Dear Craig, I appreciate you motives, but I take issue with some of the things you say. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Craig Mellinger wrote: > > Ivan.I have a thought. We are trying to educate the general public as to > how terrible > an affliction it is. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- We are trying to educate the public, Yes. But not how terrible an affliction it is, rather what terrible things this affliction does to us. If the world can see Ivan, struggling against his affliction, to do something that for other people is natural and normal, then they will realise what a terrible affliction PD is, far more graphically than if they see a picture of some nonagenarian sitting in a wheel chair. ----------------------------------------------------------------- I wonder if showing people how good a golfer you > are will end up > doing a disservice to some of us who would consider just to get up from > chair and take a small walk without fear of falling down a major > effort.I can almost hear the devils advocate saying.that pd can't be so > bad if his guy can still shoot a round of golf or express him /herself > in some other negative manner. __________________________________________________________________________ The thing is, Ivan will be showing how good a golfer he WAS. He is not that good a golfer any more. The will is there, the talent is there, but the physical control has gone. Yet he is out there, against the odds, doing what he can, trying not to give up, showing , very poignantly, how this once upon a time athlete is struggling with his disability, not willing to give up, lose the battle, even tho he knows he is losing the war - UNLESSS THERE IS A CURE!!!! _______________________________________________________________________________________ Where are the pwp's with the the > shakes,or the person who's voice is stilled and the hand that once was > an example > of the Parker Penmanship method now reduced to an illegible scrawl. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Look around you. They are on all the publicity shots. On the covers of the Handbooks. They are the present face of PD. It's time that was changed. We have to fiht for our rights, and we can't do that by giving in to our disabilities. We have to go on living, and if that means getting into a wheelchair so that we can do the supermarket shopping ourselves - or take our daughters to the mall, or go with out of town guests to the Smithsonian - well, I call that fighting back not giving in. And I call the efforts that Ivan is making to bring PD into tbe public arena - nothing short of heroic, and deserving of the highest praise and more than that, deserving of our total commitment and support! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Well > I don't mean to be a party pooper but some times things just have to be > said. Craig 60/2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You said your say, I said mine! Hilary Blue (49/16)