The St. George AIDS walk

I had four different people pay $11 each for me to walk about half of a mile today.

While it was a pretty expensive stroll, it, along with the donations of other people, added up to this year’s Southern Utah Aids Walk. While the attendance was small, about 60 people, the amounts raised for HIV testing was huge! Over $3000 was donated today for the testing of HIV in the Dixie and southern Nevada areas.

An HIV test costs about $11, so the group UTAH AIDS WALK asked that everyone bring increments of $11 to participate in the walk. My total was $44 thanks to 2 college staff members, a close friend, and my brother’s family.

I went by myself, but it didn’t take long before I saw other people I knew, and met some new friends.

I wasn’t able to get started with the rest of the group on account of the 3 bottles of water and cup of coffee I’d had prior to the walk, not to mention the long line at the bathroom. It did make for some pretty good pictures, though. I made it my own personal goal to get from the very back to the very front and talk to some people along the way.

I saw some fellow students from the college. We talked about the recent ACLU visit, and one student in particular who is involved in the Dixie State Gay/Straight Alliance told me she was very glad that the story made front page news on the Spectrum, but was a little sad that the story had to share with a piece on drop fees on the cover of the Dixie Sun.

The members of the ACLU themselves were in attendance as well. I had the opportunity to speak with them and see just how down to earth and fun they all were.

I passed countless amounts of dogs leading around their owners via leash on my way through the walking crowd, one was even waiting to be adopted; a hound named “Roger.” In hindsight, I should have taken him home. I miss him already. He, along with many other pets, can be a part of anyone’s family! Just check out the Utah PAWS website: www.dixiepaws.org. I might be tracking Roger down later.

Up near the front I chatted with and took some pictures of the leaders of the group. It was mostly small talk, but there was a definite camaraderie I could feel between all of us.
My favorite moments were snapping pictures and yelling out, “SMILE!” It made me feel important.

The people in attendance were from every walk of life. The age range was from toddlers to grandparents. People who simply want to help people seem to be the kind of folks that showed up. I have a new favorite saying concerning HIV/AIDS that I picked up on this walk: “You don’t have to be INFECTED to be AFFECTED.”

The teams that put this together are still working on a website. But if you would like information about the AIDS Walk, you can call my new friend Chris Doss at (435) 669-8970.