Voice. Listen with intent. Speak simply.

  • A Trip Through the Mountains

    Last Monday, I flew steadily west for most of the afternoon. Headed for Denver. For the Rocky Mountains. With my camera. It was one of those “strike while the iron is hot” moments, when the rest of life’s responsibilities are on hold while I walk through an open door. But let me back up a…

  • Joy vs. Murphy

    I’m fairly certain that the proverbial Murphy must have lived back during the time of the Egyptian plagues. You know – that guy who said something about bad things always happening at the worst possible time and in the worst possible way.  Well, that guy — the one they call “Murphy” – is the new…

  • Passion

    How is it that music knits us together, erasing barriers between souls, easing tensions, restructuring minds and emotions? How could a man, old enough to be my father, as tough as nails, bull-doggish in his approach to life, “untrained” in the fine art of music, a master in the world of banking and finance ……

  • “Reverend”

    It is a title we bestow on clergy, a form of address for those set apart as ministers or religious leaders, an identity for those who have found a servant towel with their names on it. And today, it is an official part of my identity. It has been part and parcel of my thinking…

  • Comfort

    I love the word, “Comfort.” I love being comfortable. And I am fascinated by the many guises it takes. It can come in the form of a first cup of coffee or hot tea, early in the quiet of the morning, before the rest of the world is awake. I sit in my easy chair,…

  • Parkinson’s Disease – Living with It. Moving on…

    Friday was “Tweaking Day.” Eight weeks after optimization, I returned to my neurologist for evaluation and adjustments to this imbedded Boston-Scientific device. For the first time since this all begun, I had slept right through the night, off meds. I could finally enter the examination room feeling and acting like my normal self. The very…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #6 – Reality Check

    The DBS current has been constantly flowing into my brain for 6 weeks now, and there are some realities that demand an audience. First: there will be a continual need for adjusting, or “tweaking” as we DBS folks like to put it. DBS is not a cure for Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s is progressive and will continue…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #5– Taming the Beast

    I begin this entry with an ending:  If you ask me, “Would you go through all of this again?” I would now answer with a resounding “YES!” My sister was correct; the difficulties of the last five months are rapidly fading as I rediscover much of what is “normal.” Today, I ordered some new music…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #4- The Waiting Game

    Five months ago, I slammed into the Wall of Reality. The way back to myself has been difficult at times, sometimes intriguing, and occasionally funny. I had a second surgery, 3 weeks after the first, to implant a computer module in my right shoulder – it still feels alien, but I’m glad it’s there. I don’t…

  • Parkinson’s Disease #3- THE WALL

    I’m not really a risk-taker. I’m a dreamer. When I was a child, my Mom always said, “Kay, you have eyes bigger than your stomach!” That was her description of my propensity for taking more food than I could possibly eat at the Sunday buffet. I couldn’t help it if so many things looked so…