I posted this twelve years ago on WORLD AIDS DAY. It was WORLD AIDS DAY again on Sunday. So I am posting it again.
Back when I was in college someone I adored died of AIDS. He died in December.
This man was brilliant and cool and kind and he made me believe that I was:
1. Smart.
2. Had a responsibility to make the world better.
Believe me, those weren’t easy things for me to believe, and sometimes I have a hard time believing them still.
But this man? This beautiful, brilliant man who died of AIDS complications? He was my example of how you can do it. He grew up really poor with just a mom running the household. He was his class valedictorian in high school and college. He desegregated a fraternity system when that was unheard of. He made the world better. He went to Harvard Law even though nobody else in his close family had even gone to college. His whole life he volunteered and worked and made the world better. He was a lovely father. He was the best kind of friend. He was elegant and passionate and logical.
I miss him terribly.
December 1 is WORLD AIDS DAY.
Back when he died, I really thought there would be a cure by now. I really thought that the world would ban together and completely fix this.
AIDS is still a problem. It’s a huge problem. One of many.
Find out more here.
There’s a lot of things you can do to make a difference but I guess I’d like to add that the first step is to care.
That’s right.
Just care.
A lot of people died of AIDS. A lot of people still die from preventable diseases. A lot of people die from violence, poverty, hate. I think that we owe it to them to lift up their memories, to live our lives respecting their beauty and their light. I know that I’ll keep trying. I hope you might too.
THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
WRITING NEWS
LEARN WITH ME AT THE WRITING BARN!
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IN THE WOODS – READ AN EXCERPT, ORDER NOW!
My new book, IN THE WOODS, is out!
Gasp!
It’s with Steve Wedel. It’s scary and one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Buzz Books for Summer 2019. There’s an excerpt of it there and everything! But even cooler (for me) they’ve deemed it buzz worthy! Buzz worthy seems like an awesome thing to be deemed!
Order this bad boy, which might make it have a sequel. The sequel would be amazing. Believe me, I know. It features caves and monsters and love. Because doesn’t every story?
ART NEWS
Buy limited-edition prints and learn more about my art here on my site.
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WHAT IS PATREON?
A lot of you might be new to Patreon and not get how it works. That’s totally cool. New things can be scary, but there’s a cool primer HERE that explains how it works. The short of it is this: You give Patreon your paypal or credit card # and they charge you whatever you level you choose at the end of each month. That money supports me sharing my writing and art and podcasts and weirdness with you.
LAST WEEK’S PODCAST.
