John S.
With all due respect, John, my message was not directed at you, Ryan Law, or
any other individual of the list by name or intent . You may have noticed by
now, if I have something to say to one (or more) persons, I post that at the
top of my message just as I did to this message. In addition, I made no
reference whatsoever to ANY poetry, and in fact, had completely forgotten
there had been a poem included was included in one or another of the messages
sent, so have no idea why you feel I've attacked the author of a poem.
I specifically referred to the ENTIRE TIME I'm been a member of this list as
having seen folks sending off messages to newly diagnosed Parkies who happen
to be celebrities of one sort or another. I made every attempt to let it be
known that my response referred to this BROAD time-span, and not to one recent
time-frame.
However, the IMPETUS for my post was the fact that some members, after not
receiving so much as the courtesy of a brief acknowlegment to their original
messages to certain celebreties with a new diagnosis of PD, now contmeplated
sending yet additonal messages of "welcome-to-the-club" to those celebrities.
The thrust of my message was to indicate to the group - the GROUP, not one or
two people - that there appeared to me that something was being overlooked
here, and that was the FEELINGS of the celebrity with PD might be
experiencing. And again... while Ms. Reno was used as an EXAMPLE of what type
of action was taken by this group, I referred throughout my message to
celebriities in the plural to reinforce my postition that this was an ONGOING
past problem, as well as a current one as I see it, and it involves several
members of this group, John, not just one or two.
The fact that you decided I had aimed my comments directly at you and Ryan
Law is unfortunate, as that was not intended at all. If you and Ryan were
caused pain or embarrassment because of my comments, I'm most sorry. But IF
you'll put that fine legal mind ot work and reread my original message with
OBJECTIVITY, I believe you'll then be able to de-personalize what you took AS
a personal attack, and hopefully see what I DID write.
Finally, John, I recognize your message to me was written out of anger, rather
from logic, and therefore, while not discounting it, am not going to dwell
upon the personal remarks made.
Barb Mallut
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From: PARKINSN: Parkinson's Disease - Information Exchange Network on behalf
of John E. Stanfield
Sent: Monday, December 16, 1996 5:45 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
Subject: Re: Letter To Attorney General Janet Reno--NO Response
I cannot stand back and ignore the 12/14/96 note from [log in to unmask]
Re:
Letter To Attorney General Janet Reno--NO Response.
Barb, you are the most prolific writer in the group with opinions on
everyone and everything. And I must say that I do enjoy some of your notes.
But I did not enjoy your response to Ryan Law regarding Attorney General
Reno. Ours was not a malicious gesture. It was merely a light hearted
little poem to a politician who happens to also be a lawyer -- just like the
three of us. At about the same time we received your scathing attack on our
motives and our insensitivity and our failure to live up to your lofty
standards, we received a request to reprint the poem. Not everyone agrees
with your assessment of it or the letter.. The poem, by the way, was written
by a judge who has since been forced to retire at a young age because of PD.
We did not intend to humiliate Attorney General Reno -- she came out
of the
closet all by her lonesome. I think you do a disservice to her by suggesting
that she is so sensitive that she could not handle our little message. If
memory serves me, she was treated much more rudely by the U. S. Supreme Court
recently than she was by us. Personally, I am not impressed by her failure
to even respond to what was intended to be a message of good cheer to another
lawyer at Christmas time.
Perhaps the fact that the three of us are also recovering alcoholics
tends
to make us less inspired by the heroic act of anyone coming out of the
closet. The three of us believe that our success to date in the struggle to
cope with two serious diseases has been enhanced by the fact that we try not
to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves constantly (although we have our
weak moments too). We try to accept PD just like we were forced to accept
our unrequited love affair with John Barleycorn. No one benefits from living
in the closet -- whatever the underlying problem might be. We can't do
anything about the fact that we are ill, but we can try to face life as it is
and with an occasional smile and the Serenity Prayer. That was our crime.
But I must say that I didn't appreciate the pretentious and sanctimonious
tone of your letter directed at a fine man who has helped countless
worshipers of booze find a solution to their problems through his sense of
caring humor. With all due respect, humor is more than just a talent with a
colon and a parenthesis. . Jack Stanfield - Laramie, Wyo.
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