Hey gang!
Hey gang? What kind of greeting is that? Please allow me to
explain. I believe that we are all part of a “gang.” Some people call them
groups, families, communities, whatever. To me, a gang symbolizes a group of
people with all the same rugged determination, the same purpose, the same
agenda. My gang consists of people with Parkinson’s Disease. My bride of 46
years, Victoria, has had Parkinson’s since 2003 and it has become a part of our
lives. I say “our” because as her care partner, it affects me as well. I hope
to share with you all, different perspectives on Parkinson’s, being a care
partner, and what I have read and/or been told from doctors and trusted sources
what is happening in the Parkinson’s world. With full disclosure, I must add
that both Victoria and I have been on the Board of Directors of the Iowa
Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA, for short) since
2013 and I have served as its Board President since 2016. We have been
fortunate to be associated with the APDA and other outstanding organizations
that are working tirelessly to rid this world of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). In
future blogs, I will delve into some medical aspects of PD from a layman’s
point of view.
Now, about the title of this blog, “Not the Status Quo.”
Before I retired and became a full-time care partner for my Victoria, I was
involved in education. I have served just about every position in this
fascination field. I started as a teacher and coach, moved into athletic
administration and finished my career as a high school principal for 9 years
followed by the superintendency for another 10 years. All told, I was in
education for 39 years and while there were certainly some bumps in the road,
it’s a great profession and one that we, as a nation, must hold in high regard.
Annually, as a superintendent, I held “back to school” meetings with our staff
in the fall before the kids would arrive. I always called this my “State of the
School” address. One phrase I consistently used every year was the title of
this blog, Not the Status Quo. I used it because I don’t believe there is such
a thing as the status quo. Status quo simply means everything remains the same,
no better and no worse. I believe, and I still do, believe that we, as a
school, society or gang, are either getting better at what we do or we’re
getting worse at what we do. As a superintendent, I was not about to let our
organization get worse, so we would always strive for continuous improvement,
getting better every year. I will explain more in a future blog.
I hope you subscribe to this blog and share it with your
friends on social media. I am trying to limit my blogs to around 500 words as I
believe if it’s much longer, you will choose to do something else rather that
read this. Please leave a comment, question or anything, I guess, in the
section provided. I hope we have a long and fruitful relationship. Onward!
