Tag: aids

Tim knows me so well

Only Tim would think to text me this link, knowing I would care that Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor: Africa decided to cut off all his hair after starting chemo for CD20-positive Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Ethan is a favorite Survivor contestant of mine, and my admiration for him grew when he donated some of his game winnings to start Grassroot Soccer, an organization mobilizing the global soccer community to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Zohn’s longtime girlfriend Jenna Morasca, winner of Survivor: Amazon, has said she’ll stay by Zohn’s side every step of the way. Both have lost a parent to cancer. I was glad to read they’re still together and send out good thoughts for the best possible outcome for the couple and their families.


Jenna Morasca and Ethan Zohn

Houston Friends

This is among my favorite days in Houston, one of the biggest “eating out” cities I’ve ever been in, because it’s Dining Out for Life. Participating restaurants give 33 OR MORE percent of the day’s proceeds to AIDS Foundation Houston. Having seen firsthand the way AFH helped my friends, I’m always happy to donate to their organization. Tom donates his time to them every Saturday.

Today, for us, it’ll have to be Taking Out For Life. I have one of my hellish headaches and can’t imagine sitting in a restaurant. I don’t have much of an appetite at the moment, but I think food from Barnaby’s will hit the spot later tonight. Here’s a link for the names of other local restaurants who are part of this effort. Please support them today and all year!

Last year, Houston raised more than $80,000 on this day, and more than $4 million is raised throughout North America yearly. This link will give you the list of the 3500-plus restaurants participating in Dining Out For Life internationally.

This nearly was mine

While mulling over ideas and possibilities and even some outlines of what I want to write next, I feel increased pressure to do something creative for my own well-being. I mentioned a project I’m working on, but I’m not ready to post photos of it yet (though I’m closer after getting some advice from Lindsey and Lynne last night).

I took my camera with me on a walk on Tuesday just in case I saw anything worth shooting. I took a lot of photos, finally realizing that I seemed more interested in textures than anything else. It’s been almost two years since I did any of my small paintings that I sell to give the proceeds to AIDS assistance organizations, and I’m hoping Tuesday’s photos will inspire more paintings.

I threw the photos into a Flickr set and kept it public, though I imagine the photos won’t be of much interest to anyone unless you, too, can be inspired by photos of not much more than texture or color.

The photo on the left is of part of a two-story duplex in the neighborhood. It was one of two places that Tom suggested I see after he did initial legwork when we were in the market for a house fourteen years ago. I never went inside it, because The Compound bungalow was my one-and-only. As soon as I stepped inside the front door, I knew it was meant to be mine. Still, even though I never looked at the duplex, my feelings for it remind me of certain flirtations from my long-ago past: enduring affection for what might have been mine.

Memories

This is Hallmark’s 1995 Holiday Memories Barbie. She was designed to commemorate 85 years of Hallmark, who described her as wearing an early twentieth century outfit (with “faux fur”) to go shopping for holiday postcards on a snowy afternoon. I think she’s got the right idea. In these days of e-mail, texting, and easy accessibility by phone, there’s something special about getting a card, a letter, or a postcard in snail-mail. Receiving and sending cards are two of the things I like best about December.

On this day last year, The Compound was in upheaval, Tim was in Maine, and Rex was lonesome. And as always, I was thinking about my friend John and imagining what trouble he’d be charming his way out of if he were still around.

Two Decades of World AIDS Day

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of World AIDS Day. The theme continues from the 2007 campaign: Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise—Lead, Empower, Deliver. This theme is meant to highlight the fact that many individuals and organizations have already offered up their leadership skills, and now policy makers need to find the resources to deliver on their promises. The campaign is calling on everyone, including families, communities, social organizations, and governments to take the initiative in helping meet the target goals.

Ways you can be a leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS:

Wear a red ribbon today as a symbol of hope, in memory of those lost to AIDS, and in honor of those living with HIV and AIDS.

Find out how the day is being recognized in your community. Some examples: Attend a candlelight vigil, a tree or bulletin board decorating ceremony, a display of NAMES Quilt panels.

Talk about HIV and AIDS in your workplace, at school, on your blog, at church, to your family and friends. How has HIV/AIDS impacted you or someone you know?

Learn more about HIV and AIDS–there are many resources online.

Get tested. Drive someone else to be tested and be supportive.

Contribute time or money, not just on this day, but any day you can, to an organization that assists those living with or impacted by HIV and AIDS.

Let your legislators know that HIV/AIDS matters to you.

For Steve R, Don P, Jeff C, John M, Tim R, Pete M

Houston Pride

You may remember this shot from last year’s Parade.

Here’s this year’s version (“Where’s Rex?”):

It was a great day of Pride, starting with my breakfast at Baby Barnaby’s. I wish they were open all day, because I’m rarely out and about early enough to eat breakfast there.

I have three small stickers on the back of my car which are badly faded. I decided it’s time to replace them, so I went to Hollywood Video/Books to see if I could find duplicates. I got a new PFLAG sticker no problem. But when I asked the cashier about a red ribbon, all I got was a blank look. He honestly didn’t know what a red ribbon is for! I’m still trying to get my head around that.

However, their former manager had bought tons of our books for us to sign. After all these years, there’s one lone copy of The Deal remaining. I thought about buying it–it’s out of print and I only have a couple of copies myself. I decided it’s just waiting for the right reader and left it there.

For the rest of my Pride photos, check out my Flickr set. If you do a slide show, you won’t see titles and captions, but if you go through them individually, I’ve tried to identify most of what I shot.

Houston AIDS Walk

Today was the nineteenth annual AIDS Walk Houston, hosted by AIDS Foundation Houston, sponsored by Chevron, and partnered by other organizations as listed here.

Tom has been volunteering with AIDS-related organizations for thirteen years. First with the NAMES Project, then with a transitional care facility where people with HIV/AIDS lived between a hospital visit and the time they began receiving assistance to live independently. He’s been a volunteer with AIDS Foundation Houston for about six years, and this is his third time to participate in the AIDS Walk. Interestingly, the job he took this year brought him full circle, as he helped oversee a group of Quilt panels that were on display.

According to Tom, around fifteen thousand people participated today, and they surpassed their fundraising goal of one million dollars. So many people walk together with groups of coworkers, and many of their companies offer matching funds. It’s truly a community effort that involves countless volunteer hours and cooperation from many agencies.

One Houstonian is infected with HIV/AIDS every eight hours. Many thousands of Houstonians are here to offer assistance to ensure their quality of life and be there during times of illness. I’m proud to be married to one of those who helps.

You can see the full set of Tom’s photos here on Flickr.

Saturday is World AIDS Day


via GIPHY

I borrowed the idea of the above photo from JeffFunk in memory of Steve R, Don P, Jeff C, John M, Tim R, and Pete M. Thank you, Jeff, and today I will include Sean and Richie in the people I hold good thoughts for.

World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS. This is the nineteenth annual recognition of World AIDS Day and its theme is “Leadership.” The World AIDS Campaign has launched the Stop AIDS Leadership Pledge. In collaboration with national, regional, international, and constituent partners, the pledge asks people from all over the world to take the lead to stop AIDS. These pledges collected online, by mail and at events, will be used to create exhibitions, banners and other visibility actions during major events in 2008. With a goal of at least 100,000 signees, these pledges will serve as a persuasive tool for leveraging greater political leadership on universal access to AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support and act as a visual example for key national and international decision-makers to follow.

Please wear a red ribbon today in recognition of all those living with HIV/AIDS, impacted by HIV/AIDS, and lost to HIV/AIDS. Thank you.