Love My Gay Dad

A closeted father. A limp-wrist confession I mocked instead of heard. And years of quiet, buried grief hiding behind a good handshake.

This one's personal, and it's got teeth.

Music: "Awaken Child" by Alex Kaplan. Listen and follow him wherever you stream music.

One ask. I don't ask for donations. I don't want your money through Patreon, Venmo, or any other platform. And I have no intention of taking advertising dollars, now or ever. What I do value is knowing these episodes are heard.

So if this one meant something to you, follow American Refugee on Spotify, or subscribe wherever you listen. Then share it with one person who needs to hear it. That's how a small, independent show grows, and it's the only support I'm asking for.

For the written word, with deeper dives, more receipts, and the same voice, find me on Substack: @kbamericanrefugee

Stay awake out there.
American Refugee

If any part of this story is yours, whether you're the one still in the closet, the one who loves someone who is, or the one who didn't listen when it mattered, these people can help:

• LGBT National Help Center: peer support and information for all ages, including people still closeted. ⁠1-888-843-4564⁠ · ⁠lgbthotline.org⁠• SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline: for older LGBTQ+ adults and those who love them. ⁠1-877-360-5428⁠ · ⁠sageusa.org⁠• PFLAG: support for LGBTQ+ people and their families. ⁠pflag.org⁠• The Trevor Project: 24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people, ages 13–24. ⁠1-866-488-7386⁠ · text START to 678-678• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 for crisis support (US)

Dreaming Again



My report cards all said the same thing: "He appears to be daydreaming a lot." They were right.



This episode is about the dreams we chase and the ones we let go. I walked away from the Carson dream to be home for my kids. Then in 2022, a "now or never" moment brought my dreams back, literally. And one night in Phuket, I followed the sound of "Beat It" into a parking lot and found a little girl in a school uniform, busking under a tip jar that read "Pay for School."

That girl was Nene Royal. She just won America's Got Talent. Her dream that night wasn't fame. It was school. I haven't stopped thinking about that since.



One ask. I don't ask for donations. I don't want your money through any platform. And I have no intention of taking advertising dollars, now or ever. What I do value is knowing these episodes are heard.



So if this one meant something to you, follow American Refugee on Spotify, or subscribe wherever you listen. Then share it with one person who's still chasing a dream. That's how a small, independent show grows, and it's the only support I'm asking for.

For the written word, with deeper dives, more receipts, and the same voice, find me on Substack at @kbamericanrefugee

Stay awake out there.
American Refugee


Embarrassed to Be a Minnesotan, and Even More an American

Michele Tafoya says people keep telling her they're embarrassed to be from Minnesota. So I checked.

Turns out the embarrassment is real. It's just not built on rumors. It's built on the record: a state legislator's assassination, a mother shot by ICE, a nurse who cared for veterans killed by federal agents, children gunned down at a Catholic school, and a national picture that gets darker the further you zoom out.

And that rhetorical trick Tafoya runs, "people tell me," is the same one that's been running this whole country for years. I checked that too.

Sources & further reading:
• Michele Tafoya's "people tell me" quote (FOX 9): fox9.com/news/michele-tafoya-fraud-affordability-immigration-minnesotas-us-senate-race
• 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators: Hortman, Hoffman, Boelter (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_shootings_of_Minnesota_legislators
• Killing of Renée Good (CNN): cnn.com/2026/01/08/us/renee-nicole-good-minneapolis-ice-shooting-hnk
• Killing of Alex Pretti (NPR): npr.org/2026/01/25/nx-s1-5687361/minneapolis-shooting-latest-alex-pretti
• Annunciation Catholic School shooting (AP/PBS): pbs.org/newshour/nation/shooting-reported-at-minnesota-school
• National debt interest surpassing the defense budget (Washington Post): washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2026/08/31/why-americas-interest-payments-are-suddenly-spiking
• Trump's 21,000+ disclosed stock trades (ABC News): abcnews.com/Politics/trump-discloses-21000-securities-trades-year-office/story?id=134427666
• Trump's disclosed crypto income and family holdings (CBS News): cbsnews.com/news/trump-over-1-billion-on-crypto-ventures-financial-disclosures
• Regional death toll since October 2023 in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Iran: UN OCHA / UNRWA situation reports; Wikipedia, "Casualties of the Gaza war"

One ask. I don't ask for donations. I don't want your money through Patreon, Venmo, or any other platform. And I have no intention of taking advertising dollars, now or ever. What I do value is knowing these episodes are heard.

So if this one meant something to you, follow American Refugee on Spotify, or subscribe wherever you listen. Then share it with one person who needs to hear it. That's how a small, independent show grows, and it's the only support I'm asking for.

For the written word, with deeper dives, more receipts, and the same voice, find me on Substack: @kbamericanrefugee

Stay awake out there.
American Refugee