Hi Everyone..We have been in the midst of some mild weather, so I went out in my boat on Wednesday and dug some shellfish for the house..It was nice to get out there, and exercise a bit..I was aching the next day..Today I worked out in the yard, as Ive got alot of work to catch up on out there..Ive been thinking on selling the house in about a year or so, and get something smaller, easier to maintain, and more economical to run

I sat down with the lawyer on Tuesday, and signed all the paperwork to wrap up my Mom's estate, and we go to court on the 24th, to finalize it..Finally!

And some exciting news from the R.I. APDA Chapter Board of Directors, which I am a member of..I got this e-mail from our Community Outreach Director:...

Quote:

The GOOD News>>> save the date of February 27th. Valient Pharmaceutical's Heidi Shack Millea is working on a morning event in RI with Lonnie Ali. She is looking in to the Providence Marriott from 9am to 11am with a private meet and greet starting at 8:30 for our prominent selected guests. That would be you. So save the date...more info to follow.

Lonnie Ali is Muhammad Ali's wife..I wonder if he will be there too?..This is exciting!!..What an honor it is to have the opportunity to meet them!

How was your week?

Congratuations Steve,

I thought Lonnie was Mr. Ali's daughter. Duh!!

Will you have to give a speech? I suppose you are getting pretty good at them by now.

Our weather is very mild also. Today we start rehearsals this year with the music group. I received my copy of Oliver Sack's newest book, "Musicophilia." What I like a bout his style of writing is rather than overwhelm you with scientific terminology, he tells stories of patients who lives were changed after some kind of neurological experience (like a seizure, brain surgery, etc) and suddenly experienced some unusual reaction to music either by stimulation or desire and talent for it. It looks to be a good read!

Hope everyone is doing well. Talk at you later!

Peace to you,
Vicky

No Vicky..No speeches..Thank God!....The R.I. APDA board members just got an invitation to meet her

Steve,

Lonnie has a commanding presence on her own. She has some type of relationship with Valient. Valient just came out with something but I forget right now without looking it up. Ritigotine maybe? One of the new ones.

i met her a couple of times. She is impressive.

Coincidentally, the daughter, forget her name too, just wrote a children's book about PD, which is what Carolyn's thread is about.

paula

Laihla Ali/ she was on dancing with the stars. now gladiators. here is her site.

http://lailaali.com/

After a little rain and some temps in the low 40's, (our version of winter), we're back to normal with daytime highs in the 70's and lots of sun. Life is tough is SoCal...

Been busy finishing up my first semester as a Professor. Lots of work. It was challenging to teach and attempt to multi-task, which I really have trouble with. I'd come home from teaching class and just be physically exhausted, but I loved the experience. Unfortunately, I have to cut back and teach only one class this coming semester because it's just too much for me, but at least I get to do one!

Lost my balance a few weeks ago, fell down, and ended up fracturing a bone in my foot. It's a long way down when you're 6'4" and not expecting it! I think it was far more damaging emotionally than physically but I'm moving forward the best I can. I can still work the gas pedal just fine on my "beast" so I'm a happy camper. Life is pretty good...

Decided to head to PAN again this year. Looking forward to seeing old friends and seeing if I can top my experience from last year, where I ended up helping one of my Senator's write an op-ed piece that got a lot of press. Should be fun...

And to clarify the Ali thing...

Lonnie's campaign is with Valeant Pharmaceuticals, who make Zelapar. The campaign can be found at www.fightformore.com and is focused on the caregiver perspective.

Laila Ali didn't write the children's book "I'll Hold Your Hand So You Won't Fall: A Child's Guide To Parkinson's Disease". It was written by another Ali daughter, Rasheeda Ali.

Laila was on Dancing With The Stars, and now co-hosts America Gladiator and is involved with supporting PD and her father in numerous ways, as are the rest of the Ali family.

And so that concludes today's Ali family lesson. Pop quiz coming soon...

Have a great week everyone!

See? It's never long before an expert comes in for just about everything.

I'm recharged for the new year after a break that i badly needed. Several of us from the Pipeline Project were interviewed by Forbes magazine for the Andy Grove article. Pd project wasn't mentioned, but we corresponded with Kerry Dolan, author and senior editor in Silicon Valley and a few of Andy Grove's assistants.

Grove and Mike Fox think and act like we do only they have lots of money...lol; they are working hard and I'm just glad that we were involved at all. They can deliver the message and the goods.

I would encourage people to go to this article and write a comment. Now is your opportunity to say how you feel in Forbes.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0128/070.html

When I told my doctor we were interviewed by Forbes she asked, "are you rich?" I said, "No, they put poor people in there too."

Looks like they don't ......
comments please!

paula

Hello stevem53 -
You have been out in your boat, fishing . What is it like to move in your boat to sail or surf on sea, on water, through the waves ?
It must be nice to move without walking or running, so peaceful -.

Annelise

Hi Annelise..Other than the exercise, and the peace and serenity of the being out on the river..I think what means the most to me, is another day of personal triumph over Parkinsons Disease

Just a note to say I'm here and doing fine. January is not only the first month of the year, it is the top of the list for most unalive month as well. The sky is grey, the days are short and the bills are high! Don't drown in the ocean of January!

Vicki - let us know how you like the Oliver Sacks book. I have read a lot of his stuff and he is always a great read. He talked a lot about music at the Washington conference and finds the whole interaction between music and the brain incredibly intrigueing (sp?). We need to pay attention when anyone see's light in this dark tunnel.

Time to go find the day... cheers to all J.