Elton's letter to Ryan White 20 years after death

[William769]

Twenty years ago this month, you died of AIDS. I would gladly give my fame and fortune if only I could have one more conversation with you, the friend who changed my life as well as the lives of millions living with HIV. Instead, I have written you this letter. Dear Ryan, I remember so well when we first met. A young boy with a terrible disease, you were the epitome of grace. You never blamed anyone for the illness that ravaged your body or the torment and stigma you endured. When students, parents and teachers in your community shunned you, threatened you and expelled you from school, you responded not with words of hate but with understanding beyond your years. You said they were simply afraid of what they did not know. When the media heralded you as an "innocent victim" because you had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, you rejected that label and stood in solidarity with thousands of HIV-positive women and men. You reminded America that all victims of AIDS are innocent. When you became a celebrity, you embraced the opportunity to educate the nation about the AIDS epidemic, even though your only wish was to live an ordinary life.



http://www.gaynewswatch.com/Page.cfm?PageID=2&STID=105&SID=8481#B8481

[pinto]

1. Kick

:kick:

[Zenlitened]

2. K&R (n/t)

[LiberalAndProud]

3. Beautiful tribute to a beautiful young man.

Has it really been 20 years? Ryan's legacy lives on.

[William769]

5. Yes it has.

And it just keeps getting bigger.

:cry:

[awoke_in_2003]

29. time flies...

I remember that like yesterday.

[Cetacea]

4. K&R

:kick:

[havocmom]

6. 'Someone saved my life tonight....'

Remembering a profoundly great teacher of what it means to be human. Remembering Ryan White.

[ThatsMyBarack]

23. ...

:cry: O8)

[awoke_in_2003]

30. I secretly crank that song...

that and "I will survive" by Gloria Gaynor. (oh, and "You should be dancing" by the Bee Gees- guess my image is blown:) )

[bigwillq]

7. K and R (nt)

[EFerrari]

8. Kick

[JuniperLea]

9. K&R... beautiful...

:cry:

We've lost so many amazing people to this.



Dear Mack and Mike,

I love you, I miss you, I think of you all the time. I drive by your old house frequently... the new owners are doing it justice. Mack, your tree is as tall as the house now! You'd be happy to see the rainbow decorations during the annual Gay Pride parade:)

RIP, dear friends.

June

PS - You're probably happy to have missed the "orange baby" statue they erected at the art museum across the street... hahaha! I can picture you looking out the bedroom window, shaking your heads and rolling your eyes:)

[William769]

11. ...

:hug:

[JuniperLea]

14. .

:hug:

20 years gone, and I'm still not over it... they were among the first diagnosed in the 80's... such a waste.

[William769]

15. I lost my life partner in 2006, we were together 16 years

I think of him every day. He was the last man I was with, and will be the last man I will ever be with.

[JuniperLea]

17. I'm so sorry...

:hug:

True love runs deep. I wish you peace, William.

[Tailormyst]

26. Oh William, I am so sorry.

Some loves transcend time.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. I have been married to my wife...

for 16 years. Couldn't imagine life without her. I am sorry for your lost love.

[HillWilliam]

36. I lost a wonderful partner in 1986 to HIV

When you least expect it and when you think you're least ready, the universe will send love. It will never be THAT love, but it will be a love on its own, beautiful in its own right. Don't shut it out, for having loved, you deserve love.

The world may be tough, wild, and complicated, but it is not a completely unforgiving and ever-lonely place. Just when I thought I could never love again and my heart had been torn and abused enough, I was sent a good, kind, loving and wonderful man. We've been together now just over 14 years. And yes, he's Poz and there are challenges, but we take each minute at a time, savoring it. Having loved and lost before, I learned one lesson and that is never to leave the house without saying "I love you". No matter what.

No. Matter. What.

One widower to another: never say never, my friend. The world is a strange place and every once in a while good things do happen.

[glowing]

20. Not a waste.... A response, human response to one another in pain and fear.

Do we love or do we hate... The way it was going, hate was superceding. Ryan White was love and grace and beauty. I have no doubt he was sent to help humans face their fear and to show others how to shine. His spirit is still stong after all this time.. and with his face and story, the disease was treated in serious manners and technology has helped to make the quality of life longer and healthier for those with this disease. Not a waste. I'm sure Ryan wouldn't say his life was wasted. He did more in his short time on this earth than many will do in a lifetime of living.

[bobbolink]

21. Very good point. It is hard to see a human being as a sacrifice to the ignorance of the rest of us.

But he certainly did a lot to transform at least some of that ignorance.

[glowing]

22. And what is the meaning of life if not to learn and grow and find our humanity?

[bobbolink]

24. Ummm, lesseee.... To amass wealth and power?

:(

Emotional Literacy; Intelligence with Heart.
http://www.claudesteiner.com/2000.htm

THIRTEEN INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS
http://www.grandmotherscouncil.com/

[glowing]

45. For some, but not for most.. Most people like food, shelter, clean water, clean air,

time with their family, and a basic sense of security.. Most do not need or want power or wealth.

[Starry Messenger]

10. k

[Blue Diadem]

12. He'd be 38. Indystar did a 6 page online story on him recently.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100408/NEWS/4080328/1007/LIVING/Ryan-White-s-legacy-lives-on?source=pn_s

The indystar story mentions a Children's museum featuring 3 children, including Ryan. It's a permanent exhibit, "The Power of Children: Making a Difference."

William, thanks for posting Elton's letter. It's a beautiful tribute.

RIP Ryan

[William769]

13. And thank you for the link you provided.

[AwakeAtLast]

33. I've been to that exhibit

His boyhood bedroom was recreated with everything he had growing up in it. What hit me in the gut was the school locker. They have his actual school locker with all of the horrible slurs and names etched into it. It was chilling to see.

The way the Children's Museum presented all three of their lives (Ryan, Ruby Bridges and Anne Frank) was so well done and made you see that they were persecuted by the same thing: hate.

[Solly Mack]

16. K&R

[AnArmyVeteran]

18. Beautiful words from a beautiful person...

[bobbolink]

19. Aloha e, Palani!

I think of you so often, and it is hard to fathom that you have been gone for 19 years now, because your Aloha spirit is still so strong in me. Mahalo for not only giving me a love of hula, but for demonstrating how Aloha is lived.

When the Symphony performed Corigliano's First Symphony, I took your photograph with me, and during the pre-concert lecture, when Marc Shugold showed us in the score the names of Corigliano's friends who had died of Aids and were commemorated in the score, I knew that you were remembered, too.
http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?tabId=2420&State_2874=2&workId_2874=27006

Whenever I hear the Myrtle K. Hilo Hula, I smile as I think of you, and the carburetor issues. :) Just yesterday I thought of you when I saw so many of the crab apple trees in bloom, and how you appreciated their nani.

Please know that your influence lives on.... a former student of yours remembers, too:
http://www.angelfire.com/ut2/keahiokamalulani/

Your work to perpetuate the hula guided so many of us, but it was your Aloha which was such an important influence so far inland.

Mahalo doesn't even begin to cover it.... you are still kilakila in our memories!

Aloha 'Oe, Palani

[Tailormyst]

25. I can't believe it's been 20 years,

He was an angel.

[Are_grits_groceries]

27. I was in DC when the whole tragedy began unfolding.

I remember a lot of people who left far, far too young. It was a horrible time.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. getting in a K&R...

before reading the rest.

[tblue37]

32. I think it says a lot about the bullying tendency in our culture that

when this young boy developed AIDS because of his hemophilia, the general response of his ommunity was not just to shun but to attack him. He was the victim of nasty phone calls, threats, signs, etc. Even if you accept that peope were afraid of catching the disease and were therefore afraid of contact with him--and when they didn't now how it was transmitted, it was inevitable that some fears would be overblown--that still doesn't explain why so many actively tormented him and his mother.

Imagine if people found out a kid had cancer and then began to call his home with insults and threats and put up nasty signs and write nasty LTEs about him. We can't even imagine such a thing being done to a child for havig cancer, yet those things happened to Ryan jut because he was sick.

[Pooka Fey]

34. A beautiful tribute.

[Bluenorthwest]

35. Speechless remembering.

Thanks for posting this.

[supernova]

37. Thank you, for this

I was thinking about that beautiful boy the other day, how is family were faring now so many years later. I was thinking too how much EJ changed after that. He got more serious and more compassionate.

[Mad_Dem_X]

38. K&R for Ryan, and all those living with HIV/AIDS

[orbitalman]

39. A beautiful tribute FROM a beautiful man, n/t

[David Zephyr]

40. Touching.

Ryan will always be a national treasure and hero of mine. Always.

[DesertDiamond]

41. Hugs to Elton!

[crim son]

42. I can't believe it's been twenty years.

Glad to be reminded of Ryan; I admired and grieved for him when he was dealing with the disease. What a remarkable human being who made a remarkable impact on many people. Thanks, Elton.

[madokie]

43. Your song is one of my favs

this brings tears to my old eyes

Heres a very young Elton singing your song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTa8U0Wa0q8&feature=related

What a guy

[tpsbmam]

44. So sentimental now.....

What a life of grace Ryan lived. I'll never forget him. In that sense, he is immortal as I know there are at the very least hundreds of thousands who would say the same. Thanks, WIlliam, for posting this -- I remember their incredible friendship. I had never been an Elton fan (what can I say -- I'm a geek in many ways, music among them) but became a fan when I watched with increasing love for both how this man and this remarkable man in a boy's body educated the world about AIDS & love.

I lost so many friends to AIDS, I grew to hate the disease and the ignorance of people who abused & shunned people with AIDS. I lived in NYC, worked for a national dance company (roughly late '70's to mid 80's) and lost many friends, both dancers & staff members, to that fucking disease. Eventually, the founder of the company also died of the disease. Even within the company, there were some (mostly staff members) who withdrew physical contact when they knew someone was HIV positive or had full-blown AIDS. Fortunately, there were enough of us who'd educated ourselves and shared information that the ignorance remained pretty limited to people who just couldn't be convinced. I've stayed in contact with a couple of those people who eventually realized the folly of their ways and live with the guilt of their ignorance back then. I admit I hadn't thought about some of them for a while and this reminder brought their memories flooding back.

For all now living with AIDS, I warmly embrace you. And my love to Ryan and all he achieved in his short life, all those who loved him, and certainly to Elton for reminding us. :grouphug: