Long Time Survivor

I was going to blog about Improper Thoughts (a natural consequence of my search for info on CMNM) today, but now it seems more important to say this:
Maverick is a long time survivor. He has had AIDS for more that 22 years now. It can be controlled, lived with, and nearly ignored most of the time. We both are very proud of this fact.
I often think that he is safer than I am what with all of those meds flowing through him helping him fight infections all the time. Like, I have taken to trying to avoid drinking out of public water fountains myself but, even the controlling bitch  - oh, erm, Master (lol) - that I can be, I don't fuss at him to avoid them, too.
This comes partly from a time about 20 years ago when I found out that two friends of mine had AIDS and I asked them not to kiss me that night. One got upset and reminded me that it can't be passed with a kiss. I explained that I had a cold and didn't want to give them something potentially dangerous like an active germ. He laughed and explained to me that his meds were  quite capable of protecting him from a cold like mine. So we frenched. Happy times.
In fact, Mav has basically promised me that I get to die first this time and he'll spread my ashes on Pikes Peak for me.