Personal reflections / impact of Young Onset Parkinson's in life of a late-40's musician,husband,father and teacher. Metaphysical implications of disease, musings on life, music, poetry ...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Nice Name Needed Now for Nasty Disease.....


'Parkinson's' is a pretty crappy name for this affliction ..... mean no offense, but to my ear it sounds much too Protestant....that there's an implicit requirement for you be a Presbyterian in good standing with your local parish to have it. Truth be, its an equal opportunity destroyer....

Still, what's in a name? Everything....

Take Alzheimers....Most young people today know not from its terrible reality (...saw my grandmother wither away from this) While the name had potential it has suffered from poor marketing and lackluster p.r. efforts. This is clearly evidenced by standardized testing of young people in that when given a range of options on a multiple choice test most usually identify Alzheimers it as a light beer...

Big Fruit knows this - prunes had a poor image, not a hip, happening young person's fruit. So what did they do? Marketing magic: DRIED PLUMS (" the fruit formerly known as prune"....skuttlebutt has it that a endorsement deal is in the works with "the artist formerly known as Prince". Keeps the old bastard regular, apparently....

Methinks something of a similar nature need be done for this sinister condition. I say we check if the naming rights are available for -

The HEEBIE JEEBIES - "What? You vant, boychic, I should tell vhy the hand shakes, scmuck...? Zis I vouldn't vant for my worst enemy, but for you i sell for only $5- its the Heebie Jeebies! schmuck!... the disease formerly known as "Parkinson's"...... and my goiter, thank you alzo mister, for not taking the time to even ask , iz also not so good, but thats another story...."

Aaron's Agony, Moshe's Malaise, maybe Scwartzes Tsurris............................ i dunno, anything but Parkinson's, anything.


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