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After 12 years of marriage, Tony Perri finally came out as a gay man.
Here, he tells to his grandson Jeffrey about coming out. Ironically, Jeffrey, who also happens to be gay, was afraid to come out to his openly gay grandfather—fearing what his grandfather would think.
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
After 12 years of marriage, Tony Perri finally came out as a gay man.
Here, he tells to his grandson Jeffrey about coming out. Ironically, Jeffrey, who also happens to be gay, was afraid to come out to his openly gay grandfather—fearing what his grandfather would think.
Broadcast History
NPR's Morning Edition 9.18.09
Transcript
TP: I remember when I was about 17, I went to confession — told a priest that I thought there was something a little different in me, that I was attracted to men. And the only advice he gave me was, "be careful who you tell that to, son." So I didn't tell anybody for another 17 years. And the next person I told after that priest was your grandmother.
JP: Mm-hmm.
TP: I could not in all good conscious stay in the marriage. It wasn't fair to grandma; it wasn't fair to the children; it wasn't fair to me. And one thing your grandmother had asked me to do when we separated was, "please, never tell the children."
But there reached a period of time that I had to really sit down with each of the kids and just say the word "gay. I am gay."
But coming out to you was probably the most proudest moment I've ever had. You were 9 years old, and uncle John and I had just split up, and you came to v...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Time again for StoryCorps -- the project recording conversations between
loved ones.
Today -- we'll hear from Tony Perri [peh-REE], who sat down with his 20-year-old
grandson -- Jeffrey.
In the early 1970s, Tony was a married man... living with Jeffrey's
grandmother and their children.
Then Tony told his wife that he was gay.
It was something that he'd been advised NOT to share ... years earlier.
OUTRO:Tony Perri with his grandson, Jeffrey Perri, in Rochester, New York.
Their conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress along
with ALL StoryCorps interviews.
Subscribe to the project's podcast at NPR-dot-ORG.
[STORYCORPS FUNDER]
Additional Credits
NPR, Corporation for Public Broadcasting
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