 |
 |
The choice of calling one’s self (and, by extension, others) a “Parkie” or a “PWP” is a personal one. It is , however, neither an easy nor a trivial choice. Each term has its advantages and each has a serious drawback. “Parkie” sounds cute and flippant; “PWP” is obscure. “Parkie” trivializes, “PWP” hides. Both individually, and as members of a community, we want to be taken seriously. Our malady is not trivial. It may not be an immediate sentence of death, but it nonetheless destroys lives, ours and our family’s, bit by bit, bit by bit, and so on forever. We must keep our good humor for the sake of our own sanity, and that of our caregivers. Keeping a good humor does not trivialize our condition, but quite the contrary, treats it with the respect is deserves. One speaks politely a to judge in his courtroom, one does not mock him, or laugh in his face. The name “Parkie” carries no weight. The “-ie” diminutive suffix diminishes. Ask a black person why “darkie” is no longer permissable. “PWP” unfortunately sounds a little like a depression era alphabet soup agency, the one you couldn’t remember on your final exam in US History. A charge of obscurity seems a small price to pay for dignity. Therefore, I choose “PWP” over “Parkie.” George Andes 64/16