It was getting late and the college graduation dance was beginning to wind down as people were leaving and saying their goodbyes. It was a pleasant, June evening in 1947 as my “date”and I took a leisurely stroll towards my fraternity house.

To this day I’m not sure just why I lured her into the back seat of the car...the old Chevy with the dead battery that had been setting for some time in the garage. Was it my chance to experiment with someone of the opposite sex...and do something I had never tried before? Perhaps there will be some feeling...some reaction on my part? Something that may have been hidden all this time?

As we sat there quietly, I began to loosen the front of her dress. With one hand I fondled her breasts and with the other I slowly massaged between her legs. Soon she was breathless and I could almost hear her heart pounding! I managed to retrieve a condom from my back pocket which I had stored there for a long time (I once bought it on a whim at a hotel restroom dispenser). It was like trying to place it over a wet noodle!

I apologized for my behavior (or lack of it) and soon I walked her back to her nearby sorority house with an embarrassing “good night”.

That night, back in the dorm of the fraternity house, as I had done so many times before, I asked myself, “Why?” Why me? When an average, heterosexual guy sees a beautiful girl, his heart begins to pound. He doesn’t make it pound. It just does it on its own. When I spot a handsome guy, my heart begins to beat faster. I certainly didn’t ask for this to happen! I often thought that it was exactly the same as someone being born left-handed. He might try writing with his right hand but he would find it clumsy and would soon give up.

Basically, this is the story behind my nine short stories, entitled “Why Not?” My own personal thoughts...my own experiences...were exhibited through the characters I created. The plots deal with the young as well as the aging homosexuals. I tried to showcase a wide variety of gay personalities (“Sweet Talk”). I talked about denial, frustration, depression...even suicidal tendencies as a result of fighting my innate sexual preferences.

There is Boris, a young, Russian piano virtuoso who, through denial of his gay “fantasies” concentrated all of his energy into the keys of his piano (“Fingers”). There is John, who lost his job and his roommate (suicide) and who decides through his church to join a secluded monastery in Germany (“Vow of Silence”). Each story has a message. I offered my own personal views on the currently controversial issue of same-sex marriage. The religious aspect is also included (“Good for the Soul”). You will meet a gay, handsome boy from San Salvador who made his way to the States and became a street hustler to survive in Hollywood (“Pretty Boy”, a parody of the screen play, “Pretty Woman”).

No doubt most of the music which I have composed over the years also reflects my gay tendencies and experiences, e.g. “Patiently”, “Crazy Little Mixed-up Affair”, “This Is My Last Romance”, “Friend of Mine”, “Why Not?” and many others.

I hope you enjoy reading and listening!