John Hulsey, Author

Yesterday, a veterans’ group I am part of posted an image of a rainbow flag and recognized its gay and lesbian members. Most of the feedback and comments were positive, but as you can imagine, there were also a lot of hateful and bigoted responses. The group administrator deleted those as they came in, but some of them were up long enough to be seen. Other responses were not positive but lacked the “hate factor” and were allowed to remain. One in particular caught my attention and prompted me to reply at great length. I share it here with the original poster’s name removed as it’s not my intention to attack or shame any particular person. Instead, I am choosing to use this opportunity to share my thoughts on being gay, being a veteran, and navigating the spaces in between. First, the response to the gay pride flag being shared: Honestly could care less about someone elses lifestyle. I live my own life. However, i come to this site to escape the gender poltics of this day and age, and y...

Saturday started like any other southern summer morning. Warm air, quiet street, coffee in hand, and that brief moment where the world feels soft before the heat settles in for good. He sat on the porch swing, letting the breeze brush past him, pretending for a few minutes that the day ahead was just another Saturday. But the truth was already sitting heavy in his chest. His phone kept lighting up with messages he had no energy to read. He ignored it and turned on music instead, letting Vivaldi fill the house so he would not have to hear his own thoughts. He cleaned for hours, moving from room to room like a man trying to outrun something. Scrubbing, dusting, rearranging. Anything to stay busy. Anything to avoid the reality waiting for him. Eventually he ran out of things to clean. He stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water would wash away the weight he had been carrying. The moment the water hit his skin, everything he had been holding back broke loose. He cried until his leg...

I watch him sometimes He doesn’t know I’m there I see everything on his face His endless list of things to do The weight he carries The worry he feels This life can be so hard I can’t shield him from that And it hurts my heart To see pain in his eyes  I watch him, this man And I can only love him With all that I am And hope that will be enough To ease his burdens As he works to ease mine

Welcome to my new website. It's finally happening, I have written a book and it will soon be available via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. Please watch this space for more updates this week. Here we go!