[techweenie]

My friend of 30+ years was married to a truly horrible woman. They had a beautiful daughter. Dad worked his butt off, made millions while the wife bought everything from country club memberships to luxury cruises (without him). They send their daughter to pricey schools, got her everything she ever wanted (yes, a pony).

My friend finally figured out he was gay. (I joked that his wife could do that to any man.) But unbeknownst to me, he had been dulling his disquiet with alcohol in the evenings for a decade or so. Probably the most high functioning alcoholic I've ever known.

So he comes out. The wife kicks him out (not surprisingly) but poisons his daughter against him with (mostly) made up crap. He walks away from (my estimate $5 million) business he had built up. She's set for life.

He moves 3000 miles away, starts over, meets the love of his life, and at 66(?) is the happiest he's ever been. He has accepted that his daughter - who he doted on and gave everything to - will never speak to him as long as he lives.

Happy Fathers Day.