Jon Cantonwine, 1965-1990

Sobering... Back in the day, I dated a guy named Jon Cantonwine. Cute, dark-haired, short and compact, he was utterly delicious, sweet and kind. Prior to meeting, I’d seen him across many a bar, usually wearing a tank top and tight pants. We weren’t really a “match” so at some point after dating, we lost touch...A few months later, I ran into a common friend and asked them if they knew what had happened to Jon, as I hadn’t seen him for a while. “Oh, didn’t you know? Jon died. He had AIDS. And his friend Peter (whom I also knew) died right after.”

They were my first direct contacts to the AIDS epidemic. Prior, I’d known “names,” but not people. I’ve searched online for him periodically ever since, hoping to bring closure, of some sort. A decent photo, an obit, but today I happened to look and found this. Dates match, but I’m not entirely certain it is him without a photo.So many lost. So many in my thoughts. Jon, I still remember. Hope you traveled quickly, my friend...