Name: Tom Turner

Age: 68

Self-definition: Father of two grown sons, grandfather of five, retired journalist, hobby blogger, former columnist for gay seniors, front desk volunteer at The San Diego LGBT Community Center and Senior Advisory Committee member, and friend to many

Where were you at 9 a.m. last Sunday morning? A longtime friend from Tucson and I meet at least twice a year in Palm Springs for a few days of atypical revelry. Last weekend was one of those sojourns, and at this hour we were sleeping in.

What person has influenced you more than any other, and how? My mom; she had my back no matter what, including my coming out at the ripe old age of 46. She taught me from the beginning that I could achieve whatever I set my mind to, no matter how scary the process.

When don’t you feel equal? I definitely did not feel equal on the evening of Nov. 4 – at least not legally equal. Through all of that, however, I feel morally equal.

Where were you last Wednesday at noon? Driving back to San Diego from Palm Springs – uneventful

When was the last time you felt proud? Nov. 15, at 1 p.m., with 20,000 of my brothers and sisters at a rally on the bayside of the San Diego County Administration Building, vowing anew not to give up in our pursuit of equality

If there was a defining moment in your life, what was it? There have been several, but the one that comes to mind first was the moment, during a Shanti training session in 1986, that I decided to live openly from then on

Where were you at 10 p.m. last Friday night? Applauding vigorously for the performance by the San Diego Symphony of Bela Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra”

What is your most immediate goal? Getting my first novelette published, most likely on the Web

When do you feel total joy? When I sense a warm emotional connection with another human