Today is World AIDS Day. Again. My personal journey with the HIV/AIDS battle began one night in 1990 when at 19 I was sitting next to my very best friend on his futon, in his small garage apartment, watching the movie-a Passage to India. He had on a light blue shirt and cream colored, loose fitting knee length shorts. As we were sitting there immersed in the movie he raised up his leg, brought his knee to his chest and hugged his arms around it. This made the pants material fall back revealing a long oblong, dark, raised mark on the rear side of his leg. I saw it first...and then him. We sat there frozen just starring at it for what seemed forever. Then spontaneously, out of no where, we both broke out into tears, grabbed each other and sobbed uncontrollably! We both knew exactly what it was and what was ahead. Although rarely seen today those dreaded marks, Kaposis Sarcoma, usually indicated someone was headed toward the last stages of AIDS. Yet during that time, my friend did not even know he was even HIV positive. It was not long before the Karposis traveled all over his body-including his arms, neck and face. If we went out in public, we were often asked to leave. This of course turned me into a angry, barking dog whenever we went out. I could not believe the lack of compassion. Not long, after my manager became ill and so did several other friends I knew. I soon got heavily involved with community service. Doing hospice work and doing meals on wheels programs. Members of my family and certain friends found out about my involvement and in their ignorance either prohibited me from attending family events and holidays...or I was treated shamefully by others whenever I was around. This is what the stigma of HIV/AIDS was like back then. And I did not even have it!! So imagine what it was like for those who did! After having hard words with a family member, I realized volunteer work was not going to be enough. So with the help of my former partner of four years, David Cesario and the member of a famous Seattle band, we quickly raised $10,000 and recorded a song that I wrote to help raise awareness. Everybody Else with cameo vocals by Erica Lewis ended up playing on major radio stations all over the world, especially for World AIDS day. It premiered on Houstons Top 40 station, 104 KRBE Feb 1992 and right afterwards became supported my famed DJ Casey Kasem in Los Angeles. Next thing I knew I was in Billboard magazine next to Michael Jackson, receiving the same critics choice nod as him; and sitting in radio and TV station green rooms all over the nation with Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and many more--always having lively conversations (privately and on-air) about what more could be done from within the industry to help the hurting. I even had something of a infamous talk/argument with Mel Gibson at Wild 107 in San Francisco where I was live in-person in the studio and he was doing his interview by phone. For some odd reason the DJ combined us together in the interview. Mel kept talking crass smack about people getting what they deserve and stuff like that, and I could not take it anymore. I stood up, reached across the radio stations DJ sound board, grabbed the phone receiver and hung up on his arrogant, insensitive, homophobic ass in the middle of our live on-air interview! Yep...I have a thousand stories. But to this day, my work with Project Everybody Else (which sought to try and reduce the prejudice cast against those who were innocently effected by something they never chose to have happen to them) remains as one of my proudest achievements. God Bless & Long Live...The Warriors of Love! >
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:53:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015