A different kind of coming out

In honor of National Coming Out Day, I thought I'd relate a story I heard about 10 years ago at a performance of lesbian blues singer Suede at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. She told an anecdote about an event that happened during the 1993 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington.

It seems that a Washington business woman on her way to work found herself on a packed Metro train with dozens of gay and lesbian marchers. The train was noisy, and when her stop came she attempted to get to the door, but she couldn't quite get through and had to announce her intentions. "I'm coming out!" she yelled. Everyone on the train applauded. "No, no!" she cried. "I'm getting off!" More thunderous applause.