Ken Keechl, Broward’s first openly gay county mayor, would have celebrated his 61st birthday Oct. 10. Instead, his loved ones and supporters will celebrate his life.

I suppose it was only a matter of time. There are cruises dedicated to music lovers of all genres: country, heavy metal, Broadway (Seth Rudetsky’s cruises are supposed to be fabulous), ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s (my husband and I went on the Disco Cruise, twice!).

There are no kennels or cages in this house. People are sparse, too.

Having grown up in Kansas, in the middle of the United States, I’ve always longed to see more than the flat, flyover states that are the Midwest.

It’s January, 2023. My son (FTM) sends me a text — just an aside in the middle of a conversation about movies or philosophy or something: “Also!! Top surgery on June 27.”

My son (FTM) has been transitioning for several years and completely passes as male. His HRT treatments started before Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republicans scared off or shut down a lot of gender-affirming clinics and have continued in the gray area where they can continue treatment but not take on new patients. My son still had begun developing breast tissue prior to starting HRT and so has been binding for years.