hey woman! glad to see your name here again. been a long time. take care.

Toadie,
Yes I remember you. You were really helpful to me, making good suggestions re: side effects, etc. What I remember the most was your honesty about issues re: PD & other areas relating to the reality of living with the disease, etc. Hope you're doing well! Wonderful photos!
Mari

I dooo remember yooo, do you remember me?

Mouse

hi pam, thelma, mari, charlie, my lady lower case lil - miss paula, and miss peggy- i remember when you sat on toad's hand by accident,lol

awwwww it's so good to hear from you, ann and greg, are yall still writing books?

hey harley, do ya still have your 78 super glide?


i'm sorry vicky, greg d and mouse, my memory sucks


well let's see i suppose a re-introduction on my basics may be in order.

i graduated high school at 17, went in the army for 4 years.

i started out with a tremor in my right hand in november of 1990 in my second quarter of drafting and design school.

i was 26, my kids were 6 and 8 years old, when, i was formally diagnosed with parkinson's disease in july 21, 1991


i'm not really sure that they ever remember me being well. i don't believe it had adverse side effects on them, but, it gave them a different view of life. the kids tend to be be more tolerant, accepting and patient of differences in others.

awww well, my right hand kinda shorted out, after 3-4 years, so to speak, so i learned to use my left hand. my kids were fussy and liked eating on a regular basis.

my brother was 39 when he died of 2 avm type aneurysms, 8 january 1999. i was researching aneurysms and avms, when i stumbled upon the pd forums at mgh.

i didn't know anyone my age group with pd, i had been excluded or turned out of pd support groups in the mid 1990's.

i had quietly soldiered on.

i was about 34, my brother;s death made me realize life was too short and precious, so i took a safety course and bought my harley. put 7000 miles on it my first year. 9 years after i was diagnosed with pd.

ohhhh it was so grand.

my ole man had bought a harley 99 superglide and once we got the kids up on their bikes, we were quite happy taking family rides through out northern new york and canada .

jenni had a yamaha 535 virago and her shiney purple leather jacket. chris had a 450 honda. the kids both sounded like mosquitoes revving their engines, evinrudes, within the safety net between me and their dad. our 2 harleys (hogs) did and would set off car alarms with their own wild loud calls.

ann and greg came to visit and i remember ann's happy face when she sat on my bike, i didn't think her smile could get bigger until i started it. ann was rolling on the throttle making all kinds of LOUDER than brooklyn, potato noises



at any rate, i have many smiles, people and miles of memories that have eased the tougher times since.

I think you and I met on either Carolines Porch Talk or the dumpster gang. Like you I don't beleive my children remembering me as I was before PD.
I am glad you are doing well. I am glad to hear your family is intact and well. I believe you and I may have had disagreements on research, but respected your views.

Hope to see more posts from you in the future.

i don't remember being on the dumpster gang or caroline's porch at all

however, i would be not be too surprised that i would have had disagreements with anyone.

when i was working full-time, i tried to continue expecting high performance function, despite my condition. i had maxed out all the daily recommended levels of sinemet, comtan, and mirapex. i didn't eat because food interfered with my meds effacy. my mother said i hadn't slept a full night, since i was 3 months old, i cat napped or slept about 12 hours a week.

i was medically retired at 36.

it took me a year to titrate down off all of those heavy duty doses.

at any rate, i was 40, before i slept all night.

after all that, i found that i like to eat and sleep, it's pleasant, although i'm more chunky than i used to be, i feel much better at 45.


it's a wonder i could stand myself, back then, at times.

Toadie, I remember you. I was not a regular poster on this forum (I am bipolar), but I sometimes used to check out some information for a friend.
I used to specially read all your posts.

I feel like Dorothy waking up after her adventures in Oz, and seeing all these old familiar faces. "You couldn't forget a face like this could you," says Huck (a.k.a. the Cowardly Lion). All the names have faces or personalities that I will remember as long as I live. And yours, Toady, is right up near the front. As AJ said a few days ago, it's important for me to remember that just when you think someone has disappeared into another part of their life, or sunk below the surface altogether, they bob back up and say howdy. Well howdy partner. It's good to have snapshots of your life these days, and to remember the old names and old times that we all shared together.

One of the memories I keep closest to my heart, along with you attending our wedding after a 1000 mile journey that you never should've taken (but God bless you for doing it), is you and I and AJ sitting in the hayloft of your barn and talking way into the night. It was cold and AJ was nodding in and out of sleep as we talked. We could look out from where we were sitting and see your big backyard and a sky filled with stars. We smoked cigarettes (bad Greg) and looked out over the fields as we talked and talked. Funny how certain moments just stick with you like a photograph.

After years of being a "tough guy" when it came to emotions and tears, I find lately (to my great relief) that feelings come to the surface more easily now. Maybe it's just growing a little older and maybe a little wiser, but it's nice to be able to get what needs doing done, while still being able to have things touch my heart. Like hearing from an old friend who is probably thinking right now "well, the more some people think they've changed..." .

Anyway, it was great to see your name on the board. I hope to see it again sooner than later.

Drive safely (yeah right!), your friend,

Greg