90-year-old granddad talked about the difficulties he had coming out as gay
Ever since he was 12-years-old, Kenneth Felts knew that he was gay and that he couldn’t tell anybody about it. And he couldn’t tell anybody about it because he grew up in Kansas, during the “Archie Bunker” Era, to a middle class, hardworking Christian family who believed that “girls were girls and men were men.” Tina was Tina and Tom was Tom. And Dorothy, not Dorian, was the only person who better be skipping down that yellow brick road with Toto and them.
“Those were the days” when almost everybody had to stay in their place. The folks who could have the “Queer Eye” for a gal or gent were the folks who had the money and political clout of an Eleanor (Ellie) Roosevelt or J. Edger (JE) Hoover. Oh stop, we all know that Ellie had many “Carol” moments and that ol’ JE, there, wished Cary Grant called him, “My Favorite Husband.” It’s no secret that they “could make it do what it do” to whomever they wanted to. But for folks like Mr. Kenneth Felts, unh-unh.
Mr. Felts was a part of that “almost everybody” group who was too middle class to have a “Brokeback Mountain” moment. That type of stuff, right there, would get a person branded with the scarlet letter “S “and then cast out to the outskirts of society where he or she would be force to roam with the other miscreants. “In the 50s, 60s, if you came out, it really would cost you your family, your job, all of your relationships because you would immediately be called a pervert and I really didn’t have the strength to face that,” is what Mr. Felts told the folks on the 3rdHourToday show.
It wasn’t until 78-years later, during the Kardashian Era, that Mr. Felt got “the strength” to tell folks that he would’ve dated Caitlyn Jenner when she was Bruce. “I’m out! I’m gay and I’m free,” said Mr. Felts. And free, he is. Mr. Felts is writing an autobiography which includes stories about his past relationships. One story that he tells is that about his life, in California, with Phillip. “It was a void in my life that had been filled,” is what Mr. Felts told the folks on 3rd Hour Today.
Mr. Felts says that his life with Phillip was really going well until he went to that one place, church, where society loves telling folks about what sins of yours they think have caused your sin cup to runneth over. Needless to say, that led to Mr. Felts packing up his duds, going back to his home in Kansas, and leaving Phillip behind in California.
Phillip bounced back, though. He found someone whom he lived with until his passing. Mr. Felts, however, took a while to come around to the fact that he doesn’t need to be living a life that is not his. So, he went through the married phase.
He married a young lady by the name of Mary Ethel Gwen whom he never told about Phillip or any of the other gents who were his “special friends:” “I never talked to her about it. I honestly thought I was doing a huge great job of being straight.” The two had a daughter, Rebecca. Things were going great for seven years, but then Mr. Felts decided he couldn’t do that anymore. He said deuces to Mary Ethel Gwen who, I’m quite sure, was left wondering what happened.
Just so y’all know, Mr. Felts did keep a relationship with his daughter who, at the age of 22 in 1995, told him that she likes Halle Berry more than she does Brad Pitt. Because he didn’t want to blow his cover, Mr. Felts went through the whole “holy roller” spiel with her about not being gay. “Liking Halle Berry more than Brad Pitt is a sin before God,” is what Mr. Felt more than likely told his daughter. But at the end of the day, he accepted his daughter, her wife, and their children as his family.
Mr. Felts, who wrote his coming out story on his Facebook page, says that a young lady read his story and decided to see if she could find his long lost love, Phillip.
The young lady got in contact with Phillip’s niece who told her that Phillip has passed away not too long after his partner of many years had died. Once again, Mr. Felts was heartbroken, “Phillip Allen Jones was the love of my life. I have a very sad and lonely heart today. My first and greatest love has passed away.”
Although Mr. Kenneth Felts won’t be able to get back “those…days” he lost with Phillip, he’ll be able to find a fella on OurTime dot com who he can openly tell, “Phillip was my favorite husband.”
“Those were the days” when almost everybody had to stay in their place. The folks who could have the “Queer Eye” for a gal or gent were the folks who had the money and political clout of an Eleanor (Ellie) Roosevelt or J. Edger (JE) Hoover. Oh stop, we all know that Ellie had many “Carol” moments and that ol’ JE, there, wished Cary Grant called him, “My Favorite Husband.” It’s no secret that they “could make it do what it do” to whomever they wanted to. But for folks like Mr. Kenneth Felts, unh-unh.
Mr. Felts was a part of that “almost everybody” group who was too middle class to have a “Brokeback Mountain” moment. That type of stuff, right there, would get a person branded with the scarlet letter “S “and then cast out to the outskirts of society where he or she would be force to roam with the other miscreants. “In the 50s, 60s, if you came out, it really would cost you your family, your job, all of your relationships because you would immediately be called a pervert and I really didn’t have the strength to face that,” is what Mr. Felts told the folks on the 3rdHourToday show.
It wasn’t until 78-years later, during the Kardashian Era, that Mr. Felt got “the strength” to tell folks that he would’ve dated Caitlyn Jenner when she was Bruce. “I’m out! I’m gay and I’m free,” said Mr. Felts. And free, he is. Mr. Felts is writing an autobiography which includes stories about his past relationships. One story that he tells is that about his life, in California, with Phillip. “It was a void in my life that had been filled,” is what Mr. Felts told the folks on 3rd Hour Today.
Mr. Felts says that his life with Phillip was really going well until he went to that one place, church, where society loves telling folks about what sins of yours they think have caused your sin cup to runneth over. Needless to say, that led to Mr. Felts packing up his duds, going back to his home in Kansas, and leaving Phillip behind in California.
Phillip bounced back, though. He found someone whom he lived with until his passing. Mr. Felts, however, took a while to come around to the fact that he doesn’t need to be living a life that is not his. So, he went through the married phase.
He married a young lady by the name of Mary Ethel Gwen whom he never told about Phillip or any of the other gents who were his “special friends:” “I never talked to her about it. I honestly thought I was doing a huge great job of being straight.” The two had a daughter, Rebecca. Things were going great for seven years, but then Mr. Felts decided he couldn’t do that anymore. He said deuces to Mary Ethel Gwen who, I’m quite sure, was left wondering what happened.
Just so y’all know, Mr. Felts did keep a relationship with his daughter who, at the age of 22 in 1995, told him that she likes Halle Berry more than she does Brad Pitt. Because he didn’t want to blow his cover, Mr. Felts went through the whole “holy roller” spiel with her about not being gay. “Liking Halle Berry more than Brad Pitt is a sin before God,” is what Mr. Felt more than likely told his daughter. But at the end of the day, he accepted his daughter, her wife, and their children as his family.
Mr. Felts, who wrote his coming out story on his Facebook page, says that a young lady read his story and decided to see if she could find his long lost love, Phillip.
The young lady got in contact with Phillip’s niece who told her that Phillip has passed away not too long after his partner of many years had died. Once again, Mr. Felts was heartbroken, “Phillip Allen Jones was the love of my life. I have a very sad and lonely heart today. My first and greatest love has passed away.”
Although Mr. Kenneth Felts won’t be able to get back “those…days” he lost with Phillip, he’ll be able to find a fella on OurTime dot com who he can openly tell, “Phillip was my favorite husband.”
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