Identical twins, we were named George and James by our parents. We called each other Georgie and Jimmy. Others called us by many names: Georgie and Jimmy, George and Jim, Twinny, Your-Other-Half, Your-Better-Half, Which-One-Are-You-Anyway?
We began our life together. After high school, we went into a Catholic seminary to study for the priesthood together. Three years later, in 1962, Jimmy left the seminary. For the first time since our conception we occupied separate residences.
I left the seminary two years after Jimmy and returned to our parents' home. Jimmy was in college living away from home. Three months later, I joined the United States Peace Corps, went off to St. Louis and then to Puerto Rico for training, and at the beginning of 1965 I was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica. Now my twin and I were living in separate countries.
I married a Costa Rican girl in 1966 and took up permanent residence in Costa Rica. We had four children. In 1974, I returned to the United States with my young family.
We stayed for three months in Boston with my twin, until he moved to San Francisco to explore and enjoy his newly discovered homosexuality. Now we were living on opposite coasts of the country. In September of 1988, I moved out to San Francisco to take care of my twin who was dying of AIDS. He died on March 31, 1989. After 50 years, our separation was complete. Or was it? Thus this blog....
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