6/22 ~ Dining at David's

1995 USAIDS 5,000
(20 Year Anniversary Pictorial Story Re-Creation)
Post #23: 
I've had a number of private messages, in the last 3 weeks, where newer friends never realized how extensive and intense this historic bicycle ride actually was. By 1995, AIDS Rides (big fundraisers) were widely known, but our mission was different. (When you click onto each picture, there is more story, and you'll begin to understand why USAIDS 5,000 was so unique.)

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Picture #041

All of the fun times, all of the hot bicycling days, all of the publicity and fundraising and newspaper stories amounted to this picture, the one I call "Dining at David's", because this is what our mission was about. This was David's House of Compassion, Toledo, Ohio, and one of the rare opportunities where Carl Lebman and I got to meet, mingle and share meals with men like me, folks trying to outlive AIDS. Even rarer, we were permitted to photograph parts of the house, and the residents willing to step forward, to tell us their own stories. Here, I am with Peter and Chico, two of several residents, men who have lost everything, except hope, and even it was fading. Peter had hopes of starting a 'men of color' support group in Toledo, while Chico, whose wife recently had succumbed to AIDS, aspired to be a writer. (Picture from June 22, 1995)
with Peter, David's HoC, Lebman Carl and Chico, David's HoC

Nancy K. Sorensen Jesus, you were hot....
Jim Petretta It was 95f; what do you expect? lol
Nancy K. Sorensen Not that kind of hot, silly 

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Picture #042

I don't want us to forget! So, if you are one of the people reading my posts, please tell someone else you trust to follow them, asking them to do the same. Every city had one or more refuge homes for persons living with AIDS, and they represented only a fraction of the countless folks struggling for life, at the time. The staff were requested to notify one resident, named Edward, of my arrival. Edward had given up already, but wanted to meet this crazy bicyclist. He had not gotten out of bed in nearly a week, except to use the bathroom, and sometimes, not even then. I remember needing to be strong, physically and verbally with Edward. "Oh no you don't! You do not give up hope. Get out of bed, get washed up, and get your butt down to the kitchen. Let's have dinner, because I didn't come all this way to cry at your bedside. Now, get up." He did, and it was the first time he smiled, reportedly, in a long, long time. I could tell how emaciated Edward was, and he probably had not long to live, but giving up was not in my nature; I had to offer hope. (Picture is of a flyer, from June 1995)

Nancy K. Sorensen Can't read this without sobbing like a baby....those days were so harrowing