Josh submitted the note he sent to his friend Guy.

It’s not something I’m ashamed of or proud of. It’s just what I am and to a large extent something that has formed me into the person I have become, whether for good or for bad. I’ve tried to tell you in my own small ways, so by know I am hoping this isn’t coming as such a shock to you.

New notes from Rachel and Richard.

Just quick note on why some notes end up on the blog in the letters section and the rest go to the home page. So, the scoop is that the site was created with the idea that it would be a place for letters people had written to friends or family as a way of coming out. In the meantime we have also received a lot of other inspirational and heart warming letters and stories of other formats. We would like to keep the main notes section true to the original idea; but there is always room on the site whatever else you want to send our way! As always, feedback is appreciated on this stance as it also our intention that this be a community driven site.

Encouragement to move forward…

This is such a hard thing for me to discuss, however I feel this is a start. I am a mid 30’s typical married guy with a loving wife, two kids and a huge mtg…lol

From the outside many people see us all as being a happy family, leading the typical American dream.
However, deep inside I am a much different person than what people see. I lead a double life as strait married husband, and bi-sexual male.
I urge you all, whoever reads this in the future to think deeply about the life you live, and the plans you make. Be true to yourself, and the rest of the world will
need to come second…

Aunts and uncles, parents and friends weather behind you or not, will still wake up in the morning and go about their busy lives weather you are gay, strait, black,
white, or Bi..

Dont be afraid to be who you really are.

I love my wife and children, and would not give them up for the world. But a broken heart filled with lies can do terrible things to ones sole.
In a world full of decete and hatred, it is easy to go along with the “popular” way of thinking and acting.

I encourage you all to live from your heart, be yourself, find love, run barefoot on the beach, gaze at the sunsets…..with the person who is right for you and makes
you happy.

If no-one ever replies to this letter, atleast I will know that hopefully someone has read it, and it has helped them to be the person to which they truely deserve to
be…Happy…

Me

New letter!

…

I still haven’t come out to more than a small handful of people, but now that I realize how it has caused me to be so afraid of life, I intend to change that, very soon. I’m hoping that by typing this now it will make it easier in real life. After all, my heart is beating a lot softer now than it was when I first started typing this. And the sense of hope I’m feeling right now is overwhelming.

…

See the rest: Jim’s letter to the world.

We got a letter from Corey Hidlebaugh recommending we link to soulforce.org. Here’s Soulforce’s mission statement:

The purpose of Soulforce is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.

Corey also sent us a letter, which doesn’t fit the main OutNotes section (coming out letters to friends and family), so I’ll post it here:

Dear Friends,

Let me tell you my story.

I’ll never forget the night a man named Dennis Jernigan came to minister to my church. I was only thirteen, but I was passionate for an experience with God. He led
the congregation in songs that he had written, and each one seemed as if it had been written for me. There was something about this man that seemed so familiar to me
but I could not pinpoint it. It seemed as if we both had a secret we wanted no one to know. During the middle of his presentation, Dennis stopped singing and began
to tell his story. As I listened I could feel blood rushing to my face. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. It seemed he spoke directly at me. He was telling my
story. Dennis was talking about being gay.

(more…)

New coming out letter.

…I cant help it, and knowing you as I do it makes little difference, however I’m still almost in tears. Praying that I’m right, Praying that nothing will change my MOST LOVED family…

MySpace email exchange after adding a friend of a friend to the OutNotes profile’s friend list:

From: Paul
Thanks for the add…but I think there must be a mistake, as I’m not gay or bi. What you guys are doing looks to be pretty cool and kudos for it, but maybe I misunderstand. Why would you want me on your friends list?
-Paul

——————————–

From: OutNotes
Why wouldn’t we want you on our friends list Paul? GLBT people will never achieve equal rights without the help and understanding of open minded straight people like you.

Who do you think made the underground railroad possible?

——————————–

From: Paul
Okay sweet. I was confused. Consider yourselves added!

We’ve received some great news tips from Jim in Florida that I would like to summarize…

First this bit on the Tampa Bay County Commisioners:

Well I’m sure you know about how our wonderful County Commissioners in June refused to acknowledge Gay Pride here [following commisioner Ronda Storms suggestion], and refused to allow a Gay Pride display in several of the county buildings….resulting in the parade not be approved and so on. Well, you can’t “Tread on Me” and not slip and fall. Someone with enough money, and really great attorneys is taking the Hillsborough County Commissioners to task on this…. and has filed a lawsuit against all the Commissioners but the one for violation of our Consititutional Rights.

There is more info and lots of links to news reports over at Sticks of Fire.

Next we would like to join Jim in congratulating Equality Florida (recently added to our links page) for their efforts in this and past elections. But of course we must also share Jim’s dissapointment in the results of the Texas election.

Finally, Jim gave us a lead on a story concerning QueerTampa.com’s use of an image depicting George W. Bush morphing into Hitler. Queer Tampa offers this reply:

In a recent issue of www.queertampa.com we linked to an article on infowars.com which questions the mental stability of George W. Bush. The graphic linking to that article features an image of Busch morphing into a Hitler type character. The image was indeed provocative. The original purpose of the image was to provoke interest and thought. Oddly enough, what it did was spark the very behavior that such an image is intended to rail against. The fact that some now feel a need to silence us only supports the concern that fascism is a real threat in America.

…along with some select quotes…

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth”. - Albert Einstein

“If This Were a Dictatorship, It Would Be a Heck of a Lot Easier, Just So Long as I’m the Dictator” - George W. Bush

“If Tyranny and Oppression Come to This Land, It Will Be in the Guise of Fighting a Foreign Enemy” - James Madison

“You Can Fool Some of the People All of the Time, and Those are the Ones You Want to Concentrate On” - George W. Bush

If you would like to contribute news or your thoughts to Out Notes, as Jim has, there are number of different channels. You can use our contact form, you can comment on a blog entry, or get in touch with us through MySpace. We are still looking for some more regular columnists; let us know if you are interested.

Not so much a coming out letter, but certainly thought provoking: Jack’s Letter.

Hi. I was taking a look at your website, and I was hoping that you could add our organization as a link on your site. We’re working hard to increase our visibility in the community, and could use your help in letting people know about our services.

The Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (website: www.glnh.org) is the only non-profit and nationwide toll-free hotline that provides free and confidential telephone peer-counseling and local resource information for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning people of all ages.

We have the largest resource database of its kind in the world, with over 18,000 local listings for cities and towns all across the United States. Included in that list are youth groups, support and social organizations, gay-friendly religious groups, sports groups, doctors, lawyers, counselors, places to go out at night and much more.

We also provide direct-service peer-counseling over the telephone if someone is going through a difficult time and needs someone to talk to.

Our services are completely free and totally confidential.

Our website is www.glnh.org and our toll-free telephone number is 1-888-THE-GLNH.

Thanks for your help in letting our community know about our services. If you have any question, please feel free to contact me by reply email.

With Pride,
Brad Becker
Executive Director
Gay & Lesbian National Hotline

Here is another letter we received:

12 years ago I turned away from God.
Yet I knew that ignoring him/her wasn’t going to help.
I guess with such complicated things as religion, it was okay to turn away.
Especially from places where it’s forbidden.

So I asked God one night, “Give me a sign!”
“Tell me if what I feel is true.”
A burning bush?
Lightning?
A pillar of fire?
Something, anything to help interpret this confusing world.
All I have is an aching heart to follow.

That same night, a knock came to my door.
It was a close friend. He cried on my shoulder.
He had asked the same question, but to his parents that night.
And in the arms of friendship and comfort, everything was better.

12 years ago I found God. In the corner of my bedroom, weeping. “Will things be better?” he asked. “We’ll have broken hearts to mend and overthrow monsters of fear.” I said. And he just smiled.

M-

We’ve received some letters that aren’t actually “coming out” letters, so I’ll start to post them here in the news section. Here is the first:

Hi Mom,

It’s been 5 years almost to the day that I lost you, the hardest part about this is wondering if you hear and or see me from where you are. I can only hope you
can and know that I love you so deep and miss you everyday, but if you can hear my thoughts you already know that.

My life this year has been very up and down, more downs then ups , my love life is pretty FLAT to say the least , this whole issue about learning to love
and trust again is very big and a hard personal issue to conquer. When I lost you I lost not only my best friend and mother but I lost my apart of my soul that
can’t be replaced.

There are times I sit at night (which is usually the loneliest of times for me) thinking of you and the things we used to talk about, your advice was not really
considered at the time, but now I wish I would have listened to some of it, your wisdom was soulful, I have been threw so many changes in my life since I lost you and
a lot of confusion, I only wish that you where here to confide in.

You know that I still can’t look at your picture yet without breaking down and crying a river of tears, I know this sounds so petty lame but, I feel lost and
secluded, but on the other hand I know that is my own fault for isolating myself for so long on an emotional& physical level.

Mom I will end this with a poem.

Love and hate run hand and hand
When I think of you I think of the love I lost.
When I think of you I think of the hate for the man who caused this lose and wish him all pain at whatever cost.
Time can only mend the pain I feel they say, but for better or worse that day has not yet come and I still await that day.
The sun rises and falls for every new day and with each new day I pray and say to god “why me?” Why did I have to be left alone with this pain; it gives me
nothing to gain.

Only the fondest of memories of you can warm my heart from this pain and for that I try to focus on and for that reason I know that this hate will eventually fade to
something of the past.

Till then I will hold strong and stay in faith that this pain will end.

If I ever see you in heaven again know this to be true my love for you as my mother is very strong and will last forever last.

You’re Son
Darren