May 23, 2011. Fuhgettaboutit

I did something today, that I hadn't done before, and I swore that I wouldn't do. I relied upon the Parkinson's to ask a favor of somebody.

In April I had filed, via Federal Express an Estate Proceeding in Surrogate's Court Kings County. I did it via Federal Express, because, 1) I hate Brooklyn Courts, 2) I hate this Brooklyn Court, 3) I had no time to waste a half of a day dropping it off. Big Mistake.

I has heard nothing from the court so i called them. As of 2 weeks ago, the clerk said that it hadn't made it to their office yet, but if I came down, they'd look for it. Fuhgettaboutit!!

I finally went down there today. Went in every wrong direction after getting off of the F Train. You see, one of the byproducts of this disease, seems to be, that I have lost any sense of direction. If I could run I could star in the Monty Python comedy skit which featured a marathon for people with no sense of direction. They all went in different directions.

"No, no, it was the 100-yard dash for people with no sense of direction. The long-distance run was the Marathon For Incontinents, featuring runners constantly dropping into the bushes alongside the road."

So by the time I got to Court, I was sweating profusely. Another attractive aspect of Parkinson's Disease. It takes me so long to empty my pockets and I was sweating so much that the cop at the metal detector, must have suspected that I was hiding drugs, so he made me take off my belt. Now I also have to worry about my pants falling down.

I get to the clerk's office, and the clerk says, "I don't have it." He indicated that it would turn up, but that there was no way to look for the file.

I finally broke down and said, "It's very difficult for me to get here. I have Parkinson's. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated."

Although he did not find the file, he did spend the next half looking for it, gave me his name and said that he'd continue to look. The clerk indicated that this was not unusual and that the file would turn up.

That trip may not sound like much, in fact a couple of years ago, I would have made the trip and been back on Long Island by 10:30, but I'm exhausted. I don't think that I did anything wrong. I wasn't trying to elicit sympathy. I was just trying to get some help from a nice man.