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(The etc. is first this time.)  David Boots.  I think that if the
Parkinson's Community has a magazine, a beefcake centrefold and a
playmate of the month, we should have a 'theme song' too.  My suggestion
is "I Go Out Walking After Midnight'.  :)
 
About creating a 'sister(or brother)-list'.  Simon and I have chatted by
email about this earlier.  Along with John Cottingham, Simon has been of
tremendous assistance to me and to others of our group.  What I don't
know about email/internet, could (and does) fill many books.  What these
two DO know could fill many books.  At the risk of sounding self-serving, I
don't like the idea of splitting into two lists.  I like the mix of
messages and members.  When members contribute very technical articles,
it makes me more aware of how much research work is being done.  When
members contribute very personal, first-person messages about dealing
with Parkinson's, it reminds me that I'm not the only one and also shows
me better and/or easier ways to do things.
 
I think that these messages also give the caregivers among us (especially
the professionals ...  doctors, nurses, researchers) a clearer picture of
us without the distractions of our visible symptoms.  I know I'm not
making myself clear so here is a first-hand example.  A few weeks ago, I
went to our local support group meeting.  I noticed an elderly man,
sitting slumped foward, looking at the floor with no expression on his
face.  I thought that he must not be getting much out of the meeting.
Then I thought "Twit!  He could be any of us on the list" and because I
had let his visible symptoms of Parkinson's influence me, I never met the
real person behind those symptoms. We don't SEE each other, so in many
ways we have a clearer picture of each other.
 
I told this story (true) to two nursing students who had read one day's
posting to our list.  They were very impressed with the scope of our list
and after I told them about the support group incident, one of them said
that she had had a problem communicating with a patient with
Parkinson's.  She said it was so true that so much of our impression of a
person is based on visual cues and that this sort of forum gives a whole
different viewpoint.  I think that there are two nursing students who
will look at any pd patients they may havein the future with a lot more
understanding.
 
I seem to have wandered from the point but I DO feel that splitting into
two lists will weaken our strongest point...we are ALL in this together.
If we don't like long, technical postings (I personally believe that any
word which consists of a number, a hyphen, and letters is NOT meant for me
to read) we can delete them or talk to our service providers about a
reasonable method of handling them.  But I DO believe that those messages
have a place with us.  I know how much work being a list-owner can be so I
REALLY appreciate Simon's offer and am open to suggestions as to how we
can make use of Simon's willingness.  One suggestion...one of our members
had written to me about the vast amount of information available in our
archives, in particular, medications/effects/side effects/interactions.
 
Sorry to go on for so long.
 
Barb