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BAMMER and Me: Cliff Morrison and the First AIDS Ward
PODCAST: Interviews by baby-boomer LGBTQ historian Mike Balaban, with a diverse guest list, covering issues and themes from the global LGBTQ community.
EPISODE 10: Cliff Morrison arrived in San Francisco as a nurse in the late 1970s, as AIDS was about to erupt. In 1983, while working at SF General Hospital, one of the epicenters for the new disease, he was tasked with forming the world’s first hospital ward dedicated to serving people with AIDS. In the first of two episodes, Cliff tells Mike Balaban about that time.
PODCAST: Interviews by baby-boomer LGBTQ historian Mike Balaban, with a diverse guest list, covering issues and themes from the global LGBTQ community.
Our hearts resemble houses constructed by our parents. When we’re young and something breaks they repair the damage. As we get older we learn how to maintain and protect our own houses. First we have to learn how to welcome guests. We may deliberately allow them to enter our intimate lives. Some stay a short time and others stay longer. Some may damage our home or even steal from us. Still, in the end we each need someone to love our home and to become a part of it. Ralfie was a good guest in my home; one who stayed for quite a long time.
We five were an unusual gang—“the famous five”—as we liked to call ourselves. It was comprised of me, my best friend Mark, his brother Ryan, and Ryan’s friends, Shane and Rahul. Ryan and his friends were fourteen-years-old, two years older than Mark and me. We all went to one of the top Catholic schools in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. We used to meet every morning before classes, some days at recess, and after school, whenever possible.
PODCAST: Interviews by baby-boomer LGBTQ historian Mike Balaban, with a diverse guest list, covering issues and themes from the global LGBTQ community.
