Today I accepted the Facebook friend request of someone I knew in high school. We haven't spoken in more than thirty years. She is married with a load of kids, and God knows why she wants to befriend the scandalous queer who wore knee-high platform boots to the junior...
Outliving My Father
The descriptions of his decline, in whispered calls from back home, had a dreadfully familiar feel to them. Weight loss at a frightful pace. Losing interest in the world. Suddenly looking very old indeed. Most gay men of a certain age have heard those words, have seen...
The Entire 2011 ADAP Conference in Nine Minutes!
The 2011 ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) conference held July 5-7 in Washington, DC, was bursting with spirit. Dozens of advocates from across the country met for three days of workshops and speakers, and in this video blog, you'll see the entire conference boiled...
My Surprising Lack of Gay Pride
For most of my life I've been judgmental and a little impatient with gay people who didn't just come out. Are the risks really that dire? I suspected they were just chicken shit, or unwilling to stand up to their family or to whatever screwed up religious upbringing...
Calling HIV Negative Gay Men: This is Your Time
This is directed to HIV negative gay men. Listen carefully. This is your time. I've lived with HIV more than half my life, and people often praise me far more than I deserve, simply for surviving. They use words like brave and courageous. You know what takes courage?...
How one Mom handles HIV/AIDS in the family.
God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers. ~Jewish Proverb My mother raised six children, topping off this great achievement with yours truly. Yes, I'm the youngest, which explains a lot, but not all. To understand the rest, you'd have to know the woman. Or,...
Walmart Gets Better.
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -- Andy Warhol Yesterday I had a conference call with Walmart public relations manager Ravi Jariwala, and Crosby Cromwell, a manager for constituent relations. We discussed the fact...
The Book with a Promise: It Gets Better
There were moments while reading It Gets Better, the new book inspired by the YouTube video project to help bullied youth, when my heart leapt to my throat and hovered there. It happened a few times, quite unexpectedly, usually while in the middle of some essay from...
A Very Special One-Year Anniversary Posting!
When Mark first started My Fabulous Disease, I was pretty sure it was going to directly result in the destruction of humanity. One year later, we're all still here. I can't believe I lost that bet. Myles Helfand, Editor, The Body, The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource My...
My Fabulous Disease: The Top Ten Postings of Year One
"The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last." -- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Ernest How was this judged, exactly? I was afraid you might ask. Not on the number of hits or any formal voting procedure. I relied purely on feedback received through the year...
