"...Cause I Come So Together Where You Are..."
These are the words to an old song by Fleetwood Mac called "Sentimental
Lady"
...and they just happen to aptly put some of the emotions that I had the
honor &
privilege to experience this past week with my family while down in
Morganton,
N.C.What a wondrous experience and a true lesson in giving back
something to the
world of your bounty of gifts!!! You cannot imagine how truly nice,
good, honest,
hard-working and decent people can be until you see it up close and
personal like I
had the opportunity last week.......And, as Father Ken pointed out-what
a marvelous
testimony to the power of good provided by the internet! We left, not
knowing what
to expect, but we headed south with a dream in our hearts, bags packed
and golf
clubs (Ali's & Stan's)-the back section of our station wagon like a
stacked locker!
Our first stop at nearly 11:30 that night, was at the welcoming home of
my chat room
buddy-Wink's house. Altho we had never met, we knew each other so very
well
from our conversations online-that when we hugged, it was as if we had
known each
other for years! After a good night's sleep and a wonderful breakfast
and tour of her
backyard, we were on the road again-this time heading for the beautiful
mountains of
Tennessee; there to meet and have lunch with Brenda and Peg; two woman
whom I
had yet to meet but once again felt as if we had memories back to
childhood
together. I wonder if sharing the same disease as these women made it
seem as
though our fiendship was as old as these beautiful Smokey Mountains.
Anyway,
what a mental & spiritual bonding we all experienced and how we could
say exactly
what the other meant....and of course all these women loved Stan & the
kids as well.
Then, onto the last leg of our journey, up and down and over and through
those
beautiful mountains until we came upon our host: mleo (mike), waiting to
lead us to
his house in Morganton, North Carolina.Getting out of the car was a new
experience
in light-headedness and no balance for this parkie!! -talk about your
sea legs!! Inside
was mike's wife-the lovely and multi-talented caregiver to mike's pd;
Mary. Soon
they were leading us up farther into the mountains to the cabin that
belonged to
Helen & Joe-friends of Mike & Mary's from church who had graciously
invited us to
stay in a real log cabin built in the 1920's and I must interject that
this rustic cabin
home had all of the amenities of a 5-Star hotel with a few bugs thrown
in for
atmosphere!! If there is ever to be a real life commercial in my
life-this would be
it-drinking my french vanilla on their screened in back porch, watching
the sunlight
poke through the trees and waiting for my meds to kick in!! There was
little time for
reflection on that first Saturday morning, however, as we were soon at
the church,
getting on the bus that would take our road weary bones into Charlotte
where we
attend, along with Mike, Mary, Helen & Joe & about 1,750 others, the
Ordination
Mass as Christopher Gober (the son of my dear friend Mary from down the
street &
brother of Megan-who is Ali & Mitch's friend), Matt Kauth & other men as
they
became Catholic priests. Needless to say, it was a powerful & beautiful
experience.
The next day was filled with cooking and trips back & forth to the
airport in Charlotte and
even a golf game thrown in there somehow. No matter how stress-filled
and rushed
they were, Mike & Mary were always the perfect hosts: kind, lovely
people with
a real charm & warmth about them. That first evening, at our meeting at
the church to discuss plans for
the upcoming week and to get to know each other, I marveled at this
thing called Parkinson's Disease. I hate this disease and I will spend
every once of energy combating it & promoting awareness of its ravages.
But without PD, I would certainly never have come to this place, to be
counted among these heroes and certainly never at a place where people
were known only by chatroom identities! The evening was one of hope, of
camaraderie and plans: to build a house with Habitat For Humanity for a
young couple who were themselves disabled (she from MS & he had lost
both legs to spinal menengitious), both in wheelchairs. The next
morning, Stan was off at the crack of dawn to join the crew at the
jobsite. It rained off & on all day and made for a somewhat soggy though
cool working day. As the kids were too young to be at the jobsite and I
felt more of a hindrance than a help, we stayed at the hotel with most
of the other women, who had wisely decided to stay out of the way of the
run-away freight train of a crew into which the men had instantly
bonded. On Tuesday evening, everyone came out to our cabin, so the day
was spent cooking and preparing for a late evening dinner with the
plucky and wonderful Naomi who had come all the way from New Hampshire.
The men & Allison had to play golf after work-priorities, you realize.
And we spent another evening meshing into a friendship that only PWP’s &
those who love them, can fathom. We even had enough food left over for
the local soup kitchen the next day! On Wednesday, after a day of
back-breaking work by the men and several of the hardier women, it was
announced that we were 3 days ahead of schedule-quite a thrill for all
of us-especially the workers! After work, we attended a healing Mass at
Mike’s church: Catholic, Jewish, Baptist-all in-between-all asking the
same God to give us strength & courage, if not a cure. Then we went to a
dinner provided by a friend of our hostess Mary and to yet another
emotional high point.
Caz, our dear sweet, thoughtful Caz, had assembled a quilt made up of
squares from as far away as New Zealand & Africa-a virtual Joseph’s coat
of many colors-each sent in by people from the chatroom & presented it
to the new homeowners who had spent many hours watching their new home
being constructed.
There was not a dry eye in the house and then sweet friend Sassy, who
has dealt with PD for over half of her life, took the floor to read a
story of past colliding  with the present in a beautiful story of faith
& love as she presented the couple with a handmade afghan begun years
ago by her grandmother and recently finished-everyone was openly wiping
tears from their eyes! D2 from the room also had some of his handiwork
to present to both the couple and to our fearless leader. Everyone was
drained from emotion and high on love this night. On Thursday it was our
day to play and boy did we enjoy ourselves! Stan & BC took to the links
while everyone else piled into vans to head up to Grandfather
mountain-the highest point in the Great Smokey Mountains….it is not in
my power to describe the awesome power & beauty of this experience.
Suffice to say that one comes away from this believing in a good &
gracious God. The afternoon was spent shopping in the quaint little
shops of Blowing Rock. Worn and weary but exhilarated  by our day, we
spent the night at the hotel The next morning, amid tears & promises, we
left Morganton-all of us changed in some way-all of us better people for
going there.