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In response to Jay's recent post: ....."If one is to consider the interviews impact on the Parkinson community, (the > whole scheme of things) well, this is the 2nd time I've seen the "Titanic > sink" this year!!!...........talk about rapid deflation! I'm getting stiff > and shaking just thinking about how counter-productive this interview will > be to our agenda, which is (or should be) to paint Parkinsons as the monster > it really is!".... I must say, that altho' I appreciate his feelings on this issue and can understand them perfectly, I must admit (and I think I've brought this up on the list here before, fully expecting that many here will disagree with me), I often personally find it hard to maintain the gloom and doom, or the tragic pd victim persona, which is needed to get public awareness and sympathy, not to mention, research funding for pd. Frankly, alto' pd really SUCKS big time in many ways, generally I tend to side with MJF's outlook, altho' I don't have the benefits of his lifestyle (yet) to ease the stress of finances, etc. Whenever I bring this up, I'm always careful not to belittle the efforts of those (including myself) who have put alot of time and effort into the battle vs PD (e.g., all of those who have laboured long and hard for the passage of the Udall Bill). I do sincerely appreciate their efforts. Sometimes tho', I feel very detached from all of this effort, especially when it involves alot of drama about the tragedy of life with pd. Left to my own devices, I would have certainly chosen some other path, than the one I'm now on, to provide the necessary environment and circumstances in which I was to learn my life's lessons. That was not to be, obviously. Not to soung pollyanaish, but overall, like MJF, even with pd, I still feel that life is good. Honestly, if my getting rid of pd were to also require that give up my poetry, one of the blessings that pd has brought me, I'm not so sure that I would do it in tha case. When I write letters to people, such as Oprah, elected officials, trying to get support and increase awareness for pd, I'm torn between painting this horrible, dramatic picture (which isn't my life at all), or trying to present myself more as someone, like MJF described himself, as someone who is "dealing" with it, and hopefully, even more than that, living a full life both because of and despite it.. Like he was saying that it wasn't exactly where he had always envisioned his life going, stil, he figured he'd go with the flow (and yes, it's not like we have alot of choice) and just see from there. Alot of that outlook lies behind the reasons for many of my pot-stirring posts. I want to purposely interject a more positive perspective into a discusssion topic that could quickly become very depressing. Not that I, by any means, am never depressed nor angry about this situation, but fighting back at it with a generally upbeat attitude, is one of the best strategies I can think of. Everytime pd tries to box me in a corner and wear me down, like a wild animal, that's when I bare my teeth and claws, and come back at it swinging. Sometimes my swings are in super slow mo' and other times they're all over the place due to dyskinesia, but I still swing anyway. One of these days, I'm gonna hit my target dead on, right where it hurts, and then maybe it'll think twice next time! Wendy Tebay