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The penis enlargement market has fallen under a new sign: development. From a small and much maligned niche market, penis enlargement is now moving at full speed toward mainstream acceptance. Widespread prosperity and the possibility of living a more successful life with just a little effort have convinced thousands of men to seek solutions to a problem that older generations did not discuss or openly acknowledge. However, the times have changed and the taboos of yesteryear are no longer in force. Men have simply chosen to spend time and money in order to get more pleasure out of their sex lives. Over the years, the range of penis enlargement products available for sale has exploded. From the old-fashioned and dull pumps and weights and on to the modern traction devices and enlargement pills, various products have been invented in order to respond to various needs. Since not all men are comfortable with penis enlargement pills, enterprising investors have launched male enhancement patches and creams. Pumps have been largely replaced by traction devices, while weights and exercises have their own niche markets. As you can see, there’s something for everybody on the penis enlargement market. Surgery is still a controversial issue. The high cost of penis enlargement surgery keeps it out of reach of most men for which improving a satisfactory sex life is not worth the effort of raising thousands of dollars. More so when surgery comes bundled with a host of nasty hazards, such as impotence, scarring and loss of feeling in the penis. Another significant issue is the fact that surgical procedures like the injection of fat have to be performed again and again since fat is absorbed back by the body, while injected silicone tends to migrate to other parts of the body. These factors combined have convinced men to look for cheaper and safer penis enlargement opportunities. Men are far more interested today in how they look and how they perform in bed. They want to learn new ways of pleasing their partners and to increase their dating and sex chances. This is one of the reasons men turn to penis enlargement techniques and a very good one. There is no need to talk about feelings of insecurity and anxiety in order to find out why men want larger penises. Suffice to say that men want to look good and that they love to see that special look on their partners’ faces when the pants come off. A well-endowed man commands the respect of women and men alike and this is what every man wants to see: respect. As the penis enlargement market moves into the mainstream, more and more men will stop being embarrassed about their penis size and will have no problem to openly discuss size and ways of improving it. Penis enlargement is certain to become an accepted topic, mainly because of the large number of men who are satisfied with the results obtained from enlargement products and techniques. Beyond all advertisements and hype, results are the only thing that matter and your best reason to join the growing penis enlargement movement. penis enlagement excercises enlargment free penile pills sample penile enlargement result penis enlargement system penis enlagement cream penile enlargment before and after photo truth about pennis enlargement surgical penis enlagement

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Shaving pubic hair is a practice that has been adapted among many cultures. Pubic shaving is considered a necessity by some in order to keep good hygiene. In other cultures, genital shaving is also considered a way to attract the opposite sex. Considering the best method and what to prevent when shaving your pubic hair will help you to have the best results for keeping good hygiene and remaining attractive towards your partner. There are a variety of tools that can be used in order to shave pubic hair. The first way is to use a hand held shaver. If you decide to use this, you will need to make sure that you shave your pubic hair every few days, because of how close it gets to the skin. You can also consider a straight razor, safety razor, or electric razor. All of these are considered safe and effective when shaving pubic hair. It is known that the best way to shave the penis area is to use an electric razor, as this will provide more control and prevent cuts. There are also shavers made with special razors for shaving the genital area. Pubic shaving can be done in a variety of areas to help with a cleaner look. The pubic mound, penis and scrotum are the three main areas that are focused on. When shaving the pubic mound, you will want to make sure that you are shaving in the same direction that the pubic hairs are growing. If you don’t, it will cause irritation. Shaving the penis also has this same rule that applies to it. It is also known that pulling the penis upwards will help with a better and closer shave. When you are shaving the scrotum, you will want to make sure that you first stretch and flatten the skin. One of the important things to remember is that all three of these areas is sensitive, meaning you should not apply too much pressure when shaving. Before you begin shaving any of these areas, you will want to trim down longer hairs. This will make the process easier and will allow you to get a closer cut to the skin. You will also want to make sure that your pubic hair is wet or has a shaving lubricant on it. This relaxes the skin as well as softens the hair, making it easier to shave. In places such as the scrotum, you will need to use a mirror in order to make sure that you are shaving all of the pubic hair. After you have shaved, make sure to get all of the loose hairs off and rinse off the lubricant or lotion from your genitals in order to prevent irritation. Following this process will help to avoid complications when shaving pubic hair. While genital shaving with these razors are known to be safe, some will also cause side effects. One of the problems that may happen with pubic shaving is irritation from the skin, known as razor bumps. These will usually disappear after a couple of days and only cause slight irritation. Another problem that may occur is hair getting locked underneath the skin area. This, as well, will cause irritation, but should move back to normal placement after a couple of days. These will usually be prevented if you are shaving the same way that your pubic hair is growing. If you are beginning pubic shaving, you can expect that the hair will become itchy and irritable when it begins to grow back. However, the longer you shave, the less this will happen. When shaving the penis and pubic hair area, there are also certain precautions that you will want to take. Making sure that the razor is not dull will help to reduce problems with things such as razor bumps and cuts. Even with a sharper razor, make sure that you are careful around the penis area. One of the things that you will want to prevent after shaving is applying certain types of lotions and creams. Because of the sensitivity of the genital area, this can cause irritation. While you should use a lubricant to help during shaving, this should also be looked into to make sure that you won’t have any side effects from skin irritation later. Making sure that you shave with the right tools and follow the best procedure will prevent irritation, as well as other problems when shaving the genital area. Pubic shaving can then become a favored way to remain attractive towards your partner as well as help with hygiene. penis elargement exercise penis enhancement cream pennis enlargement before and after photo compare penis elargement pills compare penis enlargement pill safe penis enargement cheap penis elargement permanent penis enlagement herbal penis enargement

Muscle Growth is a very essential part of muscle development. As the body grows so does the muscle. Muscles are the storehouse of energy. They store glycogen or glucose from the food (especially carbohydrates) consumed. Later, the muscle converts glucose and supplies energy as and when the body requires. In a normal human being, Muscle Growth is dependent on the human growth hormones, nutritious food and the type of physical activities involved. Normally, in a body, a muscle breaks down to be re-built again. In the process of rebuilding activity, when it accumulates more than what is being broken down, the muscle is said to gain. This involves an increase in mass and growth simultaneously. It has been found that a more muscular body helps to cut down fat, improving lifespans. With an increasing demand for a well-toned body, more and more people are resolving to pursue advanced exercise regimes that promise to convert muscles to fat. They take up light weight training, cardiovascular exercises and aerobics, along with a healthy diet. In the muscle building activities, especially in the case of body builders, the Muscle Growth or hypertrophy is worked on. That is, the person involved in body building tries to achieve abnormal enlargement of muscles. Here they make use of supplementary sources to increase the cells or the mass of the muscle. For instance, a person involved in bodybuilding tries weight lifting, high-protein drinks, steroids or hormonal injections to mutate or activate the growth related cells. Muscles are involved in breaking up and rebuilding activity are better known as protein turnover. In this process, when the muscle-rebuilding activity increases over the rate of muscle breakdown, there is a muscle gain, a growth. Researches have identified myostatin genes as involved in controlling the growth of muscles in the body. It has also been identified that a mutation or block in the genes will help in muscle mass and growth. Muscle Growth is important to build muscles to fight fat and flab, and to stay fit. penis enlarement exercise vimax customer service plastic surgery penis enlagement pennis enlargement patch vimax penis pill plastic surgery pnis enlargement penis enlagement pill magna rx buy penile enlargement pills herbal penis enargement

The paper is a marketing analysis based on the example of Arnie Morton’s steakhouse. Particularly, the marketing environment, including the analysis of the company’s consumers and competitors, and the marketing mixing are analyzed. Finally, the companies perspectives are taken into consideration and positive and negative aspects of the company’s marketing is briefly analyzed. Processes that are now observed in the contemporary economy differ significantly from what happened even a few decades ago. The 20th century became a very important period in which the main preferences and interests of customers changed in favor of such industries as entertainment and food industry. It means that material interests are quite important society and investments in such industries may be very perspective. Arnie Morton’s steakhouse may be a good example that serves as a strong argument for the statement mentioned above. Taking into consideration these facts, this paper would be focused on the Arnie Morton’s steakhouse, particularly on its marketing environment and mix as well as the company’s perspectives would be discussed. The Marketing Environment At the beginning of the paper, it is necessary to analyze the marketing environment the company is in. But it is impossible to understand the current situation and position of Morton’s steakhouse if there is no information about its history and first steps in serious business. By the way, a historical background of Arnie Morton’s steakhouse is particularly interesting because its founder and chief to a certain extent managed to foresee the prospects of his company and industry at large. So, it is worthy to underline that the development of Morton’s of Chicago into one of the largest company, operating in the US restaurant business and having a great food-dining concept, may be traced back to a collage paper written more than three decades ago. At that time, one of those who would play a prominent role in the development and progress of Arnie Morton’s steakhouse, Allen J. Bernstein, being a junior marketing major at the University of Miami, was so eager in the restaurant business and particularly in branding that he decided to write a term paper on this topic. Quite remarkable fact is that he used a nearby Miami-based Burger King Corporation as the basis for his research. What is more interesting it is the conclusion that he made, namely he wrote: “I became fascinated with two things. One: the concept of what franchising was and two: the future of the leisure time industries, of which obviously eating out is a very significant one.” (Peters 2001:74). At this respect, the future chief of the company shows a great talent and intuition in ability to foresee prospects of the market development and demand. Actually, he turned to be a person that once being repossessed by some brilliant idea would attempt to make it true and probably due to it Morton’s is nowadays one of the largest companies in its segment of the market and continues to be quite a significant player and provide an ongoing international growth of its 61 unit. Generally speaking, Arnie Morton’s steakhouse was found in the late 1960s by Arnie Morton and Klaus Fritsch. They opened their first steakhouse in Chicago and since that time on the company has been developing quite dynamically. However, an unprecedented, rapid growth has been basically observed during the ‘epoch of Bernstein’ who came to the company, or more precisely acquired Morton’s steakhouse in 1989. Exactly this year, Allen J. Bernstein acquired eight of nine Morton’s that existed at that time. Bernstein, being a chairman, president and chief executive of New Hyde Park New York – based Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc., and soon he has opened 53 additional Morton’s, including seven international units. It was really a significant enlargement that made the company much more powerful than it has ever been before. Naturally, such an enlargement could not prevent the company from becoming a leading company in its segment of American market and what is also very important is the fact that the strategic step has been done practically immediately when seven international units of Morton’s steakhouse were acquired. This acquisition symbolized the intention of the company administration to broaden national market and become an international company. Naturally, it was a very perspective decision because in 1990s the world economy was characterized by the overwhelming process of globalization. At this period of time the world economy really became open and opportunities for businesses became practically unlimited geographically with rare exceptions. In such a situation Arnie Morton’s steakhouse could not remain limited by national borders of the US and attempted to enlarge its business. However, the general trend of the world economy is obvious not the only reason why the company has started business on the international level. One of the very important reasons was the intention to become a leader of the market in spite of all rivals Morton’s had to compete with. Among its most powerful and strong competitors may be named Bertolini’s that worked quite successfully but mainly in the national market. For instance, in 1999 it possessed twelve Bertolini’s in ten American cities. Though this company is characterized by a traditional Italian style and some times it is called an authentic Italian trattoria. But, anyway, it is obvious that the company itself and its leadership in the market is not sufficient and, furthermore, is impossible without customers. It is necessary to say that customers are the primary concern of Arnie Morton’s steakhouse management. The company is characterized by a high respect to its clientele and it is seen in strategic postulates proclaimed by the chief of the company. In order to explain what attitude to clients should prevail in Arnie Morton’s steakhouse it would be enough to quote Allen J. Bernstein who estimated that “my credo is if you’re an Alabama rubber band salesman and you stop in Atlanta for the first time, our people better treat that person as the most important person in the world.” Moreover, “they better be treated as if they were Mel Gibson, Sharon Stone, or former President Bush. Then, if you’re, in fact, really dear and near to the company, somebody of a prominent status, then we elevate you to a deity status.” (Peters 2001:80). So, judging from this the attitude to clients are very respectful and it seems that the company cares about clients at first turn, however, the company also demands a corresponding payment for such attitude but it will be discussed in the next chapter of the paper. college essays Custom Essays research papers herbal pennis enlargement pills vimax penis enlargement pump penis enhancement device penis enlargment review buy penis enlarement pills compare penile enlargement pills manual penile enlargement penis enlargment herb herbal penis enargement

Dial 1-800/AIDSNYC Every Monday and Wednesday morning, promptly at 10 a.m., I leave behind my daily life and turn to volunteering as an AIDS Hotline counselor at New York City’s GMHC [Gay Men’s Health Crisis], the nation’s largest social service agency for AIDS. For the next four hours, my co-volunteers and I sit in front of a bank of constantly-ringing telephones, talking to men, women, and teens who call in from across the nation with urgent questions about AIDS, the ravaging disease that has left 13.9 million people dead worldwide. After almost 20 years, a whole generation, families are still facing the heartache of tending the sick, while scientists continue to be confounded by this stubborn, ravaging virus. Although the federal government currently spends$4 billion per year on AIDS research, and $15 billion worldwide, there is no cure in sight for the viral infection and no vaccine available. Small wonder that the GMHC AIDS Hotline, the nation’s first, is flooded with more than 40,000 calls each year. Listening to callers 8 hours each week, I often think the Hotline is actually a direct link to the soul of callers--an anonymous forum that allows each to reveal secrets and fears that they might otherwise never discuss with anyone. A Morning in May This is the way it began: “Good morning, GMHC AIDS Hotline, can I help you?” “Yes...I have a question...[hesitantly] My son...he’s 21...and he just found out...he’s HIV-positive [voice breaking] I’m.....alone, divorced. And I need some help...someone to talk to...” “Of course....happy to talk to you...it sounds like this has been devastating for you....” “It’s terrible. He told me two nights ago....he’s...he’s so young....I don’t want him to die. He’s my only child....why did this have to happen?” [crying] Her son, she explains, had sometimes neglected using condoms, convinced he wouldn’t contract HIV infection from his female partners. “How could he be so stupid?” she now asks angrily. “Why didn’t he know how to protect himself? I don’t understand. What am I going to do?” We talk for 35 minutes, and by the end of the conversation, I notice I’m barely breathing. The distraught woman’s anguish is palpable. Her situation is every mother’s worst nightmare.The life of her child is in jeopardy and she feels helpless and afraid. I can’t imagine anything worse. During the call, I do my best to employ the GMHC Hotline protocol of “active listening,” which involves using silence, empathy and gentle probing with open-ended questions. I’m also having my own emotional reaction to the panic in her voice, and I’m worried about whether I’m doing enough. Toward the end of the clal, when she exclaims: “I don’t want my baby to die,” my heart plummets: “I know....I understand that, but there is hope,” I tell her. I find myself on the verge of tears. The Bad News This mother’s story is too common. According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., 40,000 Americans (half of them under 25) are newly infected with the AIDS virus each year. Unprotected sex and intravenous drug use remain the principal modes of transmission. “Teenagers,” notes AIDS activist Elizabeth Taylor, “are being very hard hit.” She refers to the three million adolescents who contract a sexually-transmitted disease annually. “Heterosexual teenage football players who are healthy and drink milk can get it too!” says the 71-year-old actress, who has singlehandedly raised $150 million for AIDS research. “But teens are very ignorant and feel invincible. They believe there’s an invisible shield protecting them from the virus, when it’s actually aimed right at them.” Taylor believes in addressing the problem head-on: “Tell your teenage son: ‘Maybe a condom doesn’t feel as good, but if it saves your life, it’s better than being six feet under.’ Intelligence must replace random sex.” Although a new generation of AIDS-fighting medications is prolonging the lives of thousands, nearly half of the 900,000 people infected with HIV in the U.S. cannot afford these drugs. Since the virus was discovered in l981, 410,800 Americans have died from AIDS-related complications, and the disease has left 13.9 million dead worldwide. Who Calls a Hotline? Not long ago I took a call from a 15-year-old boy living in a small town who said he feels guilty about his sexual attraction to other boys and is scared to discuss this with his parents. I ask him if there’s a school counselor or relative he might talk to, but he says he’s too afraid to confide in anyone. Being a teenager is hard enough, I thought, without the pressure of keeping this kind of secret. I felt angry and saddened that this child can’t comfortably discuss his feelings with his own parents. I encourage him to call the Gay Community Center Youth Program in a nearby city. In the meantime, I assured him that he could call our Hotline anytime, that we’d be there for him. This call was typical of the many we get from teenagers,whispering from their parents’ homes, confiding their blossoming sexual feelings and concerns. Our Hotline also receives calls from married men who phone from their offices, worried about extramarital sexual encounters; gay men suffering side effects from medications; mothers caring for a sick child or grieving for one lost to AIDS; even health care professionals themselves confused and requiring burnout support. One particular morning, I’m struck by the number of single women who turn to our hotline for help. At 10:15 a.m. a distraught young woman calls, explaining that she had been dating someone “very charismatic,” after a two- year period of sexual abstinence. “At first we used condoms and I was taking the pill to avoid pregnancy,” she says. But after her partner assured her he was HIV-negative, the couple began having unprotected sex. A few months into the relationship, she recounts, his behavior became “unpredictable,” until he finally admitted he was sleeping with other women and was addicted to heroin. Now she has to withstand the “terror” of waiting 3 months before getting an HIV antibody test. To help her cope, I give her the names of three terapists in her area. The call lasts 43 minutes. At 11:15 a.m. I take a call from a woman who is breathing heavily. She says that four months earlier she’d had a brief affair with a limousine driver, “not out of passion, but because I felt lonely. This was so totally unlike me,” she continues. “I come from a traditional Orthodox Jewish family...” Although they used condoms, and she has since tested negative for HIV, she feels deeply ashamed, and has stopped seeing him. And because she has both a persistent vaginal yeast infection and a rash on her neck, she’s convinced she must be infected by HIV. Although rashes, high fever, swollen lymph glands, heavy night sweats, sore throat, or other flu-like symptoms may indicate HIV, they can just as easily accompany the common cold or flu, or other type of infection. I encourage her to seek medical help and counseling, but the calls ends on a down note. “I must have it [AIDS],” she moans. I’m exasperated because it doesn’t sound that way to me, yet I can’t get through to her. The call lasts 22 minutes. It’s 11.38 a.m. when a well-spoken woman, who says she’s an attorney, calls from her office, asking for the names of anonymous testing sites. At first very businesslike, she calmly takes down all the information. I ask her why she’s considering a test. Total silence. Then she begins to cry: “I....I can’t talk....I’m sorry...you see, I have swollen lymph glands....[crying]....And my doctor wants to rule out HIV...I feel overwhelmed...” Then, abruptly: “Where can I send a donation?” She thanks me and hurries off the phone after just 3 minutes. These were one-time callers, but, as in any epidemic, an element of panic prevails, and our hotline also attracts an army of “chronic” or repeat callers who are intensely fearful no matter how benign their risk, many revealing continued misconceptions and paranoia about a disease that can be effectively prevented. We do our best to help them, but often they’re impervious to counseling. Most poignant are calls we get from AIDS patients, phoning from their hospital beds, attempting to navigate the exhausting labyrinth of insurance and health care matters. One man, in hospice care, said he craved companionship and missed the “good old days” when he was handsome and healthy. That call was a tough one for me as just the day before a close friend of mine, Joe, who had battled HIV for 16 years, had finally succumbed. Although at the end Joe was a mere skeleton, he was nonetheless at peace. “I’ve done what I wanted to,” he told me on our last visit. An avid gardener, he insisted on a final trip to his country house to see his garden one last time. For a moment the caller’s reality and the memory of my deceased friend blurred in my mind and I was overcome. Time for a break. Face to Face One of the most and unique services GMHC offers is called “A-Team Counseling,” a one-time, in-person session that’s free and anonymous. Recently, I was on an A-Team counselling a 26-year-old HIV-infected mother from the Midwest. She had traveled to Manhattan by bus to find her estranged boyfriend, who, she recounted tearfully, had kidnapped her 7-year- old son. Disheveled, painfully thin, the woman was a disturbing sight. She’s learned that the two had already returned home where the boyfriend was, and the child put in his grandmother’s custory. custody of his grandmother. Meanwhile she’d run out of money for the return trip, been refused a loan by her family, lost her ID, gone hungry and spent two nights on the street. Fortunately, this woman was registered at a local AIDS organization in her town. I telephoned her caseworker and persuaded him to buy her a one-way Greyhound bus ticket for $115.00. I also gave her subway tokens, a basket of food, juice and coffee. Smiling shyly, she thanked me for caring. Shaking hands good-bye with this woman was a bittersweet farewell. What will happen to her? I wondered will her health deteriorate or improve? Will she gain control of her life and be able to provide for her son? I’ll never know. One thing I do know: She’d appeared with the sorrow of a difficult life in her eyes, but when she left, she was elated at the thought of being reunited with her child. It seems that with faith and a helping hand, almost anything is possible. * * * * * 10 BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT AIDS AND HIV (This list would probably be most effective when presented in a vertical chart, the misconception on the left, the correct answer on the right.) 1)The AIDS virus can be transmitted through saliva, sweat, tears, urine or feces; also through deep kissing. 1) HIV can ONLY be transmitted through four bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk--and can also be transmitted from a mother to her child before birth, during birth, or while breast feeding. The exchange of saliva through kissing is no-risk, unless the saliva has blood in it and both you and your partner are bleeding in the mouth simultaneously. 2) HIV may also be transmitted through casual contact with an infected person. 2) You can’t get infected from toilet seats, phones or water fountains. The virus can’t be transmitted in the air through sneezing or coughing. You can’t get HIV from sharing utensils or food or from touching, or hugging. HIV dies after being exposed to the air. Therefore, touching dried blood on a shaving blade, a toothbrush or a bathroom counter top is no risk. In any case, unbroken skin is impermeable, like a rubber raincoat, and cannot absorb the virus whether it’s alive or dead. Blood transfusions and medical procedures in the U.S. are safe. Giving blood is completely risk-free. The chance of getting HIV from dentists or other health care providers is too low even to measure.You can’t get it from mosquitoes or other insect or animal bites. 3) Oral sex is just as risky as vaginal or anal intercourse. 3) Although not 100% risk-free, oral sex is considered a low-risk activity,except if: you have bleeding gums, recent dental work, open sores such as a herpes lesion, any cut, blister, or burn in the mouth, or if you’ve just brushed or flossed your teeth. Also, oral sex with an infected woman is riskier if she is having her period, since menstrual blood can contain HIV. Overall, latex barriers, (such as condoms or dental dams) used during oral sex reduce the transmission of not just HIV, but other sexual transmitted diseases. 4) Animal skin, latex and polyurethane condoms are all equally effective in preventing HIV infection and you can use ANY lubrication on the condom desired. 4)Only latex or polyurethane condoms may be used, as HIV can pass through an animal skin condom. With latex condoms, only water-based lubricants--like K-Y jelly or H-R jelly--may be used. No lubricants with oil, alcohol, or grease are safe.Petroleum jelly,Vaseline, Crisco, mineral oil, baby oil, massage oil, butter and most hand creams can weaken the condom and cause it to split. However, with polyurethane condoms, petroleum-based lubricants can be used. 5) Women have to rely on men using condoms during intercourse to protect themselves against HIV. 5) Women may employ the “female condom,” a plastic sheath that can be inserted in their vaginas and used for protection against HIV. It can be inserted up to 8 hours before sex, has rings at both ends to hold it in place and can be lubricated with oil-based lubricants that stay wet longer. In addition, women can carry conventional condoms for their male partners’ use. 6) If a woman is HIV-positive, her offspring will automatically be born infected with HIV. 6) With no medical treatment taken, about 25% of HIV-positive women will give birth to infants who are also infected. However, the use of anti-HIV medications has resulted in a significant decrease of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in utero and during delivery to less than 5%. (NYT 10/19/ 99]. 7) AIDS is fundamentally a gay disease contracted by white males. 7) Recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that young gay Hispanic and African-American men and heterosexual women are the fastest growing segment of the population being infected with HIV. Women now account for 43% of all HIV infected people over age 15. [NYT 11/24/98] African-American and Hispanic women account for more than 76% of AIDS cases among women in the U.S. 8) Heterosexual men are not really at risk for contracting HIV, even if they don’t use condoms. 8) The inside opening of the penis is composed of highly-absorbent, sponge- like mucous membrane tissues, which can provide a route for HIV-infected vaginal secretions or blood to enter the bloodstream. Proper condom use protects men from infection. 9) The AIDS epidemic is largely over because new AIDS medications like protease inhibitors and others have turned AIDS into a chronic, not a terminal disease. 9) In the U.S., AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death for people 25-44 years old. Roughly half of all those infected with HIV in the U.S. are not receiving any medications or medical care. AIDS now kills more people worldwide than any other infection, including malaria and tuberculosis.[NYT 11/24/98] In 1998 alone, 2.5 million people died of AIDS worldwide. 13.9 million people have died since the virus was discovered in 1981. 10) If you think you’ve been exposed to HIV through unprotected sex, you can take an HIV antibody test 2 weeks later and get an accurate result. 10) The standard “window” or waiting period remains a full 3 months. However, because the widely-used HIV antibody tests (The ELISA and Western Blot) have become so sensitive, about 95% of people will procure an accurate result 4-6 weeks after a possible exposure to the virus. * * * * [Note:The information stated above was reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Todd J. Yancey, an infectious disease specialist practicing in New York City and affiliated with New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY, Cornell Campus.] THE CHILD LIFE PROGRAM “Mommy takes a lot of medicine and Mommy’s really tired sometimes and she can’t take you to the park as much as she used to. It’s not that I don’t love you...and that I don’t want to...but Uncle Jack’s going to take you to the park today.” --A mother living with AIDS, a client at GMHC, talking to her 6-year- old son. In New York City alone, 28,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS since the epidemic began [NYT 12/13/98] GMHC’s unique Child Life Program serves HIV-infected parents and their children--who may, or may not, be infected with the virus. “We help families strengthen their ability to cope, relieve the pressure of parenting with support services, and teach parents how to talk to their kids,” says Child Life Program Coordinator Alison Ferst. “Unfortunately, should a parent or child be sick enough to be facing death, we also help them walk through it with grace and dignity---as opposed to feeling alone, isolated and frightened. “We also encourage sick parents to make stable legal plans for their children who may be left behind,” adds Ferst, “and to have disclosure conversations with the children in advance, so you don’t have a child standing at her mother’s funeral, not sure where she’s going next.” When an HIV-infected Mom arrives at GMHC to have lunch, attend a support group, consult with a lawyer, or access the acupuncture clinic, she can leave her children in a spacious playroom, decorated with fanciful murals and a giant tree hand-painted by the famed children’s story writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, who donated his art. [see photos] The program provides: child- sitting, nutrition services, a food pantry, art and magic classes, and recreational trips--church picnics, seasonal apple-pumpkin picking, amusement parks, zoos, museums, beaches. Also: homework help sessions, holiday parties, hospital visits, summer sports and weekly support groups for HIV- positive parents and their HIV-negative children. This unique program also features: Cooking classes for kids who sometimes prepare meals for sick parents; Pediatric Buddies, GMHC adult volunteers who play with sick children and also assist with family chores; Fun With Feelings Support Group, Friday Evening Family Time, Birthday parties, and a Holiday Gift Drive. “Children infected or affected by AIDS,” concludes Ferst, “want to be like other kids: They want to play with their friends, want to know that someone will always take care of them, want to know they’re not alone, and often wonder if it’s their fault when Mom or Dad gets sick.” These children need a helping hand and any of us can provide one.