Now Carole, immersed in lesbian culture, was an evening law student intent on practicing civil rights law. I, an Easterner and twice-divorced mother, a doctoral student moonlighting as a community college teacher, wasn’t even aware a lesbian culture existed. Both activists talking civil rights and gender politics nonstop, we were madly, eagerly in love. Yet an unparalleled sweetness sings deep in the bones now after nearly half a century of committed love. In this time-proven love, even as we flourish independently we keep twining ourselves more closely around each other.

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Persons: Joan Lester, Josephine Miles, CNN CNN —, ” Joan Lester, Irene Young, Carole shyly, Robert Browning, Carole, who’d, I’d, moonlighting, wasn’t, “ Ma, “, ”, We’ve, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, ” We’ve, twining, “ I’m Organizations: PEN, CNN CNN, gawking Locations: California, Paris, Amsterdam