World AIDS Day- Tomorrow and 10 Years Ago
November 30, 2007
I just saw a newsflash on TV. A red ribbon is hanging on the White House, and President Bush is meeting with and thanking unnamed people for their work in HIV/AIDS prevention. Likely Abstinence-Only pushers.
The newsflash made me think back to ten years ago, when I had the privilege of being invited to the White House, where I met then AIDS Czar, Sandra Thurman and, briefly, Vice President Al Gore. I was nervous as hell, and couldn’t believe that, at 22, I was actually in the White House.
Politically, the ten years since then have been so hard to deal with. Everything I try to do in sharing my experiences with HIV, and how condoms have helped keep Gwenn- my wife partner- safe from HIV for 8 years now is not supported by the current administration. Teachers in public schools are restricted from talking about condoms, for fear of losing federal funding. It’s been a major step backwards, and I’m hoping that next year’s election results begin to repair some of the damage that has been wrought.
So much of politics are personalities, but there is a great site that matches you up with the candidates who most closely resemble your own views. Check it out: www.vajoe.com. For me, Kucinich ranked #1, Obama #2, and in dead last place was Fred Thompson. The highest Republican for me? Rudy.
Give it a whirl, the results could surprise you. Hope everyone has a decent World AIDS Day tomorrow. Here’s to all the positoids we’ve lost, and to what we all have to do to create an environment where the stigma of living with HIV is lessened.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Preview of Sharon Stone on Larry King Live
November 27, 2007
*UPDATE: Sharon got bumped for the football player who was murdered.*
Tonight, this month’s POZ Magazine covergirl and HIV/AIDS activist, Sharon Stone, will appear on Larry King Live.
She’ll be there to discuss the search for the AIDS cure (yes, it’s still happening out there somewhere in the world) and the current state of HIV. But who knows what will happen when Larry starts firing questions. Will she go all Seinfeld on his ass? Or just politely walk off like the guy who killed- er, operated on- Kanye West’s mother?
Here’s how my crystal ball envisions the proceedings…
Larry King: Sharon Stone!
Sharon Stone: Larry! Good to see you.
Larry: Sharon Stone!
Sharon: Yes!
Larry: (looks to off-camera stagehand) I thought this was going to be a sit across from one another on a stool interview like Bill Maher does.
Sharon: Larry, it’s too early for a Basic Instinct joke. Did you know this Saturday is World AIDS Day?
Larry: Sharon Stone!
Sharon: My work with AmFAR…
Larry: Do you have AIDS?
Sharon: No, but that doesn’t mean I’m fearful of people with AIDS.
Larry: Ya got it from that husband, Charles Bronson. He slept around a lot, had a death wish from what I hear.
Sharon: No, no. Phil Bronstein. And we’re no longer…
Larry: Yeah, right. Bronstein. Got bit by that dragon, got AIDS from it and passed it to you. Well, good thing he doesn’t have the AIDS anymore.
Sharon: My God, Larry. I’m speechless.
Larry: Sharon Stone! Rugged husband mauled by dragon. Lost her voice to the AIDS. What else will she lose next? Stayed tuned to find out.
(Sharon is crying as they go to commercial break. When the program returns, she is gone, and Donnie Osmond is there discussing future variety show which will co-star his sister.)
Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Not Phil Bronstein.
The Thanksgiving Deer Story
November 22, 2007
I know my blog is a Thanksgiving tradition for a lot of families, who lovingly gather around the laptop and read HIV/AIDS statistics which, along with a 4,000 calorie meal, helps to induce a nice late afternoon slumber.
But this year, I’m changing things up. Instead, I’m going to share a story about man and nature. Or, rather, woman and nature.
On Tuesday night, Gwenn and I went to Kiyoto, the Japanese steakhouse. See, my brother works late-shifts, and last year our family started this fine tradition. And it really is a lot of fun: no one has to cook and nobody is stressed out over it. I got to see mom, dad, my bro Kip and sis-in-law Deanna as well as Katelyn, my niece and a talented writer in her own write… er, right. (She’s 8, and would never use such a cheap trick as the ass-end of that last sentence.)
A Terrible Holiday StoryOn the way to the steakhouse, I was driving on the interstate and the traffic at the bottom of the mountain was slowing to a halt. We were already running 10 minutes late. “They better not be gawking,” I said. Gwenn agreed. She hates nothing more than interstate gawkers.
We get to the scene, and there are a couple of cars on one side of the road, and another car on the other. Then I see a 50-ish year old woman walking across the road. Just as I wondered what she was doing, I noticed a deer sitting on the left shoulder, and the woman appeared to be approaching it. “Huh?” Then, without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around its neck and attempted to lift it from the ground. The deer struggled, and I waited for the scene to get worse when the furry friend inevitably knocked this person unconcious. It seemed to be a death-defying move, at least it was from the perspective of someone with a bleeding disorder.
But no, Bambi just got up and tralloped off.
Then, as the traffic moved rather quickly, there it was: another deer in the middle of the road. Possibly the mate of the one that was there moments before, waiting. Until it was interrupted, that deer on the side seemed to be looking towards the fallen one, which was apparently dead. Gwenn was bummed. I’ve grown up seeing a ton of dead deer on the road, and even a few miles on I could only think of the woman: what the hell was she trying to do?
This Thanksgiving, as some of you are with your families, you will probably be one of the above characters. The misguided do-gooder (the lady checking on the deer, overreaching and causing annoyance), the annoyed (the deer that got the headlock), the victim of bad timing (the other deer and the car that hit it) or the gawker (you just sit on the sidelines and take it all in).
Me? Today I’m just going to stuff my face with as many mashed potatoes as it can hold.
Anyway, I really just wanted to wish everyone a nice, peaceful day.
Gobble, Gobble!
Shawn
PS… to everyone who has supported the Epidemic in a Box online campaign thus far: I’m very thankful!
Epidemic in a Box: World AIDS Day Campaign
November 19, 2007
World AIDS Day has been plagued by boring themes for years. If you don’t believe me, check out the list below.
2007 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise – Leadership
2006 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise – Accountability
2005 – Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise
2004 – Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS
2003 – Stigma & Discrimination
2002 – Stigma & Discrimination
2001 – I care. Do you?
2000 – AIDS : Men make a difference
There were more, but I wanted you to keep reading.
Now I’m throwing my jimmyhat into the ring, so Keep The Promise needs to move over for…
I don’t have millions of bucks to promote this, just a little jpeg and a catchy name with one statistic. That’s it. It will only be heard of if you help.
You Can:
1. use the image as your profile icon
2. email the image to friends, reminding them that World AIDS Day is on December 1. (Friends love these kinds of emails. Really.)
3. post the image on your social networking profile through December 2.
To get the image, follow the directions below. And remember, this epidemic has put too many positoids in a box, I say it’s time that we all return the favor.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
ADD THE CAMPAIGN IMAGE TO YOUR PROFILE!
Annoyingly Realistic Nightmares
November 15, 2007
Last night I had nightmares. Not of the old Sustiva-drug taking days (Sustiva, the infamous HIV drug famous for crazy mental side-effects), but of a more troubling nature.
There were no crazy vivid colors, or alien species. I did not possess curious mutant ablities. No, these nightmares were truly frightening: they were realistic.
The toilet got stopped up. For some reason Gwenn and I were both in the bathroom when this happened. I stood in front of the toilet, blocking her view of a hint of a terd, peaking out from the hole at the bottom of the water, like a scared rabbit in a foxhole, surrounded in a field full of wolves.
“Where’s the plunger?” I said, cooly.
And Gwenn pulled one out of thin air, as she often does at home in domestic situations that involve items that I see on a daily basis, but cannot quite place when I need them.
Nothing strange there.
I plunge once. And flush. Then again. On the second flush, however, the dream does enter the unrealistic realm when the water geysers up the way Johnny Depp’s blood did from the water bed in Nightmare on Elm Street.
The silver lining? The water looked fresh.
Then, the next dream involved travelling. The airline lost one of Gwenn’s bags. A disaster, since we were flying to four different schools to speak, and this was the first leg of the journey. This meant her clothes, make-up, and everything were gone.
This meant the entire week was ruined. Every spare moment would be spent shopping: airport. rental car. mall. hotel room. school. three hours of sleep. repeat.
Whenever I remember my dreams, or think about them well into the next day, I always try to place their origin. This one’s easy: it’s a battle between the problems with work and the problems faced at home.
Unless, of course, I find myself on an airplane with a faulty toilet. If that happens, I’m pretty much screwed.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Are Wrestling Fans… Fake?
November 14, 2007
The following video has raised concerns among the readership of My Pet Virus, in particular the chapter entitled “Ric Flair & Me”:
In My Pet Virus, I discussed my childhood/adult infatuation with “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, whom I met shortly after I was diagnosed with HIV in 1987. In the above video, it is revealed that all wrestling fans are paid actors, and I feel the need to come clean now.
I received a small fund for including the story in my book, and still get paid bi-monthly to talk up wrestling at HIV/AIDS events. I think I get paid more than the average salary for wrestling fans, since the book continues to reach new audiences via my heart-wrenching medical ordeal.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
PS… Some of this post is false. Just wanted to share the video, which I think is hilarious. And yes, I still watch wrestling.
Great News
November 13, 2007
Several months ago I posted a couple of times about a friend, Jordan, who was in a serious automobile accident. At the time the best news was that Jordan would merely survive.
Well, last night I had dinner with Jordan at the same place where I last saw him: Cheeseburger in Paradise. His recovery from a severe brain injury has been incredible… he says that his doctors and people who saw him in the weeks and even months afterwards are stunned. Just wanted to share. I’ve only known Jordan a short time- two years- but he’s one of the funniest, coolest guys I’ve met. And I’m so happy he’s gotten an unexpected second chance at life.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
November 11, 2007
I entered my 30′s with grace. An uncommon grace, really. I didn’t go in kicking in screaming like Gwenn did before me. Nope, I held my head high.
Two and a half years later, and I still don’t feel old. Hell, I’m just getting going. It wasn’t until this weekend that I realized that I am ancient… why the sudden change in attitude?
Because I’m a museum piece.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis just opened a display entitled The Power of Children: Making a Difference, and it features Ryan White and some cool RW artifacts, including a faux-locker that whispers when you open the door (“He’ll spit on you..” “He has AIDS”… and other bad things) and items from his bedroom, which is recreated.
So where do I come in? Along with Mark Hoyle, I make up a section called “We Were There, Too”. Despite my presence in a museum, I don’t feel old. But I do feel fortunate to have made it. Mark Hoyle and Ryan White passed to spirit with so many other good positoids, and events like this just make it so obvious that I need to enjoy my life- which I do!- and go on with spreading the word about HIV/AIDS in their spirit. To continue the fight against ignorance in my own way.
So, if you’re ever in the Indianapolis area, pop on in and check out the display.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
(UPDATE: Check out future blog entry, scroll down page to April 8, 2010 entry, where I got to visit the Museum and report from Ryan’s recreated bedroom.)
life in photos
I am frightened by ceilings. A terrible phobia to have.
Today's assortment of treats: tea for Gwenn, a mocha for me and a cookie to share.
My buddy Sharanya preparing my mocha with just an extra dash of love.
Hanging on wall in our guest bedroom. Couldn't agree more!
Speaking About Sexual Health
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