Parkinson's: A Poem by Paul T LaPrise

 Snarky Parky & me

Adventure With Parkinson's

Narrated by Nancy Mellon 

Blog Coordinated by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

“I Love Words More Than My Life”

Introducing

Paul T LaPrise

From the moment I found out he was an actor, I was interested in Paul. Bits of his conversations, hinted at his having done Shakespeare (As a high school student, I had made a goal to memorize all of Shakespeare. I did not succeed.)

It is not easy to hear what people are saying to each other in a zoom waiting room. There is usually, someone talking to a care partner in the background and there may be a TV or radio on in a couple of the houses. What we have in common is that we are all getting online to exercise with David or Jackie and we all have some sort of neurological disease. Most of us have Parkinson's. We are all there to make our lives better by exercising in a Total Health Works (THW): Easy Moving Class or a Brain and Body class.

I look forward to the 10-15 minutes before our THW classes start on zoom. We gather together to check in with each other and to tell jokes or offer word quizzes. Sometimes we give health tips. People share snippets of what is happening in their lives. We meet new people, find out where they are and hope to become friends. That is how I met Paul.

What an interesting man, Paul is. He spent 28 years being an actor and then becoming a teacher of actors. Then he shifted careers and moved into project management in Energy Reduction. (Which seems to me to be a rather astounding career shift.)

He has lived, all across our country, (and has stories to tell from each, though I have only heard a bit of some so far.) from San Francisco, California, to Boulder Colorado, to Houston, Texas, to Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C. To where he lives now, in Columbus, Ohio.

 Paul, who is retired , says he “reads avariciously,” (Yikes! I think he reads more than I do!) “gardens, and plays a little guitar on the weekends. He takes a dance class for Parkinson’s,” (that he loves) “writes poetry,” (Paul really loves poetry) “and works to stay in the moment.”

That' all, folks, all I know about Paul T LaPrise. (What does the “T” stand for Paul? I got the giggles coming up with middle names this morning- Paul Toledo LaPrise... Paul Taco LaPrise)

Cheers,

Nancy & the Snark

A poem by PTL

Complications

There is a weight,

That envelopes me

Not always, but at times.

Different from my

Regular miasma.

Soft, barely touching.

You forget it’s there.

Then it is, then again not,

But just barely.

Irritating at the least,

Offensive at worst.

It colors the mundane,

Imbues with schizophrenic

Lack of control, embosses by

Daily tremors,

And blankets you like foam

At the most unlikely moments.

However, and forever,

I have the Park.

It niggles at you

With the death of a thousand cuts,

And the torrential imbalance

Of neurological traps.

Dopamine is a fickle lover.

Fulfilled when you have her,

Devastated when not.

 

And what do I do?

I manage.

I add and delete from

Each opportunity.

I give where needed,

And take from surplus.

I balance all like

Old teeter-totters,

And move ahead.

Always ahead.