Rex Rooster

Year of the Queens Rex Rooster

Come with me on my journey from childhood into young adulthood. I felt as though I was running, full speed, away from my abusive family. We are all told that life gets better with age and I was counting on it. I had been conditioned by years of uncertainty and I held tight to my beliefs that I would, one day, be great. Even today it is illegal to be gay in over 30% of the world's nations. In some countries you can and will be put to death. In nations where it is legal, it is likely not safe everywhere. Discovering that you are gay is scary for any young man. I was in West Texas when I came out in the early 1980s, and I lived in a community of cowboys, ranchers and oil field workers in a barren countryside where a body could disappear. Most of the population was religious and quick to remind people, outside of their community, that Hell was waiting for them. Lucky for me I happened to find a secret society on my lowest day. It turned out to be a safe group where I could learn about who I really was. Year of the Queens is my story about a fantastical world I never imagined could exist. It was a world filled with glitz and glamour and I met an unlikely cast of characters who helped me escape from my painful childhood. I learned that villains are not always who you think they are, and saviors come in many forms. I was totally unprepared to cope with the world that I had been thrust into, but with the help from my newfound friends I learned to grow my own wings and fly.