List members
Parkinson's Can Be Fun
Co-authored by:
Brady Kinesia
Iva Tremor
*John McConeghey*
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A collection of jokes,and stories, and limericks made up while under the
influence of Eldepryl (it keeps the authors awake nights). Most of this
material is original, but fellow PWP's friends, and my brother, who has an
equally wierd sense of humor, have contributed. None of this material is
copyrighted and if you can put any of it to use, please do.
NOTE: I met John McConeghey a few years ago at a facilitators conference in
Minneapolis , MN. I don't know if he is still with us but I presume he is.
I liked John for being himself and for what he had to offer the conference.
It isn't often that you meet someone who can relate a disease like
Parkinson's in this form. John shared with us that day and I would like
fellow list members to listen to John through this message that follows. I
have edited it so that it isn't too long but the message is basically the
same. (Russ Ahlstrom)
I was diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease in April of 1990. My doctor
told me it was a funny disease. It would be several days before I saw
anything funny about it. I immediately went to the local library to see
what I could learn about my new companion. They had one book ---but it was
a good one, titled Parkinson's ; a Patients View by Sidney Dorros. I read
halfway through the first page and was astounded to find reference to my
first cousin. He had helped critique Mr Dorro's book. There is a lot to
learn about PD and if you are going to have something it beats many other
diseases hands down. While this writing is intended for PDW's it might be
read by outsiders, so a basic understanding about would be in order ---
otherwise you might miss the point of some of the jokes.
A resting tremor-- you shake when idle, Stooped posture, a shuffling gait ,
masked expression (handy for poker) Frezing -- particularly in door ways,
Bradykinesia: slowness of movement, Diskinesia: involuntary twitching,
Festination: a 5tendency to be unable to stop while walking.
It would have been relatively easy to have become depressed about being told
you have PD, however I am normally an optimistic person plus the fact that I
had a friend who simply wouldn't allow it. We have golfed togeather, played
tournament bridge, and have exchanged insults and barbs for over 30 years.
If he were to treat me courteously for over 10 minutes I would be insulted.
Needless to say, I treat him the same. He made light of my diagnoses,
suggesting , senility, or excessive drinking , or too much or too little
sex. He had several ideas how I might turn the problem to an advantage----
such as how easy it would be for me to mix cocktails and milkshakes. He
also suggested I might be popular as a gynecologist. With help like this it
is hard to take yourself seriously.
Anyhow--- in my wakeful hours one night it occured to me that I'd never
heard any PD jokes. We poke fun at Alzheimer's , impotency, Aids ect. Why
not PD ? So I set out to create some jokes. Some were so-so, some were
"groaners" and afew were so good ( I thought ) that he had to get up and
go to the guest bathroom to laugh so that he didn't wake his wife.
Norman Cousins has pretty well established the fact that laughter is an aid
to treatment of illness. If by reading his jokes and notice any improvement
in your health, you had better write some of your own and then file a claim
with Medicare for your fees. Please enjoy!
I will start posting more of his humor later today.
Russ Ahlstrom [log in to unmask]
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