AIDS
ARRIVES It started out fairly quietly, with a page 20 article in the New York Times on July 3, 1981. "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals"...."Outbreak Occurs Among Men in New York and California -- 8 Died Inside Two Years"..."the cause of the outbreak is unknown." For many local
Texas readers the story made the July 24 edition of "This Week
in Texas (TWT)." And the news was slow; in the next nine months
only five additional articles on the subject appeared. Then, in the
March 12, 1982 issue the first Texas death was reported: a local business
owner, Clint Moncrief, died of pneumocystis pneumonia. He was active
in the community and was leader of the Montrose Marching Band. It was
just the beginning of a crisis that affected many aspects of our community. The Karposi's
Sarcoma Committee (KSC) was formed in June and in July, along with the
Citizens for Human Equality, they issued a booklet, "Towards a
Healthier Gay Lifestyle." The early name, GRID (Gay Related Immune
Deficiency) would evolve into just AIDS, as also KSC would evolve into
the KS/AIDS Foundation and later, April 1986, the AIDS Foundation Houston. We will just scratch the surface by mentioning the efforts of the Montrose Clinic, Bering Care Center, Bering Dental Center, Montrose Counseling Center, Body Positive Wellness Center, Stone Soup, Omega House, McAdory House, Pet Patrol, People With AIDS Coalition, The Assistance Fund, Amigos Volunteers in Education & Services (AVES), Colt 45s AIDS Trouble Fund, Names Project, DIFFA, various churches, and ACT UP. Near the top
of every effort was the community itself, with its support of the seemingly
continual fundraisers, drag shows and benefits...they never seemed to
end, but they were and continue to be needed. These were the personal losses but these losses extended to the greater community. We lost the talent and wit, the creativity, humanity and leadership of these individuals. We lost what they could have created for our culture, and the world. It is impossible to take in all the elements of grief, anger, sympathy, activism, education and hope, and how all of our lives are forever changed.
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