James Coppola:  

Life Until about 1994 my life had been pretty ordinary. I had been married for 18 years to a girl from high school. I had been working for the IRS since I was 19. I still am there and can finish doing my time in 2010. Yet ordinary wasn’t where I was supposed to be. In 1994, I decided to follow feelings I had been having since I was a teenager. It was that summer that I started to be myself when I came out to my wife, friends and family. Everyone around me was completely supportive of my decision to live the life I was meant to have. I divorced the following year and began a journey that led me to Barry. Barry and I met online in 1999. He was my first “relationship” with a man. I had dated plenty before then, but when we met I knew this would be the relationship I was looking for and would be the person I would be with for the rest of my life. Barry had been out all his life. He grew up in Lindenhurst, went to FIT in Manhattan, and lived in Manhattan until the 1976, when he moved back to Long Island. Barry has been very successful in his work in retail and design. He is currently a Visual District Manager for Bed, Bath & Beyond. He's the one who makes our house look as beautiful as it does. In the late 80’s when HIV/AIDS began devastating the community Barry became involved in volunteering for organizations raising money for organizations helping people with HIV/AIDS. Barry continued his volunteer work through the next decade. In 1999, when we met it was natural for me to find ways to help him with his volunteer work. I have volunteered for several non-profits since meeting. I have served on the boards of People with AIDS Co...Expand for more