To the Editor:
In August 1995, I visited my dad, Jim Lester (then age 72), and his wife who were living on Westport Island. We took a road (and boat) trip and one day hiked on Monhegan Island.
Part way around the island, we took a break and relaxed on the grass beside the trail. A couple of other hikers came along and said hi, and one of them asked my dad about his t-shirt, which proclaimed boldly, “Maine Won’t Discriminate.”
My dad explained that there was a pending ballot measure that would ban municipal gay rights laws, and he was a volunteer in opposition to the measure. The hiker smiled broadly and said she was a lesbian from Pittsburgh and she appreciated my dad’s efforts.
That evening we stayed in Castine, and over dinner, my dad said proudly, “I made a new friend today – a lesbian from Pittsburgh!”
My dad died last year at age 87 (by then living in Tennessee), but he would have been so pleased that Maine has progressed to legalizing same-sex marriage.
Martha Lester, Seattle, Wash.
