“The Rap of Ignorance”

Abstract

In preparation for his return to New York, Cal wrote to Jeff that he was returning, perhaps permanently, and that he preferred not to have a roommate in his Orchard Street apartment. He asked Jeff to vacate by January 9, 1999—the date he planned to be back. After Cal arrived in New York in late 1998, however, he stayed only a few days in order to see his doctor and then flew to Gainesville where he remained for several months. Staying at Cal’s Cumberland Circle condo in Gainesville off and on, through 1998 and into 1999, was his longtime, straight friend, Joe Hendrix. Because he had always loved Joe and had fantasized about an alliance with him, their living together when Cal was there was a sort of substitute for a normal relationship.