not your Dad and I
share many of the same views on life. That's why I was so surprised to hear
your Dad's reaction to Randy and his boyfriend. Here, let me take over the
controls so we can land this puppy safely," said Uncle Dave. "It's the
hardest part of flying...getting the plane safely on the ground without
crashing it!"

Uncle Dave landed the aircraft smoothly next to the farmhouse on his
friend's fallow field. We had a nice visit with his friends and we had a
nice flight back to Swift Current later that evening. Our conversation on
the way out really set me to thinking about who I am. Uncle Dave didn't
press me into talking anymore about it on the way back. We sat in a
comfortable silence except for a few general comments about how smooth the
flight was going.

Later that night as I lay in bed, I couldn't get my brain to shut down. I
kept going over and over in my head what Uncle Dave had said. Was I really
gay? Or did I just need to give myself time to figure things out? Why
didn't I seem to have the same interest in girls as all the other guys? I
had fantasies about both girls and guys sometimes but lately they had all
been about being with a guy. Why did Uncle Dave think it was a choice to be
gay? There were so many questions and no real answers. After what seemed
like forever, I finally fell asleep from pure mental exhaustion.

As we ate breakfast the next morning, Uncle Dave asked, "How would you and
Nancy like to stay in town with us for the school year?" Both Nancy and I
said, "YES!!" at the same time, practically jumping up and down in our
seats with excitement at the prospect of getting away from the farm for the
whole school year!

"But how are you going to convince Dad to let us stay here?" I asked.

"Your Aunt Mary and I will talk with your parents tonight when they come to
pick you up," said Uncle Dave. Looking directly at me he said, "Just let us
handle the negotiations with your Dad."

"You know how over-protective Dad is of me,' said Nancy. "He isn't going to
be very willing to let me out of his sight. I feel like he is smothering
me. I can't even have a phone conversation with a guy without getting a
lecture from Dad. Staying here and going to school with Cynthia would be
like a dream come true!"

"Just because you're not at home, doesn't mean we don't have rules here,
too,' responded Uncle Dave, "In fact we should probably talk about that
now. On school days, curfew is 9 o'clock and bedtime is 10 o'clock. Curfew
on weekends is 10 o'clock and bedtime is 12 midnight. Both Ben and Cynthia
know this already. No members of the opposite sex are allowed in your
bedrooms at any time. No alcohol, tobacco products and no drugs.

Looking at Ben and Cynthia he asked, "Do you two want to share rooms with
Glenn and Cynthia or have them stay in the spare bedrooms?

We all looked at each other for a moment then said at the same time, "We'll
share rooms!"

"Well, since you all seem to have agreed to share rooms this year. Do you
want bunk beds or regular beds?"

We all looked at each other again for a moment then Ben and I said,
"Regular beds" The girls conferred among themselves before Cynthia
announced, "We want bunk beds, Dad. That way there will still be room for
two desks as well as the extra dresser for Nancy"

Uncle Dave turned to Ben and asked, "So where do you boys plan to put
another dresser and a desk?"

Ben said, "We will put the dressers in the closet so the desk will fit in
the room. I don't really need the desk since I usually get my studies done
during the time after school and the beginning of hockey practice. If I
need to, I can study at the kitchen table."

The prospect of staying in town to go to school had all of us excitedly
planning what we would do to organize the bedrooms and talking about the
things we were going to do at school. After helping to clear the table and
wash the dishes, we split up to our separate rooms excitedly talking among
ourselves.

Ben and I were sitting on his bed talking about our plans when I said, "I
don't think Dad will let us stay.  You know how protective he is of
Nancy. He doesn't think much of city folk and hates coming into Swift
Current. Mom is the one who drives into town to get supplies and to visit
with family."

Ben said, "Yeah, you're right but Dad can be very persuasive and so can
Mom. I bet that your Dad will jump at the chance to have you out of the
house. It's Nancy he won't let stay."

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "Dad and I have never seen eye-to-eye. He
doesn't like to be challenged by anyone. His word is law around our house
and I seem to always confront him about things and try to push him to
change his mind. The only one in the family who has been able to escape is
Randy. After Randy and his lover left, Dad didn't speak to anybody for
almost two weeks. Randy has a job with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP)."

"How does Randy like the RCMP?" asked Ben

"He loves it! I only wish I could join him in Vancouver but I know Dad
won't even let us think of driving out to see Randy. He won't even let us
mention his name in his presence."

Ben said, "I didn't know he was so upset about Randy. Mom and Dad have
never said anything about it.  Change of subject, dude, let's make a list
of the things we want to do this school year. I have got so many plans for
you, Cuz!. We are going to just knock your socks off!! Just wait until I
tell my teammates that you'll be staying here in Speedy Creek. You know
that Craig's sister, Jen, has the hots for you? She keeps asking when you
are going to be in town next. She was always nagging Craig to invite you
over to their house after our hockey practices at the recreation center."

I said, "I know!!! She always sits next to me and talks constantly during
your practices. I never knew anyone who could talk so fast. She doesn't
even stop to let me respond to her questions. She just keeps going.
Girls!!! I just don't understand them. Can't they just sit and watch the
hockey game?"

Ben said, "But she is really cute with her blue eyes and blond hair. You
know...you should ask her out.  You know...go to movie or something. Maybe
you could take her bowling."

"I don't know...what if she tells me no?"

"Well, you won't know until you ask. And besides, you already know she
really likes you. Why wouldn't she want to go to the movies with you?"

"Alright, if Dad lets us stay for the school year, I'll ask Jen out but you
got to promise you won't harass me about it though!"

"Okay, but I will keep on you until you do. You promised me and I won't
forget that!" said Ben.

"Sh!!" "That's my Dad...he's not sounding too happy. That doesn't sound
very good."

As we tried to overhear the conversation, I kept thinking of what Dad's
objections would be. Dad considered Swift Current a dangerous place. After
what seemed like an eternity, they called us to come into the living
room. As we walked into the living, Dad looked like a thundercloud and Mom
looked relieved. Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary smiled at us as we sat down on
the couch.

Uncle Dave was the first to speak, "Well kids, your mom and dad have agreed
to let you stay here until Christmas. We will evaluate how things are going
at that time and determine if you get to stay until the end of the school
year. You know the score...good grades and no messing around." Uncle Dave
looked directly at Nancy as he said this. Nancy just gave him her wide-eyed
innocent look that says, "Who me?"

Aunt Mary said, "And we will start with the back-to-school shopping in the
morning including the school supply lists."

Nancy and I said, "Thanks Mom and Dad" We both gave Mom a hug and
kiss. Nancy was the only one who dared approach Dad. She wrapped her arms
around Dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Dad, I love you. I promise you I won't get into any trouble. Besides,
Cynthia will be there, too, as well as Ben and Glenn. Thank you for letting
us stay," Nancy said.

"Well, it's only until Christmas...you did get that part? I guess it can't
hurt to see how you two handle being in the city for a while," Dad
said. "We still have some things to discuss about logistics. Why don't you
kids run along while we work out the details since I seem to be agreeing to
this despite my better judgment?"

With that statement made, Dad's face seem to clear a little and he smiled
at Nancy. Mom even dared to smile after that knowing that Dad had made
peace with himself over the decision to let us stay. After that, we all
went downstairs to watch a movie and talk about our plans.

About an hour later, Mom and Dad came downstairs to say good-bye. Dad got
all teary-eyed as he hugged Nancy. "You know I love you and want you have
the best of everything, my cuddle bug. Make sure you listen to your Uncle
and Aunt."

 He came over and shook my hand and surprised me when he pulled me into a
bear hug and said, "I love you Glenn. Make us proud this year in
school. Show these city folk that farm people can do everything better!"

 Dad hadn't told me he loved me in a very long time. Tears came to my eyes
but I wasn't about to let my Dad see me cry like a baby. So I blinked
really hard and said, "I love you too Dad. I promise I will do my best"

We waved to Mom and Dad as they pulled away from the curb headed back to
the farm. I felt kind of sad to see them leave knowing I wouldn't see them
until Thanksgiving when the whole family would travel down east to stay at
my grandparents' home. (Thanksgiving is in October my American friends!)