THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140359
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CHARLISE LYLES
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Golden rain showered my Sunday afternoon walk. Red, yellow, orange leaves dance down the huge blue sky, through empty branches, past my bushy hair, past the tip of my nose to the ground, landing atop a discarded package.
Condoms.
It made me smile.
Somebody somewhere was taking responsibility. Somebody somewhere was having safer sex.
Not safe sex. But safer sex.
What a gift. Respect for life.
Sadly, it is one that too few men, especially the young, are willing to give. And one that too few women are willing to demand, the way we demand other gifts like rings, perfume, giant teddy bears.
I couldn't help but wonder if the condom purchaser had been a teenager. The thought didn't thrill me.
When it comes to teenagers and sex, I'm with the four virgin sisters from Akron, Ohio, who recently went on a nationally televised talk show to share their vow of abstinence until marriage. Keep busy, they advised. Respect yourself. If he doesn't, walk.
But then there are other teens.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to 60,000 people become HIV-infected each year. Of those, one-fourth - or up to 15,000 - are age 20 or younger. One in 50 African-American men are stricken.
No group is exempt. The Village Voice recently reported that the virus is making inroads into close-knit, Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City.
Last week, 14 years and 300,000 deaths after we began hearing the dreaded acronym AIDS, President Clinton hosted what he touts as the first White House conference on the disease. It touched on every issue from discrimination, housing, Medicaid and a cure.
And prevention, particularly for teenagers. In the fight against AIDS, youth itself can be an enemy, Clinton said.
``. . . It is one of the joys of childhood that children think they will live forever. It is one of the curses of childhood in some of our meanest neighborhoods that children think they won't live to be much beyond 25 anyway,'' the president said.
``. . . Whether there is an atmosphere of opportunity or an atmosphere of hopelessness, too many teenagers are ignoring the responsibilities they have to protect themselves.''
So what should we do?
``Shake them up,'' he urged.
Shaking them up in Hampton Roads and elsewhere might mean more plain talk about prevention. We adults need to deliver the message more bluntly. Virginians are sometimes too genteel about the real deal.
Like the way we won't come right out and tell our teenagers that life will be hell for them and their children if they become parents too soon.
Of course, we don't want to be crude about it. Like my friend who has threatened to distribute condoms from her mailbox.
And, no, we certainly don't want to inadvertently encourage youths to engage in sex.
But, yes, if they do, we damn sure want them to protect themselves.
In Hampton Roads, we have a high standard of decency. We don't have stores such as in Toronto, Cleveland and New York City that sell condoms exclusively.
We shop more discreetly. Still, with some good old, down-home advice, youth will know where to go and what to buy. Someone must have spoken just that plainly to whoever bought the package that landed in the leaves.
Condoms for Christmas. A wonderful gift idea. Cheap, too. by CNB