Imagine how it was

My good friend saw his lover who had justed moved to NYC on Oprah, announcing that he had it. That was the first we'd dealt with it, but not the last. I can't imagine having that many loved ones die from it, though. How horrible

My sister died of AIDS, but she was not gay, just not careful enough evidently.

Hugs, Diana. We were aware of it not being a 'gay disease', but I was surprised how long it took more mainstream folks to feel the same way.

The best ballet teacher I ever had died in his early 40's. That was in 1993. Robert Dicello. He'd been with ABT (American Ballet Theater) and many other places.

Horrible. Such a waste. I remember him every day.

Fuck AIDS.

I firmly believe that AIDS, cancer, other deadly so-far-not-extinct diseases will be solved at roughly the same time as cold fusion, flying cars that are realistic to use by the common man, anti-gravity, creation and destruction of mass-energy etc.

I mean, there's all these different things we haven't been able to figure out yet, and I don't think it's through lack of trying... I think it's because there's a piece of the physics puzzle that is missing - a piece that links physics and biology without the need for chemistry.

And trust me, I'm working on it!

Oh I know how to cure AIDS. I just can't yet. The trick is to have smart enough medicine to destroy it.

Medicine that are also robots.

Nanorobots.

Didn't South Park prove that any extremely large amount of cash cures AIDS?

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of "destroy mass-energy". See, if you figure out how to destroy the physical AIDS virus, but convert it into energy, you'll cause cancer and death. But if you can destroy the mass-energy (not possible in the slightest... yet) then you can "remove" the AIDS from the person's system, and then give them a bunch of antibodies to help them get back to normal.

See? Physics and biology, without chemistry.



Of course, how to do this is somewhat beyond me...

I came out around the time it was named GRID.

The first time I heard about AIDS was in a mixed straight/gay bar. In those days AIDS didn't have a name. But first I must set the stage. When I was a youngster jokes were often printed on business size white cards. They would be the kind where on side A would be a question, e.g What's black and white and red all over? Side B would be the answer. An embarrassed zebra. Silly I know but it was a kinder and gentler world. Anyway, this fellow, who never told me his name, showed me a white card with the heading "GAY CANCER". Below that was listed the symptoms for capsis sarcoma. I read the card and then turned it over. No punch line. I remember being confused and I said something like, "This isn't funny." My informant went on to explain that it was true, and that "they" had discovered a gay cancer, and it was killing people. Being in the sciences myself wondered why hadn't heard of this. That was my first brush with the gay plague. Later I went on to "buddy" PWAs who were either hospitalized or in need of transportation to clinics or help in getting /sharing housing or just in need of someone to. Aside from the casual helping hand I buddied three men on a one-on-one basis. One died 1 year from his first diagnosis, the other two who were partners, split up and died separately. I have two friends, one a writer, who have survived many years on meds.
I went to Washington DC with one of my PWAs to see the AIDS quilt. Sadly the quilt had grown so large that it was the last time it was displayed in one piece.
C