John Burlison:
CLASS OF 1969
Potlatch High SchoolClass of 1969
Potlatch, ID
Illinois State University - Graduate SchoolClass of 1977
Normal, IL
University of Idaho - Letters & ScienceClass of 1976
Moscow, ID
Moscow High SchoolClass of 1969
Moscow, ID
John's Story
Life away from Potlatch High
I'm currently living in Wheaton, Maryland, outside Washington, DC. I recently retired, and spent much of the last year on the road to Cleveland, Yellowstone, Portugal, and the Mediterranean.
After graduating from high school, I attended the University of Idaho. I managed to squeeze into seven years what most people stretch out to four. In the meantime, I married Susan Comstock, and we moved to Normal, IL for a year of graduate work at Illinois State University. We moved back to the Northwest in 1977.
In February of '78, I went to work at Batelle-Northwest in Richland, WA. Susan and I divorced in 1982, and I was fired from my position at Battelle in the spring of '83.
That last paragraph doesn't even begin to describe the events of those years. I was naive and immature. I was struggling with belief, I was working in an environment that I felt was asking me to act unethically, and I was trying to be honest about my homosexuality while wanting to stay in my marriage. My life at work, church, and home pretty much fell apart. I hurt some wonderful, loving people, and I'm sorry for the hurt I caused.
In 1983, I moved to Washington, DC with a suitcase, and nothing else. I didn't realize that people don't do that. I found a roommate immediately, and within a month met my partner, Ron, and he and I have been together ever since. I held a variety of scary temp jobs (I really was a Kelly Girl), but eventually landed a fulltime gig as a technical writer at a software firm.
I stayed involved with software development and product development for the rest of my "career." I liked the work, and was extremely fortunate for the opportunities it provided me. In 1989, we bought a townhouse in Wheaton, MD, just outside DC, and we've lived there ever since.
In 2007, both Ron and I retired. I'm not sure what this next chapter of my life is bringing. I do a lot of square dancing, so I suppose I'll be doing more of that. I also love to travel, and am already planning some trips here and across the big ponds.
I'm also planning to do some free-lance open sou...Expand for more
rce software development. I have a couple of software itches I want to scratch.
So looking back, June and July of 2008 were busy. Ron and I went to a family reunion near Yellowstone Park. We were joined by assorted nieces and nephews, brothers, and sisters, etc. Mary, my youngest daughter, came up for a day with her family, so I got to meet her husband and her five kids. It was a wonderful time.
In July, I spend a couple of weeks square dancing, first at the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs convention in Cleveland, then another week at a men's gathering in Maryland. As Ron will tell you, I'm a square dance enthusiast, and am now learning how to be a square dance caller.
My sister Grace and I took a 3-week trip to Spain and Portugal in September. After Portugal, I headed onto Rome for a Mediterranean cruise with Ron and some of our friends. The Portugal trip was amazing. Grace and I loved every minute of it. We saw lots of ruins, palaces, and castles, and met some of the friendliest, most gracious people on the planet. The cruise was also wonderful. It's the first "big" ship experience that Ron and I have had. The cruise went from Italy to Greece, then Turkey. 1835 pictures with which to thrill family and friends!
This February I spent yet another long week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Seven friends and I chartered a 53' monohull, and pretended we were Pastafarians. I even grew a beard. Arrrrggghhh! Check out Moonhole on Bequia. So many islands to visit, and so little time! At the end of our sail this year, four of us rented a villa on Bequia for five days. My friend, Jerry, and I biked all over the island where the terrain is either up or down.
I'm interested in reconnecting with old friends, and making new ones. I make it back to Idaho and the West once or twice a year. I hope I can renew some friendships.
I keep a couple of blogs. I warn you that these chronicle the life of a gay man, and you'll probably find out how boring my life really is....
Doodle Today - doodletoday.blogspot.com
Happy's Lame Recipes - happysrecipes.blogspot.com
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Photos
