I'm not sure why.
AIDS changed my life. Forever.
I remember the dark days. One death, then another, then dozens more.
The year my dear friend Felix died, 1992, over 40,000 other people, mostly gay men, also died.
In memory of all of those beautiful people who lost their lives. I will never forget the horrible loss, the bigotry, the hate, the disgusting words from politicians. I will also never forget the incredible community that came together to fight AIDS and to fight the bigotry, or the huge amounts of love.
This post is in loving memory of everyone who lost the battle. It was indeed a battle.
And it is not over.
In 2010, 15,529 people in the U.S. lost their battle.
In 2011, just over 49,000 people in the U.S. became HIV-positive.
For me, World AIDS Day is always about remembering. I will always remember. I will remember their impact on my life, their love, their friendship, their hugs, their smiles, the impact they had on me and the world they lived in.
I will always remember.
Thanks for reading.
My AA sponsor is/was HIV-positive. She went "back out" about 10 years ago, and I've never heard from her. She started with alcohol and graduated to crack. If she's still using, she's almost certainly not taking her meds, so if she's still alive, she's most likely full-blown by now. It's a rare day that I don't think of her; the sponsor-sponsee relationship is an amazingly close one and I miss her terribly.
ReplyDeleteSending peaceful loving thoughts your way! <3
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