On bullies, high school and men of character

I have to share: my years in high school (which in many ways were awful except for some dear friends) were saved by my surprising and unforeseen friendship with two amazing men who somehow found me interesting and funny.  To this day they are terrific friends of mine who I can call at any hour and time will have not budged.  I value their friendship more than they know because I can count on them no matter what the distance between us.

I mention all this because, when I saw this pic, I thought of them.  Both were football players, popular in high school, who didn't need the "weight" of a rumored 'gay guy' to bring them down in the social strata of high school life.  And yet, they became my friends and never moved away from that position.  I know there were times when they took a stand in my defense.  These are truly moments of high school when you see what stuff guys are made of.  Sometimes this defines the word "character."

I've never taken their friendship for granted, and I always know I was lucky that they knew their own character at such a young age.  30 years later, I'm still amazed I factored in somehow.  They have sometimes flown hundreds of miles to see me perform on Broadway or on stages across the country.

With that said, I hope every guy out there who might not "know who they are" at a young age finds guys confident in themselves, as I did, to be their friends.  Friends who really are friends.

Thanks John Bell and David Burke for being who you are.  Your confidence inspired me to be who I am.