.291 | to Tom and Lance, from Grady Keefe

In 2009 I watched as Dustin Lance Black, clutching his newly won Oscar, told the story of Harvey Milk – and how that gave him hope. I had been out for five years, but doubted how many more I would make it through. In that moment he inspired me to fight on. Another year and another. Three years later in 2012 I am watching the Olympics as Tom Daley takes to the diving platform. He had just lost his dad to cancer, and I am stunned by his courage and persistence. To show up and compete, when it would have been so much easier not to. A few weeks after the games I lost my dad to cancer as well. I think of Tom in that moment and how if he can show up and compete, I can show up and work. And so I do. Never missing a day. Four years later and it is Election Night 2016. I am working for Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and preparing for her speech, not yet knowing the devastating turn we are about to face. That’s when I see them. Tom and Lance. Nervously I introduce myself to say thank you. In so many ways these two remarkable men got me to this moment where I was on the verge of living out my own dream. Then things took yet another turn. As my role switched to preparing for a concession speech instead of a victory I pushed onward. As Lance, Tom, and Hillary would. I was lost, heartbroken, and just gutted in the days that followed. Totally without a compass and lacking any form of hope or courage. And then there they were again. Tom and Lance reached out, two total strangers who I had only just met, offering to take me to breakfast. They knew how hard it could be for the world to turn, and they were there to offer shoulders to lean on (and they are some pretty great shoulders). While I certainly wish the outcome of that night were different, I will always be grateful for walking out of it with their friendship – which in so many ways feels like victory. I will always love and be grateful for them.