Must Have an Open Mind

Josh – a 24-year-old who was born into a military family and grew up San Diego, Okinawa and finally Norfolk, Virginia where he graduated from high school. He decided to go the college at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He planned to study engineering. He, also, decided to buy a house on the GI bill and rent rooms to other male students. Before he started school he worked in construction to make enough money since he was on his own.

He created a provocative ad for the student newspaper advertising that he had rooms for rent. The phrase ‘Must Have an Open Mind’ drew his prospective renters.

Terrell – a 26-year-old born in Sioux City, Iowa where he graduated from high school. He attended Iowa State University and was commissioned an ROTC officer upon graduation. He went through basic training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. He was a second Lieutenant in a military police detachment based in Ft. Benning, Georgia. He rotated to Afghanistan twice during his four year commitment. On his second trip he was injured when an IED (improvised explosive device) exploded under the vehicle he was in. He was evacuated to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany before being sent to Ft. Sam Houston. He recuperated enough to enter the Physical Therapy graduate program at the University of Missouri, however he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Anthony – a 19-year-old who was born and grew up in a dysfunctional family in Columbia, Missouri. He graduated from Hickman High School. He rarely participated in school activities because he had to work. He began working at a local pizza restaurant when he was sixteen. He does not own a car and depends on his bicycle to get from his parents’ home where he lives, to school and to work.

Brent and Ricky – 18-year-old freshmen from Davenport, Iowa. They were popular in high school not only because they were tennis and track athletes, but they were both musically talented. They began dating secretly when they were sophomores, but in a bold move at the beginning of their junior year they came out as a couple. Their classmates did not bully them and instead encouraged them as did their coaches. They started the LGBTQ club at their school. They were very active in the music program. Ricky played string bass in the orchestra and jazz band. Brent played percussion in the marching band and was a tenor in the choir. In their senior year with pianist friend, Charlene, they won the talent show with their jazz trio.

Their coming out had a positive reaction in Brent’s house where his mother, Martha, and father, Max, were supportive. That was not the case for Ricky whose parents shunned him and, in fact, left him with Brent’s family when his father took a new job out of state. When it came time for college they decided to go to the University of Missouri because of scholarships Ricky received from the music school and the Point Foundation. He received minimal financial support from his parents.

Mark – a 19-year-old from St. Louis. Mark graduated from John Burroughs High School, one of the top private high schools in St. Louis. He was from an affluent family in Ladue but decided to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia with his friends. He is a smart ass guy and was pledged the Signa Nu Fraternity. He was not a cooperative member and decided he did not want to live in the house which he was required to do as a sophomore. He quit the fraternity.

Lee – a 20-year-old from San Francisco. He graduated from The Thacker School, a private high school near Los Angeles. He is a sophomore at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, located twenty miles from Columbia. He is from a wealthy Chinese family originally from Hong Kong with substantial real estate holdings in California and New York City. His mother and father are divorced but both live in San Francisco. Lee has a strong interest in international relations and chose Westminster because of its academic reputation and the number of alumni in the foreign service. He was also impressed that Winston Churchill had delivered his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech at the college. He met Mark on a ski trip to Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. Neither had identified as gay when they met. That changed quickly.

Max – 40ish father of Brent and surrogate father of Ricky. Max married Brent’s mother, Martha, when they were college sophomores at Saint Ambrose University. They accidentally got pregnant but decided they liked each other enough to get married. Max dropped out of college and began to work for a small metal fabricating business. Martha continued to study and got an education degree in speech therapy. They had a few happy years but there was always tension. They both worshipped Brent. They were surprised when Brent told them he was gay and had a boyfriend, Ricky. They accepted him and got to know Ricky well after his parents moved away. Ricky moved in with them.

Shortly after the boys left for the University of Missouri, Max’s company laid him off. He and Martha decided there were better opportunities in mid-Missouri so they moved to Columbia to be closer to the boys. Max did eventually find a job with a major contractor. His relationship with Martha did not improve so she decided to move to Michigan to be closer to her sister.

Charlene – 18-year-old high school friend of Brent and Ricky. She was the pianist when the trio won the Davenport High School talent show their senior year. That resulted in a job offer for the trio to play at a local Davenport supper club on Friday and Saturday nights. After graduation, Charlene decided to go to the University of Iowa. She stayed for a semester and then transferred to the University of Missouri either because she had a crush on one of the boys or she wanted to revive the trio. Brent and Ricky were happy to welcome her and she became a regular at Josh’s house because they practiced in his basement room.

Jason Schmidt – a wealthy businessman from Kansas City who met the trio at the supper club on a business trip to Columbia. He was impressed with the trio and recommended them to the activity’s manager of Marriott’s Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks. After a successful audition, they were offered a summer job playing in a cocktail lounge. He became close friends of the trio. He hired the contractor that Max was working for to do a major renovation at his home at Lake of the Ozarks, After Max began work at Jason’s place in conversation Max mentioned to Jason that he was the drummer’s father. In addition to his homes in Missouri, Jason also had a yacht docked in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Sean – an 18-year-old freshman from Jefferson City. He was the lead trumpet player in the Jefferson City High School marching band and also was a talented pianist, which Ricky accidently found out about. He was popular with his red hair and quick wit, and was voted by his class mates as most charming. After Charlene decided she no longer wanted to play in the trio, Brent and Ricky invited Sean to try out to replace Charlene. They began practicing together. He joined them in their bed as well.

Carlos – a 28-year-old Hispanic who was employed in the pizza restaurant where Anthony worked. After Anthony was gone, Carlos asked Josh if he could move in and became Terrell’s caregiver. He was also a very good cook. The relationship between Carlos and Terrell was a good one and they eventually got married after Carlos got his green card.