Story Time: Chris’ Letter

This day last year: March 6th 2022 — I received a card in the mail along with a check.

My dad worked for the City of Portland for over 30 years. He worked in waste water and was a laborer/technician. Not a glamorous job by any means, but one that was extremely secure and that he enjoyed.

I came out to my parents as a lesbian when I was 17 and both my parents struggled with it in their own ways. My dad had a particularly difficult time with it but found comfort and support in a place he may not have expected: his boss.

My dad’s direct supervisor was Chris. She was a woman whom he admired and respected and she was gay. He was able to confide in her in ways he wasn’t with his buddies and co-workers (predominantly men), and she helped him to navigate how to parent and support a gay teen and imagine a brighter future for his daughter.

Chris is now a regular at The Bra, bringing in new people with her almost every single time she visits.

Chris is a reminder to me that mentors, helpers, fighters, advocates and confidants are all around us. That generations and generations have tilled the soil before us and for us. And in however small or big way we can, that we should and can do that for the future as well.

Though Chris’ letter is especially important to me, hers was far from the only one I received around this time. I received literally HUNDREDS of letters and emails from all over the world from people prior to opening. And each and every one of them helped to fuel the dream. It was then that I realized this dream of mine was no longer just mine. I had opened up the possibility for others to dream with me.

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Even to this day — a year later — when things get really REALLY hard, I go and pull out one of these letters and I reread it. And then I get right back on that horse.