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Stan, Barb, et al, I think the idea of trying to get on the Oprah Show is an excellent one. Oprah has a very large and very loyal audience. She also has the advantage over 20/20 because her show is an hour long, not just a 20 minute segment. But Hey! First Oprah, NEXT 20/20, then a prime time press conference on national TV. We can't afford to think small. One suggestion re Oprah: I think it would be good to focus on things people do not know about PD. For example, do many people realize that people can get PD in their 20's and 30's? Perhaps a focus on young onset PWPs would be a good "hook" to get people interested. Are people aware of the latest directions in brain research, which will affect not only PWPs, but those suffering from MS, ALS, Huntington's and Alzheimer's Diseases and even paralysis? A research scientist would be a good addition to the show to discuss what the future might hold. If you need participants, I could be packed in 15 minutes. My "hook" is that I was an entrepreneur who started a small business manufacturing gift ware, mostly angels. This was in 1980 when angels had nowhere near the popularity that angel merchandise has today. We sold nationally to retail stores and catalogs by means of sales reps and Gift Shows. Some of our African-American customers asked us to make black angels because, "everyone thinks that angels only come with blonde hair and blue eyes" . Black angels became !/3 of our business and, to my knowledge, we were the first company to make black angels (which, incidently, Oprah collects). The slowness of movement I experienced as a result of PD and rigidity in my right hand made it impossible to work effectively in designing the angels and putting on the finishing touches; so we were forced to close, laying off 11 employees and about 20 independent contractors. If it would help, I could send one of my black angels to Oprah to sweeten your proposal. On this list we have writers, poets, artists, doctors, nurses, engineers, attorneys, researchers, librarians, teachers, retired people, etc. We have parents of young children and those who worry about facing the future alone. We have those who have been recently diagnosed and those who have been struggling with PD for many years. We have those in wheelchairs and those who can still play soccer or tennis. We have those needing total care; we have loving caretakers and adult children worried about their parents. Each one of us has a story to tell about how PD has impacted our lives. If you were to post your story to the list and Stan were to write a synopsis of the stories to send to the Oprah Show, perhaps we could put a face on PD at last and we would no longer be invisible. Sorry to ramble on so long. Mary Sheehan