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Donna and John Testa, my husband, my library's director (my boss) and I attended a lecture by Janet Reno last night at the State University of New York at Brockport. Her talk was sponsored by Brockport's student government and the audience of over 1,000 included college and high school students, teachers, and community members. The former Attorney General spoke for about 45 minutes, mainly about her views on reforming the criminal justice system, family values, domestic violence, youth violence, public service, and stories about her own childhood. She admitted feeling like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders, when she left Washington, and how nervous she was about her appearance on Saturday Night Live :) She said she had dealt with the enormous pressures of her job, by often reading a quote by Abraham Lincoln, hanging in her house, "If I was to believe everything people say about me, I might as well close this shop for business.." and by talking to her brothers and sisters on the phone. She did not talk about how the pressures affected her PD symptoms. She talked about her vision of diverse groups, such as law enforcement, health care and social agencies working together to deal with drug abuse offenders and violent youths. Reno also appealed to the community to work together with the business and health care sector to find new ways of caring for the aged in their homes. She did not mention the disabled or chronically ill. During her 45 minute lecture, the tremors in both her hands were very evident. As in the past, she has never hidden her identity as a PWP, but she did not mention Parkinson's Disease once in her talk. Near the beginning of the Question & Answer session, which eventually ran over an hour, John Testa stood up before the crowded room, his own tremors as visible as hers, and asked Janet Reno: " Like you and over 1.5 million other Americans, I have Parkinson's Disease. Thank you for helping to make the public aware of Parkinson's Disease. Now that you are a private citizen how are you going to become involved in the movement to obtain more research funding for Parkinsons and particularly federal funding for stem cell research?" She replied that as attorney general she believed she represented everyone in the country, including those with many other diseases - some more severe, some less severe than hers, and in her public service position, felt she could not advocate for a specific disease. Now that she is a private citizen she said she does intend to get involved and do whatever she can to help. She also mentioned that she thought the many Parkinson's organizations would be more effective if they worked together. She did not address the stem cell research issue. We came away from the lecture admiring all she has accomplished, her ideals, her desire to help people and to make a difference. We were disappointed that she did not make a stronger and more committed statement about Parkinson's advocacy. Perhaps this was not the time nor the place for her to do so. We hope that she will take on a more active role, now that she is a private citizen, and we're certain the Parkinson's community would welcome her abilities, strength and caring. As a postscript, one of the Rochester TV news programs reported on the lecture, concluding with, " Reno did not announce any specific plans for the future. She said that she would continue to raise awareness about Parkinson's disease." Amen. Linda ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn