Have You Had "THE Talk" with your...

...parents yet?????  I know, I know, it can be awkward and icky and embarrassing, but you owe it to your...parents...to pass along all your information about how to prevent STDs and HIV/AIDS.  Yes, you do, especially if they are new to the dating scene, or have been out of "the sexual loop" for a while.  They may be experimenting, and have the ridiculous idea that it "can't happen to them".  There ARE resources available, and trust me, you are not alone.  Time did a great job covering this issue just a couple of years ago.
But it bears repeating, and I can be glib about it, or funny, but it's a serious matter.  Older people DO have sex, and they DO NOT always think of the consequences.  Why, you ask, am I bringing this up now?  Well, the ABC show Brothers & Sisters had a terrific story line last night about just this thing.  Uncle Saul, who has recently revealed he's gay, was talking to his nephew and his nephew's husband about getting tested for HIV/AIDS--actually, he was avoiding the subject, and they were trying to help him understand that it's a regular part of their medical checkups to be tested.  Once a year, no fuss, no muss.  Uncle Saul did not want to talk about it even in this safe environment, and denied having had sex "since the stone age".  Sort of like a graying teenager.
But I loved this story line for more than the "Sex Talk for Seniors" moment; the show gently reminded us all that HIV/AIDS is still out there, it still demands our attention, and with certain precautions, it is a controllable disease.    I also loved the little bit of Gay History that was thrown in; a reminder that in the not-so-distant past, people had to hide who they were in order to survive, physically and mentally.  That hiding lead to a LOT of unhealthy behavior, least of which was high percentage of alcoholism and drug abuse in the gay community, and most devastatingly, the AIDS epidemic.
It makes me so sad that it's still so unsafe in this world to be who you really are.  So, thanks ABC  for tackling such a subject.  Thank you to all my friends and family, across the sexual spectrum, for being who you are and accepting those you don't even necessarily understand.  Your one voice, your one hug, your one listening ear...it all helps.  And some day, maybe we can all be grownups about sex.