Happy 50th Birthday, Magic

Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. turned 50 today, which all things considered, is remarkable: “Eighteen years ago, when Johnson made his bombshell announcement that he was HIV positive, few expected the Lakers star would see his 33rd birthday, much less his 50th. ‘His impact on increasing awareness that you can live with the disease has been phenomenal,’ says Cynthia Davis, director of HIV education and outreach at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. ‘Even today, 30 years into the epidemic, there are people who aren’t educated and feel that it’s a death sentence.’ So robust and energetic that some have wrongly assumed him cured, Johnson has said he owes his well-being – and perhaps his life – to the multi-drug cocktail he takes every day.”