Logical Family: A Memoir

by Armistead Maupin

(I enjoyed antiquing at a revealingly early age.)

The South makes social progress, like everywhere else, though it does its level best not to notice it while it’s going on. Only later, when it stands a serious risk of looking like a total asshole, does it claim to have always been on the side of decency and justice.

I wondered in that moment how the Navy would phrase the letter to my parents. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Maupin: Your son died the way he would have wanted: stark naked and covered in soapsuds and desperately seeking attention.