Beware the Pure Spirit, Let the Flesh Instruct the Mind

Something’s been brewing in the back of my mind for a bit. I hesitate to write it out, as it is sure to be misinterpreted and misunderstood by some. And yet, write I must.  I’ll do my best to write as clearly as I know how. However, words and I do this dance and success is not guaranteed. I’m in the midst of giving birth to my dissertation. Not an easy pregnancy but I am close to bring this baby to term. A tough topic for sure but one that has meaning and one that must be told. It does have a life of its own and I’m doing my best to articulate and explore. The process has been transformative for me on a personal level. However, I recently noticed something. I had an epiphany of sorts. And now processing this new insight, I find a new awareness and something that needs to be challenged. So here goes… When did relationships and/or sex between men become primarily reduced to issues of viral risk? Of viral transmission? What happened to intimacy or sexuality?  The assumpti...

Johnny, I just finished viewing “How To Survive A Plague” the brand new documentary chronicling the work of ACT UP and TAG in the late 80’s and 90’s. I did not make it to the premiere showing in Asheville recently and this movie has been on my “watch” list ever since I learned of it. Watching this documentary  was an emotional rollercoaster. Brilliantly done and visceral. I cried multiple times and was angry just as many instances as well.  You came to mind so many times while I watched this; this was a painful reminder of how much I have missed you. It’s a stark marking of the passage of time, of good and bad memories, love and regret, and the possibilities that could have been had you survived and lived on. But of course that is not what happened. I mourned your loss for a very long time and the seeming unfairness of it all. One of the stars of the documentary remarked tearfully that “we all go off to war and some survive and others don’t. Those who come back often wo...

My final entry to my class for the semester... I’m always reading. Whether for class or enjoyment, I bury myself in books. Maybe I don’t lead an interesting life. But I love big books and I cannot lie… Well anyways, I was reading through some HIV related material the other night when I found something that was in its own way related to our class, more specifically to our folks who presented on Santeria last week.  I’m fascinated by this belief system in how Africans who were sold into slavery brought their beliefs with them to the Americas and found a way to incorporate their beliefs alongside the beliefs of their masters / tormenters.  The symbolism changed but it was still very much their own and of their own making. It was something they could hold onto, something from their own heritage. Santeria lives on. I’ve seen some of their altars; specifically I have a good friend who at the time had a beautiful altar in his home.  Offerings of food and liquor, cigars and ca...