When
I'm 64...!?
“Conversely, the CDC estimates that a 25-year-old who is
diagnosed with HIV after seeking out testing and subsequently
receives high-quality care will live 39 additional years.”
(Hhm; 64!? 8 more to go...)
LOL! Dr Dora; my pimary/HIV care doc has lately often said;
“You're doing great, the HIV won't kill you, you'll live to
80... Now, it's about the cholesterol, BP and the smoking!”
Hey; 2 outta 3 ain't bad!
Breaking News: I could now get Married in Manhattan! Been there;
ages ago when I worked for Burke on the P&G Account, touring the
Ad Agencies, saw “Evita” and even made a stop at the
notorious “Ice Palace”. But it is an achievement worthy
of note as we approach the end of one Pride Month, the National HIV
Testing Day followed by Independence Day welcoming the Equinox of
Pride along the South Bank...
Some days, life in The HIVe's a bitch; still true today! However,
the bitches have shifted globally and locally over time. Three
Decades this year! Congratulations to all the Ballsy, Demanding
members of the 30/30 Elite who got us all here today! Ditto and Thank
You to those who made money on HIV. The only thing worse than being
talked about...
The key to being controllable, however, is Early Detection and
Intervention. And that, my friends, is the single most important
reason why everyone should take the HIV test. Especially anyone who
has ever engaged in what is now considered unsafe sex, even if it was
years ago or not very often. This virus has been around a lot longer
than we think and it only takes one contact to get it. Just like
getting pregnant, y'all! Look at this as being as important as
voting, if not more so, and apply the same slogan; “There’s
no good excuse!”
And speaking of excuses, I’ve probably heard them all and
even used a couple myself at this point. They include, but are not
limited to, the following:
*I’m healthy, I have the usual little illnesses which I get
over normally and have none of the major symptoms of AIDS.
*When I first came out years ago I had unsafe sexual encounters,
but I was never a bed-hopping slut with multiple contacts or engaged
in group or kinky sex.
*When AIDS hit here in 1985 and we became aware of it and learned
about safer sex; we changed our behaviors.
*What if a couple gets tested and one is and one isn’t,
what’ll happen to the relationship? Knowing isn’t worth
the trouble it may cause.
*What about my job, my home, my friends and family? There’s
too much that could be lost if I’m positive and it gets out.
*If I’ve got the virus I’m going to eventually get
AIDS and die and there isn’t anything I can do about it, so
there’s no reason to bother being tested.
However,
many of these excuses are grounded in the myths and misconceptions
about HIV and AIDS that many people still believe. If they would
learn the truth, they would realize that there are things that can be
done and much more to be gained than lost.
I like to think that I am not so extraordinary that I am going to have a life experience that no one after me will also experience. That was the basis of "The AIDS Benefits Handbook" which was my bible as I began the journey 10 years ago. Unfortunately there was no similar Guidebook for Coming Out back in the early 70's. My calling is to education and my talent is to write. I've lived in this area, on both sides of the river, all my life... And I wondered; Will the coalition fall apart??? Who will be the first to fold??? If CincinNASTY winds up with and settles for just enough of the pie to satisfy her current appetite, how much longer will it take for her to regret waiting for the whole one??? What more can be done??? Here's my 2cent view from The South Bank:
-
The perspective from this view is: If it is true that indeed, whatever is good for the Queen City is, indeed good for the whole region; does it then not follow that what is shameful for the Queen also sheds shame on her whole realm???
With props to The Divine Miss M:
GO The Distance!
From a distance... The world looks good & green
And the snow capped mountains white
From a distance... The ocean meets the stream
And The Eagle takes to flight
Hope is distant.. There's no harmony
And it echoes through the land...
Where's the voice of Hope? Where's the voice of peace?
Where's the voice of every man?
In the distance... We all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease...
No hungry mouths to feed
To run the distance... We'll be instruments
Marching in the common band...
Playing songs of hope! Playing songs of peace!
They'll be the songs of every man!
From a distance... God is watching us
God is watching us, from a distance...
Through the distance... You look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From this distance... I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting is for...
In the distance...
There'll be Harmony, it'll echo through the land
It'll be the hope of hopes!
It'll be the love of loves!
In the heart of every man!!!
It's the hope of hope
It's the love of love
This is the song for every man!!!
God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us, from a distance...
God is watching, watching us
From a distance...