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Reno Speaks Up For A Cure KAREN GARLOCH - Staff Writer Posted on Thu, Nov. 20, 2003 Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's left hand shakes, her right hand doesn't always write legibly, and her voice is softer than it used to be. But none of that was apparent when she spoke at a Parkinson's disease fund-raiser in south Charlotte Wednesday night. The medicine she takes daily stops the tremor, she can write clearly if she takes her time, and the microphone amplified her voice before the crowd of 470 at Quail Hollow Club. When asked how the progressive neurological disease affects her, she quoted a Florida supporter: "I know her hand shakes, but I don't care about her hand. I care about her head, and her head seems just fine, thank you." Reno was the guest of Close to a Cure, a fund for Parkinson's research at Duke University in Durham and Emory University in Atlanta. It was established last year by friends of Katherine Deaton of Atlanta and Charlotte lawyer Andy Salisbury, both victims of Parkinson's. Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, also a Parkinson's sufferer, will speak today at a private gathering. At Wednesday's event, Dr. Mark Stacy, director of the movement disorders center at Duke, drew nervous laughs when he said he expected $2 million in pledges. Mary Dickson, a spokeswoman for the fund, said no goal has been set. Reno, 65, looking healthy, strong and still an avid outdoorswoman at 6 feet 1 1/2-inches tall, said she wasn't surprised by the crowd of supporters. She said she'd heard many good things about Charlotte from her maternal grandmother, Daisy Sloan Hunter, who was born in Mecklenburg County and whose parents are buried near Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church. "Tonight, I heard her voice in the many people who have come up to me," Reno said, in her familiar deep, even tone of voice. Reno said she noticed the first sign of her illness during an early morning walk on the National Mall in Washington in March 1995. The thumb and forefinger of her left hand tapped together involuntarily. By October, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and she told the world. "I didn't want to hide from it." She finished her "not exactly stress-free" years as President Bill Clinton's attorney general and became well known for presiding over the raid of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and for sending 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to his father in Cuba. She also took up kayaking -- "I'm one of the few people you know who's gone backwards over the Nantahala falls without turning over." And in 2002, she made an unsuccessful bid to be the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida. Today, besides traveling to speaking engagements, Reno also teaches classes two weeks a year at her alma mater, Cornell University, and occasionally at the University of Miami. As for politics, she said: "I don't plan to run myself, though I don't foreclose it." Janet Reno Born: July 21, 1938.Lives: Miami, Fla., in house built by her mother in 1949 at what was edge of the Everglades. Education: Cornell University, 1960; Harvard University law school, 1963. Career: 78th U.S. atty. general, 1993-2001; Dade County state atty., 1978-1993. Parkinson's disease Progressive disorder of nervous system. Symptoms include tremor and rigidity of muscles. Medications and a surgically implanted device can help certain symptoms. Close to a Cure P.O. 35415, Charlotte, NC 28234 SOURCE: The Charlotte Observer, NC http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/7305636.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn