Yup, it’s blogathon time again. July 29th I’ll be posting here every 30 minutes for 24 hours. I’ll be blogging for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation again this year. I raised $90 last year, which is nothing to sneeze at but I’d really like to do better this year. My goal last year was $250, but I didn’t fundraise very hard and I think it showed. My goal is $250 again this year. You know you you want to sponsor me.
There are a lot of reasons I chose SFAF. Program wise they do a ton of stuff here in the Bay Area, and they run the AIDS crisis line for the whole state. The crisis line serves all level of questions, from basic inquiries about safe sex practices, up to people calling hysterical over their recent diagnosis. But I picked them because they were important to Scott. And I had an experience yesterday that reminded me exactly why I have to do this.
Scott was a close friend of my family’s. He was the first person I ever knew was gay. I didn’t know about gay and straight when I was a kid, he was just Scott, this cool guy my parents knew. Looking back at my memories of him, I can totally see it, but as a kid I had no clue. Scott was also the first person I knew with AIDS. He died when I was 16.
It’ll be 14 years ago next week. I can talk about it no problem, because it’s been a long time and time has healed that wound. I can say that Scott is a big part of what fuels the passion in me to support this cause. But yesterday I was going through an SCA awards list, and found his name. And I had to email the signet to let her know that he could be taken off the lists, as he has passed on in 1992. Something about that small action brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat; a wave of pain that felt almost as fresh as that day almost half a life ago when my dad told me he was gone. That’s why I have to do this.
Come visit on July 29 and read more stories about Scott, and about others I know that also keep this passion alive in me- Lief, both Michaels, Boots and Gus. If you can’t sponsor me, keep me company with an IM. Play the song lyric game. Leave an encouraging comment. It’ll be a good day.