1987. Seems like a really long time ago, doesn't it? Also seems like yesterday. In honor of the 25th anniversary of AIDS Walk Austin, CLS Partners is matching donations today multiples of 25 up to $6,000
I've been at this Walk every year since 1987. It really doesn't seem like that much time has passed, but it has. Come below the orange squiggle for a trip down memory lane (yes, I know some of you were busy being born & don't have memories of 1987, but humor an old woman, won't you?) If you don't want the retro stuff, or the U2 video, you can just donate at my AIDS Walk Austin page
Ronald Reagan was our president, Margaret Thatcher the British PM. The Iran-Contra scandal -- an actual scandal, about actual malfeasance, was all over the news. The Simpsons were born as a series of shorts on the Tracy Ullman show. Michael Jackson released Bad. The first conference on artificial life was held at Los Alamos National Lab.
On October 11, the first ever National Coming Out Day happened. The FDA approved AZT, the first U.S. government-approved treatment for HIV therapy. It is still used, though dosing has changed drastically (the Wikipedia article on AZT was really interesting) and it is part of a triple cocktail that helps many people live longer. Things have improved, but there is still no cure. And treatment is expensive. There are also other issues, like people sometimes can't continue working so they need help with housing, or they need food from the food bank, or legal help. All of these things come from thae agencies benefitting from the Walk, so please donate at my AIDS Walk Austin page
There was no internet yet - at least, not the thing we all know, that is part of our daily lives. There were no fundraising websites. I asked people, in person -- or I mailed letters, actual paper letters, with stamps and everything. You got a form from the AIDS Services of Austin office, and went around asking people for pledges, then collected them after the Walk. Thanks to modern technology, you can donate my clicking my AIDS Walk Austin page
What would have been in my walkman (those of you too young to have used one, check out this picture, the top right is what I'm talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/...) was U2's Joshua Tree. You knew this was coming, right? I mean, you have read diaries I've done before, right?
I would load this diary up with U2 videos, because I'm that much of a fangirl. Also, U2 raises money and awareness for this cause, too, so I don't think they'd mind. But this diary is about the Walk - and the matching money today. Let's see how much of that money we cac get, eh? One more time, here's my my AIDS Walk Austin page