<h1>By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes</h1>

I recall sitting in the exam hall, writing a German exam, and watching the professor as he went from student to student, standing beside each one of them and reading what they had written. Unfortunately, I am Foreign Language Challenged so as I wrote, I kept a watch on him, hoping he would not make it as far as me. The anticipation was mind-bending. Finally, he stood beside me and studied what I had written. After a couple of minutes, he bent over and whispered in my ear, "You didn't study for this exam, did you?" and off he went to the next person. I finished the exam and went back to my dorm room. I had studied. Just not enough.

And so the waiting began. Had I done so poorly that I might not have reached the double digits for a grade, or, would a miracle occur and I get a pass. The weeks went on and at first, I was outwardly blasé about the whole thing, but inside I was in turmoil. Finally, the grades arrived and there it was "German 50%" I had passed! A miracle had landed.

Parkinson's is like that. At the moment I am outwardly (and somewhat inwardly) indifferent to my condition since the drugs allow me to lead a normal life, but what of later. What is coming for me? Will I remain in stage one for as long as J of Grey cottage (18 years) or will I rapidly advance through the 4 remaining stages and wind up in a chair as helpless as the great Ali appears to be? I have already been in stage 1 for two years longer than the average, but in 5 more years? 10 more? I find myself slipping into a minor fugue state every so often, anxious about the future. Will the fates gift me another miracle? After all, I would readily accept 50% of the full five stages..

By the way, I bumped into the professor on the campus the next year and during our chat, I asked, "Did I deserve 50% on that exam?"

He responded, "No....."

"Then," I interrupted, "Why did you give it to me?"

"Why not?" he said from behind some papers that he held up over his mouth.

I think he must have been hiding a smile. We talked a few more minutes and we parted, him into academia and me to my next class, thanking the gods and thinking...OK.....Why not, indeed.

I never took German again. My rendez-vous with the German Language had come to an abrupt, but decent conclusion.

Das ist das Ende des Gleichnisses