A Long Night's Journey Into Day

Love Heals, Ali Gertz and Me

jimmy.mack@hotmail.com (Jimmy Mack) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:00 GMT

I'd like to dedicate this blog to the incredible work done by Love Heals: The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. I have had the great fortune to be a speaker for Love Heals for the past 10 years, which has allowed me to be a part of their effort to educate young people by sending HIV-positive people like me to speak at high schools and middle schools throughout the New York tri-state area.

Outed With Love

jimmy.mack@hotmail.com (Jimmy Mack) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:20:00 GMT

My name is Jimmy Mack and I was born gay and an alcoholic. I always knew I was gay, in the same way any heterosexual person will tell you they always knew they were straight. To this day, it offends me when people say "sexual preference" -- as if it was a choice -- to which I always say: "Why in the world would I choose to be part of a group that it is still socially and politically acceptable to discriminate against?"

My sexual identity is gay and although I've had sex with women, I prefer not to. So my sexual preference is not to have sex with women; my sexual identity says I am programmed to have sex with men.

Living With Two Diseases: HIV and Alcoholism

jimmy.mack@hotmail.com (Jimmy Mack) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:01:58 GMT

I've spoken at length on this blog about the disease of HIV and how it affects me and my life. But I live with another disease that is just as devastating and deadly. It is also a disease that has no cure but can be "managed" with proper treatment. The disease I refer to is also one that I'm sure affects many of the readers of TheBody.com, it is the disease of alcoholism/addiction. This is a disease that I believe I was born with, just like I know I was born gay, and both have shaped by life in a big way.

Setting an Example

jimmy.mack@hotmail.com (Jimmy Mack) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:01:58 GMT

As many of you reading this know, I just did an interview on TheBody.com. I have to say that having my profile on The Body was a trip (around the world) as I got e-mails from Turkey, Costa Rica, Australia, Russia and Canada, as well as the U.S. All of them were so positive and supportive.