I want to nominate my mom, Lita Bowman. She has had a tough but exciting life. A model and radio show host, she was a single mother who raised me and my sister. She remarried when I was 10 and was supportive when I opted to keep my birth father’s name. When I came out just after the military, she stood by me. Over the years, she has grown and evolved in many ways. At the age of 80 (though she only looks 65), she adores my partner and calls him her “stepson.” She recently had the opportunity to move to either be near my sister and her family or close to my partner and me. She chose to move to be closer to us. Why? She says we are “so much fun to be around.” She is an amazing woman, and we love her.
R. Christian Anderson Palm Desert, CA
“What makes our relationship so special,” Lita explains, “is we are the best of friends.” They are so close that they even bypassed that awkward coming-out conversation. “One day, she asked if I had a boyfriend,” Christian recalls. “I immediately answered, ‘No, but do you have a good man in mind?’ That was really it.” “I just knew, and he didn’t have to say a thing,” Lita says. “We simply understood each other.” Her son’s sexuality was never an issue, as Lita has always been comfortable around gay friends. “I have never experienced the warmth, gentleness or kindness with any other community of people,” she says. Lita’s love and respect for her son and the gay community is tinged with motherly compassion. “I truly believe that God put gay people in this world to teach us lessons,” she says, “to inspire us to make changes in our otherwise dull existence.”
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