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You may be surprised that your sad face prodded a little boy to be curious and, therefore, caused his granny to reflect on your words. Maybe the granny has come across others who are, also, suffering from PD or other illness and this was the "straw" that moved her into educating herself about PD. Teresa, Daughter of Mama (57/43/38) -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Elizabeth Leslie Sent: Saturday, June 12, 1999 1:11 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: ... ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE ... of a VERY sad face. While I think I'm slowly - a la bradykinetic mode <g> - coming to terms with the strange face that often confronts me in the mirror, I was totally unprepared for this exquisitely poignant experience recently that left me feeling unspeakably down for days. I was in a crowded department store restroom in the city, standing drying my hands, when I heard a little voice say " ... a VERY sad face." I looked down and there was a little boy of about 5 (under 6-yr old boys aare permitted in women's restrooms here) looking up at me. He looked frightened, but nodded 'yes' when I asked him if it was my face he was talking about. So I told him gently that I have a disease that sometimes makes it hard for me to smile, and said something pretty hollow about being 'happy on the inside' - obviously a lie because close to end-of-dose and tired, as well as being acutely 'touched' by the child's need to 'speak what he saw' I was struggling against tears. His granny was very apologetic, saying "there's nothing quite like the brutal honesty of a child". She thanked me for not taking offence, and I asked her if she'd use the incident to teach her grandchildren about PD ... I hope she did, but she probably knows very little anyway. I cried on/off for about 2 days aafter this incident, but the strange thing is that looking back on it I realise I'd found myself - not for the first time - in the ironic position of comforting and reassuring others over what was clearly an 'injury' to me ... like immediately post-dx when, to my huge surprise, I spent a lot of time comforting distressed family and friends. On reflection, this reaction is healthy because it forces me to step out of my own immediaate anguish, but it puzzles me too. Is it just a female response? do we revert to some innate nurturing role in situations like this? Do blokes feel/do it too? I wanted to post about this earlier, but to be truthful it just hurt too much. So thanks Sandy and Barb for opening a space I feel OK enough in to air it - Sandy for what you say about eyes ... reminding me that my friends often remark on the light and life in my eyes ... and Barb for reminding me of something I know but don't always remember - that facial expression can be as much a matter of habit as of mood/affliction. It's funny that in our far distant 'corners' of the globe we're playing the same games ... for some time I've been confronting people's gazes/stares with bold eye contact followed by whatever semblance of a 'dazzler' I can muster at the time, and it never fails to throw 'em ... but it's probably a fine line we stumble between being perceived as pleasant <:-)-ing> personages or as labile <g-ing> ... ? loons. :)s and <g>s to you all Beth Leslie 55/52/?40 Fremantle Western Australia