September 5, 2014

It’s About Access

A local B&B recently turned away a service dog and handler, refusing to give them a room for the night. Kudos to another handler, Lynne Emerson, for making the incident an opportunity. Rather than a How Could You Turn Away a Service Dog and His Handler glass-half-empty reaction, here is the glass-half-full response: How Would You Like a Brochure? Lynne pulled it together and I got to help (with both sides of my brain: words and art!). Feel free to print this out this two-sided, three-fold piece to educate local businesses, innkeepers, police staff, schools, family, friends. Ignorance is not bliss.
July 25, 2014

Playing Around

If all the world’s a stage, I’d like to be the playwright. I would begin by rewriting some classic scripts to bring the world of Parkinson’s to the stage. Romeo & Juliet: O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy diagnosis and refuse thy meds; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be without a tremor. and Hark, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is getting up to pee again. Hamlet: To DBS or not to DBS? That is the question. Whether it is nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of on and off times or to take arms against a sea of dyskinesia? Death of a Salesman: Willie Lowman’s name would change to Willie Slowman. Grease: Lyric shift in the Frankie Avalon Beauty School scene: Dopamine dropout, no normal movement for you. The Wizard […]
July 14, 2014

Vested Interest

At times, Sir Thomas and I practice a task we haven’t done together in a while. Weeks can pass, for example, without the need for Tommy to back up. Reverse is not a natural gear for canines but service dogs learn to maneuver hindquarters first into tight spots – think sizeable dog and non-handicapped restroom stall or a busy cafe with one booth open and nowhere for him to go but under it.The only way in is backwards. If we forget to practice, I’d need to find a roomier bathroom and pass on that pastry. Practice, or what I call Reminder Training, is part of being a team. We work together. And sometimes it is hard work, but again, it’s all part of the partner package. When I’m out grocery shopping or in line at the post office and people remark on Tommy’s training, I’m still caught by surprise. A question I frequently hear is, How long did it take?  I typically smile and respond that […]
June 5, 2014

Mayan Crossroad

  My friend, Cindy, got me thinking. In her blog about living with Parkinson’s (http://peoplewithparkinsons.com/), she concludes, “Until there is a cure, there is community.” I have to agree with her. While I’d welcome a cure to this disease, I’d not trade its gift of community. Paths that would not have otherwise intersected have brought me to delightful crossroads with people. Through this community, I’ve laughed with lawyers, danced with dentists and made dear friends with retired veterans, college professors and MBAs alike. When the world’s bad guys seem to be winning or the cure on the horizon is a mirage, this community brings me back. They get it. They care. They remind me that plenty of people wear white hats, not black. When my path intersected with the Service Dog Project and Sir Thomas, it wound up at a crossroads with dog lovers across the globe, a community full […]