Friends,
I was looking forward to being with many of you over this holiday weekend at the National Equality March in D.C., where many of you are today. I want to explain why I won’t be with you.
Friday morning, my aunt, would would have been eighty-nine years old next month, died.
I was fortunate to have called my aunt the night before she died. I confess it was late, I was tired, and almost didn’t make the call, thinking I would call her the following day. But, thankfully, I did call her.
She always asked, “Am I your favorite aunt?” And I always asked, “Am I your favorite nephew?” The answer from us both was always, “Yes!” The irony being I had no other aunt, and she, no other nephew. It was a little secret we shared, one that somehow bound us together. We were, in many ways, kindred spirits.
There are so many lessons from her death, but the one that seems so clear at this moment is that even at 89, life is short, and every chance you get to tell someone you love them, or to make a difference in someone’s life, or in the world, is a gift, a responsibility, and a right.
I’m grateful I was able to tell my aunt I loved her before she died, although I had no idea “I love you,” would literally be my last words to her. I’m thankful they were.
If you’re at the March, or somehow participating in the fight for our equality, I hope you’ll take this opportunity to remember that what we’re fighting for is, indeed, our right to live and to love. It’s the very same message we shared when we created The Great Nationwide Kiss-In. Repeal of DOMA and DADT, and signing into law the Hate Crimes Bill and ENDA are crucial, and will help us get there, but even those great acts are only a small part of the solution.
I was lucky to be able to tell my aunt, “I love you,” just hours before she died. I hope you’ll take a moment out of your day, maybe right this minute, to tell someone, and show someone, you love them. And continue fighting for that very right. Because telling someone, “I love you,” and proving to them that you do, is the greatest gift, the greatest responsibility, and the greatest right of all.