Last week I turned 75, and at that stage of life, it’s almost impossible not to look back. I do that, of course, but what surprised me this year is how much I’m also thinking about the future.

Next month, Philadelphia Gay News will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and that milestone connects my personal journey with the work of PGN in a way that feels deeply intertwined. But my story — our story — began long before the newspaper. It began at Stonewall.

And this is the part that still catches me in the chest.

Both the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, and the mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle Parker, will be speaking at that anniversary celebration. When I think back to the 18-year-old version of myself standing outside Stonewall, surrounded by chaos, fear and a riot born of desperation, it never once crossed my mind that the movement sparked that night would lead here.

I could not have imagined a future where the governor and the mayor would stand beside us, not as adversaries, not as reluctant acknowledgments, but as allies.

That arc from invisibility to recognition, from resistance to respect, is what this moment represents to me. It’s not just a birthday. It’s not just an anniversary. It’s proof that change is possible, that courage matters, and that even the most fragile spark can grow into something powerful.

And that is what I carry with me as I look ahead.

And the story doesn’t end there.

Even now, I’m working on a new project, one that both the governor and the mayor have expressed support for. That alone still gives me pause. At 75, I find myself not slowing down, not retreating into memory, but looking forward once again. The future still calls.

And there’s one more moment I know will stay with me that night. When I step to the podium, I’ll get to thank my husband, my legally married husband. That, too, is something the 18-year-old me standing outside Stonewall could never have imagined. None of us could have, not on that first night, not in the smoke and fear and fury of it all.

To go from a time when love like ours was criminalized, erased and ridiculed, to a moment where it is recognized, protected and celebrated, that is not just personal. That is historic.

So yes, at 75, I look back with pride. But more importantly, I look forward with gratitude and resolve. Because the arc from Stonewall to this moment tells us something vital: progress is possible, change is real, and the future is still being written.

And I’m not done yet.

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