Casey
A Box
November 21 1993
Age
33, Houston, AIDS
Comments from the
Instagram account #TheAIDSMemorial
When I think of my friend,
Casey Alan Box (Born August 19, 1960), the first thing that comes
to mind was his charming Southern drawl and his laughter.
.
Casey had a way of making everyone he met feel at ease and such was
the case when I met him at the Officers Club in Houston, Texas
during the summer of 1981. We locked eyes while socializing on the
patio and I remember thinking what a pretty boy he was. A few minutes
later, he sauntered up to me at the bar and introduced himself. I
was captivated by this guy and liked him immediately.
.
Our attraction to each other was immediate but at the time we were
each dating someone else, so we kept our blossoming friendship casual,
fun, and a little bit flirty.
.
We used to hang out together during the week. We both worked in retail:
I worked at Marshall Fields, and Casey worked at a Cavenders
Western Wear. He taught me how to dress like a cowboy, I taught him
how to dress like a preppy. He took me to the County & Western
gay bars, I took him to after-hours discos. Best of all, Casey was
so easy to talk to we talked for hours on the phone about everything.
.
About two years later, we both found ourselves single and between
boyfriends and took our attraction to the next level. I fell madly
in love with Casey and had hoped we could settle down into a serious
relationship but being that he had been hurt in his previous relationships,
he just couldnt fully commit. Knowing that we wanted to stay
a part of each others lives, we both took a step back to preserve
our friendship.
.
1991 was the last time I saw Casey. He called me out of the blue and
asked me to come see him. I played hooky from work and happily obliged.
We fell back into each others arms and back into bed where we spent
the entire day. And just like that, I was transported back to that
magical time 10 years before with the sweet cowboy I always loved.
.
Casey passed away from complication from AIDS
on November 21, 1993. He was 33 years old.
by Andrew Reither @andrewreither