Gay Is Good, Unless It's Bad

As far as I know, the word gay can mean several things:

1. Lighthearted and carefree, as in "We had a gay old time."
2. Brightly colored, or showy, like "A gay display of pink roses."
3. Several of my guy friends that have a much better sense of style than I do, have a great sense of humor and, like me, prefer men.
4. My mom's middle name.
5. When used as a pejorative, it means stupid or undesirable.

What it doesn't describe is a boy who wants to get A's (smart), voluntarily plays the piano (talented), sings in a choir ensemble (not tone-deaf), and chooses to play tennis instead of football (athletic, dislikes pain). This boy doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment because he thinks that "All eighth-grade girls are pretty much insane (again, smart)," but he is hoping that at some point in his life they become a little less insane (cautiously optimistic).

No one has ever said, "Man, Zach, you're gay because you play the piano," but some of the things he participates in have been called gay. Fortunately, Zach is completely confident with the choices he has made, and could care less what other people think. I, on the other hand, get a little pissed off.

Having a teenager can get on your nerves and they're often annoying, but dealing with everyone else's kids, and reliving junior high, is much worse.