A new episode of The PD Pundit (He's only trying to help) Hot on the trail of a Parkinson's cure is up over at ParkinsonsDisease.net. Today's topic, the rapid acceleration of PD care.

R.I.P. Bob Rinehart, Longtime APDSG member

Bob at the picnic last Summer

I'm sorry to report Bob Rinehart, the genial Texan in the old-fashioned suspenders, has died. According to Caroline, his wife, Parkinson's Disease did not play a major role in Bob's final hours as he was also coping with cancer and other ailments as well. Not that you would have known that to look or interact casually with him. He took his health problems in stride, and held to a balanced view of life. He was a solid, reassuring presence.

Bob worked for the BLM in land law. He processed native claims, allotments and the like, traveling the state widely. A great joy of his life was flying. He was a pilot who owned three small airplanes. He also loved public radio. especially Prairie Home Companion. He went on two Prairie Home Companion-sponsored cruises, on which he and his wife Caroline met Garrison Keillor the host of the show.

Bob could be quite witty. I remember hearing him answering the question "Who are the Kardashians?" with the reply " Evil Star Trek aliens from the planet Kardashia."  Members of our support group are likely to recall him fondly for the ribs he would provide to our annual Summer potluck. They and he will be missed.  Our condolences go to Caroline and the rest of his family.

The services for Bob will be held 2:00 Saturday the 28th at The First Congregationalist Church, 2610 East Northern lights, tucked in behind Wendler Junior High)

Oct 21st, a Halting Talk on "My Degeneration" at Providence Hospital

I will be giving a halting, slurred speech about my book-length comic "My Degeneration" this Saturday, October 21st at the Adaptive Abilities Fair put on by the local MS organization. My talk begins at 10:00 am and goes for about an hour, including the Q&A at the end. I will have a number of books available for you to pick up, thumb through, put down, then pick up again and finally buy. And yes I will be happy to deface their crisp, clean pages with my damn near illegible signature. The venue is the Providence Health Park, 3851 Piper St., Tower U Rms 2281 & 2285

Parkinson's Can't Take Cartooning Away From Me. Not yet, Anyway

About a year ago, I ran into Matt Bors at a cartooning convention. Matt has, through sheer force of his considerable will, created one of the most provocative, smart cartooning sites on the Web,"The Nib". To my surprise, he had read my book, and said he liked it.  He proposed that I do a piece for his site, emphasizing the cartooning aspect of my struggle with Parkinon's Disease.  I did. To make a long story short, here it is.

Brand New Edition of the PD Pundit Now Up Over at Health Union

The PD pundit looks at some of the hows and whys of early detection of Parkinson's Disease. Find it here. He's only trying to help!

Rejected! This Post Was Toast. Do Not Read if You Are Satire Impaired

A piece I did for a blogging client. It's inspired by the fact that three of the 20th Century's most evil men had Parkinson's Disease. Given some of the side effects of our medication, if seemed within the realm of humorous possibility there could be a connection. While the client thought this was funny, they declined to publish the piece for fear someone might actually believe that "A sudden powerful urge to brutally repress your fellow humans" was a legitimate PD medication side effect. (To their credit, they paid up a kill-fee without complaint.) I am confident confusion in this case will not be a problem for Off & On readers, and because I like the way the drawings of Franco  and Mao came out, here it is.