#RedRibbon

I decided to do something totally different for today.  As some of you know, today is World AIDS Day and the symbol for AIDS Awareness is a red ribbon.  I saw something on Flickr asking people to post red ribbons today and thought it would be worthwhile to join in.  

I am old enough to remember when AIDS first made headlines in the US.  It was a terrifying disease that we first started to hear about in the very early 80's.  And although it was first believed to affect only gay men, by 1983 doctors and scientists realized that it affected everyone.  

Today, thanks to modern drugs, people can live with HIV for many years without symptoms.  However, in many sub-Saharan African countries, HIV/AIDS is epidemic.  So, while we may sometimes think that AIDS/HIV is a manageable disease, the sad fact is that in 2013 1.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were diagnosed with new HIV infections; and 1.1 million died.  Many of those deaths were children.  

So today's blip is a visual reminder that the fight against AIDS is far from over.  I posted two other red ribbon photos on Flickr, starting HERE

Meanwhile, on the home front... we had to take Charlie to the vet last night as I'd noticed he was having trouble urinating.  Tests were run; the most important being a culture that won't be done until Thursday.  His preliminary urinalysis came back showing no signs of infection, so a UTI has been ruled out. However, there is a lot of blood in his urine (sorry if this is too graphic for some of you) so he may have crystals or some other underlying issue.  He is acting pretty normal - wants to play, wants lots of loving.  But potty-time is definitely stressful.  So, while I was supposed to be leaving on Thursday with hubs  to head to Alabama to visit family, I am canceling so I can stay home and make sure Charlie is okay.  After losing Rocket early this year, we aren't taking any chances.  I'll keep you posted...

Twenty-four days until ... you know what.

And THANK YOU for sending my optimistic little tufted titmouse to the Popular Page.   He and his compadres were at the feeders first thing this morning where they've stayed all day.

Debbi

And u just realized that today is TiinyTuesday, so I'll tag this