A Couple Weeks in the Life - The Things We Do When We Drift Away

1. I've been compensating a lot lately. I find myself leaning on the car door to get out of the car, and I tend to feel like I need a wider berth while walking through crowds. This was a big issue at the West Reading Arts on the Avenue shindig. Here, I find time in fine china shops and big crowds to be things I want to limit my time in. I don't want to avoid things altogether, but I do feel more rigidity in my left leg (hence a need to talk in wide open places more). At points, it feels like I'm wielding a cement boot on my left foot. Add to this dystonia cramps in my toes (they get stuck in their own claw position), and you get a recipe for procession to the next level.

And speaking of toes, why is it that it's 90-100° outside and I need a blanket over my cold feet?!!

Additionally, I find my hands and arms occasionally snapping, right before bed, in the dyskinesia punch drunk ballet. Let's just say that this isn't too fun.

This is a perfect time to plug hyperhidrosis' evil ways. If you're a Parkie, that sweat has a name, and it's dangerous. Drink lots of water, stay in the A.C., and avoid the heat. Your health is paramount. If you have to be outside, seek shade and limit your time in the heat. Sunscreen is your friend.

This is also a time to go on the Lyme disease / avoid ticks warpath. Lyme does a lot of things to the body that PD does. That's why it's called the Great Imitator.

2. Simply put, you may just want to go to Primanti Brothers' (A Pittsburgh area thing, pushing east) and have a huge pretzel with lots of garlic sauce as an appetizer before their unique burgers (fries and cole slaw + meat on Ptalian bread slices).

3. If you have no Primanti Brothers, just go play with the puppies at the mall. You both need the opportunity for mellow times.

4. It's always a good season for the flowers, though you better look quickly because they tend to dry up fast in the excessive heat of this time of year.

5. Just remember, no matter what befalls you in life, you're a good person. People may not always get what is going on in your life, so this, to me, is why it's important to talk about it. I wrote about that HERE for www.parkinsonsdisease.net , which features a lot of good writers. Check them out, and keep wishing fellow Parkie Allison "Perky Parkie" Smith a speedy recovery, which you can read about on her blog.

6. A few weeks ago, I got to see my cousin David and his daughter Alexis for the first time in forever. A few nights later, I finally got to meet up with my friend Pete (from Texas) to meet his wife Elsa and her daughter. It felt great to catch up with everyone, but sadly, there's never enough time to do all that we need to. Here's to next time, all!

If this were just family and friend get togethers, then this would be inconsequential, but just like the 72nd birthday family get together we had for my aunt last Saturday at the Cracker Barrel, there's something about feeling the love and support of family and friends (from both directions).

There's also something to be said for people who support us in our efforts to be more. For this, it's great to include all of them on Team Parkinson's Dan (as well as my appearance on Team David and Team Pete).

If you'd like to do your part to be a part of Team Dan, please consider GOOGLE +1 ing me, following this blog, or liking my Facebook page. Likes and follows might not seem like a big thing until a movie decides to cast Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez, but interest plugs a website, too. Additionally, my Facebook page is the way a lot of my posts get sent out when they're not directly Parkinson's related or too philosophical / theological. Obviously, I don't post everything on every page, but I do try to express me in a lot of different ways.

8. In the past two weeks, the following posts went out:

THE 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MY FIRST PARANORMAL BOOK RELEASE - COMPLETE WITH FREE BOOKS. There will be an additional date for Eureka in Flames when my revisions get squared away.

RETURN FROM  ENGLAND / BURY ST. EDMUND'S DAY - LIGHTHOUSE DREAMS WITH LOTS OF BRITISH PHOTOS. I was writing this for a lighthouse magazine, but I didn't think it would go anywhere... until I got 2300 hits in 23 hours. The main thought... don't think. Apparently, people really like it. Who knew.

FAITH / BELIEF / SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS BASED ON AN ESSAY I WROTE.

30 THINGS I BELIEVE.

I don't claim to be an expert on theology, but here's my take based on my experiences.

INDEPENDENCE DAY - 60 YEARS SINCE MY GRANDPA MANNY DIED AND THE MOVIE INDEPENDENCE DAY. This features a really funny list of my takeaways 22 years after the movie was released.

GETTING OBITUARIES RIGHT AND WRONG - RESPECTING THE DEAD. Yeah, some people get it right. Other people sell how a person with Parkinson's choked on a piece of steak while not mentioning aspiration pneumonia and swallowing issues. It's all just cheap clickbait.

THE CLIP SHOW - MY GREATEST HITS. A good starter page to spread the word.

FINDING A MODERATE VOICE IN AN INSANE POLITICAL GLADIATOR BRAWL. Kicking politicians out of restaurants sounds cool until we see the tit for tat hatred both sides play. Calmer heads. Rational discourse. Please.

9. Things are getting more and more right with the new Yaris in that it's looking like my Yaris. Hence, the reappearance of the "I love my wife" sticker.

10. If you're a fan of waterfalls, and I am, please check out this FACEBOOK PAGE. There's a lot of great New York Falls. Many can be found at Ithaca, Letchworth, and Watkins Glen. You can find them all here. Gracias for the sticker Ed!

11. The night herons of Ephrata are still alive and well!

12. Sandals Jamaica... the meaning of life is a mix of beautiful scenery, romantic togetherness, incredible weather, no kids, all-inclusive luxuries. Everyone deserves them at least once. I'm just saying. Granted, life doesn't always work out that way, but if you can, you should. I can't imagine being able to stay for a week in an above the water hut, but we can always dream. I'm dreaming.

Have a great one everyone! Thanks for reading my thoughts and story!

10 Thoughts to Change the Negative to Positive

The past few weeks at Chateau Glass have been rough. First, we've finally been getting out of the hospitalization issues (pneumonia and hypoxia) that early winter gave us and getting ready to go through the sleep apnea stuff (my machine becomes mine at 3pm today).

Then, we have the fact that every day with Parkinson's is a challenge, so yeah.

Sometimes, not even a cheesesteak can solve that.

Work has been busy for both of us, and juggling other issues of life with it, yeah... it's definitely a challenge.

With that, my wife had to have on the spot gallbladder surgery, which saw her miss 11 days of work. Yes, she's better now, but that smarts both of us (the patient, the caregiver, and the extended family support team). Fortunately, she had minimal surgery (on the left) and was in and out the same day.

Then, on Sunday, I got into a car accident that destroyed my beloved Yaris. Fortunately, both the guy driving the other truck (a Dodge Ram) and I were OK, though I'm shook up and sore on the left side. All things considered, so much of it could have been worse. My car, officially-named the Macho Dude, took the hit squarely and kept me safe. The Yaris takes a lot of abuse, but I loved mine.

Unfortunately, it "died" in order to keep me safe.

Before the accident, it gave me 251,000+ miles. My mechanic at Meineke said it owed me nothing. I would have liked 50,000 more miles, but life happens the way it does for a reason.

So I got another Yaris and went to 2016 (I had 2007), and while it's not new, it's new to me. I'm still thinking of a name for it.

We can contemplate being in the book of Jobs (see quote above) or the Book of Job (even though it's Biblical, it is taught in literature classes as well - essentially, why does the universe / God test good people with bad situations), or we can focus on the good things in life and stay as strong as possible while we work it all out.

Like I always say about my wife and me: "We'll get through. It's what we do."

If we don't stop to see our good opportunities in the midst of life, we might miss the chance to make someone else's life better.

One of my greatest do-overs in life would be to sing Christmas carols for Laney, a local girl who died on Christmas day a few years ago. Many people came to do it. It was national news. Even Taylor Swift played a part. At the time, I didn't investigate the story more because I didn't realize it was only 25 minutes away. It's a very life-affirming story, and now they have a small memorial to her gentle spirit. However, I was so caught up in me that I didn't see what I could do for someone else.

Regret, regret, regret.

So with that, I give you this week's list of things to stay half full and optimistic in spite of our own issues.

#1) Never give up an opportunity to give a real or metaphorical Toyota "Oh, what a feeling" jump when the opportunity presents itself.

#2) Get your family involved in your life. In this case, my mom did a Parkinson's walk with me a few weeks ago.

#3) Count yourself lucky when your family stands with you and supports you through tough times.

#4) Cherish your memories of family.

#5) Live vicariously through young people. Encourage, inspire, and educate them while having fun with them or supporting their fun.

#6) Look at the stars in wonder of how small whatever is in our life really is.

#7) Sit outside and let the world drift by at the fireplace.

#8) When life gives you night herons, stop to admire them and take their pictures.

#9) 1 word - massage.

#10) Take time to smell the flowers, especially the tulips, which are the official flower of Parkinson's Awareness. These pictures are from my wife's garden.