T E N

“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

will wonders never cease? after all that nonsense in march and april in my professional life, i have decided to follow a new path with the help of a few friends. it is a bit scary i suppose, but i don't have too much invested yet either.

we are going to start an agency for hiv positives which is operated by hiv positives. i know that this happens in other cities, and i believe that it is how aso's (aids service organizations) began here, but that changed long ago in denver. and i think that an insider view might be useful in the system of service delivery.

here is the beginnings of our mission:

Treatment Education Network’s mission is to educate and empower individuals living with HIV through peer-led programming, linkage to care, support services, information dissemination, and advocacy. We also provide services to the broader community to increase HIV knowledge and sensitivity, and to reduce the risk of infection.

and a friend who has signed on as legal counsel advises that we add: "This organization may also engage in any other activities permitted under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code."

we have decided to name the venture "Treatment Education Network" (TEN). The marketing possibilities are huge with that name i think. we will undoubtedly need a logo, so if anyone out there is interested in donating some possibilities, they would be welcome. (slim to none budget you know)

again, i say "will wonders never cease". this journey of life and recovery really blows me away sometimes. this indeed could be another of the promises coming true in my life. i just hope that we can bring some light in some dark rooms along the way.

i have been looking for this song for quite awhile on youtube. it was played at the very end of the film "longtime companion". although i lived in chicago and not new york, that film remains a lifelike journal of the eighties for me. and i always loved the song at the end, probably because i sat so long in the theatre after the film ended just trying to figure out what to do with all my feelings. lyrics for postmortem bar here