Craig was a very good friend of my Mom’s in high school, born in 1957, and he died in 1997, after battling AIDS. We visited Craig and his sister’s family and mother in Murfreesboro, Tennessee while on the way to Disney World in March 1997, and I have always remembered that visit.

Because of the reading and research I’ve been doing lately on HIV/AIDS, I was exploring the history of the NAMES Memorial Quilt, the enormous quilt project that began in 1987 and has been growing ever since, commemorating and memorializing those who we have lost to AIDS. I had the idea of possibly contributing a square in honor of Craig and another of my mom’s friends, Parnell Peterson. I searched for Craig’s name on the Quilt’s website, where they have been working to digitize all of the 40,000+ squares so that they are searchable and visible for anyone looking for them. I found that Craig already had a square. (So does Parnell.) I e-mailed by Mom excitedly.

She wrote back that we, my family, contributed to his square, and that there is a picture of us with Craig on our couch, on the quilt. I had no memory of doing this, but I was overwhelmed by the notion that I had in fact already contributed to honoring Craig’s memory and life, without remembering it. 

Craig’s double-size square is the bottom middle one pictured, and the picture of us (impossible to see clearly from this image, sorry) is the third portion down on the right side of the border squares.

Incidentally, the headquarters of the Quilt, where it is stored when it is not on display, is here in Atlanta. Apparently you can visit for free, and call ahead with the specific squares you may want to view. I am planning to go as soon as I can get in touch with the organization.