My friend Dena has asked me several times to go see the movie Brokeback Mountain and I have NO desire to see this movie.  This movie is about two gay men, and I just do not think that I can sit through it.  I have NOTHING against gay men, or women for that matter.  But, for some reason, I cannot watch two gay men together.  I can watch two gay women together all day long, and on occasion, even enjoy it a little - but not two men.  I do not know why.  I think it has something to do with masculinity and the lack thereof when I see two men together kissing.  I just can’t stomach it.

Now I have had, and still have PLENTY of gay, male friends and can sit and laugh and listen to stories all day long, but I do not want to see it.  So for now, I will have to read up on the story and let others tell me what they thought of it.  Here is the storyline:

Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two young men—a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy—who meet in the summer of 1963, and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys, and tragedies provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.

Early one morning in Signal, Wyoming, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) meet while lining up for employment with local rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). The world which Ennis and Jack have been born into is at once changing rapidly and yet scarcely evolving. Both young men seem certain of their set places in the heartland – obtaining steady work, marrying, and raising a family – and yet hunger for something beyond what they can articulate. When Aguirre dispatches them to work as sheepherders up on the majestic Brokeback Mountain, they gravitate towards camaraderie and then a deeper intimacy.

At summer’s end, the two must come down from Brokeback and part ways. Remaining in Wyoming, Ennis weds his sweetheart Alma (Michelle Williams), with whom he will have two daughters as he ekes out a living. Jack, in Texas, catches the eye of rodeo queen Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway). Their courtship and marriage result in a son, as well as jobs in her father’s business.

Four years pass. One day, Alma brings Ennis a postcard from Jack, who is en route to visit Wyoming. Ennis waits expectantly for his friend, and when Jack at last arrives, in just one moment it is clear that the passage of time has only strengthened the men’s attachment. In the years that follow, Ennis and Jack struggle to keep their secret bond alive. They meet up several times annually. Even when they are apart, they face the eternal questions of fidelity, commitment, and trust. Ultimately, the one constant in their lives is a force of nature – love.