Monday, September 3, 2012

The Turtle and the Parkinson's Man

My dear friend and long time client Karen was giving me a ride home from our Thursday workout. As usual we were chatting about important subjects like world peace and global warming or was it sports and bad drivers? At any rate homeward bound we were when Karen all of the sudden noticed something moving on the side of the street as we passed it.  If you have ever golfed with Karen, you know that she has eagle eyes and nine times out of ten she will find your golf ball no matter where you hit it, most likely attributed to her being a phenomenal photographer.  A quick glance in the rearview mirror confirmed that it was a turtle and according to my mirror that turtle was “closer than he appeared” and walking out towards the street. Our friend the tortoise was heading towards impending doom. “Hold on, I’m flipping a U.” Karen quickly turned the car around and headed back. Would Mrs. Eagle Eye and Captain Parkie reach our shelled friend in time or would the dastardly commuters make turtle soup out of him? Stay tuned to next week’s episode………

Okay, I won’t make you wait. One more quick U turn put us in hot pursuit of the soon to be victim. “Quick! Get out and grab him!” Karen shouted. “I got him,”…..wait…. she said quick. Captain Parkie lacks that super power. The irony of it all -- a do-gooder with Parkinson’s chasing a turtle, but I had no time to contemplate things. A life was in danger. Using my Jedi powers I raised my hand and brought the oncoming traffic to a halt or was it just the universal gesture to stop? Still no time to think. Could I get there in time? I want to point out that he clearly had a head start, but with a burst of speed, actually a slow shuffle, I caught our green necked friend and answered the age old question of who is faster a man with Parkinson’s or a turtle, nuff said. Our good deed was done as our grateful friend headed back towards the stream and back to his family not knowing exactly what occurred because it all happened so fast.

My friend Karen is a kind soul. She is her brother’s keeper
and the finder of lost children…….and golf balls.  My family and I are blessed to have her and her husband Mark as our friends.
 
I am Pat Younts and I Move to Live.

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