Morning Edition - 5/19/06

Will & Grace; The End of An Era
Last night Will & Grace aired their last episode – ever! Just like songs catalog a time in our lives, I believe shows have a tendency to do the same. Hey, I still watch Bugs and laugh at the same scenes – more because of the memories of my life back then. As NBC aired bloopers from the show and episodes of these quirky characters in years gone by, I found myself tearing up. When Will & Grace first aired I was living in Landover, Maryland; in a long-term relationship; working for a conservative Washington, DC association. I had no idea of what I was doing right or wrong and was coasting in a comfy life of haves and haves more. Now, 73 Emmy nominations later – 14 of which they won – Will & Grace is coming to an end. So much about the show inspired me to laugh, be silly and be proud of who I was as a man and more important, a gay man. I saw myself in all of the characters. At times I’ve had the neurosis of Grace; the anal-retentiveness of Will; the moronic humor of Jack; and the sick sense of humor of Karen. In those eight short years, so much has changed. While Will has gone from morbidly single to happily married, I’ve gone from morbidly married to happily single. Oh, there are countless other changes…maybe too many to share with folks that aren’t earning an hourly rate equivalent to the Mexican national deficit, but it’s the end of an era; time to check the TV listings for the next great program and to look forward to the exciting new episodes of our lives.

Twenty Five Years of AIDS
In 1981 several men in California were diagnosed with a strange pneumonia that was later given the official name of AIDS. That’s the long story made extremely short, but the trip from AIDS’ beginning to where we are today has been far from short, pretty or easy. Over 500,000 Americans have died from the disease and millions live with HIV/AIDS today. Remarkably, the shame, the silence, the guilt and the stigma still surround those inflicted with this disease. Credit where credit is due, there have been promising leaps forward in the fight against AIDS. Victims are now living longer and more productive lives and America is realizing that AIDS affects us all. Unfortunately, AIDS in the gay black male population is now on the rise.

Long Story Short
My work-out partner and “pumpkin” Evelyn M. is vacationing where things are kept on the hush-hush… yeah, the b*tch is in Vegas! I’m working out alone and missing you, so hurry back. William C. may be headed back to PR. That’s right, the baby boy of the Cruz clan may soon find his one-way ticket back to the parent pad where he’ll live out a Puerto Rican version of Failure to Launch. The drive-less teen has taken the adage “The city that never sleeps” to another level and finds himself up until the crack-heads fall-out (we don’t really use ‘til the crack of dawn here in the apple) and sleeps his days away. Unfortunately for him, we in the NYC-arm of the Cruz clan refuse to support dead-beats, so he’ll be sunning with his boyz on the island of enchantment until he finds direction or is introduced to his cell mate – whichever comes first. Sunday is the big day for resident blogger, J’Moo and I to take the 6.5 mile walk to benefit our brothers and sisters suffering with HIV/AIDS. I’m attempting to debut my new digital camera at the event and bring back some photos to share with the blog family. Soul-wifey Marcia R. and I are planning a weekend of fun in the sun for my birthday. Pocketbooks-permitting, we’ll fly out to Puerto Rico to celebrate my 37th. This is your night… Carmen C. and the girls have scheduled a night of cocktails and bent-tails as they shake their Latino-love-lumps on the dance floor of LQs. The hot after-work dance party begins around 5:30 and is free for the ladies (men pay $5). LQs is located on Lexington Avenue, between 47th & 48th Street.

On Blast
Nix the manipulator. The great thing about getting older is that you hope experience will make you wiser. I have to admit that I can now see dating-trouble much sooner than in my younger years. Rather than ignore the signs of impending disaster, I’ve taken the approach that it’s best to drop it while it’s hot. Simply put, drop’em while they’re still in LUST with you. It gives you the upper-hand in future interactions if you choose to keep them on as friends or acquaintances. All this to ask, are you choosier as you get older or do you accept more from your dating partners? Do you find that you’re less willing to compromise on certain issues as you mature or have you learned to ignore those hot-button irritants for the sake of keeping a partner on board?

Keep passin’ the open windows…