We Were Here

- There was nothing

extraordinary about the fact.

That you lose the people

that you love...

'Cause it's gonna happen

to all of us.

It's just that it happened

in this targeted community.

Of people

who were disenfranchised.

And separated

from their families...

And a whole group

of other people stepped up.

And became their family.

- We are not

some network of people.

Who just like to have sex.

We are not some

ephemeral subculture.

That comes

and dissolves and goes.

This is a community

that was tested.

In a way almost no community

on earth is ever tested...

And succeeded

in what it was trying to do...

Which is save as many lives

of people as it could...

Stop civil rights attacks...

And then

try to use that example.

To transform the world.

If you're ever facing

a natural disaster.

As extraordinary as aids was.

In the last quarter

of the last century...

You should be so lucky

as to be in a community.

Like the queer community

of san francisco.

- When I talk to young people,

particularly...

They'll say,

"what was it like?"

I mean, the only thing

I can liken it to is a war zone...

But most of us have never

lived in a war zone.

But it was...

...you never knew where the bomb

was gonna drop.

I decided to do

this interview because...

I've... I've been around

for the entire epidemic...

And I've seen

so many parts of it...

And I think there's

a lot of people from...

I mean, none of my friends

are around.

From the beginning.

So I want

to tell their story.

As much as I want

to tell my story.

I think that's why.

- I came to san francisco.

Back in the late '70s.

You know, there were more

gay people coming here.

There was

all these love children.

It was right at the end

of the hippies, you know...

And everybody, I mean,

if you had a bus ticket...

It better be saying

"san francisco," you know...

Because that was

the place to come.

I was the dancer.

I thought I could dance better

than anybody on the west coast.

Center stage,

i would get up there...

I'd climb up on that stage...

And i'd dance myself

into a frenzy.

Every sunday night

at the tea dance.

And if you got too close...

You might slip off the stage...

Because you were

too close to me.

But I thought

i had it going on.

My dad said one day

that I should sell flowers.

That's a good business.

And I thought, "I'm gonna

sell flowers in san francisco,"

Because, you know,

they've got these songs...

Where have all

the flowers gone?

And "if you're going

to san francisco...

Wear a flower

in your hair," and...

...so I was ready for it.

A friend of mine

came up in a pickup.

And took me right over

into the castro.

On 15th and noe, and I've

been there for 28 years.

"Hey, I'm one of

the family members," you know.

"Come buy my flowers. "

So I would put up

these rainbow flags...

And i... You know, and you could

see 'em from a block away.

If you looked

down the street.

You could just see

that little ribbon.

Until all the colors faded.

- I always knew I was gonna

come out to the bay area.

And I think a lot of us

came out here.

Because we didn't quite fit

where we were.

Back in college, I helped start

the first woman's newspaper.

Uh, we started the first

childcare center.

Stuff like that.

So I was very involved.

We had a women's center

on haight street...

So I started going

to the women's center...

And we sat around and said...

"Let's open up

a women's clinic,"

And then we just did it.

It was the era

of illegal abortions.

It was a time

when we, as women...

Weren't as educated

about our body.

I was getting

a little older...

My late... Later 20s...

And I thought, "eileen...

You might want

a real job sometime,"

So I thought,

"I'll just go to nursing school.

And see how I feel about it. "

And, uh, I loved it.

I loved bedside nursing.

Once I started working

in the hospital...

There were all these gay men...

And it was really fun...

'Cause we'd go

clubbing together.

To the i-Beam,

to the stud.

You know,

places like that.

I'd dance and go home

and go to sleep.

So, you know,

we had a good time.

It was, like, really fun.

Unfortunately, none of

those guys are alive today.

- You know, it's the... The end

of the hippy era in america...

And I was a queer kid who...

Who was different...

Didn't really know

what to do...

And basically left

buffalo, new york...

And hitchhiked

around the country.

For a number of years with

the guy I was sleeping with...

And deliberately

tried to be free...

It was our...

Sort of our goal...

And I remember

at one point thinking...

"Well, I've got nothing but

the backpack and my boyfriend. "

And we literally

actually had nothing.

"I guess we must be free. "

And it was that

sort of mentality.

That we were pursuing.

A phrase that

I've sort of come to like.

Is "crazy dreamers,"

And I was... At that time...

I thought san francisco

and california.

Was full of crazy dreamers...

And that was where

i wanted to be.

I belonged to a little commune.

Of leftover '60s folks...

Who were trying to establish

an alternative lifestyle...

And I was struggling with

was I gay...

Was I bisexual, you know,

what is going on.

So I come out of the closet...

In this terrifying moment of

coming to the gay student union.

In san jose state

in september of 1975...

And the minute

i walked through the door...

And I'm sure most gay men

of my generation...

Most queer people are gonna

have a similar experience.

It was like you're home.

It's, like,

it all felt familiar.

It all seemed like,

"oh.

How did I not realize this

is where I was supposed to be?"

- My father really wanted me

to get a master's degree...

And I really didn't care...

So the compromise was I would go

to san francisco state...

'Cause san francisco

was where I wanted to be.

I liked the people here.

They just seemed more open.

And I always wanted to meet

a nice blond surfer.

When I moved

out to california...

I was still in the closet.

I didn't come out of

the closet until after college.

Um, I came out with a bang.

I was in a production

ofthe boys in the band.

For quite a few years,

i was a bit of a workaholic.

I was in my studio

all the time.

By the time I was 27...

I was having one-Man shows

in new york...

At galleries...

Good galleries in new york.

And I didn't know

it was supposed to be that easy.

It was just easy.

And I was pretty obsessed

with my work...

And I was

for quite a long time.

And... Until I got sick,

really.

I was first

living in the haight...

And I remember

walking down haight street...

And there was this guy handing

out leaflets on the corner...

And it was harvey.

It was his first campaign...

First time he was running...

And he introduced himself

and I talked to him...

So I went to work for him.

And I was handing out

leaflets.

And, you know, door hangers

and things like that.

And that was very exciting...

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