"I'm a young African-American male, and I have AIDS." So quoted my priest, who is really a middle-aged white guy, straight and married with grown children.

The script, which my priest read from, was all part of a service recognizing World AIDS Day last Dec. 1. The prepared program,...

1. People described as "lovely and compassionate" are just as likely to commit acts of violence as mean-spirited people are acts of kindness. We are multi-layered, the combination of our experiences and genetic wiring. Some of us may never understand ourselves well enough to understand others. It's a shame, because...

Mom was the first to go. She tripped on a rug that had been placed in front of the refrigerator to catch spills. It was about two days later when my sister got up to our folks' house. She found Mom in bed complaining of excruciating leg pain.

"Well,...

This is Part 1 of a series of blog postings about growing up in the San Fernando Valley of the '50s and '60s.

It was innocent enough. Kay just wanted us to snap a picture of her standing in front of the childhood home she shared with her mother...

This is the epilogue to the series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part...

This is the conclusion to the series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part...

This is the 14th installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the 13th installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the 12th installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the 11th installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the 10th installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the ninth installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the eighth installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,...

This is the seventh installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5

My first year of teaching was a rewarding one. I had parents who trusted me and a classroom of students who were readily eating out of my hand like I was some kind of rock star. Sometimes, I actually couldn't believe I was getting paid to do what I was...

This is the sixth installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5

This is the fifth installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.

Before I met Robert,...

This is the fourth installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

It should come as no surprise to anybody...

This is the third installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

After any traumatic event, we all yearn for a place of comfort, that place...

This is the second installment in a series of blog posts chronicling life with my partner, Robert, who died of AIDS March 21, 2002, which, ironically, was my mother's 80th birthday. I'm retelling the events in this installment as he reported them to me several years ago. Read Part 1...