Let's have a little quiet in here (hear?)

"What are you going to do?" I said to the principal, a fine, sophisticated lady, who had just been told off by a parent.

"Nothing," she said, "I am going to remain silent."

"Then what?"

"Well," she said, "Did you see that tree just outside my office?"

"What are you talking about?" There was a reception area outside her office. No plants of any kind.

"That is the tree,"she continued, "On which I place my problems and every so often a little wind comes and blows them away and I just quietly wait for that wind." Today's problem will be placed on that tree. You will see, it will be gone by morning.

I had learned the value of silence.

Silence is the most difficult argument to defeat. She was right. Her silence defused the situation and the problem was gone from the tree.

For the past 3 years I have pretty much been silent. Silence was my sanctum sanctorum. The place where my problems disappeared. I had to remain silent because when I spoke, nobody could hear me and those who could, no doubt thought I was either stupid or on my way to the darkness of altzheimer's. I had trouble finding the words, stumbling over them, searching for a simpler way of getting my idea across.

I believe I mentioned that PD is a Zero Sum Game, the bad offsets the good and sometimes, vice versa. L-dopa has given me back my voice and speaking ability. They are still not at the pre-PD level, but for me, it is shouting and word lapses are disappearing. I am gradually regaining confidence. Of course it can't be all good. That would be asking too much. L-dopa takes a half hour or so to kick in, lasts a couple of hours or more and then wears off. Toward the end of the wearing off period, I turn to silence. And, you know, it really is better to be silent and to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Che said something to the effect that silence is argument by other means. I know what he meant. Sometimes silence is power. It really is the most difficult argument to defeat.

But this is not an essay on Silence and Power. It is simply to let you know I HAVE MY VOICE BACK but I will not completely forsake my haven of silence.

I leave you with this thought about voice. I heard Bill Cosby say, "Women don't want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think - in a deeper voice."

Perhaps silence is a safer place after all.