With June behind us, thousands of reticent members of the LGBTQ community look back on a month of celebration marked by discretion and an unobtrusive sense of personal fulfillment. Inaugurated by a group of carpenters working out of Scituate, MA, Quiet Satisfaction Month is meant to serve as a corollary to Pride Month. The month’s festivities cater to those who wish to celebrate their sexuality, but do not particularly enjoy parades, fancy costumes, or “hullabaloo.”

The event, which has gained a large following among people who shower with cold water, is touted as a special time when the out and taciturn might gather to fish, chop wood, and watch the sunrise break between mountain peaks while drinking black coffee from clay mugs and nodding with an appreciative grunt between sips.

When asked how it felt to identify as queer, one Quiet Satisfaction reveler told this reporter that it was “mighty fine,” and added that it “does me nicely.”

“Yep,” said Mike DeStefano, 42, licking a few drops of Folgers Instant from the prodigious mustache on his upper lip.

             Laurie Ambrose, 35, signaled this reporter to crouch low and remain silent, before nocking, drawing, and releasing an arrow from a homemade bow, felling an unsuspecting deer. Lowering the weapon with a sigh, she turned and spoke for the first time during the three day hunting trip-cum-interview: “To answer your question, yes. It’s great being gay.”