Today was World Aids Day, so I thought I'd share a few videos on the subject tonight from a website called MAKING AIDS HISTORY. Hopefully we can do that. It's one area where George Bush deserves some credit. He did a lot to help stem the tide of AIDS in Africa. Doesn't quite atone for all the deaths he has caused, but he did good in this area. Anyway, here are a few personal stories.
I'll share one of my own which still haunts me a bit. My first therapist died of aids. I went to visit him in the hospital towards the end of his life. He was so thin and ill. It was terrible. This was fairly early on in the epoch of AIDS. We talked for a while and then as I was leaving, I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "YOU CAN'T KISS," the nurse screamed. I don't remember exactly what I did next. I think I blew him a kiss and told him I loved him. I don't quite remember. But I was shocked and kind of frightened by her scream. I spent the next few weeks being afraid that I had gotten AID and that I might make someone else sick if I went near them. I also felt like I had betrayed Neil by listening to that foolish, cruel woman. I didn't go to his funeral a few weeks later. I was ashamed and afraid. One of my big life regrets... that I withheld a kiss on the cheek to a dying man.
Some things I'm grateful for today: (Items in red are pre-gratitude, an effort to inspire generosity and affection in the Creative Forces of the Universe so that they will (pure greed on my part) give me things I want. I'm happy to report that one of the things I had on the list for a while has been granted to me. My niece, Diana gave me Bose speakers as an early Christmas gift along with a beautiful handmade - by her - Christmas stocking. Yee ha!)
- Angel and Tara Grace
- my home
- my furnace
- my fuzzy robe
- water
- Tostitos
- peach/mango yogurt smoothies
- electricity
- my Tibetan salt lamps
- an early Christmas gift from my niece Diana - Bose Speakers, a hand-made stocking and some cool soap
- my computer
- the internet
- my TV
- the remote control
- the mute button
- YouTube
- the hope of an end to AIDS
- survivors
- Janet, the mail carrier
- Margaret
- my friends
- my nieces, my nephew and their families
- that they are happy, healthy and successful
- SKYPE
- my mattress
- blankets
- kitty hugs
- coconut oil
- lavender
- allspice
- Pandora radio
- music
- the joy of singing
- the joy of listening (especially with my new speakers)
- the satisfaction of having managed to hook said speakers up, a 10-15 minute task that took me close to 3 hours.
- sight
- taste
- touch
- hearing
- smell
- the colors of the rainbow
- Netflix
- coffee and International Delight
- my adorable new coffee maker
- my camera
- my rock collection
- art
- beauty
- that it didn't snow
- my furnace
- that my house was weatherized
- indoor plumbing
- my kitchen
- my refrigerator
- my microwave
- Food Stamps
- HEAP (I hope... )
- Finally getting my last week's wordzzle done - just in time to do another tomorrow. SIgh
- words
- poetry
- ideas
- imagination
- a clothes dryer
- Nintendo
- more flowers/landscaping for my back yard
- a sun room on the back of the house
- a reading and healing with Nancy DuTertre
- freshly painted living and bedroom walls
- zero balance on my credit cards
- lower interest rates
- a paid off mortgage
- winning lottery numbers
- a truckload of money (big bills)
- $5,000/week from PCH
- new curtains
- blinds for the front windows
- company
- seeing the red list turn to black
- reiki
- angels
- miracles
- Dennis Puffett
- Healing with the Masters
- my grabber
- my chair/walker
- my cane
- that my legs still get me from room to room with help
- my shop vac
- new cardboard for Angel's scratcher thingy
- my neighbors
- my body
- my hands
- the ability to read and write
- the ability to type
- the capacity for change
- paper towels
- clean litter box and garbage gone
- the garbage man
- computer games
- that I found someone to give an unused lamp to
- the break I took from blogging
- imagination
- resilience
- ideas
- hope
- Sam-e
- Omega-3
- IP-6
- Vitamin D-3
- naughty kitties (who are sweet and basically good)
- greatergood.com
- care2.com
- wordzzles
- Jon Stewart
- Stephen Colbert
- laughter
- love
- life
Nothing is Impossible!
Have a Splendid Day
1 comment:
You know, back then no one really knew what was going on. As I just commented on another blog, I was in Zambia in the mid 80s & I worked with a woman who wouldn't drink water from a glass she hadn't washed herself - AND they were saying that AIDS was transmitted by mosquito bite!
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