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Ken,

I loved your story about the Mohel ...a perfect analogy to the difficulty we
face in presenting PD to the outside world.

I also like your calendar idea of showing people with an identifible handicap,
but not a horrifying one, explaining how they deal with loss of handwriting or
a frozen face, etc.

Perhaps after the first of the year we could resume this discussion, review
suggestions and present APDA with some calendar ideas that would be more in
keeping with their purpose than the scenery and animals they're using now.

This would be a small step toward PD awareness, but a small step is better
than no step, so keep thinking.

Mary
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<< Mary, you bring up a very good point. I have to inject a story here, the
reason why will become evident. A man is walking down the street and looks at
his wristwatch to see the time, and it has stopped. He sees a store display
window full of watches and clocks, figures he can get his watch fixed and
walks inside. There is an elderly gentleman with a long beard, sitting and
reading. He puts the watch on the table and asks the man to repair it. "I do
NOT repair watches, I am a Mohel!" Stunned, the watch owner says "What DO you
do?" He replys "I do circumcisions on Jewish  baby boys, that is all I do!"
Okay, but why the watches and clocks in the window? "  The Mohel answers: "
SIR! What would YOU put in the window?"
............. Obviously when making displays, advertising, or calenders, you
want to have something that will send a message to the viewer, but not make
him/her look away.  The problem with celebrities, is they are often in a
position where they do not want the public to know they are impaired. A weak
fighter is no longer a fighter, at least in the traditional sense. Actually
Ali has the toughest fight in his life, with PD.  Attorney General Reno would
not want anyone to think she could not mentally and physically perform her
job, she has to remain tough and focused. I am sure she'd rather not have
anyone know all the facts about PD,  until she is ready to retire. And Billy
Graham, how does he tell people that the God that he "works" for,  let's
Billy suffer with a disease  like PD after devoting his life to Him?
It's better for him to make light of PD and show that God has given him the
strength  to overcome the disease, and keep working, like most PD victims in
less visible jobs do as long as they are able.  That leaves the non-celebrity
PD victims and caregivers to choose from.  I favor showing the positive
aspects, maybe a few lines of type, explaining symtoms. A picture of a PWP ,
but accentuating the positive......"Joe Doe's handwriting has been affected
by Parkinson's, but he still writes poetry with his computer." Or  " Sally's
smile has been masked by Parkinson's, but she still has her sense of humor."
 Unfortunately there are more symptoms than months in the year, but the idea
is to raise funds and educate, not have people turn away in horror, right?
 Ken B >>