Sad News

I got an email from an old friend of mine. I met him after my long-term relationship with Kenneth ended in 2000. A.S. and I went on a date to see Moulin Rouge at the theater. I as still living in College Station at the time. It was only the one date, but we remained friends. He later moved away, but we reconnected after I moved to Austin.

A. wanted to let me know that, while his doctors were attempting to diagnose some issues he was having with his health, they discovered that he was HIV-positive, and the sores on his legs were Kaposi Sarcoma, or KS.

The sudden prevalence of KS in young men in 1981 was what alerted the medical world that something strange was going on. In the nearly thirty years since then, KS has been extremely rare in HIV/AIDS cases in America.

It saddens me to learn another friend has this. He seems to have accepted it, but I know even with the modern medicines things are still a long way from perfect. He's already concerned as to how it will affect his ability to find a good man to date.

I did point out to him that all three of the relationships I've had since becoming positive have been with HIV-negative men who were aware of my status. I also told him that anybody that would reject him for being HIV-positive wasn't worth wasting time on anyway.

As he put it, he's still his same old "bubbly, goofy self."

And that's at least a great attitude to have. Guess now I need to make a list of required films for him to watch that put it all into perspective:

Longtime Companion. It's My Party. Love! Valour! Compassion!. And the Band Played On... and many more...