My Journey with AIDS

Trying to articulate, however inadequately, my spirituality

Anyone from “the rooms” who’s heard me talk about 2 or 3, especially since my comeback following Craig’s death, knows that I’m having trouble – at best – articulating my beliefs regarding spiritual matters and – at worst – am profoundly confused...

Published Tue, Sep 07 2010 10:41 PM by My journey with AIDS...and more!

Filed under: photography, spirituality, music, faith, mindfulness meditation, recovery

HIV and friends

“HIV and friends” as in HIV and other diagnoses which have been visited upon me and/or HIV and how friends can, and do, help – with apologies to my favourite English teachers for lack of sentence structure. What physically ails me most...

Published Tue, Sep 07 2010 1:35 PM by My journey with AIDS...and more!

Filed under: autobiography, AIDS and HIV, mental health, bipolar, medical update, viral load, CD-4, type-II diabetes

First days of school

I know I’m not the only one to feel some sort of generalized angst about the first day of school – even though it was thirty years ago last May that I graduated college! As Labour Day passes a temporary sense of dread settles over me. ...

Published Sun, Sep 05 2010 12:29 AM by My journey with AIDS...and more!

Filed under: youth, autobiography, back-to-school, Frosh Week

Canada’s 19th-century canals continue to be make-work projects

The Rideau Canal, 175 years young last year, has a kid brother not too far away named The Tay Canal. Far smaller than the Rideau, which winds its way from Ottawa to Kingston, the Tay extends just 9.8 kilometres from Beveridge Bay on Lower Rideau...

Published Tue, Aug 24 2010 4:17 AM by My journey with AIDS...and more!

Filed under: photography, Perth, Tay Canal, Beckwith Street Bridge, kayaking, John Haggart, Scott Reid

A streetcar stop reunion brings back memories

The other night, my arms heavy with groceries, I heard my name being called at the corner of Yonge and Carlton. That’s a very busy corner so this is definitely a ‘small world’ story. He told me, as I didn’t immediately recognize...

Published Sun, Aug 22 2010 5:37 PM by My journey with AIDS...and more!

Filed under: youth, autobiography, AIDS and HIV, sexual orientation, homosexuality, coming out of the closet

Fussin’, ‘fessin’ and feelin’ (better)

The drug holiday hasn’t been as long this time. I just hope, as my specialist said the first time, that I still have “horseshoes up (my) ass” (medical-speak for good fortune) with no irreversible consequences. No doubt there’s...

Published Thu, Jul 22 2010 6:55 PM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: autobiography, AIDS and HIV, mental health, bipolar II, medical update, HIV 'drug holiday'

Really? Really! Really?

Praying over bread and wine used to make it the body and blood of Christ – literally, according to the faithful. Then someone dressed Jesus in a white wafer and, poof, a melt-in-your-mouth Christ. And, while I could see how it would upset the modern...

Published Thu, Jul 22 2010 7:18 AM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: faith, church, Christianism, St. Peter's Anglican Church Toronto, church dog

If ‘video killed the radio star’…

All-news networks are killing broadcast journalism. So, of course, we need this. Watch Newsworld CBC News Network or CTV News Channel and you’ll see what I call news jockeys – personalities, like the disc jockeys of radio days, who intro and...

Published Tue, Jun 15 2010 10:19 PM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: Uncategorized

Clearly Hazel McCallion has been hanging around Don Cherry too much!

CBC News – Toronto – Police re-investigate abuse claims in Mississauga. First of all, why is “hazing” not treated as the bodily, sometimes sexual, assault that it clearly is? Not criminal? C’mon! Hurricane Hazel’s best...

Published Thu, Jun 03 2010 6:17 AM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: human rights, justice

The World Cup, CBC and Soccer4Hope

What an inspiration to see the CBC’s Scott Russell on The National Tuesday night with his profile of Soccer4Hope! (It’s at the 36-minute mark of the video) which probably only stays up until Wednesday night’s broadcast. S4H looks very...

Published Wed, Jun 02 2010 12:33 AM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: youth, activism, AIDS and HIV, Planet Earth has AIDS, YouTube, gender, World Cup 2010

As seen on Facebook (from others who, like me, remember 1981)

Open Letter to Pride Toronto from founders of Pride in 1981 As founding members of the Toronto *** and Gay Pride Day Committee, and people involved in organizing the first Pride event in Toronto at the end of June in 1981, we stand totally opposed to...

Published Fri, May 28 2010 6:00 PM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: activism, politics, human rights, homosexuality, queer, Israel-Palestine

To the Pride Toronto brain-trust

I shall not be returning the calls of your volunteer recruitment team, at least one of which I’ve already received. Even if you don’t agree with Desmond Tutu or Jimmy Carter, both of whom use the term “Israeli apartheid”, doesn’t the...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 6:25 PM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: activism, politics, social justice, corporations, Israel-Palestine, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA), Pride Toronto

Beaten senseless, Windsor man adds his story to the archives of insane gay-bashings

I’m angry, I’m sad, angry, sad, angry, sad… The Windsor Star’s account includes a video of the young victim, who clearly understands the value of personal story-telling, holding a press conference to describe the beating he endured and...

Published Sun, May 23 2010 4:58 AM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: activism, politics, sexual orientation, homosexuality, social conservatives, gay-bashing, Chris Rabideau

Seeing Montréal up close

View Full Album I started off pacing myself, but Montréal is such a great city for walking that I soon lost track of time and covered more ground, over two days, than I might have imagined I could. (I did take the Métro from Lionel-Groulx...

Published Tue, May 18 2010 4:22 PM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: photography, Québec, Montréal

On this International Day Against Homophobia and Trans-phobia

To Head Teacher/Principal Wannabe Carl Glenn, who rarely missed an opportunity to taunt me, terrify me, pit me against his son and my other classmates; To the kids who teased me for the friends I chose; To those who made the forty minute bus ride to and...

Published Mon, May 17 2010 6:58 AM by My journey with AIDS

Filed under: autobiography, childhood trauma, child abuse, activism, AIDS and HIV, sexual orientation, homosexuality, coming out of the closet, fundamentalism, evangelicals, sexual abuse

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