"The Imitation Of Life..."

Heated Rivalry is the Brokeback Mountain

of its generation.

I remember sitting in the theatre some twenty years ago (along with many other gay men) and realizing that tears were streaming from my eyes as I identified with the plight of Jack and Ennis and along with everyone else accepted their unhappy ending.

And then a generation later, it happened again, I watched a love story (actually two love stories) blossom on the screen and once more my tears flowed as I could so easily identify with Shane and Ilya and their dreams of men still young. And now, we have love with happy endings that seem possible for any of us to attain and that is the significance of this evolution in the telling of "our stories."

I am thankful that I have lived long enough to see this day, when gay love stories with happy endings can be so widely acclaimed and accepted. And indeed, possible for the dreamers among us.