What can a dollar buy

My wife and I recently returned from celebrating our thirty year wedding anniversary in Atlantic City. We love AC. It holds a fascination for us -- the ocean, the smell of all the food as you stroll down the boardwalk, and the diversity of the people. Of course, the one group I never see too much of are people from New Jersey. They are all in Vegas. At least that’s what everyone in Vegas said when I asked them where they were from. Don’t get me wrong, I love Vegas and hope to get back soon so I can see people from New Jersey.

Back to the Jersey Shore, on this particular day we finished eating dinner at the Trump Taj Mahal. Before we headed out for our stroll down the boardwalk to enjoy the beautiful evening sunset, we had to make the obligatory bathroom pit stop. I was getting ready to leave the men's room hoping that my wife might actually beat me out and would have to wait on me. On my way to witness this possible miracle, I noticed an elderly gentleman in a sharp looking Trump Taj uniform cleaning the bathroom. His head was down, concentrating on his work, keeping the place very clean. Now let me clarify, he was not an attendant. No cologne was offered or a towel or the uncomfortable stare waiting for you to finish. He was just the man cleaning the toilets. As I passed him, my hand went to my wallet and I pulled out a dollar. I thanked him for the great job he was doing. He looked at me with surprise that I was tipping him. A huge smile crossed his face as he thanked me many times for the dollar. It was not the amount of the tip, but the acknowledgement that what he was doing had worth.

Out I walked and, of course, no wife. A moment later she appeared. A side note - to this day I still get great joy watching my wife walk into a room. It makes me feel giddy. Off we went past the slot machines and out the door. We walked a little ways and realized I needed to take my medication. We stopped by a pizza place, one of the many on the boardwalk, to buy a soda so I could take my pill. I stepped to a section of the counter and asked the pretty young girl if I could get a soda. She was working very hard making the pizzas and was not the cashier, my mistake. I should have stepped inside and asked the right person; not the young girl who looked frazzled by how busy she was making the pizza. She asked, “Just a soda bottle?” in a slight Russian accent. I said, “Yes, please.” She stopped what she was doing and got the soda for me. “Three dollars,” she said. I gave her the money and she quickly turned back to the task of cooking when I said, “this is for you.” I handed her a dollar. She paused for a second with a surprised look on her face, smiled at us, raised the dollar high in the air, and walked away.

At the end of the evening after splitting the creamiest brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel and strawberries at a great restaurant called Meghan's Place, we started back down the boardwalk. As we were walking back, a homeless man approached us and asked if we could spare some change. I didn’t ask what it was for, presuming it would go to a bottle of liquor. I handed him a dollar in change. “God bless you, sir. It’s just that I'm hungry,” and he was. I watched him go to one of the food stands to get something to eat and thought at least tonight he will not be hungry.

What did my dollar buy; it bought me three moments of joy.

It made me forget about my problems for those moments. Understandably, people with problems sometimes get a narrow perspective and focus on ourselves, but it’s a big world and I won’t let PD take away my ability to show kindness and be mindful of others. We tend to get caught up in our own lives and forget there are others out there who might be going through their own trials and tribulations. Simple every day acts of kindness can turn someone’s day around; hold the door for someone, let the person with one item go in front of you in the grocery store, use thank you and please - powerful words.

In today’s economy a dollar can buy a lot. It was the price of a smile. Money well spent!

'10 Mountains 10 Years' - Official Movie Trailer 2010 [HD]

What Does it Take to Cure Parkinson's

My wife and I were out on our evening walk (move to live). About half way home we noticed a small dog up ahead running and barking at people in the school parking lot. You could tell he was all bark and no bite. Across the street I also noticed a young man with a blanket in his hand. The dog must have escaped the house and I guess the plan was to throw the blanket on the dog and capture it. I thought to myself.....really, that's your plan. It seemed futile and ill conceived, but what the heck, I was on board if it actually worked. It would give me something to write about in this blog.


Well, let me tell you, this plan had all the success of the coyote strapping a rocket on his back and catching the roadrunner. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the blanket had the word ACME on it. He was a little dog and he was fast like the kid in gym class who out ran everyone and looked back to see how far ahead he was. The problem was he started running into the street, not good. What if a car hit him? I could not live with that so my wife and I were in the hunt.

The young man said his dog's name was Neeko and I thought, "You should name him Nike the way he was running circles around us." He handed us a treat and asked us to give it to Neeko while he threw the blanket on the dog. I tried to feign hopeful with the new element of the dog treat, but knew better. It was all we had though. Surprise! Total failure and with a snack in him he had extra fuel. Off he went, running down to the corner. When the young man's sister pulled up in her car to lend assistance, I thought dogs love car rides. Great, this should work. Another bad idea. You would think we worked for BP the way our plans to solve this problem were going. Neeko was down the main drag and off the side streets into more traffic. I was starting to worry as cars had to break to avoid hitting him. My wife had her jacket off and threw it at him. I'm not sure what this was going to do. Maybe his little legs were going to go in the sleeves, the hood flip on his head, and then Bam! we'd have him.

Now at this point you must be wondering what does this have to do with PD or any problem. I'm getting there.

I wish I had a video camera to see my wife trying to run after that dog with her hoody, the kid with his blanket, me with PD, and the sister with the pursuit vehicle. Too funny! The four of us can't grab him so what do we need, more people. A guy walking his dog has joined the great hunt to capture the elusive Neeko. I remember the guy saying, "You know you are never going to get him with that blanket." Thank you, Mister Obvious. We are up to six people and apparently not faster or smarter than a 5 lbs. dog. Down the street we all go with that little dog kicking our....You know what, we need more help. We saw a group of small children just ahead of us playing with their new puppy. Okay, that's ten of us, score - humans 0, Neeko 10. The kids had the only thing that Neeko the dog was interested in, the puppy. We had the bait and now we just needed a trap. As always, there is a fly in the ointment. One of the kids in the group started to throw things at Neeko and chase him into the street, all the while laughing his head off. I'm not saying I believe in demonic possession, but I swear his head spun all the way around during his tirade. Fortunately, one of the kids stopped him. I believe he will grow up to be a Jesuit priest the way he stopped that demon child.

We were back in business. I noticed that the kids had a fenced in yard. Immediately I had a plan. Put the puppy in the yard, keep Captain Chaos under control, and block the holes in the fence. Neeko fell for it. He went into the yard after the puppy, we closed the gate, and the owner walked into the yard. Neeko was beat. He laid down and showed his belly. We had him safe and sound. Neeko's owner told us that Neeko was a rescue dog. He was a pure bred dog that had a flaw because he was born with an extra toe on one paw, not saleable, just expendable, off to the pound.

What did I take from all this? On the road of life when you have problems, it takes lots of people to solve them and you never know how or why people come to your aid, but they do. With all their help and a good plan, you can reach a goal no matter how elusive it may seem. There is always someone with an agenda who tries to detour the group's effort, like that little kid, but we must stay the course. It will take the team working together to beat PD. With the help of others who join our cause along the way, it will happen. Stay positive, do what you can to help like play in a charity golf tournament (shameless plug) like mine in the fall. Keep moving Parky Warriors!

I'm Pat Younts and I move to live.

Parkinson's Challange Update

Just got back from a wonderful 30th wedding anniversary in Atlantic City. As those of you who have kept up with my blog know, I had three challenges for the summer. I wanted to get my bench press back up to 250 lbs before we left July 12 and I’m happy to say that goal was met. Thanks to Big Mike for letting me work out with him. Mike spotted me and kept me motivated by also trying to hit the same goal of 250 lbs, which he also did. This was challenging for Mike, too. At a height of 6'7”, he has a long way to push that bar up. Mike has his own neurological difficulty after suffering a broken neck in the line of duty as a police officer. Great job, big guy!!

I haven’t met my body weight goal yet, but I have lost 10 lbs, bringing my body weight down to 184 lbs. I should have calculated adding extra muscle mass which I have done. I still need to drop 10 more to get abs.

As for my golf game, we have played best ball the last three outings so I am not sure what my individual score is, but I can tell you I am hitting longer and straighter with my driver than ever.

My balance and big motor skills are doing great even with PD, but I am working very hard to keep them going. Remember by giving yourself goals to achieve, you keep the mindset of improving in the future instead of the mindset that things are diminishing. This will help maintain a positive attitude and a better quality of life.

I am Pat Younts and I move to live.

Parkinson's and the People Who Take Care of Us

I am just a few days away from my 30th wedding anniversary. I have said many times to many different people that I have had the rare opportunity to have married one of the greatest women who has ever lived. No one could have done better than Darla. I know there are women of equal beauty and character as my wife, but no one better. I am in a rare category of men who can say this and to all of you who also have that rare privilege of a long marriage to your perfect mate, congratulations. You have something that money and power simply cannot obtain, true unconditional love. I know this because over the last thirty years every one of our wedding vows has been tested, and now we are challenged with the hardest of all the vows, "in sickness".  It is not fair that after all Darla has done for me her reward for all her years of love and loyalty is a husband with Parkinson's. Yet here we are, and as always without even a pause she is taking care of me, supporting me every step of the way. I just want everyone who reads this blog to know how much I love my wife. I work out almost every day, I started this blog, I am hosting a golf tournament to raise money for PD research, and will do everything I can to find a cure and keep myself as healthy as I  can because I  owe it to my wife. All of us who have spouses that have given so much over the years owe it to our spouses to do all we can to make life easier for them. On behalf of all of us Parkies, I would like to say to all the wives and husbands who honor the hardest vow of all, thank you. We love all so of you much!

Happy anniversary, baby.

I'm Pat Younts and I move to live.

Working Out with Parkinson's and Finding Inspiration

I have been involved in the fitness field for the last 25 years as a gym owner and personal trainer. I have worked with a lot of people with countless challenges through the years.  Now with challenges of my own, I am starting to think back about people in my life and how they have overcome adversity.  My friend and client, Susan, came to mind right off the bat.  Other than being one of the nicest people in the world, she also competed at a world class level representing the U.S. in the paraolympics powerlifting, specializing in the bench press. Susan was a postal worker delivering the mail one day when her mail car flipped.  Susan was instantly paralyzed from the waist down.  Tragic, unfair, sad, heartbreaking for Susan.  These are words that describe her situation, but the words that actually describe Susan are joyful, positive, kind, determined and champion.  Unlike us PD challenged - I think that's politically correct - our problem is creeping up on us slowly.  We see it coming and we can take steps to slow things down and plan ahead for our future (Go Research!)  For Susan it changed in a moment.  One second you walk, and the next you don't. When you face this type of adversity your character is revealed.  Susan could have felt bad for herself, and who could blame her.  Instead Susan looked for another path, one that led her to the paraolympics, wearing the red white and blue showing her fellow Americans with challenges that even though she could not stand up from her wheelchair, she did rise up to represent her country and show how to beat adversity back.

For my part in all of this, I trained Susan in powerlifting.  The bench press was her event and every week leading up to the games, we would meet at the gym.  Susan would always greet me with a big smile and enthusiastic, "how are you doing?"  I see a lot of people walk into the gym - I still call it the gym, not the fitness center. I think people get work done at the gym, but might do more socializing at a fitness center, but I digress! As I was saying, I saw a lot of grumpy faces at the gym, people coming in from long commutes, thinking what a pain in the butt, I still need to work out.  Then there's Susan in her wheelchair, bright-eyed and ready to go. She was the one who actually had the right to be grumpy.  Instead through her smile and determination, she chose to inspire.  At a body weight of 145 pounds, Susan bench pressed well over 200 pounds.  Free weight bench press is hard enough with the use of your legs for balance.  It's 10 times harder without. Susan was undeterred, competing in more than one paraolympic game and several area powerlifting competitions.

We need to take this same can do attitude in our approach to PD.  I am early on in my PD and I know that movement is the key, a must! We all need a plan on how we can help our bodies fight off PD as long as we can to improve our quality of life and buy time until a cure can be found.

As a trainer I can't help any of you without being there.  We all have to be evaluated separately, no cookie cutter routines. For my workout I use free weights and some machines. The benefit of free weights is that it makes both sides of your body work together.  It forces me to keep balance and trains all those small supportive muscle groups that machines tend to bypass. My next choice is machines.  This is great for the stage where balance becomes an issue.  Machines put you in the right position and keep you in the correct range of motion.  This makes machines safer for your use also.  I always work out my big muscle groups first; legs, back, chest, then shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs last. Working out big to small muscle groups is a good rule of thumb.  Also, do not hit the weights every day.   Allow your body to recuperate.  I split my body parts up and work out 3 to 4 times per week with weights. I also work my cardio every day except Sunday walking evenings (fast pace) with my wife, weather permitting (use sunscreen if out in the sun, we are more susceptible to skin cancer).  I'm on Parky 1, my stationary bike (check out previous blog), 30 to 45 minutes almost every day. I feel better after biking.  Lots of studies are out there with empirical evidence of the benefits of bike riding.  Once again, a stationary bike is much safer than outdoor biking.  Although I might give outdoor biking a try this summer.

In addition to exercise, proper nutrition is very important.  We need to support our bodies.  Check with your doctor to see if you can have a consult with a nutritionist. As far as my diet, I watch my portions.  You would be surprised by what people think a serving is.  Measure one cup of rice or pasta and put it on your plate.  You will be amazed.  I eat frequently.  It helps my metabolism,.  I drinks lots of water (shocking new information! lol).  I take a multivitamin, CQ10, calcium, omega 3, no magic pill, just healthy. 

Be like all of those Parky Warriors I read about who climb mountains, run marathons, and enter bike races.  We must be undeterred.  Take charge, make a plan for your health, and take a lesson from my friend, Susan.  Don't quit on life.  Anything is possible.

P.S. - If anyone has questions about working out that I might be able to help with, please contact me at my e-mail address, pymovelive@gmail.com.   And remember, never begin any exercise program without consulting your physician first.

"Hi, great to see you" and my hands go in my pockets

Being officially a member of the shaky hand society for almost a year, there are lots of people who still don't know that I have PD.  As a former gym owner and personal trainer, I have been blessed with many friends and acquaintances over the last 30 years.  I run into a lot of people that I have not seen for awhile and the conversation always seems to be the same.  "Hi, great to see you," (hopefully I remember their name) "how have you been?" "Great, how about you?" What do I say, "Oh I have PD."  Well that conversation has all the social tact as asking someone, how's your Mom? Oh she's dead. Okay, great then. Have a nice day, see you soon. So that's why I don't like telling people that I have PD.  It's not that I am embarrassed or ashamed.  It's because I don't want to make them feel bad and then watch them squirm around for the right thing to say.  Now I'm not going to tell anyone unless I get a direct question, but wait my shaky hands.  What do I  do?  Shove them in my pockets like I always do and hope no one notices because shaking hands in pockets just does not look good in public. There also is the other situation where I know someone knows that I have PD and I see them for the first time after the diagnosis and they don't say a word about my PD. Not I'm sorry, I heard you have PD, or wow, I love the great blog site you started, you're so clever, I bet you're a terrific golfer, do you work out?  Wait that last one was me talking to myself.  The problem with PD is that it's socially awkward.  Your hands shake, your body movements can be all over the place, and speech can be affected.  You worry about being invited to a dinner party where they serve soup and everyone at the dinner party ends up looking like they sat in the front row at a Gallagher Show when you are done eating. PD is getting harder for me to hide so when I see someone, I always greet them with a smile and a sincere and enthusiastic, "How are you?" Even though my body is projecting a negative, my mind and spirit project nothing but a positive so people know that I'm doing okay so it's alright to act normal around me.  If all else fails, I make a bad joke like I'm hoping that they will put martini shaking or sanding in the upcoming Olympics because I feel I would have a great shot at the gold. Yeah, I know bad joke, but sometimes all you can do is laugh. Stay positive and keep moving!