.143 Robert Pardo & Andrew Raines
Bob and Andrew have known me my entire life. Literally! They’ve been friends of my parents for over 30 years and met me soon after I was born. Fast forward to present day, and they are both dear friends and crucial role models to me, so much so that I consider them as family. For decades, they have been wonderfully kind and a true source of love, comedy and joy for our family. And for me personally, they have been a beautiful emblem of hope and strength that I have looked to when I was struggling in the closet and still today as a proud and openly gay man.
Every time I speak with Bob and Andrew, I can always count on laughing hysterically or feeling encouraged regarding something I am working on or towards. They are such a dynamic duo and team together and I love spending time with them in person so I can see all the little quirks of a decades-long love unfold. To say they are generous would be an understatement; they are consistently finding ways to do good and be good, and even just in my life they have helped me achieve enormous opportunities and have often given me the foundation to continue my dreams. Individually, they are each incredibly intelligent and extremely fun to talk to. We can discuss anything from the most serious topics to politics, film, LGBTQ rights, and especially a good joke. They have a deep love for their family (including their dogs!) and friends which is at the forefront of the everything they say and do. It’s inspiring to be around that love and it’s a joy to receive it.
Bob and Andrew, thank you both so very much from the bottom of my heart for being such strong advocates of me. Thank you for living a strong and beautiful life as a powerful and compassionate couple — it inspires me and so many around you in ways that you may never know. Thank you for being there, both physically and mentally, for my entire family and for always making us laugh with your fabulous selves and senses of humor. Thank you for helping me along my year of travel and for introducing me to some of your wonderful friends, many of whom have become mine! Thank you for always looking toward the positive and the solution and for doing all the good work that you are doing. I’m so grateful to have you both in my life and can’t wait for Alejandro and I to come and visit you again, this time with our dog, too! Thank you for being such lovely human beings. Thank you for loving me and those in my life. Thank you, Bob and Andrew, for being you.
-BD