I cannot tell the complete story about myself without including this remembrance, as each of these men and women have played a role in my life and in some instances helped shape the man I am today. This will be a very simple page, no brilliant colors or fancy graphics.

In the summerof 1980, I stood with my partner in New York City's Central Park attending a Memorial Service for those who had died in NYC from AIDS complications. We had just lost our first close friend. The numbers from across the country were not yet 2000,

In the years that have followed, I have attended or spoken at far too many of such Memorial Services. I have stood by the bedside of too many friends; kissing them a final farewell holding their hands or giving a last hug as they have taken their last breaths. Some deaths have been peaceful while others have been agonizing...the results the same...I lost a FRIEND!

Though they have gone, some for many years now...I have not, nor will not, ever forget them. Each of them, in a special way, was a part of my life.

I continue to fight, along with so many others, to find a cure for AIDS and to see that those living with AIDS get the treatment, love and respect they so richly deserve...no matter how they got it! I hope that someday soon, we can put this dreaded illness behind us. Until then, we must ALL fight the fight. Too many, not just our community, have lost the fight to AIDS; too many in the prime of their lives. We cannot afford to lose or give up our fight.

This chapter is a time for me to remember my friends in a public way..I quietly and privately remember them each day. It is also a time I want to allow you, the visitor to my page, to remember those whom you have lost.

Take a few minutes as you listen to the music, read the words and remember your friends. Remember the good times you shared, the laughter, the sorrows and yes the very reasons they were called your friends, family member or in many cases, life partner. Don't ever forget them and don't let others forget them either. They were real people and should not be remembered as a statistic compiled by the government.

To all of my friends, especially the Circle of 23, including Mark...the first of so many close friends to fight the fight and to meet death... looking from wherever they may be...YOU are Missed, Remembered and Will NEVER be Forgotten!

The Circle of 23 began forming in 1972 as a group of close friends that would go to dinner, theater, concerts, Fire Island and various outdoor trips. Death from AIDS complications began overtaking our group in 1980 and twenty-three years later there was but one...me. I am the sole survivor and have not contracted HIV.

I miss my friends greatly. I think of all the times we spent together and it brings tears of joy as well as those of sadness. Each was truly a friend and a part of my life. I was very blessed with such a group!

I was privileged to be with each of the 22, except Gavin, during the final moments of life. Each a memory I will never forget. I gave the eulogy at each of their Celebrations of Life. Gavin, after struggling for almost 14 years, took his own life on June 13, 1996.

I have lost, in the many years of this battle, a total of 140 friends, each whom was a son, daughter, husband, father, wife, mother, brother, sister or life partner of someone.

Each touched the lives of many during their all too brief lifetimes...each should be REMEMBERED not FORGOTTEN! They were not a government statistic, but very real people and with this page, I remember each.

I have purposely chosen not to reveal the last names, to allow them to rest and their families to have peace. There are still hate mongers in the world...if any hate is to be expressed I'd rather it be at me and not those lost or their loved ones.

I began this chapter on February 10, 1998. I have had to let it sit many times, as the pain was too much to bear at one time. Many tears of joy and sadness have been shed during its creation. May it, in a small way, allow you to remember and never forget those you may have lost.