Motley Moose – Archive

Today, starting at 8am, donations of $100 or more will be matched, up to $20,000 for the Ride. The Ride is in a week – next Saturday the 27th – and they are only at 39% of the goal raised. So, if you can, please pitch in $100 today (or pool your resources & donate together, to total $100 or more)

I have some t-shirts from past years, in various sizes that I got in order to give away. People who donate $100 or more will get one. I’ll figure out how to mail them later, but I’ve got shirts & I need donations, so come read the rest of the diary for some music (you didn’t think I was going to post a diary without music, did you?). Or you could donate at my Hill Country Ride page. If you want a shirt and I have one in your size, we’ll figure out the mailing thing.

I don’t know about you, but for me, this year has sucked. Like, a lot. But I’ve been trying to think about helping others who need it, as a way of getting out of my own space. I do the Hill Country Ride for AIDS every year, because the agencies it benefits help people out every day. They have a food bank, for people who really need it – and people with AIDS have to be very mindful about nutrition, about the timing, and what they eat…. so there are people who counsel about that. There’s legal assistance, medical subsidies, volunteers to drive people to appointments….. Just help, that their clients really need.

So I was thinking about why. Why help? What do I get out of it? I did some searching, and the results of my quest are below the squiggly thing. Of course, if you want to skip the inspirational quotes, the video & the U2 song, you could donate at my Hill Country Ride page now.

Oh – and a picture. Here’s a picture from the year I was top fundraiser (not gonna happen this year, I’m in 16th place right now), but anyway:

I’m doing the Hill Country Ride for AIDS in 2 1/2 weeks. I’m nowhere near my goal, but I’m not moving the goalposts until after the opening dinner the night before the ride. This diary is to tell you about the people helped by your donations. If you want to bypass all the heartwarming stuff, you can just donate here at my Hill Country Ride page. But if you want to read some great stories about people getting the help they need, come below the squiggly thing. Be warned, since the Ride is only at 27% of their goal, I’m going to pull on your heartstrings all I can. And here’s a picture of me at last year’s ride:

So I wrote one diary about what your money does, here. And here’s a picture of me with our then-director, the year I was top fundraiser (not that that’s a hint):

I thought I’d tell y’all some more things your donations do. Of course, if you’re already convinced this is a good cause, you can go straight to  my Hill Country Ride for AIDS page and donate. Also – with 3 weeks to go, the Ride as a whole has only raised 21% of the goal. This is money that, as you will see, goes directly to help people. Research is great, but feeding people who need it is better; counseling for families affected by HIV is needed, helping with rent or legal aid — all of these help real people, right now.

Did you know that only one third of all HIV-infected people get anti-retroviral therapy? I didn’t. What if everyone who needed it could get it? How much better off would we all be?

Well if we’ve met you know I have 2 big passions besides electing more & better Democrats – AIDS Walk Austin (for which I have been the top fundraiser) and the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, which I’ll be participating in for the 14th time in  – gulp – 5 weeks. I’ve been the top fundraiser for the Ride before & both the Ride and I had big fundraising goals this year. I wanted to be the top fundraiser, but that was disrupted by numerous trips to visit my mother in the hospital, so now my goal is to make it over $1,000. The Ride has a goal of $500,000. If you want to skip my cheesy U2 worshipping diary, here’s my Hill Country Ride for AIDS page.

Hello, it’s me again with another diary about the Hill Country Ride for AIDS. Here’s a picture of me & my friend David the year I was top fundraiser:

I haven’t done as many of these as I’d like, February wasn’t the best month for me. But this is important so I wanted to squeeze this in. If you want to cut to the chase, here’s my Hill Country Ride for AIDS page, but I hope you’ll come with into the extended diary for a good story. And of course music.

Hello, I know a lot of people here at MM, but maybe not everyone, so I should introduce myself.Here’s a picture of me last fall at the AIDS Walk, with the Director od AIDS Services of Austin (who is movie star handsome) and a gorgeous sash they made me for having done the AIDS Walk every one of the 25 years it has been in existence:

I live in Austin & besides progressive politics, the most important thing in the world to me is the AIDS Walk that is in October & the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, in April. The Ride is really my love & my heart. Because it takes training to get ready for, you get to know people better & I have come to know many people involved with it, including many people who are HIV+. Some of the people I love best in this world – people who have done so much good I can’t even tell you – are HIV+ & I want them to have the care they need. Even more than that, I want total strangers, who may not have done great things, to have the care they need. They need more care, the people who don’t have the support networks. So that’s why I work so hard to raise money for this cause, so everyone can get the care they need.

This April, I’ll be doing the Hill Country Ride for AIDS once again. The Ride is a beautiful, magical, wonderful event. If you are in the Austin area, I highly recommend participating. There are ride distances varying from 11 to 100 miles, and this year there is a train run/walk, also – with 5K, 10K & half-marathon options. It is super family-friendly, with lots of stuff for kids to do. and the food — cyclists know their food & this event has really amazing food. If you can’t participate, maybe you could donate — here’s my the Hill Country Ride for AIDS page. If you want to participate, when you sign up, please join Team RunTex, as I’m the captain & I need team members! (any MM people in Central Texas — free training groups for riding or running, on Saturdays & Sundays, and free yoga, too!)

Today I wanted to tell y’all what your donations do.

This was originally posted in Orange.

I got the idea for this diary from Denise’s diary over on GOS Silence is still deadly. Denise’s sig line is

“If you’re in a coalition and you’re comfortable, you know it’s not a broad enough coalition” Bernice Johnson Reagon

Let’s get uncomfortable, shall we?

Let’s make a big coalition.

Remember ACT UP?

Actually, you don’t need to remember them, they’re still around; you can find them online.

Silence does equal death.

But what if we ALL Act Up?

Not just regarding AIDS, and certainly not just people who HAVE AIDS or HIV; not even just their friends and lovers and relatives.

Of course, we are ALL related to people with AIDS. Just a question of how closely related. And even if it isn’t very closely (and how would you know? Do you know the HIV status of all your second cousins? At age 50 I discovered some second cousins I didn’t know I had.  Those are my great grand parents great grand children. That’s pretty close).  But everyone is related to everyone. But, as I said, even if we aren’t that closely related, we should be concerned. If you’re only interested in the health and welfare of your closest relatives …. well…..

But it’s bigger.

Let’s make a big coalition.

You know. With all sorts of people in it. All the people who make OTHER people feel uncomfortable, bad or icky. They might even make some of US feel uncomfortable, bad or icky.  Heck, some people make ME feel that way.

But they don’t make me feel like they are sub-human or unworthy of care.

I, personally, feel uncomfortable watching some public acts of affection (between two men, two women or one of each).

That’s my hangup, not theirs. And it’s OK. Everyone’s got some hangups.

One of the groomsmen (Ellen) at my wedding was a lesbian; I found out, years later, that one of the maids of honor told Ellen not to hold her hand. Oy. That’s not OK. That’s letting her hangup hurt someone else. Not OK at all.

So, let’s get uncomfortable.

When I see people with tons of body piercings, it makes me uncomfortable. Dunno why. Just seems weird to me. But that’s OK. That’s my hangup. Not theirs. Everyone’s got hangups.

But some people let their hangups hang others. That’s not OK.

Me? I’m a learning disabled atheist with glasses who likes to eat all sorts of food. Each of those traits makes some people uncomfortable.  (Food? Yes, some people feel uncomfortable with people eating jellyfish, for instance).

I’m a geeky nerdy guy who likes to spend a lot of time alone. Those traits make some people make uncomfortable too.

Let’s get uncomfortable.

Remember “Revenge of the Nerds”? It wasn’t a gem of film making, but it had one good line:

There’s a lot more of us than there are of them

Add up all the people who make someone else uncomfortable. There’s a lot of us. There’s a lot more of us than there are of them.

Let’s get uncomfortable.

Let’s make a big coalition.

Let’s Act Up.

Together.

Because silence = death. For all of us.