UN-CORRECTED PROOF * IMAGINE* You have a really closefriend, one you see everyday, one with whom youhaveexchanged confidences and shared experiences, and had so many fun times together.Imagine the worst possible disease, and then think how you would feel if you found outyour friendhad it. Imagine watchingyour buddy as he foughtsuch ahorrible disease, seeinghim succumb to that disease---a person you love, a friend who has been such an important part of your life. Now imagine(althoughsome may find this part nearlyimpossible) almost every person you come upon as having nothing but derogatory remarks about your best friend's behavior, about the way he died, about the way he was. Your friend, you knew, was an extremelynice guy. A kind man, a generous employer, a loving person. Oh...didI mention this friend was well-known, a oncevery famous and beloved Superstar? Yet, because of the...circumstances surrounding his death, the discrimination because he was gay, and the atrociousness of theout and out liesby his accuser, such an inaccurateportrait was painted of your friend that you hardly recognized him as thefinemanyouknew. In fact, twenty-five years after his demise, your friend is stillchiefly remembered because he had AIDS. Not that he was a talented actor who entertained millions of people. Not for the all-around niceman he was. The unfairness of it all What would you do? I wrote this book. My name is Martin Flaherty, and I have just completed the first in what I hope to be a series of books entitled, "At Home" with Rock Hudson: Behind the Walls of His Life. Yes, my friend was Rock Hudson; I workedfor him for a decadeand played with him and I knew him perhaps better than anybody, those last ten years of his life.We had so many outrageously fun times together; Rock had such a great sense of humor, and I have many of the anecdotes he personally relatedto me from his life and his career. For thosenot familiar with the life of this star who shaped the way the world saw AIDS, maybe it is time to learn. I also have countless...shall we say...unusualstories from myexperiences at his house, the typical days spent with the less than typical characters within Rock Hudson's "Castle." Yes, he called his home the "Castle," and he was a king of a manand I want the world to finally know him as I did, to remember him with love and the respect he deserved from a life spentdevoted to his fans. Martin F.J. Flaherty III November 1, 2011