world aids day

this alien remembers it was oddly exciting when the first WORLD AIDS DAY was organized. merchandising and media events were released, but outside of the typical communities, it never really caught on. it was a time when people still thought rock hudson was the only person they "knew" who died of AIDS. 

i've known relatively few people to pass on due to HIV-AIDS, so that list runs through my head whenever december 1 comes up on the calendar, noted with a press release or two, but no other real notice. 

just a few people that come to mind:

a property manager at an apartment i once rented. our conversations would be interrupted by him going into a coughing attack while he had to hold his head to alleviate the chronic headache pain.

two co-workers who were a couple. one went out on disability, never returned. the other went out for a short time (in those days being gone less than 6 months was considered a short time); came back having lost a significant amount of weight, but holding up well. disappeared a few months later.

a friend with whom i had similar cultural background. his parents never acknowledged his HIV-AIDS, but instead recorded a voice mail greeting for callers that he had died from "cancer".

ex-brother-in-law, ex-cousins-in-law. they were fortunate enough to have family surrounding them to the very end. family who didn't isolate them out of fear, or out of shame.

club-friends couple, one passed away, the other moved away...not wanting to stay in the same city where he lost his love. even those who didn't die from the then-unmanageable disease disappeared.

of course there were others whose images try to fade from my mind. but then this alien will run into someone from that era, serving as a reminder that we are still here to remember those who have gone.