December 1st is World AIDS day.
The first World AIDS Day was recognized in 1988 in a number of countries around the world. Sponsored by the World Health Organization, the day inspired messages from President Reagan, Pope John Paul II and United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar who called for stepped-up efforts against the disease.
I remember that it was 1997 and when World AIDS day passed I thought how lucky I was that I didn't know anyone personally who had succombed to this disease. The next day my mom called to tell me that my brothers best friends little brother had died from AIDS. He was a hemopheliac who contacted the disease in the 1980's before the blood supply was tested. Josh graduated 3 years behind me. When I think of Josh I think of a chubby kid who was a Freshman the year I graduated. He found love and married, and when he died told his wife that he "wasn't ready." He was so young, and this disease is so unfair.
An absolutely terrific movie made about the discovery of AIDS is And The Band Played On. It is filled with stars and you won't believe the character that Alan Alda plays. The other is In The Glooming with Glenn Close, Henry Thomas, Bridget Fonda, and James Woods. Christopher Reeves directed this story of a yound man who comes home to die, and face the family that he doesn't know. James Woods final scene is heartbreaking and you will need a box of tissues.
Today I will remember gentle Josh, and all the others that have been lost to this horrible disease. Hopefully one day it will just be a nightmare in our history.