(PALM SPRINGS, CA – September 23, 2008)
“October 26 is the date that Ron and I met in Golden Gate Park back in 1978,” said Mike Carson. “That’s why we want to celebrate that date – 30 years later – in a big way. Plus, we have been through cancer, stroke, and the loss of both sets of parents. Life has no guarantees – so enjoy and celebrate it as you go along!”
To some people, celebrating might mean throwing a party for a couple of hundred of their nearest and dearest. But for Mike Carson and Ron Steigerwalt, it means paying the expenses to bring singer Sam Harris to Palm Springs to perform a benefit concert for Desert AIDS Project and Shelter From The Storm. The concert will begin at 7:00 PM on Sunday, October 26 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Palm Springs at 125 W. El Alameda. The entire $50 ticket price benefits the two organizations. For ticket information, call 760.323.2118, ext. 266 or buy them online at desertaidsproject.org by clicking on “Sam Harris Concert.”
“We believe deeply in the missions of these two organizations. One provides assistance to people with HIV and the other support for battered women and children. Who wouldn’t want to help organizations like these?” said Ron Steigerwalt. “Mike and I have been extremely blessed in our lives – especially with finding each other – and feel that the occasion of our 30th anniversary and recent marriage is the perfect reason to give, not receive. We’ve loved Sam Harris’s performances at D.A.P.’s Steve Chase Awards as well as at the Annenberg Theater. He puts on a great show and is a warm, generous person himself. Sharing that with our community is a great way to mark our special occasion.”
Ron and Mike were married by the Rev. Wilk Miller on Sunday, August 10 at First Lutheran Church in San Diego. Following domestic partnerships in Washington, D.C. and California, their marriage was something they thought might never be legally possible. “It feels great to be husband and husband,” said Mike. “We think that any two people who are truly committed to each other ought to be able to celebrate their love with marriage. My one question to the anti-gay-marriage-crowd is “Exactly who is being harmed by me marrying the person I love?” asks Ron. “Marriage and lifelong commitment is in both of our DNA anyway, since both Mike’s and my parents were married over 50 years.”
Although the couple has lived in Palm Springs for three years now, they also have ties to both San Francisco where they met and San Diego where Ron works as Principal Toxicology Investigator for Amylin, a biopharmaceutical company. Mike works in Palm Springs as a travel agent. Thirty years have seen them at 20+ addresses in multiple states. Many friends will be coming from all over the country to join the festivities AND benefit the continuing work of Desert AIDS Project and Shelter From The Storm.
