December 25, 2010. Father and Son

I don't celebrate Christmas. So I took the bus into the CIty to visit my mother, who like me does not celebrate Christmas.

The Buses and the street of the City are empty. It gave me a lonely feeling. I enjoy the crowds in the City. As I approached my Mom's home, I saw an old Schwinn Suburban.



As I've said before, my dad sold Schwinns. He might have been the only Jew to have a Schwinn franchise. Schwinn was not exactly friendly to the Jews.



The Suburban was the same frame as the Varsity, which was the best selling bike in the world in the late sixties to early seventies. The differences being that the Surburban had 5 speeds, the Varsity 10, and the Suburban had the traditional saddle and handle bars. This Bike has not been manufactured for 30 years.



I've said this before, although I'm not particularly spiritual, but I like to think that when I see an old Schwinn, my Dad is saying hello to me. It immediately changed my mood.



My Dad was a special man. My Brother, Sister and I each had unique and very fulfulling relationships with him. I was saddened by his death, yet in a strange way was very happy to have such a man for my father.



He knew of my condition, before he died. At first I thought of concealing it, knowing that it made him feel worse than it made me feel, But such a thing was impossible. We all go through life with relationships that succeed and those that fail. I couldn't imagine how a relationship, between a father and son, could have been better than mine.

November 14, 2010

Recently when asked to describe PD, I said, " it's like Viagra having the desired effect on every other part of your body, except where it is aiming." That's a bad day. On a good day, I hardly notice the disease.

My dad lived his last 50 years with chronic Chron's Disease. He never complained. If the disease progresses, I hope to follow his example. Although I'm the least spiritual person that you'll ever know, I know somehow he'll let me know if I screw up. Whenever I see an old Schwinn Bike (Dad sold Schwinns) I feel like he's sending me a message. It's a comforting feeling.

I was advised that I would experience certain effects as the disease progressed. One of them is a general slowness. It takes about 20 minutes longer to get ready in the morning I eat slower, I walk slower, I type slower. It's not always bad. There are certain things, that are best when done slower. For just a moment there, many women were having a fantasy about me. I knew that this day would finally come. It wasn't easy being a stud, when nobody else knew about it!

I do digress!!

Back to the premise. I give each and every one of you the license, to tell me to count my blessings, if ever I start to complain.