The Wholistic Picture: Response Ability

Wake-up call

HIV Mom

Gratitude, Hawaiian style

The Wholistic Picture: Response Ability

Great article [The Wholistic Picture, Response Ability, July/August 2006]. I have had to work in situations where people make fun of people with AIDS, and because I have never divulged my status, I have come to conclude that there are many morons in this world. I would suspect they would not act this way if they were infected. Time has a way of catching up on people and things happen. I hate to say I hope the worst on those who act this way, but sometimes I do. Your article was informative and hit the nail on the head. I would like to be a part of being proactive in the injustices being done to so many right here in the good ole U.S.A.

Dave, via the Internet

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Wake-up call

I am a person who lives with HIV. I was diagnosed with AIDS on my birthday of 2000. My prognosis was not good, as is the case for most people who wait until they get so sick before they even get tested.

That was a wake-up call for me. I was not ready to die, nor deal with an illness that had no cure. My options were simple, ignore the situation or deal with it, fortunately I chose the latter and decided to deal with the disease. I started HAART [highly active antiretroviral therapy] immediately and learned all I could about HIV/AIDS (still doing that).

I was on a mission to learn all about this virus that was going to be part of my life however long I had left.

One of the most important tools that provided me with information that I needed was your magazine Positively Aware. I have been very fortunate to receive your magazine through free subscriptions. Your yearly HIV Drug Guide is a must have for anyone that is living with this illness. What an incredible resource guide.

I am at this point very healthy. I am an HIV/AIDS prevention educator (Speaker in the Schools). I serve as the president of our local ASO, Valley AIDS Information Network, Inc., and am the co-chair of the state of Oregon SPG.

I am including a small donation, I know it’s not much but being on a fixed income I am limited as far as donations go, and I know being involved with many non-profits that every little bit helps.

Jeff, Rick and all of you at Positively Aware, thank you so much for all the work that you do. These are challenging times but together we can make a difference.

Bob Skinner, Corvallis, Oregon

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HIV Mom

I am enclosing my donation. Unfortunately, I am a low-income single mom and this is the best I can do. On September 11, 1997 I heard the words, “You have AIDS,” and from that day forward I began to read everything I could get my hands on about this illness and how to live and die with it. I have to say it is funny that your past issue [July/August] focused on whether HIV/AIDS is a “gay illness.” I am very much “straight” but have learned so much from meeting gay men and women about this illness and the gay lifestyle, and to quote Kathy Griffin—“I love my gays!”

Thank you for opening people’s minds to all the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. I can’t remember when I started receiving your magazine in the mail, but I am so thankful that your organization continues to grow and fight and share everything you can to get the people of the United States, with their head in the sand, to remember our battle cry—“Until there’s a cure” —we will never surrender!

Name withheld, Richmond, Virginia

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Gratitude, Hawaiian style

Aloha. Just a short note to tell you how much I appreciated your recent Editor’s Note, “The Here and Now,” [May/June]. It’s not that this is the first piece of yours that I have appreciated (hardly), but the joke is on me this time because I anticipated not appreciating this particular piece. Forgive one jaded senior, but when I scanned your article and recognized the by-now familiar “I’m grateful for...” theme, I groaned inwardly. I even felt a measure of contempt that another “Gratitude” story was being presented to me and it isn’t even November. “Isn’t one Gratitude Holiday a year enough?” I fumed.

As it turned out it was my very skepticism that later lead to such appreciation for that piece, about the time tears were welling up, as I read one specific example listed after another. Repeatedly I found myself saying “Me too!” Wonderful how complete your list is, how thorough.
Not only is it never inappropriate to express gratitude, but the fact that this piece was presented half a year or so away from Thanksgiving gives it extra force, somehow. Maybe because it is not the expected article outside of a November context. At any rate, I am grateful for a May/June reminder to be grateful for all I have to be grateful for, a reminder so well written that rather than feeling patronized I was truly inspired.

On another note, since I have your attention. Recently another HIV journal had a questionnaire that included the question “Which of these journals do you most trust?” It’s a strange question (as those in questionnaires often are) because I don’t know that any one journal is more trustworthy than another. But I checked the box next to “Positively Aware” since it is the journal that I get the most comprehensive information from. While the other ‘zines are easily readable from cover to cover, yours is the journal that, like my favorite, Harper’s, I do not read cover to cover. Like Harper’s, your journal consists of so much detail and information that I read the articles selectively. When there is a story that interests me, I know that I will be allowed to study the subject in depth and will probably have few questions left unanswered after a good, long read.

Finally, since I’m writing I need to finally tell you that my favorite column of them all is “Pickett Fences.” The very first thing I do every time I get a new P.A. is to start at the back, looking for “P.F.” I’m disappointed when it is missing. I hope I can explain that it is Mr. Pickett’s “potty mouth” reputation and tendencies that appeal so strongly. He reminds me of myself and many of my friends. While a cleaner image, more typically “professional,” certainly provides positive modeling for gay men, Pickett’s style makes me feel like someone I know and can relate to on a grittier level. And his grittiness never detracts from his professionalism. His knowledge and wisdom are apparent in spite of his down-to-earth (potty) style. It’s a perfect combination. He is, by being who he is, someone I want to listen to. Apparently his spiritual journey has taken a wonderful turn, according to the last I read of Pickett, and I am anxious to read more from him.

Thanks for all of the good work you do. I’m grateful for Positively Aware being made available through the Maui AIDS Foundation.

Malama pono (take care),
Ron Richardson, Maui, Hawaii

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