"It's not about charisma and personality........" Steve Jobs

In a paper about occupational risk factors for getting PD, the authors noted that clinicians of the Pacific Parkinson's Research Institute of British Columbia Hospital, had observed "an excess of school teachers and those in health care professions among their patients". I had wondered about that; from reading the forums and blogs one can find online, there were a significant number of teachers. Until I read that paper, I chalked it up to coincidence. But, that old shibbolth, "there are no coincidences" kept ringing in my mind. I looked further and found that PWP share common traits, among them PWP are (or have):

• ambitious
• industrious
• serious
• single-minded
• rigid
• introverted
• slow-tempered
• harm-avoidant
• dislike of smoking & coffee
• punctual
• orderliness
• bad liars
• a tendency toward OCD

Of course we all don't share all of those characteristics, but I certainly see myself being described. Some think the presence of these common traits may predict the onset of PD decades later. We are clones of each other as far as personality is concerned, in fact, the presence of these these symptoms is called the "Parkinson's Personality". The big question is, where and when does personality fade into brain damage. Who knows? It is rather weird, and somewhat weary, belonging to a personality clique.

Oh yes. I almost forgot.

Just to add to the weirdness, did I mention I taught school for 26 years?