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I first shared email messages with Alan Bonander in the AOL Parkinson Support area . Later, I would meet him for lunch or a piece of pie in Northern CA while visiting our two older children. We sat and talked into the small hours of the morning in Washington, D.C. We shared dreams. We shared fears. We shared laughter. We shared tales about our sons. We shared concerns about our spouses. We shared Parkinson's. Alan made a difference in my life. Alan made a difference because he never stopped asking questions. Alan made a difference because he never stopped searching for answers. Alan made a difference because he listened. Alan made a difference because he encouraged. Alan made a difference because he took a few minutes each day to give to others. Alan made a difference because he shared our victories when medication or treatment provided relief of symptoms. He shared tears when the outcome wasn't what was anticipated. Alan made a difference because he saw each experience as a brick to build the road leading to a cure for Parkinson's. Alan was only a man --- who made a difference in each of our lives. Each of us can make a difference too. Was this his legacy? "When you receive an act of kindness, pass it on. T'was not given for you alone, pass it on. Let it wander through the years, let it wipe another's tears 'til in Heaven the deed appears, Pass it on." Alan, I will miss you. Rita Weeks Lincoln, Nebraska