[suebee]

Over the weekend I remembered another episode of "All In the Family" that affected me. Edith's cousin passed away, and Edith went to recover a silver tea set that had been in the family for generations from her cousin's "room mate". Even though Edith wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree, she was always a kind woman. When she realized that the "room-mate" was really her cousin's partner, and that the two woman had shared tea from that tea set every day after work, she decided to leave the set with her. Edith worked from an emotional level and recognized what the woman was going through - no overt support for the loss of her partner, no claim on the tea set - which had great sentimental value for her......

I realize now that seeing that episode was an eye-opener for me, and may actually have been responsible for me staying in the closet for so long. It had never occured to me before that lesbians had to keep their relationships hidden.