Special Tributes

1995 USAIDS 5,000
(20th Anniversary Special)
Supplemental Post #69: 
 ~ Tribute to Pedro Zamora & Carl Lebman ~ 

Edited excerpt from AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM STORY:

[I doubted that anyone would be aware of my mountains; however throughout my time in California, I kept getting questions about some young man named Pedro Zamora: Had we met? Did I know him? What did I think of his story?

Pedro had a positive effect on my bike trip, even though we never met. In fact, until asked, I had not heard of MTV’s Real World, let alone the cast in the production of the San Francisco season. It wasn’t until 1997, when I watched an MTV marathon of Real World, that I grasped the impact of this character.
Pedro was the first openly gay man with AIDS to star on TV in what I believe was the first reality-type programming. He was an adorable young man of twenty-four, in love, and he chose to be an activist for our cause. Millions of viewers felt love for and attachment to Pedro, bringing great credit upon himself and MTV. As it turns out, on the day the final episode was aired in November, 1994, Pedro succumbed to his disease. 

The short, powerful legacy of Pedro Zamora paved the way for my personal positive reception in California. (The story of Pedro was made into a movie, which aired in 2009 on MTV and is available on DVD.) I would like to have met you, amigo.]

Looking back to November of 1994, when America fell in love with Pedro, I would have been fully occupied, preparing for this bicycle journey, while still working for the original Benedict House in Buffalo, even before I met Carl. Pedro's journey ended six months before mine began, yet we shared a passion for life, and for our cause. I credit the bicycle trip for saving me, and for those of you who have regarded me as "hero", I beg to differ. I was struggling to make sense of it all, and struggling for life, too. I don't know why I was one of the lucky ones--able to find a way to keep going--often asking, "Why me, and not Pedro?" But I'm really glad to still be around, to tell stories of all the wonderful people I met during the summer of 1995. If you are one of them, I thank you with my very being.

In the next few days, I will be posting the final days of USAIDS 5,000, pictures and stories, including those from the ride home. I'm thankful for a platform to share this little piece of history. AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM STORY was written as fiction, even though it was based on a true story. I regret not keeping it a memoir, mostly because it gives insufficient credit to folks who helped make that story possible, and especially those who gave me the opportunity to have a bicycle dream come true--real heroes, like Carl Lebman. Thanks for letting me share you as part of my own story--without pay. 

For My Hero (From AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM STORY)
(1995) (A Tribute to Carl Lebman)

When first we met, a lifetime ago
Eight months of calendar time
I couldn’t know then how my heart would grow
And culminate into this rhyme
That you believed in me

Then off we were; exploring this land
While receiving much more than we gave
From hills and woods to ocean’s sand
Hearts filled with treasures to save
And you believed in me

Yet many were days, through those we met
When our hearts reaching out couldn’t heal
The pain and fear of each who regret
Broken lives and wounds they now feel
Still, you believed in me

With weary heart and withered feet
With major doubts in my mind
As to whether or not this man could complete
A journey and task of such kind
But, you believed in me

Now looking back through tremendous trials
Seeing clearly and without remorse
It was God pushing you over all of those miles
Thereby making me stay on course
Yes, I believe in you