RENT

It's hard to believe it's been since October since I have written in my blog. I also just learned after the long layoff that Google has devoured another piece of the Internet. I use Google so I am ambivalent I guess.

I just watched the movie version of Rent again. I found a really cheap copy at a pawn shop so I bought it. It's ironic that I like the movie so much. I am pretty conservative in most of my life. I think it's the intense relationships in the story of Rent that get me. I am moved by the story lines of AIDS, drug addiction in the movie and in real life. I have interacted with HIV positive patients at the hospital where I use to work at. I also know numerous gay people in my life.

I have written about my brother's suicide before. I don't recall if I mentioned his suicide note or not. I am too tired to go back and re-read all my posts. My brother mentioned in his note that he "questioned" his sexuality. He died in February of 1980. It was not common, in suburbia of the Midwest, to be openly gay as it is now back in 1980. My brother probably correctly guessed my parents would not be accepting of his homosexuality. He never mentioned it to me either.

AIDS came to the public awareness in 1981. It was called the Gay Men's cancer. I won't go into the politics of AIDS. RENT was written by Jonathon Larson. It tells the story of a group of friends living with AIDS in New York during 1989-90. The play became a huge success right after the tragic death of Larson. The national acceptance of homosexuality has made it much easier for people to honest with who they are. Just for the record, I don't think people choose to be gay. People are born straight or gay, it's not a lifestyle. I am heterosexual. I wish my brother would have had this environment to grow up in. Anthony Rapp, who plays Mark in Rent, has said in interviews he still receives letters from teenagers who are gay and appreciate his openness of his sexuality. They state that RENT made a huge difference in their lives.

I am tired. Today is Mother's Day. I miss my Mom a lot. It's hard to believe she has been dead two years now. Happy Mother's Day from your son and granddaughter.

peace

dumbdavid