Tony Plohetski always craved his father’s approval, but the two were never close.
Where Plohetski was sensitive and compassionate, his father was hyper-masculine and impassive — except when he got angry. Plohetski’s teachers said he was “tenderhearted.” His father called it being a “sissy.”
When Plohetski came out as gay, the distance between them only grew. Until, in the last year of his father’s life, Plohetski set out to learn who he really was.
Today, Plohetski is an investigative journalist with the Austin American-Statesman.
Here & Now’s Claudia Grisales speaks with him about his recent essay for Esquire, in which he reflects on the process of interviewing his father, Victor Plohetski, during the last year of his life.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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