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I also agree with Bob about an end to the jokes on the Parkinsn list.

There are other places to read jokes, subscribe to those if you want humor in
your day.

Every time I see a newcomer post a commonly asked PD question, and the
response is "go to the archives"....I cringe....thinking of the 303 messages
that will be found....six of which are answers and 297 of which are "I agree,
me too...hope to see you at the meeting".

Fortunately/Unfortunately, any list...like any support group....can become a
circle of friends who share ups, downs, and "inside
conversations".....newcomers feel awkward, "ignorant of the topic" or left
out......and eventually the old group falls apart as members relocate,
illness saps energy and situations change.  Hopefully after a short time, a
new group forms again for newcomers.   Occasionally, the "oldtimers" visit
the new group...and occasionally fill the role of historian.

We have split off "Sparkle" for jokes and casual banter....
We have split off "CARE" so the caregivers could discuss the problems
involved with late stage PD and those of us who are PWP would not have to
listen to the frustration we know we will someday bring to our spouses.

Try to remember the fear/isolation you felt when you heard the diagnosis of
PD....doesn't matter if it was your health, your spouse, a parent, a sibling,
or occasionally a child.....the last thing you wanted at that time was a
"family squabble"......which we have taking up a lot of bandwidth on this
list.

Try to think about the bandwidth waste in the archives.....for every
non-Parkinsons message (like this one)...I don't even want to begin to count
the number of messages I have deleted/unread on this list in the past year.

Rita Weeks, 56/11