Garfunkel and Simon

I was big Simon and Garfunkel fan growing up, and was a little disconcerted when my mom told me they were gay. I was 10 or 11 years old at the time.

"Really?" I asked, furrows scrunched together deeply.

"Sure," said mom, "Why else would they break up?"

"Hmm," I said, trying to think of an alternative. "Maybe 'cause Simon writes all the songs?"

"There's nothing wrong with being gay," said mom. "It's considered normal now."

"Hmm," I said, trying to picture Garfunkel all over Simon, or versa vice. I didn't like imagining that very much. "Maybe he just wants to be more like Bob Dylan."

"Gay people get divorces too."

"Maybe they don't want to be gay anymore."

Later I took a closer look at their albums: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends, and many years later, The Concert in Central Park. I had to wonder. Maybe mom was right.