This edition of Out in the Bay is our shortest so far. It’s our first “quicky”! It comes to us from Jim Van Buskirk, a regional coordinator of the Final Exit Network.

Final Exit Network advocates that mentally competent adults suffering painful, debilitating or terminal illnesses should have a basic, legal, human right to end their own lives. Much of its early work was informed by gay men dying of AIDS and their friends, lovers and families. 

The song “What I Did For Love” was played at many memorials, Jim tells us. We hear part of it sung by Priscella Lopez from the 1975 original cast recording of A Chorus Line on this week’s Out in the Bay.

Jim Van Buskirk was the founding Program Manager of the San Francisco Public Library’s James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, from 1992 to 2007. Now retired, he has co-hosted Death Cafés for many years. Learn more at FinalExitNetwork.org

What’s on your mind? If you’d like to submit a “quicky,” – a short commentary or slice of life — send an audio file of 4 minutes or less to OutInTheBay [at] Yahoo.com. Or write to us there and we’ll send you details. 

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This edition of Out in the Bay was edited by Eric Jansen and David Kwan.