Today Tari guided a group of  Seattle children, and dads, around her new home in the woods. 
Woods adjacent to a church. 
A church that has opened their arms to the less fortunate. 

She and her, Viet Nam injured, purple heart recipient, husband moved into a tent seven months ago.
This video is just part of Tari’s story. 

This particular home, for 85 homeless souls, is not too far from Seattle. Not far from the exquisite homes that dot the neighborhood, though leagues from the lives of many who are not aware of its existence, or the plight of so many- 

The kids were young enough to think living in a “Tent City” was all pretty cool. They were happy to present the “campers” with Halloween cards and socs filled with rice and lavender. The socs can be microwaved to create hand wamers with a wisp of escapism-
The dads got it. 

Life in the woods, in a tent, sleeping on plastic milk containers isn’t all that plush!

When I am with older students, or adults, I try to remind them that if one of the “Tent City” residents is kind enough to share their story it is not our role to cast doubt on it, or try to unmask what may not sound rational or believable at the moment. What would our story be if we lived in a tent in the woods out of sight of the passing by world…
We all deserve better!
Thank you Tari.

For the last 23 years I have been involved in educating people to the ravages presented by HIV/AIDS.
A lot of time is spent in high schools, colleges, med and nursing schools, business community meetings talking about issues that impact victims beyond the dire medical challenges.
Loneliness, isolation and abandonment is our challenge. Those combined with medical battles weaken the patients will and ultimate ability to continue the fight. 

HIV/AIDS is not “under control.” 
It is not just a “gay disease.”
It hasn’t diminished worldwide. We have yet to hear the true numbers from a number of countries.
AIDS sufferers are living longer-not necessarily better!
It is a terminal disease!
A lot of young people are NOT getting the straight scoop in their “health classes.” Religion, embarrassment, political correctness, lack of resources, parental influences all put kids at risk!

The following link gives great visuals touching on almost every facet of the subject. 

Please check to see that you, your friends, your kids are getting the straight story…

Last Saturday night there was a fund raising evening produced by Rosehedge & Multifaith Works to help support their work with those suffering from HIV/AIDS in our commuity.

Here is but a snippet from Saturdays  “Many Voices – One Song” concert. For some reason the focus is a bit off but you’ll be able to enjoy a sample of the evenings music.

It was a terrific evening benefiting the great work by Rosehedge & Multifaith Works.http://youtu.be/HqfJba2uHrI

At yesterdays Seattle AIDS Walk I saw lots of remarkable people reaching out to help those so much in need- 

I spoke with this man for a bit about this and that.

When I wandered over to watch the beginning of the race/walk I noticed him pulling up to the path. At first I thought he was going to ride some distance in support of the event. What I saw when he stepped out his chair says it all-

A couple of steps were enough—courage, conviction, dedication, support—-

Here is a short video that says it all-

At yesterdays Seattle AIDS Walk I spotted Congressman Jim McDermott standing alone with his phone. Knowing he is a very approacable man I walked over and introduced myself. After a few minutes of conversation about all his years of support for the AIDS Walk, and the community that suffers from the disease, I asked him about his thoughts on whether or not young people were getting involved in the politics leading to the November election.

Here is his response to my question.

I wrote what’s below the night before and include it to show some context to my questions.

Last night I attended a precinct organizing meeting at a location equidistant to the University of Washington, Seattle University, North Seattle Community College, and Seattle Pacific University.
When I walked in the hall my first reaction was that I’d stumbled into what I envision an AARP meeting to be.
In one corner Edwina was pitching her award winning brownies and in another Mabel was pushing her oatmeal, chocolate and raisin cookies.
Of the eighty plus people in attendance there were only two people who were anywhere south of 50.
Where were/are the younger people?
Once I got over my first reaction to the crowd, and the meeting began, I got caught up in the crowds enthusiasm to get out and get people to vote.
The attendees are doing some good work and could use all the help they can get-
King County, in the last election, voted, per capita more than any other county, though only 46% of registered voters voted!!!
I couldn’t get over wondering where the college students were-
Quote of the night. “If it wasn’t for King County (greater Seattle area) we would be Idaho!”

Just when I think I’ve heard it all someone jumps and kicks me in the reality knee!!

A friend, who has been long suffering with all that comes along with an AIDS diagnosis, recently moved out of a top notch medical facility that manages a nursing home for the terminally ill.

He made the move because he wanted to feel like he was still in control of his life.

At the moment he is “healthy.” That means he is staying alive ingesting various drugs on top of the Morphine and Oxy he takes to manage excruciating pain.

When you live in a nursing home your comings and goings are controlled, you eat their food and share community space with others also fighting terminal diseases.

Not always a happy place to live, as most never leave under their own steam.

Once my friend had made up his mind to leave, and gotten his doctors, DSHS (Department of Social and Health Services), Social Security Administration, Medicaid and the facilities administrations approval to move he began his search for a place to live. 

Before he could commit to a new place he had a few more simple hurdles to leap. 

He had to agree to return to the facility three times a week for checkups, drug pickup and a few moments with the social worker overseeing his care.

No worries. He was ready to go-

The day he flipped open the Seattle Times to look for an apartment that would meet his needs one jumped off the page inviting him to call.

It sounded perfect.

The apartment was located on the ground floor, no stairs, close to stores, close to a bus route, affordable, quiet, has a small lanai, southern exposure and off the main streets.

When he went to view it with two friends it took him less than a minute to tell the apartment manager that he wanted the apartment. She told him to come back within 24 hours with a months deposit, damage deposit, electrical deposit, payment for a credit check and references.

He was able to accomplish it all with the help of DSHS. (It is less expensive to assist in housing outside a nursing facility so they are motivated to help in a timely fashion.) 

When he returned to the apartment house with the checks he was told by the apartment manger that she had to interview him before the final approval of him as a tenant.

He said fine.

Her first question was, “Now, just what exactly is wrong with you?” She pointed at the wheelchair he was sitting in as she asked. She must have been thinking about it for the previous 24 hours as he had arrived at the first meeting in his sporty motorized chair.

He asked her what she meant by the question knowing full well she couldn’t legally ask the question.

She said she was uncomfortable with someone with needs and wanted to know what was wrong with him.

After thinking of all sorts of replies that would have had him looking elsewhere for an apartment he told her he had AIDS.

She went nuts!! 

“What about my tenants? I don’t want them catching it! What if you bleed on the carpet? I don’t want people infected by you when you wash your clothes, cough or throw up. I don’t want all sorts of strange men coming and going etc. etc etc.”

2012-Yes, it’s 2012 with many people still ignorant of the facts on HIV/AIDS and how it is transmitted.

When I first got involved in the 80’s with HIV/AIDS victims I expected to hear such fear wrapped in ignorance. Unfortunately, there are still lots of people in the dark to the facts around this malady. 

Fortunately for my friend the managers husband, and one of their friends, a fellow tenant, joined the interview just when it became necessary to calm down this woman.

She was literally freaking out sputtering all sorts of nonsense. The two men were trying to cool her jets as best they could considering she was way off the rails.

My friend had had enough!

He mentioned what laws were being violated and suggested she spend some time becoming familiar with the disease. He put the checks on the coffee table, turned and left saying he would make arrangements to have his furniture delivered. He was prepared for her to come up with some excuse for why he couldn’t move in. He waited for her phone call – to his surprise, she didn’t call.
The two men must have talked some sense into her. Maybe, the fear of a law suit played a role. 

He’s now a proud “living on his own” tenant in a very cool studio apartment.

We laughed about the manager, though we wern’t laughing humorously.

 It was sad laughter.

N.B. One cannot become infected by sharing a washing machine that a person with HIV/AIDS has used even if they were to wash bloody items. The virus is too fragile to survive.
For more information see Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Multifaith Works and my book “Ice” which shares story after story of people living, loving and surviving the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

A few of us sat around every night at our favorite hangout on Broadway watching as much, from both conventions, as was humanly possible.
We’d take notes, argue, justify, counter, agree and come to the same conclusion every time. That we are all in this together.
“This” being our country and our future.
When the last call was shouted last night we shared the following list of questions/observations we had come up with while watching this marathon of political activity-

“I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.”
This quote from Lincoln, shared by Barack Obama, tells us a lot about the man and the policies, and platform, of this party and candidate. 
The last two two weeks have shown anyone paying attention that there is a profound difference between these two political parties.
One is inclusive, one is exclusive.
Why?
What did citizens do to be marginalized?
What did citizens do to be denigrated?
What did the elderly do to become the targets of a Medicare shake-up?

What did those living off survivors and disability benefits, under Social Security, a third of all disbursements, do to be threatened with cuts to their coverage?
What have the sick done to deserve the re-establishment of preconditions, life time limits, increases on the costs of medicine, children’s coverage eliminated by the Republicans.
What did college students do to deserve college becoming unaffordable?
What did teachers, police, fire fighters do to attract attacks on their union memberships.
What did lower and middle school kids do to deserve the unraveling of an educational safety net?

What did the poor do to become the object of attacks?
What did women do to deserve all the rancor,ridiculous conclusions on how reproduction works, anger, and fear that seems to motivate so much energy towards them? 
What did young children, of illegal immigrants, do to invite “self deportation?”
What did minority communities do to deserve being referred to as the “other?” 
What did the victims of rape and incest do to deserve such a callous platform condemning them to relive their attack forever-

What did the auto industry do to deserve bankruptcy?
What did Republican followers do to be told by their candidate that he did not honor, or respect, them enough to share any financial information with them?
What did the super rich do to deserve more tax cuts?
What did women do to deserve the reversal of the Lilly Ledbetter act?
What did Planned Parenthood do to deserve the threat of closure under a Romney presidency?
What did minorities do to deserve attacks on their voting rights?
What did gay people do to deserve the opposition of same gender marriage and the right to serve in the military?
What did…?
The list grows longer every day.
This is all about us, and our ability to make our voices heard, if we want to continue the changes that are presently on the table.

“Yes, we can!”

Okay, I readily admit it! This picture chokes me up!
I’ve been noticing more and more how president Obama reaches out to kids every time he is given the opportunity.
Being in the business of working with “young” people, from grade school age to those using walkers, I always feel good when I see such precious moments being grasped, before they pass by-
That someone, anyone, takes the time to recognize in another, the intrinsic value they have, is one of those moments that convey so much about the person reaching out.
Do we need to ask a lot of questions about someone who so freely gives so much without being asked? Probably not-
Too often societal systems don’t “allow” the expression of true feelings.
I cannot recall seeing one of our presidents being so conscious of the needs of so many kids in our society.
Thank you president Obama for bringing these tears to my eyes.

Too often we see this visual on our streets!
A down and out person hoping today will be the day that his or her life changes for the better?
A poor soul holding up a crumbled piece of cardboard sharing a desperate plea for help to those that drive by on their way to whatever and wherever… 
A quick look, a thanks that he or she isn’t you, a wonderment, an accusation, a rationalization, consideration of a donation, a decision, departure.
How many consider pulling over to ask the person who they are? 
A polite enquiry asking them their name and what you can do to help, just a little bit, to bring a little hope into their lives. Perhaps questioning why they are on the streets in a land that swells with pride at its accidental riches.
Recognition of their value will bring light into their day.
Sure, you may be scared! 
Imagine how scared you would be if the rolls were reversed and you were hugging a corner praying you weren’t-
Standing in the pouring rain tearing your mind to shreds over how you have failed your children, yourself, your family by ending up here on the streets begging for help. 
You have defined failure even if your demons protect you from that reflection. 
The reality may be that we have failed you-you didn’t fail us.
We have forgotten.
We have bought into questionable values.
We have accepted you as a failure to yourself.
We have forgotten.
Andrew has a name and a story as valid as any we pack around, as we dodge and weave away from joining him on a corner.  
In our hopes of cocooning ourselves we look the other way so as not to be infected by those swimming along the bottom of the tank.
We have forgotten.
Floyyd  has a name and a story as intricate, interesting, challenging as the driver of that luxury car that just flew by without a glance.
Laura has a name and a tale of survival, and success, that she shares with those forgetting to remember…
What’s my name?
Don’t forget me.

A week ago I went to a local auto sales and service shop to get a “running headlight” replaced. I couldn’t reach, or change the bulb, without the proper tools. I was okay paying for fifteen minutes of labor for a couple of dollar bulb, as I had no alternatives available and needed my headlights-
The company has been around for years and years… 

While there I asked them to look, and quote, for repairing my “stuck” windscreen wipers.They stopped in the vertical position totally blocking my view of the road.
I received a quote of $745.0,0 before tax. 
I wasn’t about to spend that amount, joking with their staff about how I’d buy a new car before I’d spend $700.00 on fixing wipers.

The other day, at a work in the garden gathering, the price of car repairs came up in conversation. I tossed in the $700.00 wiper story to the shock of those hanging out under the old apple trees. 

One of the men walked over to my car, popped the hood, took off the protective cover and waved me over to take a look. What he saw the moment he revealed the windshield wiper motor was that the nut on top was loose. He tightened it, took off the wipers, reset the swing motion and all was fixed in less than fifteen minutes.

Last Friday I called the service department, where I got the minor repair to my headlight, to ask about that quote of $745.00 plus. They had included the quote on my bill for the replacement of the bulb.  I did not tell the man who answered the service department line about the above resolution of the wiper blades, as I wanted to know what had been done by their technician before the quote for a repair was passed on to me. 

I asked if the plastic shield was removed and the motor inspected. He said he didn’t know exactly what had been done but that it was reasonable, on my part, to presume it was inspected.

When my wipers were fixed by the generous work party attendee, the party conversation led to the question,  “Would I have been charged $745.00 plus tax if I had given the okay to fix the wipers, or would someone have tightened down the nut, reset the blades and charged me for 30 minutes of labor?”

Everybody felt I would be charged the full fee of $745.00 plus tax. 
Worse, I think I would have been charged the full price and I’ve bought cars from these guys-

I don’t feel the crowds indictment is targeting any particular company, though it speaks volumes to the perceptions of service departments taking advantage of people who are not mechanically blessed.

How many of you think they would have charged the full freight versus a “real fix?”