Vol. 9 Issue 2 • March - April 2020
S O U T H
F L O R I D A
G A Y
N E W S
A WORLD UNITED
THEMIRRORMAG.COM
What is SYMTUZA® Used For? SYMTUZA® is a prescription medicine that is used without other antiretroviral medicines to treat Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in adults who: • have not received anti-HIV-1 medicines in the past, or • when their healthcare provider determines that they meet certain requirements. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). It is not known if SYMTUZA® is safe and effective in children under 18 years of age. Take SYMTUZA® exactly as your healthcare provider tells you. Do not change your dose or stop taking SYMTUZA® without talking to your healthcare provider. If you have difficulty swallowing, the tablet may be split using a tablet-cutter. After splitting the tablet, the entire dose (both halves) should then be taken right away. Do not miss a dose of SYMTUZA®. When your SYMTUZA® supply starts to run low, get more from your healthcare provider or pharmacy. This is very important because the amount of virus in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for even a short time. The virus may develop resistance to SYMTUZA® and become harder to treat. What are the most serious risks with SYMTUZA®? SYMTUZA® can cause serious side effects including: Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV before starting treatment with SYMTUZA®. If you have HBV infection and take SYMTUZA®, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking SYMTUZA®. If you stop taking SYMTUZA®, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection or give you a medicine to treat your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking SYMTUZA®. What are the important warnings? • SYMTUZA® may cause severe liver problems that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, vomiting, or stomach area pain • SYMTUZA® may cause severe or life-threatening skin reactions or rashes. Stop taking SYMTUZA® and call your healthcare provider right away if you develop any skin changes with the following symptoms: fever, tiredness, muscle or joint pain, blisters or skin lesions, mouth sores or ulcers, and/or red or inflamed eyes, like “pink eye” (conjunctivitis) • SYMTUZA® can cause new or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure What should I tell my healthcare provider? Before taking SYMTUZA®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: • have liver problems (including hepatitis B or hepatitis C) • have kidney problems • are allergic to sulfa (sulfonamide) • have diabetes • have hemophilia • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. SYMTUZA® should not
be used in pregnant women. It is not known if SYMTUZA® will harm your unborn baby • Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV to your baby. Do not breastfeed if you take SYMTUZA® Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Some medicines interact with SYMTUZA®. Keep a list of your medicines to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Who should not take SYMTUZA®? • Do not take SYMTUZA® with any of the following medicines: alfuzosin, carbamazepine, cisapride, colchicine (if you have liver or kidney problems), dronedarone, elbasvir and grazoprevir, ergotcontaining medicines (such as: dihydroergotamine, ergotamine tartrate, methylergonovine), ivabradine, lomitapide, lovastatin or a product that contains lovastatin, lurasidone, midazolam (when taken by mouth), naloxegol, phenobarbital, phenytoin, pimozide, ranolazine, rifampin, sildenafil when used for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), simvastatin or a product that contains simvastatin, St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) or a product that contains St. John’s wort, or triazolam • Serious problems can happen if you take any of these medicines with SYMTUZA® What are the possible side effects of SYMTUZA®? SYMTUZA® may cause serious side effects including: • Immune system changes (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis) which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat • Diabetes and high blood sugar • Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medications • Increased bleeding in people with hemophilia, which can happen when taking protease inhibitors. The most common side effects are: • diarrhea, nausea, headache, gas, rash, fatigue, stomach problems These are not all of the possible side effects of SYMTUZA®. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. What important facts should I know? This information is not complete. To get more information: • Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist • Visit www.SYMTUZA.com to read over the FDA-approved product labeling and patient information cp-60855v5
© Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP 2019 11/19 cp-109845v1
Please read above Important Brief Summary, including important warnings for SYMTUZA®, and discuss any question you have with your doctor. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or to Janssen Products, LP at 1-800-JANSSEN (1-800-526-7736).
Sarah, Grandmother
How will love move you to treat HIV? Everyone deserves love. Because we matter. Our wants and our needs matter. So when you want to start treating HIV but need the support to get you there, it’s okay to reach out for help. Lean on friends, support groups, allies—and ask a healthcare provider how one-pill, once-daily SYMTUZA ® may help you reach and stay undetectable* (<50 copies/mL). *You must continuously take SYMTUZA® as prescribed.
Vi sit SY M T UZ A . c o m t o l e a rn m o re .
THE PANDEMIC THAT WAS
PREDICTABLE // Bill Gates
THE FUTURE WE DID NOT SEE WE ARE DYING TODAY BECAUSE WE DID NOT LISTEN TO BILL GATES YESTERDAY.
AN ADDRESS BY Bill Gates February 17, 2017 to the Munich Security Conference Munich, Germany
W
hen I decided 20 years ago to make global health the focus of my philanthropic work, I didn’t imagine that I’d be speaking at a conference on international security policy. But I’m here today because I believe our worlds are more tightly linked than most people realize.
FEATURE
First and most importantly, we have to build an arsenal of new weapons—
VACCINES, DRUGS, AND DIAGNOSTICS.
Here’s one example. I spend a lot of my time on the effort to eradicate polio. We’ve made incredible progress. Of the 125 countries where polio was endemic, 122 countries have eliminated the disease. Only Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria have never been polio-free. And that’s no coincidence. War zones and other fragile state settings are the most difficult places to eliminate epidemics. They’re also some of the most likely places for them to begin—as we’ve seen with Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and with cholera in the Congo Basin and the Horn of Africa. So, to fight global pandemics, we must fight poverty, too. It’s also true that the next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus . . . or a super contagious and deadly strain of the flu. The point is, we ignore the link between health security and international security at our peril. Whether it occurs by a quirk of nature or at the hand of a terrorist, epidemiologists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year. And they say there is a reasonable probability the world will experience such an outbreak in the next 10-15 years. It’s hard to get your mind around a catastrophe of that scale, but it happened not that long ago. In 1918, a particularly virulent and deadly strain of flu killed between 50 million and 100 million people. You might be wondering how likely these doomsday scenarios really are. The fact that a deadly global pandemic has not occurred in recent history shouldn’t be mistaken for evidence that a deadly pandemic will not occur in the future. And even if the next pandemic isn’t on the scale of the 1918 flu, we would be wise to consider the social and economic turmoil that might ensue if something like Ebola made its way into a lot of major urban centers. We were lucky that the last Ebola outbreak was contained before it did. Thank you for the opportunity to address this forum. The good news is that with advances in biotechnology, new vaccines and drugs can help prevent epidemics from spreading out of control. And, most of the things we need to do to protect against a naturally occurring pandemic are the same things we must prepare for an intentional biological attack. First and most importantly, we have to build an arsenal of new weapons—vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Vaccines can be especially important in containing epidemics. But today, it typically takes up to 10 years to develop and license a new vaccine. To significantly curb deaths from a fast-moving airborne pathogen, we would have to get that down considerably—to 90 days or less.
We took an important step last month with the launch of a new public-private partnership called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The hope is that CEPI will enable the world to produce safe, effective vaccines as quickly as new threats emerge. The really big breakthrough potential is in emerging technology platforms that leverage recent advances in genomics to dramatically reduce the time needed to develop vaccines. This is important because we can’t predict whether the next deadly disease will be one we already know, or something we’ve never seen before. Without getting too technical, these new platform technologies essentially create a delivery vehicle for synthetic genetic material that instructs your cells to make a vaccine inside your own body. And the great thing is that once you’ve built a vaccine platform for one pathogen, you can use it again for other pathogens. You only need to substitute a few genes. That flexibility and reusability would cut the vaccine development and approval timeline significantly. And we can apply this new vaccine technology to other hard-to-treat diseases like HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. The $550 million that launched CEPI is just a down payment. We
Pictured left: A line representing the number of confirmed deaths in the United States by Covid 19 from March 12 to April 1, ranging from 0 to 400. Source: European CDC.
Bill Gates speaking at a Ted Talk about the dangers of pandemics. Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson, via Flickr.
MARCH - APRIL 2020 | THE
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FEATURE will need considerably more support from governments to fund the R&D necessary to realize the promise of this new technology. Of course, the preventive capacity of a vaccine won’t help if a pathogen has already spread out of control. Because epidemics can quickly take root in the places least equipped to fight them, we also need to improve surveillance. That starts with strengthening basic public health systems in the most vulnerable countries. This has a double benefit. It improves our ability to prevent, detect, and respond to epidemics. And it enables us to break the cycle of poverty and disease that is at the root of so much instability in the world. We also have to ensure that every country is conducting routine surveillance to gather and verify disease outbreak intelligence. And we must ensure that countries share information in a timely way, and that there are adequate laboratory resources to identify and monitor suspect pathogens. We can build on the lab network that’s in place now for polio, as well as a new network of field sites and labs that will help us better understand the causes of child mortality in poor countries. The third thing we need to do is prepare for epidemics the way the military prepares for war. This includes germ games and other preparedness exercises so we can better understand how diseases will spread, how people will respond in a panic, and how to deal with things like overloaded highways and communications systems. We also need trained medical personnel ready to contain an epidemic quickly, and better coordination with the military to help with logistics and to secure areas. The Ebola epidemic might have been much worse if the U.S. and UK governments had not used military resources to help build health centers, manage logistics, and fly people in and out of affected countries. It is encouraging that global alliances like the G7 and the G20 are beginning to focus on pandemic preparedness, and that leaders like Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Solberg are championing health security. By the end of this year, 67 countries are expected to have completed independent assessments of their epidemic readiness. But there isn’t enough money to help the poorest countries with epidemic preparation. The irony is that the cost of ensuring adequate pandemic preparedness worldwide is estimated at $3.4 billion a year—yet the projected annual loss from a pandemic could run as high as $570 billion. Pandemics are everyone’s problem—and as leaders, we cannot ignore it. Imagine if I told you that somewhere in this world, there’s a weapon that exists—or that could emerge—capable of killing
You might be wondering how likely these doomsday scenarios really are. The fact that a deadly global pandemic has not occurred in recent history
SHOULDN’T BE MISTAKEN FOR EVIDENCE THAT A DEADLY PANDEMIC WILL NOT OCCUR IN THE FUTURE.
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A mockup of an Ebola field hospital made by Bill Gates to show civilians what it would be like to deal with a pandemic. Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson, via Flickr.
tens of thousands, or millions, of people, bringing economies to a standstill, and throwing nations into chaos. You would say that we need to do everything possible to gather intelligence and develop effective countermeasures to reduce the threat. That is the situation we face today with biological threats. We may not know if that weapon is man-made or a product of nature. But one thing we can be almost certain of. A highly lethal global pandemic will occur in our lifetimes. When I was a kid, there was really only one existential threat the world faced. The threat of a nuclear war. By the late 1990s, most reasonable people had come to accept that climate changed represented another major threat to humankind. I view the threat of deadly pandemics right up there with nuclear war and climate change. Getting ready for a global pandemic is every bit as important as nuclear deterrence and avoiding a climate catastrophe. Innovation, cooperation, and careful planning can dramatically mitigate the risks presented by each of these threats. Indeed, the fact that fewer people die in conflicts now than at any time in human history is the direct result of choices made together by the international community—including through efforts like the Munich Security Conference. The global good will evidenced at the historic Paris Climate talks a year ago give us a chance to prevent the worst effects of climate change. The opportunity now is to extend that cooperation to pandemic preparedness. We’ve gotten a good start on innovation with the launch of CEPI. Reflecting on the lessons learned with Ebola, there is a shared consensus about the things we need to invest in. I’m optimistic that a decade from now, we can be much better prepared for a lethal epidemic—if we’re willing to put a fraction of what we spend on defense budgets and new weapons systems into epidemic readiness. When the next pandemic strikes, it could be another catastrophe in the annals of the human race. Or it could be something else altogether. An extraordinary triumph of human will. A moment when we prove yet again that, together, we are capable of taking on the world’s biggest challenges to create a safer, healthier, more stable world. Ultimately, the choice is ours.
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MARCH - APRIL 2020 | THE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS NOTE FROM THE CEO
Mirror Introduction Page 14
PUBLISHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTE
Promises Made, Promises Kept Page 16
A&E
Is HIV Something To Sing About? Page 22
FASHION
Style & Fashion Page 32
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FEATURE
The Pandemic That Was Predictable Page 4
NEWS
Virtual Pride Page 18
CARS
The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace Page 38
A&E
Sing A Song Of Hope Page 44
A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA GAY NEWS
NOTE from the
CEO
MARCH - APRIL 2020 Vol 9 | Issue 2 2520 N. Dixie Highway | Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954.530.4970 Fax: 954.530.7943
PUBLISHER
NORM KENT norm.kent@sfgn.com
Chief Executive Officer PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI piero@sfgn.com Associate Publisher/ JASON PARSLEY Executive Editor jason.parsley@sfgn.com
EDITORIAL Art Director BRENDON LIES artwork@sfgn.com
During these trying and difficult times all of us must make an effort to help each other. This is about unity, we can only overcome it together. Therefore I plead with all of our readers and friends to step up.
PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI
Senior Features Reporter DAMON SCOTT A&E Editor J.W. ARNOLD Food Editor RICK KARLIN Digital Content Director JUSTIN MUSIAL webmaster@sfgn.com
SALES & MARKETING For ad placement in the Mirror Magazine, CONTACT 954-530-4970 Sales Manager JUSTIN WYSE justin@sfgn.comm Senior Advertising Assoc. EDWIN NEIMANN edwin@sfgn.com Sales Consultant CHARLES REID Distribution Services ROCKY BOWELL BERNARD WISNESKI Printing THE PRINTER’S PRINTER National Advertising RIVENDELL MEDIA Accounting Services CG BOOKKEEPING
Cover: Painting by Brendon Lies.
The Mirror is published bi-monthly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor are those of the writers. They do not represent the opinions of The Mirror or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations in The Mirror. Furthermore the word “gay” in The Mirror should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material that appears in The Mirror, both online at www.themirrormag.com, and in our print edition, including articles used in conjunction with the Associated Press and our columnists, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher of The Mirror, Norm Kent, at Norm@ NormKent.com. The Mirror is published by the South Florida Gay News. It’s a private corporation, and reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs. MIRROR Copyright © 2020, South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.
Associated Press Florida Press Association National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association
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B NICE KIND SAFE LOVING PATIENT STRONG GENEROUS SUPPORTIVE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE
We will get through it, it is not going to be easy, there will be a lot of pain along the road to recovery, but it beats the alternative and frankly we have no choice. Good luck to all of us. Thank you.
PUBLISHERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EDITORIAL
PROMISES MADE,
PROMISES KEPT HERE IS YOUR MIRROR, LATE BUT DELIVERED
Y
OU MIGHT ASK, IS THIS MAN CRAZY? Why is he publishing this magazine, four weeks into the heart of a pandemic that is shutting down our country, cities and counties, and the heart and soul of our same sex centric community, Wilton Manors and greater Fort Lauderdale. THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. First, good and decent businessmen gave us their hard-earned money to publish and distribute a magazine which showcases the LGBT community. We have a duty and obligation to do so, albeit reformatted with a new purpose. Second, a free gay press in a disturbed straight world matters. Our voices need to be heard, our lives illuminated, our goodness shared. Pier Angelo and I have been publishing SFGN for ten years; the Mirror for seven. We are late with this issue, of course, but we could not allow the magazine to go to press with ads promoting a Pride of the Americas celebration on the Fort Lauderdale beach. Our parties will come another day. As Maya Angelou once wrote, there is no storm that does not run out of rain. Believe in tomorrow. There is no night so dark that the sun does not come out the following day. This issue of the MIRROR is small, but you measure a magazine by the quality of its content, not the quantity of its pages, just as you measure a person by their character, not by their wealth. Ours is a community of heroes. The very first issues of this magazine, first named SFGN.com, saluted individuals like Dr. Howard Cunningham of Oakland Park Dental. Today, in the face of this viral epidemic, he was still responding to the emergency dental needs of his patients. 16 | THE
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Today, so many of our own are rising to the challenge of COIVID-19. Our Fund has created a Resilience Fund to direct immediate funds to social service agencies. Dawn Holloway of Pink Subs, with Howard Andrew of FabScout, are handing out free meals nightly to suddenly unemployed members of the service industry. Once again, faced with adversity, our
A MONTH AGO, GUEST HOUSES WERE FILLED. AIDS WALKERS WERE ORGANIZING. SPRING BREAKERS WERE GETTING READY FOR A PARTY.
SFGN AND THE MIRROR WERE PLANNING ITS BIGGEST ISSUE, WITH THE MOST ADVERTISERS, EVER.
// Norm Kent
community is rising to the challenge we always have before. So, will we now. We adapt, but persevere. Today, not only are our livelihoods challenged, our lives are threatened. The SFGN headlines you see online are of lives already lost; foundations shaken. We have lost members of our chorus and softball leagues. Many more are at risk. We are all in this together. A month ago, guest houses were filled. AIDS walkers were organizing. Spring breakers were getting ready for a party. SFGN and the MIRROR were planning its biggest issue, with the most advertisers, ever. Personally, my two 38-year-old roommates were both gainfully employed in the hospitality industry, planning a trip to Daytona Bike week. Today, they are both out of work, and out of the house we have lived in together for years. With six of the five opportunistic underlying conditions for the COVID-19 virus, I had to self-quarantine. Of course, they are both now staying in a fully furnished AirBnB, while I am living in my 45-year-old townhouse, fighting rats coming through the dog door at night. What is wrong with that picture? I understand that I am without the persons I love, but I want to be here with them when the baseball season does finally get to open. I am not stuck at home. I am safe at home.
The headlines of our paper these past few weeks are of lives lost and pain endured. Our community has had its mettle tested before. Even when we were alone and ostracized, we endured. Today, the world is fighting a common enemy. The science is better and the effort global. Unlike yesterday, the world is in this together today. Let’s pray that a united planet of researchers and scientists will arrest this pandemic. I would not count on the White House, but hey, his Facebooks numbers are up. Obviously, our nation could have had a more prudent and professional response. What we have seen is presidentially pathetic. Nevertheless, as the Bill Gates column in this issue shows, the world was not ready for this. We were too busy building bombs instead of hospitals. Remembering how the LGBT community was ostracized in the past will not serve us well now. It was bullshit then, and is intolerable now. Loving another man should never have been a crime, but there are still countries today where it still is. Ask COIVD-19 if it cares. Today, LGBT people are the mayors of our town. We are senators, governors, and one day, maybe even a President. We are players in the game called Life. We have the likes of the Harvey Milks and Leonard Matloviches to thank for that. They were pioneers who paved the way for the future. We have a new generation of activists because your authenticity lead the way. We will pass the torch and gay Americans tomorrow will inspire scientific discoveries, win Olympic medals and maybe one of us will even figure out a way to get Comcast to answer their phones in less than an hour. Personally, it’s been a blessing to have spent the last four decades fighting for our rights in the courts. That I also have been the publisher of a free gay press in a straight world has been icing on the cake. Because of that, I have gotten to meet so many of you, all champions and crusaders in your own way. SFGN has survived and weathered the storm as a print product in a digital age because you believed in us and invested in our product. It is only too obvious to all of us that the world is changing. Still, it is quality, not quantity that matters. This issue may be smaller in size, but it is big at heart. How about that original cover painted by our art director, Brendon Lies, from Fargo, North Dakota? Ours is a country of many colors and communities. We are everywhere and from anywhere. America can still learn something from our gay lives. Look at us. Our parades don’t need to cheer on tanks and warships – a
Photo via Adobe.
Long Island Iced Tea at the Alibi is fine. We celebrate love, and dance with queens. We champion diversity. Right now, I would rather have another John Hopkins Medical Center than a Space Force. Wouldn’t you? How is that attack of the Klingons coming along anyway?
While we need to be unified as a nation today, that does not mean you silently obey your government. A free press respectfully holds it accountable. No one else can sing our song. We must give each unforgiving minute sixty-seconds’ worth of distance run. Bless you all and be safe. MARCH - APRIL 2020 | THE
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NEWS
PRIDE ORGS TO HOST VIRTUAL
‘GLOBAL PRIDE’ CELEBRATION Photo via Adobe.
// Michael K. Lavers WASHINGTON BLADE
A
virtual global Pride celebration is scheduled to take place on June 27.
InterPride and the European Pride Organizers Association in a press release issued on Wednesday said they are working with Pride organizations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania “to bring communities and Pride organizations together for this Global Pride event” that “will use online platforms to deliver a Pride in which everyone can participate, wherever they are in the world.” “It will include musical performances, speeches, and key messages from human rights activists,” reads the press release. The press release also notes the event will be livestreamed.
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We need community and connection more than ever,” said InterPride Co-President J. Andrew Baker. “This gives us an opportunity to both connect and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community’s resilience in the face of this pandemic and the true spirit of Pride.” The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the cancellation or postponement of hundreds of Pride celebrations around the world. The Capital Pride Alliance on Monday announced it has postponed all of its Pride-related events that were scheduled to take place in May and June. The Center for Black Equity has also cancelled its annual D.C. Black Pride that takes place over Memorial Day weekend. LA Pride has also been postponed. “The unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 mean that most Prides will not take place as planned in 2020, but we’re determined that this won’t stop us from coming together as a united, strong LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate who we are and what we stand for,” said European Pride Organizers Association President Kristine Garina, who chairs Baltic Pride in the Latvian capital of Riga, in a press release. “Global Pride will show the LGBTQIA+ movement for the very best it can be, showing solidarity at a time when so many of us are mourning and strength when so many of us are feeling isolated and lonely,” added Garina. “Above all, we will show our resilience and determination that Pride will be back bigger and stronger than ever before.” Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos on Wednesday said his organization will participate in the event. “We will be participating and look forward to us all thinking outside the box as to how we can celebrate and have Pride,” Bos told the Washington Blade in an email.
“Enter Donald J. Trump, two-bit conman, television huckster, a denizen of gaudy casinos and smoke-filled back rooms, who conned himself into the biggest job of all. He is our guide to a new realm you won’t find on any map: a world of his own creation, where words like ‘truth’ and ‘lie’ no longer have meaning, where man’s darkest instincts are given license, and where things like human decency and tolerance are relics of a bygone day. Case in point: Mr. Donald Trump, a man with one foot in his mouth and the other... in the Twilight Zone.”
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World AIDS Museum Presents:
Medications then and now Exhibit Opening February 2020 1201 NE 26th St #111, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
/worldaidsmuseum
IS HIV SING ABOUT
A&E
SOMETHING TO
THE HILARIOUS HIV+ MU SICAL SERIES RETURNS FOR A SECOND SEASON
// Paul Hutnick Photos courtesy of Charles Sanchez.
I
s HIV Something to sing about? Charles Sanchez, the creator and star of “MERCE,” believes it is. His award-winning musical comedy web series — beloved for its MGM classic film ethos mixed with potty mouth flair — is back for a second season. Like the character he portrays, Sanchez is HIV positive. He sees “MERCE” as an opportunity to show the world a different side of the epidemic. Produced by Skipping Boyz Productions and made possible via a crowdfunding campaign on Fractured Atlas that raised over $60,000 from fans, the second season of “MERCE” features eight new episodes, each with its own elaborately choreographed original musical number. All of the series favorite characters are back, including the outrageous Southern Mama played by Tyne Firmin and the fabulous fairies. The hijinks are raised to unprecedented heights yet season two manages to dive into some hot button topics impacting today’s HIV community as well, including PrEP, slut shaming, and gay marriage.
We spoke with Charles Sanchez from his Manhattan home.
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FEATURE WITH WHERE DID YOU COME UP E? RC ME R THE IDEA FO Charles Sanchez: For a long time in my life, I hid my gayness. Or, I tried to! I had a lot of shame around it. I thought I was an abomination. I’ve gotten over it. The character of “MERCE” came from a desire to be unapologetically gay. I wanted him to be authentic and 100% fabulous. “MERCE” is me with my camp factor turned up to 11. That flamboyance is also opposite of what you think of when you think of someone with HIV.
AN HE’S LIKE PEE-WEE HERM CA. ERI AM IN LS GE AN ETS ME Charles Sanchez: Oh my God, yes! With maybe a little Paul Lynde wryness. One writer described season one as having the charm of an early Jon Waters film, so maybe Pee-Wee peppered with Paul and Angels in America with singing, if directed by Jon Waters.
R ZANY WHAT INSPIRED THE OTHE ? OW SH THE IN S CHARACTER Charles Sanchez: I lived in Arkansas for some years. It’s where I was diagnosed with HIV. Some of the fabulous, strong, funny women who befriended me all find their way into the character of Mama. The character of Todd was inspired by my nephew, who I knew was gay from when he was pretty young. Then there’s Remington. He is the ideal boyfriend; a big teddy bear with a giant heart.
WHY HAS TV IGNORED THE EPIDEMIC?
HIV
Charles Sanchez: I’m not sure. It might be that they don’t know how to handle the topic. It’s relatively easy to write a dramatic story about someone dying from AIDS. It’s automatically an operatic storyline. To create a character and storyline about someone who’s living with a chronic condition and doing okay isn’t as dramatic a storyline and is more challenging to write.
NEVER EVEN TV’S WILL & GRACE IS THAT W HO ! HIV TOUCHED ON ? BLE POSSI Charles Sanchez: “Will & Grace” is an important show that has done a lot as far as visibility of gays, albeit white, privileged gays. But the fact that Will and Jack are men of a certain age and never talk about their lived experience during the AIDS crisis, never have any occasion to show up for an HIV event, never talk about the advances of treatments, U
equals U, and PrEP is a real shame. They have a tremendous opportunity to teach millions of people, and I wish they’d use it.
WHAT WAS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK YOU RECEIVED FROM THE FIRST SEASON? Charles Sanchez: People said that it was refreshing and hilarious. I love it when people say it’s hilarious. Also, there have been people living with HIV who’ve really appreciated seeing a character who isn’t a tragic figure. I think my favorite thing is when people have said that they got so caught up in the humor and style of the show, that they forgot “MERCE” had HIV. Exactly.
IN ADDITION TO ITS FUN CHARACTERS, “MERCE” IS BELOVED FOR ITS SHOW TUN
ES!
Charles Sanchez: We’re so lucky to have two amazing composers, Rob Hartmann and Adam J. Rineer, writing songs for the show. When Rob first sent me the song, “Just F***ed Feeling,” I thought it was supremely funny, but I was a little nervous knowing I’d have to perform it. But our mantra at “MERCE” is “more is more,” so I went for it. When I played it for a friend, she said it was very relatable! I love that. Rob also wrote “Bless Your Heart,” a truly funny song that I think even non-Southern Mamas will relate to. Adam wrote “Click Delete” and the simply gorgeous, heartfelt ballad, “Your Cure.”
“YOUR CURE” SOUNDS LIK EA NUMBER FROM FALSET TO S. Charles Sanchez: What a lovely thing to say! I think Adam really hit this one out of
the park. It was really important for me to talk about an HIV cure, because the concept isn’t talked about very much anymore. I also thought it was important to show “MERCE” and Remington in a genuine love scene. I think this scene in the show is an intimate moment that a lot of lovers can relate to.
SON MERCE FINDS LOVE THIS SEA TIVE GA NE AND IT’S WITH AN HIV MAN. Charles Sanchez: There are many couples in serodiscordant relationships, and it’s important to show that and tell that story. It’s another way to teach that people living with HIV on successful treatment can’t pass the virus. More importantly, it teaches that many people living with HIV are loved and in relationships.
WERS WHAT DO YOU HOPE VIE E” (THE ERC “M M FRO AY AW TAKE (THE E” ERC “M CHARACTER) AND SERIES)? Charles Sanchez:
My big hope is that people think both the show and the characters are funny. Making people laugh is our major goal, and we pushed every boundary we could think of to make this happen. After that, I hope that people have a shift in their mindset of someone living with HIV, have a fresh image of what a person living with HIV looks like. HIV has such a frightening stigma attached to it, and we’re trying to shatter that. I’d like for people to see a person living with HIV as being a person first, complex, with family, friends, a sex life, troubles, fears. And that HIV is not an automatic death sentence; a person living with HIV can live a full, fabulous life.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.MERCETHESERIES.COM. FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020 | THE
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Clothing Optional Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resort in the Heart of Fort Lauderdale
IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®
This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.
(bik-TAR-vee)
MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY
BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:
BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: } Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section. } Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. } Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY. } Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. } Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. } The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).
} Worsening of Hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you
have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.
ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1
BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: } Have or have had any kidney or liver problems,
These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.
including hepatitis infection. } Have any other health problems. } Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. } Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.
HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:
Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.
} Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-
counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.
} This is only a brief summary of important information
} BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other.
Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.
Get HIV support by downloading a free app at
MyDailyCharge.com
GET MORE INFORMATION about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.
} Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5. } If you need help paying for your medicine,
visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.
BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP EMPOWERING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: December 2018 © 2019 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0102 01/19
KEEP EMPOWERING.
Because HIV doesn’t change who you are. BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.
Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you. To learn more, visit BIKTARVY.com.
Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.
‘THE FEAR DEATH’ OF
To all the nurses and doctors, hospital workers and patient care techs, and to first responders all, in uniforms everywhere, risking all everywhere, on behalf of our LGBTQ community, SFGN and the MIRROR say thank you, now and forever. ‘Doing the Right Thing’ in the face of fear is not fearlessness, it is bravery.
Bravery we will never forget. It is rising to the occasion, mastering the quintessential test of character. “Accepting death [is] indispensable to defeating death. We [Americans] are a nation in which there are fewer and fewer people ... who accept what every twelve-year-old [in Bosnia] knows: That there are things worth dying for.”
Mike Kelly WASHINGTON POST JOURNALIST SLAIN IN 1997 WHILE COVERING THE IRAQ WAR
NOW MORE THAN EVER A FREE PRESS MATTERS Challenging an Imperial Presidency Questioning a Deceitful Authority
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FASHION
STYLE
&
FASHION // Justin Wyse
S
tylish, fashionista, chic, trendsetting, and fabulous are all ways to describe the way the LGBT community for decades has embraced the fashion industry.
Many of us have used fashion to express who we are as individuals and to flare and tenacity when hitting the streets for a night on the town. Powerful statements have been made through fashion looks and trends. Whether your Billy Porter bending gender in a man dress or Lady Gaga wearing a meat dress, we have a unique ability to express any idea through our clothing. Since 1858 Macyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has provided individuals with opportunities to express themselves throughout each season. 2020 spring fashion offers some unique trends that appeal to nearly anyone, anywhere. I have chosen four fun looks that give you the ability to enhance or change just about anything to meet your personal style or aesthetic.
Photos courtesy of Macyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.
32 | THE
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Double Breasted Suit Jacket Linen Suit Pants $395
FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020 | THE
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FASHION
FASHION
2020 TRENDS
GARDEN PARTY Inspired by a mix of pretty and polished influences, it’s all about romantic florals, toile prints and spring tweeds. Soft pastels and airy textures are highlighted by a relaxed yet feminine silhouette. Floral High-Low Midi Dress $139
NEUTRAL GROUND Varying shades of beige, from warm to cool offer a trend-right, combined with a wear-now versatility. Men’s bespokeinspired suiting and tailoring can be incorporated in touches or a head-to-toe look.
SKATE PREP – MEN’S Inspired by skate culture, ‘90s nostalgia juxtaposes traditional preppy styles for men’s sportswear. Patchwork button downs, cargo shorts, rugby sweaters and bucket hats are must-have pieces.
BACK TO BASICS – BEAUTY A focus on complexion comes to the forefront and chic is defined by a natural face, skin and hair. Warm glows accentuated by bronze and peach emphasize a healthy and bright face. Makeup is in a place of experimentation on the eyes, highlighted by watercolor brush strokes and neon lines.
Fashion is you! Make it what you desire! Create a new trend or wear what is comfortable. Regardless of the tag be true to yourself and express this through fashion.
34 | THE
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FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020 | THE
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ADVERTISING
‘MY MIND IS GAY BUT MY SOUL IS MELANCHOLY’
QUOTE BY ANDREW LANG
Dear Readers: I pulled the article reproduced in part below off the internet in 1999 and published it in The Weekly News aka TWN, (South Florida’s only gay paper at the time) as a reminder to the gay reader that we weren’t home yet, and that they had to vote (in 2000, we elected Gore, but, the election was taken from him by the Supreme Court - If you don’t remember this, due to your relative youth, please google it). Now Lang’s story stands as a grim reminder that our fear and consternation at the recent election of Donald Trump are quite legitimate. Do not allow your relatives and any friends you may have left who are misguided enough to admonish you to accept the election and “move on,” to invalidate your feelings. Our fear and horror now is even worse that when the Pulse massacre jolted us from our sense of well-being after Supreme Court ruled that gays and lesbians have the right to marry. This is much bigger than the massacre. This isn’t the work of a lone lunatic, but, the orchestrated takeover of our country by an evil movement which is all the more repulsive because it is a movement: our fellow citizens’ hate and bigotry
The Times 26 Aug 1999 “The Nazi persecution of gay men has largely been ignored by historians. Now the few survivors have revealed the extent of their suffering in the death camps. Tim Teeman reports on Forgotten Victims of the Holocaust: “While interned at Schirmeck concentration camp, Pierre Seel, then 17, was forced to build crematoria, raped by officers with broken rulers and used as a human dart board with syringes thrown by camp orderlies. After the war he was allowed back into his family only under the condition that he never reveal the true circumstances of his original arrest. He entered a marriage of convenience and eventually became suicidal. Today, aged 76, Pierre continues to struggle for official recognition of the persecution suffered by homosexual men under the Nazis. He remembers his best friend dying in Schirmeck after guards set a pack of German Shepherd dogs on him. Of his own experience, he rages: “I was arrested, tortured and beaten. There was no trial. I was sodomised, raped. I can’t forget. I’m ashamed for humanity. Ashamed.” “There are about ten known gay survivors of the concentration camps. Their stories received a first and long overdue airing on a Channel 4 documentary, Pink Triangle. It is almost impossibly moving: some men have not spoken about their experiences before. For many years they were hidden from history; unlike other victims of Nazi persecution they are not entitled to compensation, reparation or any form of legal redress. “The end of the war in 1945 had hardly brought liberation for gay men; it was only in 1969 that Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code outlawing homosexuality was
has brought this to pass. We have enjoyed an unparalleled run of LGBT rights victories in the past several years and we believed that Trump and the bigotry he spewed would never prevail. Now we are both in shock and despairing of what the future may hold for us, and if not for us, personally, for our fellow citizens, and non-citizens. And rightfully so. In 1999, Broward County was facing a repeal referendum on the 1995 addition of sexual orientation to the human rights ordinance. Take Back Broward, a hate group associated with the Republican Party and funded by the right wing Heritage Foundation, fueled by irrational hatred of gays and lesbians were barely turned back by the local political action committee, Americans for Equality, of which I was the chair. I had the incomparable good fortune of fighting for justice and prevailing. Now, I find myself lost in the thousands of words written by so many in response to this election: when will a way forward come to me? What can I do? Today I am searching and only offer you commiseration, a bit of LGBT history, and a glimpse of what an internment camp may look like.
finally repealed in West Germany. Only earlier this year were homosexual victims of the Holocaust officially recognized for the first time at a memorial service held at what was Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Historian Dr Klaus Muller, who has traced the survivors, says: “Many of the gay men who were taken to the camps died within a couple of days. Marked with a pink triangle, they were the lowest of the low, there was no support network as there was for political or Jewish prisoners. They were put into slave-labour squads, subjected to torture and some to terrible medical experimentation. “At Buchenwald there was a doctor who tried to change them by instituting a particular gland. The operations were crude. Many died as a result of botched surgery. Others were beaten to death, drowned headfirst in water, hung by their arms till they were dead. Some were castrated . . . really, the worst you can imagine.” One man remembers the “singing forest” outside his concentration camp. That is, there was a sequence of concrete poles on which all those waiting to be sentenced were hung - “their screeching, howling and screaming was inhuman - the singing forest. It’s beyond human comprehension. So much remains untold”. “Heinz F. - almost 93, dapper, besuited, with a luminous face - weeps as he tells his story for the first time. He remembers the hedonistic pleasures of Weimar Germany, the Berlin gay clubs of the Twenties and Thirties. He met Magnus Hirschfeld, whose Hirschfeld Institute was one of the world’s first gay- rights organisations. He eventually settled in Munich where a sub-lieutenant of Ernst Roehm - the homosexual head of the SA [a.k.a. Storm Troops], Hitler’s “backroom muscle” which crushed dissent on the streets in the early days
of Nazi rule - tried to recruit him for the force. Heinz turned him down. “In 1935 someone in his circle of friends was arrested. Under pressure from the Gestapo, the man revealed the names of about 20 other homosexuals. Heinz was working in his family’s store when he was called by the local police to go down to the station. Unsuspecting, he went. Without a trial, he was sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Thus began a series of arrests and imprisonment that would take Heinz to numerous prisons and concentration camps over nearly nine years. At Buchenwald he met many other homosexuals, including several Jews who were also forced to wear the pink triangle. “These “multiply persecuted” men had even less chance to survive the camps. Heinz remembers a homosexual Gypsy who, at 24, committed suicide by letting himself be shot while “trying to escape” from the quarry. “They were harnessed, pulling rocks, those poor people,” he says, eyes glistening. “The older people were always praying.” The war ended when Heinz was 40 and he went home. His father had died and no one asked him a single question about his years of captivity. “My mother never said anything. She didn’t want to make it harder on me. I’ve never talked about it.” When asked if there was anyone he wanted to talk to about it, he convulses with grief. “My father,” he weeps. “Dr. Muller, who is the project director of the United States Holocaust Museum in Western Europe, began to trace the few homosexual survivors six years ago. “What they’ve all experienced is a lack of support - most of them are very isolated. The memories of torture don’t go away, the fact they were still criminals after the end of the war, that many families told
M.S.W., J.D.
them to keep quiet about why they were sent to the camps. Some committed suicide after being rearrested at the end of the war. Most of the men I’ve contacted have managed to live with the anger, disappointment and terrible memories, though at a huge cost.” “Threaded between the men’s stories is an intriguing examination of the influence of homosexuality in the course of Nazi Party history itself. Roehm, for example, was known to be gay, leading Hitler to issue a statement supporting him, though not by name, in 1932: “Private life cannot be an object of scrutiny unless it is in conflict with the basic principles of National Socialist ideology.” If these are the stories of ten men, what of the others? The
Nazis arrested 100,000 men on suspicion of homosexual behaviour. More than half were convicted, of whom 10,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. Two thirds of them are believed to have died while there. The others, who when released were still criminalised, retreated into silence. Of his work in bringing their stories to public attention, Dr Muller, 39, says: “I am gay myself and German. I am thankful to talk to the survivors because it is better to deal with a horrible past head-on, rather than not understand because of a lack of information.” He adds that most of these “sweet, strong people” do not want to talk: they are old, the memories are too painful and they want to be left alone. Their quiet heroism,
however, is clear. Bernhard - arrested in 1937, imprisoned without trial, castrated, survived death camp - now boasts that he is “stronger than Hitler”. Heinz F. smiles determinedly: “Only now I talk. I’ll be 93 in September. Thickskinned, no?” And his lip trembles again. His eyes, distant, looking somewhere off-camera, reveal that he is thinking of something else much darker.” Paul Moor (Berlin) Finally, speak up often and passionately, and never, ever, hide who you are and who you love: Stand and be counted as there is power in numbers. - Robin Bodiford
20 19
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38 | THE
| FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020
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FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020 | THE
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CARS
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This one not only ably handles light offroad duty, it forded an 18-inch-deep stream. Now, stop and think about taking an electric vehicle with its undercarriage battery pack of 432 cells effortlessly wading through water. After emerging from the stream, and driving up an unpaved road, I headed to a Formula One racetrack, where the I-Pace swiftly yet silently generated speeds of more than 100 mph. And why not? It’s a Jaguar. It reaches 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 124 mph. If you’re used to conventional gasoline engine, going fast this silently takes some getting used to, as the I-Pace uses a Jaguar-designed electric motor on each axle fitted around a compact, single-speed transmission and differential, enabling power delivery to all four wheels. For 2020, its battery pack now provides up to 8 percent longer driving range, increasing its range to 253 miles — 19 more than before. The car uses regenerative braking to capture energy generated while decelerating to recharge the battery. Unchanged are the thoughtful touches used throughout the car to extract the most mileage. That’s why the climate control adjusts airflow to the number of passengers,
STATS Base prices
Horsepower
Wheelbase
$70,875 - $81,925
394
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Motor
Torque
Length
PERMANENT MAGNETIC ELECTRIC MOTORS
512 POUND-FEET
184.3 INCHES
EPA rating (MPGe)
Curb weight:
80 CITY, 72 HIGHWAY
4,800 POUNDS (ESTIMATED)
Estimated range
Cargo capacity:
253 MILES
25.3-51 CUBIC FEET
Charging time (80%/100% - 230 V)
10.1/12.9 HOURS
so that air doesn’t blow on empty seats. The I-Pace can also pre-condition the cabin to the proper temperature while plugged in, rather than drawing power to do it once underway. It also maintains the battery pack’s optimum temperature while charging to deliver the most range. And the navigation system factors in the topography of routes, driving styles and available range to accurately calculate the best route, while showing charging locations along the way. A standard air suspension delivers an impeccable ride/handling balance in the best Jaguar tradition, lowering the car by 0.4
inches above 65 mph, and raising it 2 inches in off-road mode. And as you’d expect of a car with such a huge battery pack, the I-Pace perfectly plants itself during cornering even as its driving position and component setup give it a futuristic vibe that gives it uniquely futuristic driving feel. That feeling is enhanced by the two large high-definition screens anchoring the instrument panel, augmented by a pair of rotary switches that are modern, elegant and intuitive. A full-color head-up display, which projects key information onto the windshield in front of the driver, is available. Finally, a panoramic glass roof lends the roomy cabin an enormous feel far beyond this vehicle’s 184-inch length. Once seated, little will prepare you for the I-Pace’s consummate performance. In another time, they might have even called it the E-Type.
Larry Printz is an automotive journalist based in South Florida. He can be reached at TheDrivingPrintz@gmail.com. 40 | THE
| FEBRUARY - MARCH 2020
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SING A SONG OF HOPE // MI ROR Staff
THE STAFF SHARE SOME OF THEIR PERSONAL FAVORITE SONGS FOR STAYING INSPIRED DURING TROUBLING TIMES
THE CIRCLE GAME JONI MITCHELL
Yesterday a child came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel of time We can’t return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Then the child moved ten times round the seasons Skated over ten clear frozen streams Words like, when you’re older, must appease him And promises of someday make his dreams And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel of time We can’t return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town And they tell him, Take your time, it won’t be long now Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel of time We can’t return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true There’ll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty Before the last revolving year is through And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel of time We can’t return, we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game And go round and round and round In the circle game
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| MARCH - APRIL 2020
HAND IN MY POCKET ALANIS MORISSETTE
I’m broke but I’m happy, I’m poor but I’m kind I’m short but I’m healthy, yeah I’m high but I’m grounded, I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed I’m lost but I’m hopeful, baby What it all comes down to Is that everything’s gonna be fine, fine, fine ‘Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is giving a high five I feel drunk but I’m sober, I’m young and I’m underpaid I’m tired but I’m working, yeah I care but I’m restless, I’m here but I’m really gone I’m wrong and I’m sorry baby What it all comes down to Is that everything is going to be quite alright ‘Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is flicking a cigarette What it all comes down to Is that I haven’t got it all figured out just yet ‘Cause I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is giving a peace sign I’m free but I’m focused, I’m green but I’m wise I’m hard but I’m friendly, baby I’m sad but I’m laughing, I’m brave but I’m chicken shit I’m sick but I’m pretty baby And what it all boils down to Is that no one’s really got it figured out just yet I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is playing the piano And what it all comes down to, my friends, yeah Is that everything is just fine fine fine I’ve got one hand in my pocket And the other one is hailing a taxi cab
IMAGINE JOHN LENNON
Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Livin’ for today Ah Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Livin’ life in peace You You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one
NEWS
Our Fund Foundation Resilience Fund
AHF ADVOCATED FOR PANDEMIC CONTROL IN FEBRUARY AHF PRESIDENT MICHAEL WEINSTEIN BEGGED WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TO STEP UP. HERE’S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY TO THEM. // MI ROR Staff
Our Fund is contributing $150,000 in 1:1 matching funds at this critical time for our area's LGBTQ agencies. All gifts up to $150,000 will be doubled with 100% of monies raised distributed to non-profits impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. PLEASE DONATE NOW:
visit www.Our-Fund.org
A MESSAGE FROM SOUTH FLORIDA GAY NEWS
During these difficult times, think positive thoughts.
Whether it’s WHO declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, or ensuring emergency supplies are readily available globally – the United Nations must step up its actions on the entire outbreak response.
YOU ARE NOT STUCK AT HOME. YOU ARE SAFE AT HOME.
Visit SFGN.com and stay up to date on health alerts, event schedules, and everything you need to know in our community.
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| MARCH - APRIL 2020
All available assets and proven public health interventions must be rapidly deployed to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the frontline responders—because as we’ve seen in past infectious disease outbreaks, like Ebola in West and East Africa—when people and organizations fail to act responsively, thousands of people needlessly die and entire communities and regions are left devastated. When a deadly pathogen is killing thousands of people across dozens of countries on every continent except for Antarctica – it’s a no brainer – this is clearly a pandemic. Our entire focus must now shift to doing all that’s necessary to save lives. - MICHAEL WEINSTEIN PRESIDENT OF AHF
THINK ADVENTURE. THINK JM LEXUS.
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