New Brad Chapter: Fresh bread and hot dancing
In the worst of times, hard work and helping others grounds us and fills us with the strength to go on. Hot dancing (with missionary zeal) in Washington Square Park fills Brad with purpose. But will chosen family, love, and hard work be enough for him as friends die and hope flickers in and out?
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Author’s notes —
My Act Up friends and I did many of these safer-sex education zaps. We usually stuck to Washington Square Park because Brad and I, being pretty young, could appeal to the student crowd there. At the time, young people in high school and college were at huge risk of acquiring HIV, but NYC authorities were reluctant to target them with live-saving information.
Act Up stepped in big time to fill the gap. Our street theatre was only part of the overall response, which included traditional and guerilla media campaigns. What’s a guerilla media campaign? Think sexy fliers post-billed all over NYC, especially where students would see them.
While Brad and I never faced any legal challenges, many Act Up members were arrested and jailed for getting the word out about how vitally necessary condoms were for queer people to stay alive.
I’m building a tag list to include people who’ve told me they want updates on this series or who have read the first chapters. If you don’t want a tag, please just let me know in a comment or email me at jamesfinnwrites@gmail.com. I’ll cheerfully remove you from the list.
— Jim
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