At The Ali Forney Center Gala

At Friday night's Ali Forney Center fundraiser, Carl Siciliano thoughtfully seated me and Dr. Jeff at the "Icons & Legends" table, knowing that I would be beyond delighted to spend much of the evening chatting with Stonewall Uprising participants Martin Boyce and Danny Garvin, who were homeless teenagers at the time. Carl forwards us a portion of the note Garvin wrote him afterwards:

Thank you so much for inviting me along with Martin as your guest to a Place at the Table for the AFC. I felt so honored to be there and to see how much the world has changed for gay kids on the street. I wish there had been something like AFC for me when I was on the streets. Maybe I would not have had to live so many nights of out lockers in Port of Authority on 42nd St. Or sell myself for 8 dollars to have a bed to sleep to in and a place to shower. Just some place to be hidden from the world until the next day when it would wall start all over again. I know I would have robbed less food from stores just to get something to eat.

Also seated at our table were Paris Is Burning director Jenny Livingston and one of the film's stars, Junior Labeija, who was also homeless in New York City as a teenager. Labeija, Boyce, and Garvin are all volunteers for the Ali Forney Center. (Amusing side note: Labeija entered in a magnificent cape, which he checked before sitting down.)