Still A Threat

originally published December 13, 2006

A young woman in her twenties went to a bar. It was a typical night of drinking, dancing and flirting. Aside from the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous, there is an inner quality to her that always makes her the center of attention. She radiates strength, warmth and confidence that, combined with the crazy twinkle in her eye, draw people to her. During the course of this particular evening, she met a young man. He looked nice enough, and seemed nice enough, but she felt that something else about him was "off." Around closing time, he invited her to come back to his place. She declined.

A few days later, this same young woman was working at the local Ryan White AIDS clinic, where she volunteers her time every week. While she was working on the front desk, the young man she had met in the bar came in to get his AIDS medications. I can scarcely imagine what the moment must have been like when he looked into her face, expecting to see some anonymous person, and instead saw the woman he propositioned only days before.

This is a true story. It happened to someone whom I love, one of my daughter's friends. These days, I worry that people in the United States are taking AIDS for granted. I hear stories from all over the country about how the fastest rising groups acquiring this unfortunate affliction are teenagers and young adults. I have talked to young gay men who have unprotected sex and say that if they do get infected, they will just take the meds like Magic Johnson. I know that not everyone who contracts AIDS is as fortunate as Magic.

So many people have lost their lives to this "unforgiving disease." Back before AIDS even had a name, I knew one of the first people who died from what we then called "the gay virus." This woman was on a flight to Haiti with attendant Gaëtan Dugas, who is incorrectly described as "Patient Zero." Although Dugas was one of the earliest AIDS cases, he became known as Patient Zero in the AIDS epidemic because over 40 people became infected through having sex either with him, or someone who had sex with him. Many people who knew this woman believe that she was one of Dugas' victims.

Over the years, like everyone else, I have lost a number of friends to AIDS. Ricky Wilson of the B-52's was one of the first. In the old cemetery next to UGA, Ricky's remains rest under a pink granite pyramid on the top of a hill. It is a beautiful setting for a sensitive soul. My friend Steven, one of the most gorgeous, vibrant people I will ever know, died and was buried without the knowledge of most of his friends, because his family did not want anyone to know he had AIDS. I think about others, like Klaus Nomi, with whom I spent one rainy afternoon sharing makeup tips ("Buy Stagelight at Capezio's, dahling: you can get those colors nowhere else."), and Lance Loud, who came out on Public Television, and went on to record one of the great songs of the punk days, "I Like to Be Clean."

I also miss Richard Sohl, nicknamed "DNV" by Patti Smith, because his blonde curls and big blue eyes made him look like he just stepped out of Death in Venice. Every time I saw him, the first words out of his mouth - in what could only be described as a Northern drawl - were, "Maureen, I can't be-lieve you are-he-ah. I was just thinking about you." He was a Yankee with Southern sensibilities, and an unequalled sense of hospitality. Him, I miss.

The motto of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) through 2010 is, "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise." It is a day to remember our departed friends, and the 25 million people worldwide who have succumbed to this terrible disease. In 2005, an estimated 3.1 million people died of AIDS, including 570,000 children. We need to act globally AND locally, whether that means talking to someone who is at risk, supporting local AIDS organizations like AIDS Athens, buying something from (Product)Red, or raising awareness about the AIDS situation in Africa and other parts of the world.

I felt compelled to write this because of the ghosts looking over my shoulder, telling me to remind you about this ghastly epidemic that insinuates itself into our lives every day. Take a moment to remember, and act to keep the promise of a world without AIDS.