{"id":73336,"date":"2018-09-19T18:25:53","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T22:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wasnt-that-long-ago-gay-mans-memory-of-the-aids-crisis-goes-viral-on-twitter\/"},"modified":"2018-09-19T18:25:53","modified_gmt":"2018-09-19T22:25:53","slug":"wasnt-that-long-ago-gay-mans-memory-of-the-aids-crisis-goes-viral-on-twitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/wasnt-that-long-ago-gay-mans-memory-of-the-aids-crisis-goes-viral-on-twitter\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Wasn\u2019t That Long Ago\u2026\u2019 Gay Man\u2019s Memory of the AIDS Crisis Goes Viral on Twitter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Wasn\u2019t That Long Ago\u2026\u2019 Gay Man\u2019s Memory of the AIDS Crisis Goes Viral on Twitter<\/b><\/p>\n

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Men on train by davitydave<\/a> (CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A powerful series of tweets recalling the AIDS crisis is going viral on Twitter.<\/p>\n

The thread was written by Tucker Shaw, the editor of Cook\u2019s Country<\/em> magazine, and may trigger some devastating memories for those who lived through it.<\/p>\n

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He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanized the gay<\/a> community. How it had spurred change. Paved the way to make things better, in the long run.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Maybe he\u2019s right. I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s not the first time I\u2019ve heard the theory. He spoke with clarity and with confidence. Youthful, full of conviction. But.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Some nights, you\u2019d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. It wasn\u2019t hard.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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You\u2019d get kicked out, but you\u2019d sneak back in. Kicked out again. Back in again. Sometimes you\u2019d recognize a friend. Sometimes you wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Together, you\u2019d keep a list of names in a notebook you bought for thirty cents in Chinatown so you could remember who was still here and who wasn\u2019t, because it was so easy to forget.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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When he finally had to go too, you got rid of the notebook. No more names.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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When he\u2019d been gone long enough and it was time to get rid of his stuff, they\u2019d say so. It\u2019s time. And you\u2019d do it, you\u2019d give away the shirts, sweaters, jackets. Everything.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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You\u2019d move to a new neighborhood. You\u2019d unpack the first night, take a shower, make the bed because it\u2019d be bedtime. You\u2019d think of the shoes. For the first time, you\u2019d put them on. Look at those shoes. What great shoes.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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You\u2019d sit for a while, maybe an hour, maybe more. Then you\u2019d unlace the shoes, set them by the trash on the curb. You\u2019d go back upstairs in your socks. The phone is ringing. More news.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The long run. Wasn\u2019t that long ago.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) September 18, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s Shaw\u2019s full remembrance:<\/p>\n

I overheard a young man<\/a> on the train on the way home today, talking to another young man<\/a>. Holding hands. In college, I guessed. About that age anyway. Much younger than I am.\u00a0He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanized the gay<\/a> community. How it had spurred change. Paved the way to make things better, in the long run.<\/p>\n

The long run.<\/p>\n

Maybe he\u2019s right. I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s not the first time I\u2019ve heard the theory. He spoke with clarity and with confidence. Youthful, full of conviction. But.\u00a0Remember how terrible it was, not that long ago, during the worst times. How many beautiful friends died. One after the other. Brutally. Restlessly. Brittle and damp. In cold rooms with hot lights. Remember?\u00a0Some nights, you\u2019d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. It wasn\u2019t hard.\u00a0You\u2019d bring a boom box. Fresh gossip. Trashy magazines and cheap paperbacks. Hash brownies. Anything. Nothing.\u00a0You\u2019d get kicked out, but you\u2019d sneak back in. Kicked out again. Back in again. Sometimes you\u2019d recognize a friend. Sometimes you wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Other nights, you\u2019d go out to dance and drink. A different distraction. You\u2019d see a face in the dark, in the back of the bar. Is it you? Old friend! No. Not him. Just a ghost.\u00a0At work, you\u2019d find an umbrella, one you\u2019d borrowed a few rainstorms ago from a coworker. I should return it, you\u2019d think. No. No need. He\u2019s gone. It\u2019s yours now.\u00a0Season after season. Year after year.<\/p>\n

One day you\u2019d get lucky and meet someone lovely. You\u2019d feel happy, optimistic. You\u2019d make plans.\u00a0Together, you\u2019d keep a list of names in a notebook you bought for thirty cents in Chinatown so you could remember who was still here and who wasn\u2019t, because it was so easy to forget.\u00a0But there were so many names to write down. Too many names. Names you didn\u2019t want to write down.\u00a0When he finally had to go too, you got rid of the notebook. No more names.<\/p>\n

Your friends would come over with takeout and wine and you\u2019d see how hard they tried not to ask when he was coming home because they knew he wasn\u2019t coming home. No one came home. You\u2019d turn 24.\u00a0When he\u2019d been gone long enough and it was time to get rid of his stuff, they\u2019d say so. It\u2019s time. And you\u2019d do it, you\u2019d give away the shirts, sweaters, jackets. Everything.\u00a0Except those shoes. You remember the ones. He loved those shoes, you\u2019d say. We loved those shoes. I\u2019ll keep those shoes under the bed.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d move to a new neighborhood. You\u2019d unpack the first night, take a shower, make the bed because it\u2019d be bedtime. You\u2019d think of the shoes. For the first time, you\u2019d put them on. Look at those shoes. What great shoes.\u00a0Air. You\u2019d need air. You\u2019d walk outside in the shoes, just to the stoop. You\u2019d sit. A breeze. A neighbor steps past. \u201cGreat shoes,\u201d she\u2019d say. But the shoes are too big for you.\u00a0You\u2019d sit for a while, maybe an hour, maybe more. Then you\u2019d unlace the shoes, set them by the trash on the curb. You\u2019d go back upstairs in your socks. The phone is ringing. More news.<\/p>\n

The long run. Wasn\u2019t that long ago.<\/p>\n

The post \u2018Wasn\u2019t That Long Ago\u2026\u2019 Gay Man\u2019s Memory of the AIDS Crisis Goes Viral on Twitter<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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‘Wasn’t That Long Ago…’ Gay Man’s Memory of the AIDS Crisis Goes Viral on Twitter<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n