I met Anderson Cooper in 1978 when we were both preteen boys attending Camp Pinnacle in upstate New York. We got along pretty well, as we were both strong swimmers and natural bullies, and have been carrying on a correspondence ever since. Here are some of the letters that we have shared over the years:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

September 27, 1978<\/p>\n

Dear Andy:<\/p>\n

Summer Camp was awesome!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never forget Camp Pinnacle or the excellent times we shared. I am disappointed that we never got to see Bigfoot or a UFO, though. But just so you know, I would play Cowboys and Indians with you anytime!<\/p>\n

You will always be my cowboy.<\/p>\n

Your Indian,<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

April 16th, 1981<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

Just so you know, I like girls. I really do. I don\u2019t know, maybe you think that what took place between us (and it was only in the water!!) was like, homo or something, but it wasn\u2019t. I like girls.<\/p>\n

I kissed one last week. Her name was Padmakshi and it felt different but good. I haven\u2019t yet felt her boob, but I know the day is coming. Do you think about Camp Pinnacle a lot? I do. Your eyes are as blue as the waters of Lake Wantok.<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

April 19th, 1981<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

Turns out Padmakshi was a whore! I saw her necking and getting felt up<\/p>\n

by James Trylowsky last night! I hate her and I hope her house burns<\/p>\n

down! I didn\u2019t really like her anyway as her skin was too dry. I mean,<\/p>\n

what does she wash with, sandpaper?<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

PS: My parents just got a dog and we named her Cooper!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

October 25rd, 1986<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m at university in Montreal now and the babes are wild! Man alive! I\u2019m drunk all the time and the chicks are just all over me. I can\u2019t keep them away in either French or English! Not that I\u2019d want to. I mean, there\u2019s no way I\u2019d want to keep the girls away, because I love<\/p>\n

them!<\/p>\n

I love them for sex!<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019m going to be a lawyer when I get out of school. What about you, what do you want to be? Do you still have that cowboy outfit you used to wear back at Camp Pinnacle?<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

October 3, 1991<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m working as a waiter and living with my parents. How are you?<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

July 6, 1996<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

Wow! I just saw you on TV and I have to say, you look fucking fantastic! You\u2019re all famous and everything. I always knew that you would be. You were the best swimmer in camp! I always thought that you just had good manners, but now I know it\u2019s because you came from money and had been to Europe and stuff. You\u2019re quite the catch! (Ha-Ha)<\/p>\n

I should let you know that it\u2019s also pretty great to be me, too. I still like girls quite a bit, even though the recurring dreams and migraines continue. Ha, it\u2019s funny, but I didn\u2019t even notice that I chewed my nails until my therapist pointed it out to me during a session. She\u2019s big into dream analysis, this one, and she wants me to focus on a dream I\u2019ve had about twice a month ever since, well, I guess roughly the time we attended Camp Pinnacle.<\/p>\n

Tell me what do you think?<\/p>\n

I am a boy and I\u2019m swimming in a lake. I don\u2019t know how but I can tell that Jesus is watching me and that it\u2019s his strength that\u2019s giving me the power to swim. I\u2019m swimming so fast! My mind and body are in perfect concert and I can do anything that I want in the water. It\u2019s sunny and perfect, life at it\u2019s best, and then I see another boy, Anderson, and he\u2019s underwater tugging at my trunks. We begin to play and suddenly Jesus appears in the form of a shark and he\u2019s swimming right at me and then I wake up screaming and covered in sweat.<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

PS: The family dog Cooper died three months ago and we\u2019re all very sad.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

December 21, 1999<\/p>\n

Dear Cooper Anderson the Superstar:<\/p>\n

Is Y2K anything to really worry about?<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

PS: I am including a picture I drew of you as a rugged tank commander.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

February 17th, 2005<\/p>\n

Dear Anderson:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a big year for you!<\/p>\n

You covered Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Thailand, that revolution in Beirut, the death of the pope and the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. That was so romantic, don\u2019t you think? I mean, after so many years their love still burned brightly and they were able to finally get married! It fills my heart with hope to watch that. And the outfits, the outfits were just awesome. If I ever get married I think I\u2019m going to have a theme wedding, something fun. Maybe one half of the wedding party will dress up as cowboys and the other half as Indians? What do you think of that?<\/p>\n

By the way, The Mole was awesome and I really miss it!<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

June 1st, 2012<\/p>\n

Anderson:<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019m glad that you came to me with that question.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that your sexuality has nothing to do with your career, but at this point you\u2019ve become such a well-known figure that to not address it seems a tacit admission of shame. People are going to love Anderson Cooper whether he\u2019s gay or not, and they are always going to respect what you have to say. The truth is that it\u2019s just not that big a deal\u2014 at least not for you\u2014 although it might be for others who for whatever reason keep things repressed and bottled up until they think that they\u2019re going to explode and murder their parents whom they still live with. You should just say, \u201cLook, the fact is I\u2019m gay, always have been and always will be, and I couldn\u2019t be any more happy, comfortable with myself and proud.\u201d And then just leave it at that.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I would do if I was gay, but of course, I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still very straight and the migraines are still very bad.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been eating a lot of Kale, hoping that might help.<\/p>\n

You might be interested to hear that after seeing Moonrise Kingdom I went and visited Camp Pinnacle. I sat on the dock by the lake (remember?) for a long time just staring out at the waters and thinking about all that lay beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

As ever,<\/p>\n

Michael Murray<\/p>\n

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