The year was 1989, and hundreds of men were waiting to board one of the first-ever all-gay RSVP cruises. Among the crowd at the New Orleans dock were Randy Stopher and David Kirk. Randy had come alone for this new experience, and David was with a friend.

David initiated their first contact when he asked Randy to join them for the prearranged dinner seating. Randy agreed, though he confessed later that he was secretly in search of Tom Selleck! For half the cruise David “chased Randy around the ship.” Eventually, they became inseparable... then suddenly the cruise was over. “I think I’m going to miss you,” David ventured. “Me, too,” Randy replied. Several $800 phone bills later, Randy transferred jobs from Chicago to Philadelphia, and “that was that, and is that!” the happy couple says.

By Angela Minor

Angela has had the good fortune to participate in several professional careers over the course of her lifetime. She has applied her skills to teaching English, and writing; small business ownership, and writing; sales and marketing, and writing; university graduate level research, and writing. As is evident, writing has been her companion throughout! She is the word nerd who actually takes notes at symposiums and events! And not just on the presented topics. She finds people, settings, interactions and conversations fascinating. The entire visual, auditory, kinesthetic experience is worth noticing and noting.

Angela has traveled the globe soaking in the scenery, culture and customs near and far. She has lived in the bush of Alaska to the Atlantic seaside of Savannah and various places in between. She is currently a full time freelance writer with pieces in various venues on the web and many local and regional publications. When she is not writing, Angela can be found at the latest Broadway show or communing with Mother Earth in The Great Smoky Mountains.