When Sal Stow went out to pick up packages off the front porch, she was surprised to find a note tucked under a rock on the front mat. But what she couldn’t have possibly known was how much her front porch has meant to the young person who wrote the note.

While the local county commissioners refused to fly the pride flag from court buildings, Stow, and her wife, Meghan Stabler, proudly fly two rainbow flags at their house. And the gesture didn’t go unnoticed by one of the kids who get on the school bus by their home.

“Hello,” the note begins. “You don’t know me, but my name is XXX.”

“We’re moving away today, but I wanted to thank you. Seeing a pride flag waving so proudly outside your house everyday has given me the courage to come out to my family and to be more comfortable with who I am.”

The heartwarming note is accompanied by a drawing of a young person waving a trans flag and a pansexual flag.

“We live in a very conservative county in a conservative state,” Stabler told LGBTQ Nation. “To the right of me are Trump supporters. Across the street are conservative Christians.”

As a lesbian couple – one of whom is of trans history – Stow and Stabler have faced down storms together. They’ve both worked inside the movement for years and know the simple raw power of visibility.

“This is why visibility is SO important,” Stow shared on Facebook. “You never know who needs the support and to know it’s ok. I hope this person is ok, their family is being supportive and they find a community to connect with that can help them through this brave process.”

I just went out to collect 2 packages from the doorstep only to find this note under a rock on the mat. This is why… Posted by Sal Stow on Wednesday, June 19, 2019