I’ve lately been on a BIG Queen binge since Freddie Mercury’s birthday was this past week and an asteroid was named in his honor as well.  Freddie would have been 70 years old.  It’s also really hard to believe that come November it will have been 25 years since he passed away from AIDS.  A solemn reminder that all of us are aging and doing the best we can with the life we have.

I was only 6 years old when Queen did their last tour and subsequently only 11 years old when Freddie Mercury passed away.  Needless to say, I didn’t have a chance to see Queen live, but I don’t feel bad about it, since there really wasn’t a way for a kid like me growing up in southeast Georgia to have a chance to attend a Queen show.  At the time my main preoccupation were Gobots and Transformers.

I’ve watched almost every Freddie Mercury documentary and Queen video I can find online these past few days.  I never saw Queen live or even listened to their music while they were touring, but it is amazing how one man can reach so many people and inspire them in some way.  When you listen to a song like Innuendo, it’s hard to believe that Freddie Mercury was breathing his final breaths while singing so powerfully on what would be his final album while alive.  It is inspiring that he kept recording passionate music until the day he left this world.

It might sound silly to say this about someone I never really met, but I really love Freddie Mercury and am grateful that he was able to touch so many people’s lives even after his death.  On one documentary I was watching,  his mother and sister were describing his generosity as a kid and the unfortunate experience of watching him slowly die.  It’s always a tragedy when a parent outlives his or her own child, no matter who that person is.  I have to admit, it’s difficult to not get a little emotional when watching friends and family recollect their thoughts of Freddie Mercury’s final years.

On another note, I am glad that many people are experiencing Queen in their own way following Freddie Mercury’s death, and I’m also glad there have been great advances in treatment of HIV and AIDS.  As a doctor, I also want to reiterate that HIV is neither a gay nor straight disease.  The chance of contracting HIV or any other sexually transmitted infection increases with each unprotected sexual encounter or IV drug use with dirty needles.  It’s important that all of us educate ourselves properly about this.

With that said, long live Queen, and may all of us live every day to the fullest like Freddie Mercury did.