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Thursday 3 September 2020

Number 1 on the PD Hit Parade.....I 'm Walkin'. Yes Indeed and I'm talking' about you and me...

 I tend to repeat myself; therefore if I have inflicted my words into your existence before, tough luck, read on.  It might not help but can't hurt.

I am often off-balance.  I fall or almost fall, frequently.  I can fall while standing still, walking, or even on my knees.

Standing Still   This is the least likely falling position.  Why?  I stand with my feet shoulder-width apart, near some inanimate object (tree or wall) so that I can reach out for help.  If there is no such nearby object, having my feet apart allows me to control any stutter-step that may develop, mostly sideways but sometimes backward.

Walking  If I walk slowly and deliberately, consciously moving in a heel-toe pattern, I have no problems, but consciously heel-toeing becomes a drag (pun intended) and I begin to shuffle which puts me off balance and I have to watch out for any anomaly in the sidewalk or other surface. 

Walking with support a large number of people in my assisted living complex use walkers and are easily able to walk without incident.  I have not reached that level of uncertainty yet.  Instead, I use nordic walking sticks. which provide plenty of support, if I am moving at glacial speed.  Slow is anathema to me.  I gradually pick up speed until I become the poster boy for part of first law of the Newtonian Law of uniform motion.  Yes indeed folks. Demanding my aging PD body to work beyond its limits results in a body in motion remaing in motion until acted upon by an unbalanced force, like a tree or the ground.

Knees  Don't be lulled into thinking that knees are stable.  They are not.  That mysterious force that pulls you down is present in all situations, including kneeling and I have the black eye as proof.


Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

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