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hi all At 04:43 1999/04/01 -0600, joan wrote, in part: >To Mr Jim Cordy: Call it kismet, call it Divine Intervention (which >I prefer), or call it dumb luck: the fact that we were at a Chinese >Restaurant one day having lunch when our PD conversation was >overheard by a woman who understood & came over to introduce >herself as an artist whose show on PD had so affected me 4 yrs ago. >Call it what you will but, things took off from that point ... i call it grace m scott peck of 'the road less traveled' books does too and i believe that carl jung did as well it is everywhere i didn't see it much until i started looking for it >quote: "Parkinson's is a neurological disease which is neither >fatal, painful not contagious. Its symptoms are tremor (shaking), >rigidity, slow gait & a low, slurred speaking voice. It can cause >a gait & balance impairment which may resemble intoxication, but >is not. Judgment & vision remain unimpaired. These symptoms worsen >several times a day in an "on-off" cycle. I usually do not need >any special help , except with tasks requiring physical coordination >or strength. Thank you in advance for you help, understanding and >patience." ... >While this seems to be & probably is ok by some people - >I find it to be demeaning & downright false. ... i don't know if i think the a.p.d.a. card is false so much as just plain simplistic and i think it comprises an unnecessary apology by its very existence pd isn't fatal in and of itself [but hoo-boy! watch out for those 'complications'] we all have very different degrees of need for assistance [as do all the other non-parkies out there - yowza - what a concept] needing assistance is not something to be ashamed of; it is providing someone else with a golden opportunity >everytime that i get into & out of a car, writing checks, standing >when there are no seats around; and I'm sick of apologizing for not >being drunk!!! I find it demeaning to have to apologize every time >i make a phone call & must first apologize for my voice!!! ... why do you feel you have to apologise first? the heck with that idea! do you apologise for your eyecolour or your clothing when you meet people? noooooo! 1. What You See Is What You Get [if they don't like your lime green polyester jumpsuit, they can lump it] and 2. What You Hear Is What You Get [if they can't hear what you are saying, they can listen harder] >Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed >this night...but this really rattles my cage... my dear joan your messages always make me think... maybe you feel the need to apologise because the 'today' version of you is not 'as good as' the 'yesterday' version? maybe you still see pd and its changes as a loss and only a loss? i cannot see it as a loss it is an evolvement part of an ongoing unpredictable and uncontrollable growing process which is me i am discovering how special i am as a parkie here in ontario the 'disabled' label has a ton of positives going for it i say the words with pride i am entitled to income support i am entitled to employment support i am entitled to a handicapped sticker for my car i am entitled to 50% discount on my long distance phone bill i am entitled to support from my own community i am a living breathing contributing part of it in the same way [but different] as my neighbour is why does this concept surprise me? is it because i've been brain-stained into assigning 'worth' only to financial and material 'things'? am i considered a valuable citizen only if i 'make' money? i cannot feel the anger that jim refers to i cannot feel the resentment inherent in 'why isn't there more research money?' 'we should have had a cure by now!' that lack of resentment and anger does not mean that i feel no passion about our 'cause' or about us as sibling humans for me, resentment and anger are shackles around my feet and my mind and my joy who needs'em? with love janet janet paterson - 52 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada <http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm> [log in to unmask]