community Some other ways to support:
william “bill” kelly and husband bob taylor
seniors will only help them…It’s a natural ripple effect.
What would you say was the biggest road block in your volunteer work? Getting people to actually understand the need.
They didn’t know there are more people hurting than there are people not hurting. They would say, “They should have saved, they shoulda, shoulda, shoulda…” I remind them we don’t all have the same abilities, capabilities, advantages and disadvantages. It was a matter of breaking down judgement in a productive way, be uncomfortable and vulnerable enough, to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is expensive to care for people after the fact, it is both moral and cheaper to help them rise above where they are now.
Some wonderful articles have come out this year highlighting your career from serving in Vietnam to becoming a physician’s assistant in Chicago. How did you end up working at the Cook County Jail? (In the back of my brain I am singing “Cell Block Tango” [fromChicago].) Working at the Cook County Jail is something
I didn’t plan for. I was studying Urban Renewal in graduate school and two people on a local draft board in a small Midwest community decided my fate. I thought, with my master’s degree and knowledge of geography, earth sciences and map reading skills, they might make me an officer. But, because I wore glasses and all officers had to learn to fly planes and navigate, they gave me two choices: Hospital linens or operating room
technician, prepping the O.R. for surgery. I chose the latter and did that for four and half years. When I came home, jobs were hard to get for Vietnam Veterans, so I fell back on my medic training and became an EMT and then a physician’s assistant…Then I took the job at the Cook County Jail. I was quite bitter at the time, most of my colleagues were against the war, weren’t drafted, continued in college and they had a house and two cars when I got back. But now when I reflect on it, all those things made me who I am.
I am glad you were inducted into the Benjamin F. Dillingham and Bridget Wilson LGBT Veterans Wall of Honor this year. It’s nice to get all the “at-a-boys,” nice to be recognized, but the mission is always more important than me. There are many, unsung heroes and they give me faith in the future. My final com- ment, is to forget about pointing fingers or seeing things from your own perspective, that’s how people get excluded and get angry and nothing moves forward. We need more people “entering the parade” so to speak. Every person can do a lot more than they think and have a greater impact. One small example:The Caring for our LGBT Seniors in San Diego Facebook page is over 800 people strong, from all over the world. That makes me happiest of all, making a difference... Connection.
[Kelly talks more about the challenges he and Bob faced, as a closeted couple in a half-hour PBS documentary feature:
video.kpbs.org/video/2365927954
THE ASTON BROOKS AWARDS GALA OnSaturday, April 29, the Aston Brooks Awards Gala welcomes comedian, jazz singer and actress Lea DeLaria as part of their “Big Easy” theme. The black-tie affair, at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay, recognizes excellence in the LGBT community. Kelly, along with Barbara Boxer (Lincoln Aston Public Service Award) and the Mother of Ryan White, Jeanne White-Ginder (Sunshine Brooks HIV/AIDS Advocacy Award). Proceeds go to the Lincoln Aston Memorial Fund and the Sunshine Brooks HIV Fund. For more information or to purchase tickets,
go to
astonbrooks.org.
THE FIRST ANNUAL EASTER
BONNET COMPETITION! Don your gayest bonnet and joinThe Rage Monthly at Concept
Two.Seven.Eight (formerly The Tractor Room) onThursday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. The event honors Bill Kelly’s work and benefits the Kelly Senior Matching Fund at The San Diego LGBT Center. Enjoy food tastings and drinks and the Grand Prize for Best Easter Bonnet is a dinner for four at Concept Two. Seven.Eight. Bring your matching pocketbook to participate in the raffle and silent auction!
Can’t make it to these events? Kindly donate to the Kelly Senior Matching Fund through the San Diego LGBT Center at
thecentersd.org.
14
RAGE monthly | APRIL 2017
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