A Gathering

Last night 20 people gathered at a local restaurant. In West Chicago, local to some of us, not the rest! Some came from as far as Washington DC. Others from Evanston, and many other Chicago suburbs. Twenty of us.

And 20 years of association. Twenty seems to be the core number, here – 20 people and 20 years. Not all knew one another; everyone had a few different connecting points, but all were pinned to one person, the fellow from Washington DC.

For many we volunteered to help people living with AIDS, dying from AIDS and raising money to fund those same services. The AIDS bicycle rides from St. Paul/Minneapolis to Chicago back in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 were our focal points. I volunteered at an agency that served the AIDS population and we were one of the beneficiaries of the AIDS Ride. Those dollars meant everything to our mission.

Later, when AIDS no longer was a certain death sentence, we helped AIDS patients transition from dependent care to self-sustaining lifestyles. Later still, we worked to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Our work extended to Kenya as well. There we 'adopted' a village to help them get through hard times. We helped build an orphanage for kids who had lost both parents to AIDS. We built a school for them as well, then a medical clinic. We outfitted two bakery operations with solar ovens to increase their output and kickstart small businesses that would support formation of other small businesses. These were successful. Soon the village was producing more than enough bread for themselves and selling over-production to other villages. A couple of industrial sewing machines helped start tailor shops, too.

The village did not accept that their social custom and taboos were a part of their health problem. But they were. Sex among men was long ignored, but then AIDS arrived, killed the men and infected their wives and children. The rest unfolded quickly and decimated their cultural life together.

These experiences taught us valuable lessons. The first, keeping one's head in the sand does not produce workable solutions to current problems. Second, serving the sick and dying does not stop the disease. Third, admitting uncomfortable truths will get at the cause of the disease. Fourth, changing how one lives will stop the spread of the disease. Fifth, not hiding these lessons will help future generations protect their culture and lives.

Our gathering was with people who did this sort of work and lived to see the associated wisdom. They are special people. Special friends.

After 20 years, we shared much laughter, jokes on aging, and our own graying hair. And lots of good food. A special time of gathering. And recalling past times of shared effort and achievement. A good thing to do. A great reminder that we are all capable of extraordinary things if we but try.

That's a good lesson for what ails us today, eh? Heed it well, my friends.

September 11, 2018