When I was much younger, me and my best friend Matt always joked that that was what AIDS stood for – in the same way that GAY was an acronym for Got Aids Yet? Personally, I thought we were pretty mature and disturbingly witty for two 13 year olds…..
Matt was my best friend, in a way that only two lads of similar age and interests who lived miles away from anyone else can be. We cycled to school together everyday, played football or cricket together afterwards. We were best mates. As we grew older I got a bit jealous of him - all the girls loved him, blonde hair and muscular, as opposed to me with my stupid, wavy brown hair and skinny frame. We eventually went off to different universities and although we kept in touch, visited one another now and again and drank too much when we went home for Christmas it was never really the same.
Matt didn’t tell me that he was gay, nor that he was H.I.V. positive until he had full-blown AIDS. In fact he didn’t tell many people at all. His parents informed everyone that he died of a rare lung infection – they even published that in the short obituary in the local newspaper.
Matt died around about 7:20 p.m. on the 6th April 1995. (So just about exacty 10 years ago). I was there (well, okay, in that nasty lime-green painted waiting room). 10 years later I can’t do much about it except raise a pint of Bass to you (okay, it was a bottle, yes, I’ve been saving it and yes, it’s out of date - would you want it any other way?) and try and shoot a squirrel with an air rifle for old times sake. But I haven’t forgotten.
Really miss you mate. Hope you’re in a better place (even though neither of us really believed in it) and no, as you requested, I didn’t mess about with any of that quilt nonsense……
A touching tribute for the anniversary of a sad event; here’s to your friend, and your memories of him.
Moving - both your words here and that you keep up the memory of your mate. Good that he steered you away from the quilt nonsense, too.
Occasionally, I hate the inadequacy of words. To your friend, and to you for remembering him.
Stairs: Thanks for popping by, didn’t know you read.
David, Sin: I could have writen something maudlin, or tried to do something sentimental, but neither he, nor I ever went in for that kind of stuff. I also could have gone on about how hard it must have been for him growing up gay in an area like that. Maybe it was, personally I found growing up in an area like that and not being gay tricky enough… He never made a big deal of it, in fact, until after we’d done our A Levels he never told me he was anything other than the guy who all girls loved - I don’t think he was so sure about it himself. Anyway, it set me up so that when I heard someone described as “gay”, I assumed it meant the popular guy who women adored, who was house captain at school and the best fast bowler I’ve ever seen. And someone who’d go out for a pint with me and bandy around terms like “arse-injected death syndrome” - which may make me cringe a bit now, but sometimes Sin you’re right, words really are inadequate. Like the time he saved me from being attacked by a skinhead - words weren’t adequate enough for that guy either…..
I can stop if it please you. Unless you meant ‘capable of reading’, in which case tell me about it; it makes studying very difficult!
Wow, this was a very touching post.
Very heavy and thought provoking stuff and a well written tribute.
Oh che bello! Finalmente!
I’m so happy I can read again deeply beautiful posts like this one!
Thanks!
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Look, if you found the title offensive, I’m sorry, but 1. I don’t really care and 2. Did you actually read the rest of the post?