Parkinson's is a neurodegeneratie disease that affects more than one million Americans.  We are not just in nursing homes pushed to the side in a wheel chair and and left to sleep the day through. There are people in their late twenties or early thirties that have this debilitating disease and more are showing up every year.  It knows no boundries, be you young or old , or rich or poor, You stand a chancre to have Parkinson's Disease and though you do not die from Parkinson's you will die with it..

The first walk was 14 years ago and with their 200 supporters they raised  $16,000 for research. Last year there were over 10.000 people there and we collected $1.8 million dollars.  God touched me that day in oh, so many ways and I made friends for life. I found myself happier than I had been for years. The smiles and tears just kept on coming and there was no project too extreme. 

So this is my challenge to you. visit the site www.unitywalk.org or info@unitywalk.org.  Call them @1-866-789-9255 ..Check it out and find my team.Patientslikeme. Make a donation and follow us to the end which is really a beginning.... love pokie

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..One night early this spring I blogged this story about Jack on my blog site http://justmeantiques.blogspot.com .

...I went to one of my favorite places tonight and a very special friend had left a poem behind for me to read.  Ordinarily I would have said, "That's nice," and went on to something else but as friends often do, he caught me off guard and this is the result:

Jack is a very intelligent, well educated man and his emotions run very deep, yet he has the aura of simplicity amidst extreme turmoil.  His question was this, "If only I was content with how things are." and it set forth a flood of emotions within me.  Just two words  had caught me at one of those rare moments when I knew just exactly what he was saying and my answer was,"me too Jack!"

I went to my granddaughters track meet today, no big thing for most but you either sit or stand at these events and since standing was out of the question, sit I must in the bleachers.  They motioned me on and I took a deep breath and grabbed an arm and made it up to the seventh row only to sit there the whole time and wonder how I would get back down.  When the time came, I had someone on both sides and we very caustiously went back down  the stairs while all around me I could hear the thought, "Gosh she has  gotten worse,"and you know what ,Jack., She has. You never know when start into one of these moods if it will be a free fall or just a stumble.  But for the first time I envied those who walked normal.  I could feel every step those runners took and I wanted to run too.  I wanted youth and all it's unabandoned freedom.  I did not want the responsibility of this disease.  I wanted to fly.  I can only hope that when my time comes my Lord let's me fly....thanks for coming back Jack.

Now several month later it is almost fall and my friend Jack has disappeared in cyberspace.  He called me unexpectantly one Saturday afternoon and I have never heard from him since.  My emails do not come back but they are never answered and I can only wonder if his family has stepped in to his life very strongly......Hang in there Jack, I miss you.......Pokie

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