"My timing was bad, though. When my three years at the Pentagon were up and I applied for release, they told me I must be joking. A war was on, and they needed officers with my training and experience. The answer was no."   -- Robert Taylor, The Innocent

Listening to 70-year old journalist/author Robert Taylor talk about his experience with the Army in the mid- to late-1960s brings to mind the irrational arguments still used against the repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" by some U.S. military and elected leaders like Senator John McCain. Some of Robert’s experiences are eerily similar to those currently shared, some 40-plus years later, by Lt. Dan Choi and others currently in the forefront of this battle. While reading The Innocent, Robert’s fictionalized story of his service in Army Intelligence during the Vietnam War, one may also get a chance to visualize and really think about the consequences of "DADT." They range from day-to-day life in the closet while in the service of one’s country to the incredible gifts gay and lesbian servicemen and women offer today, as they did then, to what may sometimes feel like an ungrateful nation. In the end, we are also faced with the reality that what gets hidden away in our “closets” is significant, both for us and for the worlds in which we live.

By Delena Wilkerson, Publisher

Delena is the publisher and editor of 10,000 Couples magazine. Over the past 25 years Delena has published many articles, edited a national newsletter, and been both author and editor of several how-to books on financial management for nonprofits.  Some of these experiences might even help with this latest venture.  For certain, her experiences at the helm of a local nonprofit organization taught her how to get the job done with minimal resources.  She is a graduate of Livingstone College in North Carolina and the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.  Delena currently lives in Oak Park, IL with her spouse and son, cat and koi.