From the Diary of Jeb Alexander

Alexander was a gay man who was born in 1899 and lived in DC his entire life. He kept an extensive diary, which his niece edited and published. I mentioned this book in an earlier post. True to my promise, to post ealy 20th century tales of gay men (kind of retro-blogging) here's the first excerpt:

Wednesday, 25 August 1920

"I have at last found a friend, a lovable, handsome fellow, a realization of the friend I have dreamed of during all those lonely nights while I walked alone through the streets...It happened like this: I went to Lafayette Square [a park across the street from the White House that used to be a cruising place for gay men --- Scott] and found a seat in the deep shade of the big beech. It is the best bench in the park. A youth sat down beside me, a youth in a green suit with a blue dotted tie. He has beautiful eyes and sensuous lips...His name is Randall Hare.

"We strolled down to the Ellipse, where we sat affectionately together on a dim bench. Later we came to rest in the moon-misted lawns near the [Washington] Monument. With an excess of urgent caution I gazed about, watching for some prowling figure. 'We are safe,' Randall whispered. And he was right. Nothing disturbed us as we lay in each other's arms, my love and I, while the moon beamed from a spacious sky and the cool breezes rustled our hair...Afterward, we lay close together and gazed at the stars above, becoming fast friends, exchanging confidences."