Columns

I discovered this quote a while ago and found it to be inspiring: “It is impossible to be satisfied with existence once you have tasted purpose.” When you have Parkinson’s disease, it can sometimes feel as if you’re merely existing and no longer have a purpose.

Sometimes, I beat myself up when something goes wrong in my life. I convince myself that if I had only done it this way instead of that way, things may have turned out so much better. Or, if I had only said something different, I might have been more helpful.

Sunlight bounces its way through the swaying birches, projecting a shadow picture show on the lawn and garden shed. A light wind causes the fluttering leaves to sing in unison like waves on the shore. A family of hummingbirds — we have given all of them names now — take…

I thought I knew what to expect. But I was hoping that the first opinion was incorrect — that they had missed something or seen something that wasn’t there. I drove on, the second opinion soon to come. Entering through the sliding…

It is raining in southern Oregon. Do you know what’s good about so much rain? Things stay green all year long. It might seem depressing, but not today. Today, it’s raining, and though I have Parkinson’s disease, it’s a beautiful day. The birds are singing. Nothing keeps them…

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” wrote Henry David Thoreau while sitting on the edge of Walden Pond. We live in a post-9/11 world where income disparity threatens the pillars of well-being in democratic nations. Kings of the oligarchy are viewed as pallbearers to the…

Parkinson’s disease introduces challenges into your daily life. Tasks that were once second nature become more complicated when you’re managing symptoms like tremors and dyskinesia. Fortunately, product designers are coming up with simple, adaptive solutions that can make living with Parkinson’s a little easier. Introducing some adaptive products into…

My couch has seen better days. One of the cushions is beginning to unravel at the seams. We all know what unraveling is: A piece of thread that has held a seam together has worked its way loose. (This cushion has had a lot of help from dozens of different…

Many would find the book title “If I Can Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Why Can’t I Brush My Teeth?” intriguing. Few people, however, would understand its meaning.                                   Nan Little, author of…

“Fun” is an F-word that doesn’t have a strong history in our home. My partner and I are from the “nose to the grindstone, make it happen, pursue the American dream” generation. Oh, and we try to live up to the adage “Become the change you wish to see in…