Hi Linda,

go to

http://www.deltaboogie.com/mattsnotes/

Mario


----- Original Message -----
From: "Linda J Herman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 3:32 AM
Subject: ARTICLE: Lou's not singing the blues over disease


> I haven't heard about Lou Hobbs before, but after reading this article,
> i admire the way Lou and his family are dealing with pd. Maybe other list
> members have more to add about this musician and PWP.
>
> FROM:
>  The Associated Press State & Local Wire
>  March 2, 2002, Saturday, BC cycle
>
> HEADLINE: Lou's not singing the blues over disease; AP MISSOURI PANORAMA
> BYLINE: By SAM BLACKWELL, (Cape Girardeau) Southeast Missourian
> DATELINE: CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.
>
> "   One wall of the new recording studio behind Lou Hobbs' house near
> Trail of
> Tears State Park is lined with memorabilia collected since his first
> single,
> "Mama Mama Mama," was released.
>
>    To commemorate Hobbs' 40 years in the business, "Mama Mama Mama" is
> being
> re-released in Europe and on the Internet as a digitally remastered
> two-song CD
> that also includes "All That Heaven Sent."
>
>    Not without a fight does the 60-year-old Rockabilly Hall of Fame
> member give
> an inch to the Parkinson's disease that has dogged him for the past few
> years.
> He can't play lead guitar and sing at the same time anymore, but his
> handshake
> is crushing. His raspy speech can be difficult to understand, but the
> jokes are
> in there for anyone who's listening.
>
>    "Parkinson's Disease Blues," one of hundreds and hundreds of songs
> Hobbs has
> recorded over the past four decades, is at least part of the story of his
> life
> now.
>
>    Denial was Hobbs' reaction to the first symptom of Parkinson's
> disease, a
> pinkie that trembled when he played guitar. Then things started happening
> he
> couldn't ignore as the realities of the disease set in.
>
>    "My chin was down by my belt buckle," Hobbs said. "I didn't know what
> to do."
>
>    He is not one to pity himself. "The hand has been dealt, and how you
> play it
> is up to you," he said.
>
>    He soon went to Nashville and recorded a new CD and started releasing
> songs
> in Europe. Since 1998, he has had 19 songs in the European independent
> Top 40
> charts. He has played to thousands of people at European festivals
> featuring
> rockabilly bands over the past three years. He remains a manager for
> Greater
> Missouri Builders.
>
>    But there have been setbacks. Two months ago, KFVS-TV dropped "The Lou
> Hobbs
> Show" after nearly 16 years on the air.
>
>    Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that in
> some form
> affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans. Symptoms can include
> uncontrollable
> movements, problems with balance and walking, as well as depression,
> sleep
> disturbances and dizziness. No cause has been identified.
>
>    There is no cure, although recent genetic research makes Hobbs hopeful
> and
> impatient.
>
>    He doesn't have the high profile of other Parkinson's victims like
> Muhammad
> Ali, Michael J. Fox and Janet Reno, but because of his music career and
> long-running television show he is the most well-known person in the
> region with
> Parkinson's disease. He also has diabetes and allergies.
>
>    He takes 11 1/2 pills each day. Many cases of Parkinson's disease can
> be
> controlled with drugs, says Gary Anderson, director of patient care and
> neurosciences at Southeast Missouri Hospital.
>
>    The medical treatment usually consists of drugs that help replace the
> dopamine the brain is losing. Parkinson's can be mistaken for other
> neurological
> disorders, Anderson said.
>
>    "Some people might say you just have a nervous tic," he said.
>
>    Hobbs' wife of 41 years, Nancy, says he's really not much different
> from her
> pre-Parkinson's husband.
>
>    "You just have to have a little more understanding," she said. "If you
> love
> someone, it really doesn't matter if he has Parkinson's disease or not."
>
>    He doesn't want to be treated any differently from a normal person.
>
>    "I wonder what it would feel like to be normal again," he said. "But I
> never
> was very normal. Just ask anybody who played music with me."
>
>    As many musical accomplishments as he has had, he's proudest of his
> five
> daughters. "My kids have all succeeded," he said. "What kind of example
> would I
> be if I didn't fight?"
>
>    No disease just affects the person who has it, Hobbs says. "It hurts
> my kids
> to see me struggling."
>
>    The youngest daughter, also named Nancy, is a senior at Southeast
> Missouri
> State majoring in physical education. Her father gets frustrated when he
> can't
> play the guitar, she says.
>
>    "I think about that myself. I would hate to know how to do something
> and not
> be able to do it," the younger Nancy Hobbs said. "That would drive me
> crazy."
>
>    While everyone is aware that the disease is degenerative, that's not
> what the
> family concentrates on. "Our focus is to get on with life. Take it as it
> comes
> and try to make the best of what you're given," she says.
>
>    "No matter how hard it is, God's got a reason for it."
>
>    Her father currently is hatching a plan to build a place behind his
> house to
> have shows.
>
>    If Hobbs will never give up, Parkinson's disease can be relentless,
> too. The
> only time he forgets about having it is when he goes fishing at one of
> the
> nearby lakes. "Nobody can bother me," he says, "and I can forget all
> about it.
> When I'm fishin', I'm free.
>
>    "That would make a good song title, wouldn't it?" he said."
>
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