This talk is primarily based on Harold Kooden's book Golden Men: The Power of Gay Midlife. The central theme is that the coming-out process has taught gay men many lessons that are useful throughout life, especially dealing with aging issues. There are many unique experiences of growing up in a homophobic culture which are unrecognized but greatly influence our maturation. The presentation will include a presentation that Dr. Kooden developed for the US Environmental Protection Agency on skills learned from coming-out that can be used for other crises, including the COVID pandemic.