Unexpected mitzvot

I'm looking for input here, a name to call the act of bestowing unexpected charity or good will on another individual. Some names that have been suggested: Surprise Mitzvah; Unexpected Gift; Drive By Charity; Mitzvah of the Moment. I'm looking for something short and catchy. Here's what happened that made me consider this subject. I was driving back from dropping off the rest of my son's "stuff" at college. I was exhausted to the point where I was truly afraid I might fall asleep at the wheel and to make matters worse the traffic was heavy with the usual number of trucks, everyone was driving at least 70+, and no sooner would I enter the left lane to pass when I would notice a huge SUV loom in my rear view mirror mere inches from my tail apparently trying to run me off of the road. It was stressful driving to say the least and exhaustion didn't help. I decided to stop at the Pink Cadillac Diner for a dose of caffeine and possibly some food, remembering that I had eaten only a bagel and it was now almost 5pm.

I sat down at a booth in the "Elvis Room" and looked at the specials and the regular menu. I was groggy from driving and from exhaustion and my eyes just flitted from one part of the menu to another as if with no ability to focus on any one item. The waitress was standing very patiently waiting for me to make up my mind; she looked tired too but a different kind of tired than that which I was feeling, more of a resigned to life kind of tired. She was understanding when I told her that I had been driving and needed a few minutes to collect myself and decide what I wanted. She came back again, I ordered a coke. When she returned she asked if I was ready or did I need some more time. She seemed kind and sympathetic and willing to be patient with my indecisiveness. In the end, I ordered only soup and a fresh from the oven homemade apple crisp with vanilla ice cream which was out of this world delicious. But, the check didn't amount to much and the waitress had been very understanding. And I realized that she couldn't make much money from this job and my dollar bills would mean more to her than to me. So, on the spur of the moment I decided to give her a larger than average tip. Not huge, but 40% instead of 20. I just left the bills on the table. No note, no explanation. I did hope she noticed before stuffing them into her pocket but it was ok if she did not. (Jewish law says that anonymous giving is the highest form of charity, and when both the donor and recipient are unknown to each other is even better.)

I suggest that for our own souls and for those of others that we practice random acts of charity regularly. What shall we call these acts? Send me your suggestions.

A Sad Day for Parkinson's Community

Today has not been a good day for me, I walked into the dentist office (walking is a kind description of the shuffling motion that i was making with my legs) and started to cry as soon as the hygienist asked me how i was doing today. My office is a mile away and yet I could barely drive from one to the other, I was so exhausted and my movements were leaden. My medications have not been behaving lately, I've had some unwanted symptoms and the wearing off symptoms have been more frequent of late. Of course, it doesn't help that I often forget to take my meds on schedule when I'm at the office and busy. And, the stress at work lately has taken a toll as well.

So, the day was already going poorly and then was made even more painful by two news items that I found in my inbox late today. The first one makes me so angry that I'm afraid that I'm not going to be terribly coherent here. To see the full article, click the link of the blog title. But, here's the gist: " A U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction on Monday stopping federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research...". What!? Why don't people understand? Why did we have to wait all the way through the inane Bush presidency and his ruling against stem cell research, finally hear from Obama that the ban was lifted, and NOW we have to fight all over again?! Don't the dissenters understand that these embryos are destined for the garbage anyway? Should women collect their monthly unfertilized eggs and bury them properly, should teenage boys be arrested for masturbating and "wasting" potential babies?! What is wrong that we value a collection of cells more than the potential to save millions of lives by doing research with these cells to find a cure for some of our more deadly diseases? And, no, adult stem cells are not as effective in studying certain diseases, specifically neurological diseases. See the CAMR, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, web site, http://www.camradvocacy.org/, for an understanding of the differences between adult (multipotent) stem cells and embryonic (pluripotent) stem cells. If you have or have a loved one with Parkinson's Disease, Altzheimer's Disease or other related diseases, please write a letter to your local newspaper or contact your federal congressional representatives to protest this action and support the President's lifting of the ban. These people opposing this research are the same who refuse to believe the facts, they make up their own reality and then insist that we live in their world. A world where evidence of the truth makes no difference in what they believe. Please, my life and the lives of my children, might depend on this!

The second piece of news, icing on the cake of a very bad day, is that the FDA is investigating Stalevo for possible connection to cardiovascular problems found in some patients who are taking the drug. It is a form of sinnemet with an additional component called entacapone. I take the drug and I have been experiencing tightness in my chest and sometimes pain. It's been suggested that I have acid reflux (Likely that I do) or anxiety (probably not) and that either might be the cause of my problems. No one has suggested drug side effects, why not?

I am verging on ranting and I do apologize, but, as I said, it has been a very bad day.

One morning in Maine

I woke up before the sun today, both bedroom windows were open and the chilly night air filled the room. I huddled further under the blankets and quilt to get warm. You guessed it, I am not in Virginia, did the chilly air give it away? I am in Maine staying with an old friend (we've known each other a long time but neither of us is old, of course!) who recently bought a home on the water. We brought our kayaks with us, and they sit by the water waiting for us to go for another paddle around the cove. I got up early, 6ish, and walked to the water through the wet grass, ferns sparkling with dewdrops in the morning light. It's a long walk to the water and i hadn't had my meds but I managed to get there and inch my way down the slope to the rocky beach. Fortunately there is a rope tied to a tree that I hang onto and helps with the descent. The tide was still low but not the lowest I've seen it, presumably it was on its way in. The larger rocks were still dry enough to sit upon, I found one in the sun where I could watch the mist rising off of the water. I wished I had worn my long sleeved sweatshirt instead of a sleeveless fleece vest, my hands were freezing. I walked around on the rocks for a bit, did a little Tai Chi and yoga to warm myself up, watched the sea birds getting ready for the day, and searched for shells and rocks to collect. I found a small horseshoe crab shell and a few colorful mussel shells. I saw some seaweed hanging from a tree branch and wondered how it had gotten there. I also wondered if I would be able to walk back up to the house and, if not, whether anyone would notice I was missing and come looking for me anytime soon. No worries, awkward though my strides were, I made it back just fine. The mornings in Maine are delightful.

Parkinson's and Meditation

I listen to National Public Radio daily but rarely catch the program "Speaking of Faith", but when I do I am almost always impressed. I often have what some call "driveway moments" where you've arrived home or at your destination but cannot get out of the car because you are so engrossed in the conversation emanating from the radio. This morning, rather yesterday morning, I listened to an interview with a professor of physics from Amherst College who spoke of his long time practice of western style meditation and its connection to his interest in science. He talked about his background and told the story of his early years as a college student; he had a less than stellar grade point average and a laissez faire attitude (and a D in physics) when a conversation with his then physics professor turned his attention to the study of Goethe and meditation. He learned to integrate the intellectual and spiritual aspects of his life and has practiced meditation for more than 30 years. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease a year ago and has some interesting comments about how meditation affects his symptoms and his perception of his disease. Click on the title for a link to the interview. I hope you enjoy it!

What's new at the Parkinson's Action Network (PAN)?

PAN has successfully completed a project with social security to enhance the understanding and definition of PD as it relates to the assessment for work related disability payments. The social security criteria for PD was outdated and not reflective of current research and understanding of the disease. It has been brought up to date and social security now has new guidelines. And, there is a form that you can download and complete, and share with your doctor, that will help Social Security and your health care team track and report your PD symptoms for the disability assessment process. In fact, download a few forms and take them to your doctors the next time you go, they may have other patients that might be interested.

On June 24th PAN will host an interactive webcast called Emerging Therapies, From Microscope to Marketplace, the time is 2:00pm - 4:30pm. See the website for additional details.

Honor the fathers in your life by planting a virtual tulip in PAN's tulip garden by donating to a good cause. See the website.

Take a look at the PAN website, link above in the title of this post, for more information.

A life well lived and other musings

I learned a lesson or three today, the most important that a life well lived leaves room for no regrets when it's time to move on, and that death for some can be a celebration of life and a legacy of love for those still living. Geoff Becker taught his friends and family how to live life so that when the time comes to leave there is gratitude, love, laughter and tears but no regrets. It is not surprising that those people who leave large footprints in life do so also in death. What a world it would be if everyone took a lesson from Geoff; to give to others without sacrificing oneself, to work hard but still have fun, to strive for excellence in all that you do and remain modest about your accomplishments, to love another person steadily year after year and to still be 'in love', to do the same job year after year and still be productive and creative, to set an example for your children and the children of your friends with humor, to enable an auditorium full of family and friends to cry together and laugh together when you are no longer there to share the tears and laughter with them. Thank you Geoff, you wrote the book, and none of us is too old to learn from it.

I'm awake again..or still

I listened to a webcast yesterday, the topic was fatigue and sleep disorders related to Parkinson's Disease. And, here I am awake at 12:30 am in a hotel room, traveling on business. I need to be alert for a meeting tomorrow, fortunately it's not early so maybe I'll be able to sleep later than usual. the webcast was interesting and emphasized the non-motor symptoms of PD and the fact that they, more than the motor symptoms which define the disease, can be the real culprits responsible for day to day misery and low quality of life. I recently visited the neurologist and my primary complaints were fatigue and sleep disturbance. She focused on my sleep problems, which in truth only bother me about 2 or 3 times a week, the rest of the nights I sleep ok. I realized that I can be incredibly fatigued regardless of the amount of sleep I got the previous night, whereas if I did have a bad night's sleep I am invariably fatigued the next day as well. So, fatigue can occur alone whereas poor sleep always results in fatigue, a double whammy. I am still resistant to taking sleeping pills, though she continues to try to talk me into it, I will take melatonin which sometimes (rarely) works. i do all the other things I should do, exercise, no coffee after noon, not too much napping, etc.

I'm tired of that topic (no pun intended). On to more joyful topics. Our wedding was wonderful: lots of good family and friend interactions. Family came from all over: my parents, sister and brother in law from Arizona; uncle and aunt from Colorado; more aunts and uncles from Baltimore; cousin from Boston; nephew-son from St Thomas; son from New York; and daughter from the universe, currently she is living in Puerto Rico. And, friends, both old and new ones came to celebrate. It was wonderful and I was exhausted for the entire week following the wedding. happily exhausted, but nonetheless devoid of any energy. I try to pace myself and plan but find it very hard to do, my energy level is so unpredictable and I don't like holding back when I'm feeling good just to "conserve" my energy. Sometimes I conserve with no discernible results. If I'm feeling good I'd just as soon do as much as I can when I can.