STAMP OUT PARKINSON'S DISEASE BACKGROUND explaining our interest in the APDA national Walk-A-Thons, the one fund-raiser where ALL of the money raised goes to research.
Today's Picture to Ponder Photos
Tulips,
once again being featured in March promoting their beauty, the approach
of Spring, and the Annual APDA Walk-A-Thon fund raiser for Parkinson's
Disease research.
As I've stated in past issues, tulips are the symbol of hope. A red and white tulip
was named after James Parkinson, who did a treatise
on "Shaking Palsy" 200 years ago.
To commemorate this, I bought a pot of budding tulips last week to
photograph for new pictures to feature in Picture to Ponder this year.
For five days, I took photos of them at different times of day and
night, in different locations, many on the glass top table in my living
room. One of the things I discovered this year, perhaps for the first
time, is that tulips close up at night.
Insofar as the two pictures I selected to share here today, I love the
contrasts in light and shadows in the upper photo of the backlit tulip.
And, of all the photos I took, the one that most intrigued me was
the lower one because it looks more like a somewhat abstract painting,
or perhaps a design for fabric, than it does a photograph of live
tulips. Interestingly, other than for resizing, it has not been altered
digitally in any way.
You can see twelve more photos in this series on TULIPS 2008
Self-Reflecting Queries
In
addition to the aesthetic visuals of the above photos, I was also
struck by the feeling of openness in the flowers, the reaching up and
out, especially in the lower photo. Amongst my first reactions was,
"Wow. They are an opening for contribution and in the next issue of
Picture to Ponder I will be asking for monetary contributions. How
fitting to use this for the featured one!"
Of course my thoughts continued on to how difficult it is sometimes to
ask for contributions, monetary or otherwise. Because stamping out
Parkinson's Disease has been, and become even more, important to me,
this did not present a challenge to me for this issue. Of course,
getting the right pictures and the right words continued being at the
forefront.
The intention and the cause is far greater than myself, so I kept
moving forward.
Are there places in your life where you could be an opening for
contribution, not necessarily monetary, and you are reluctant to ask?
Perhaps there is something that in the putting yourself out for it,
allowing yourself to be vulnerable, would make a huge difference for
you, no matter how small the request might be?
If so, I invite you to take an action. Make a request. Be open. It
might help you to remind yourself that you might actually be gifting
the other person(s) by allowing them to give to you. So many of us
prefer giving to receiving. It seems easier all around, doesn't it.
We
deeply appreciate those of you who have so thoughtfully and generously
contributed in the past and look forward to all of you past and present
who choose to do so this year. See DONATION page.
Those of you who live in South Florida, or have family who live here,
are welcome to join us for the Fun Walk, Barbeque Picnic, Raffles,
Exhibits and more on Saturday, April 5th in Lake Ida Park, Delray
Beach. Registration begins at 9:30 AM. Others of you in the United
States might be interested in a walk that's taking place in your area
of the country. See the APDA link below for details.
For more information on the South Florida walk, email me and/or to register, call 800-825-2732 or email ggilcrease[a]browardhealth.org.
Or simply visit the beautiful TULIPS page and enjoy. (back to top)
The GIFT SHOP now has one section with folders of different tulip images and products. Bookmark this page. More to come this week.
I will donate $2.00 from every tulip product purchased in the Nature Art Gift shop through April 30th to the Walk-A-Thon. ($1.00 on single magnets.)
As most of you undoubtedly know by now, my husband Sam, who passed away
in November 2007, had Parkinson's Disease. He was diagnosed with it
almost 11 years ago, on the weekend set for a surprise celebration of
his 65th birthday.
He did remarkably well during those years, with the biggest toll on him
being the challenge in communication that developed, difficulty in the
processing of moving the words from his brain out into speech. After
contracting a totally unrelated infection in his blood, he ultimately
he developed a swallowing problem which is common in Parkinson's. The
latter wound up affecting his ability to breath naturally and became
the cause of his passing.
Thus, raising funds for research - "Ease the Burden - Find the Cure" -
is a cause close to my heart. I will be walking with the members of the
Southeast Florida chapter and for the thrid year, I've set up a page
through a secure service provided by Amazon.com, where anyone
interested may make a donation to Parkinson's research, either
anonymously or by giving your name, thereby getting a receipt for your
tax deductible contribution.
Should you be interested in supporting this activity, you may simply use the Picture
to Ponder - Tulips link or, if you wish to send
a check, go to APDA's Annual
Walk-A-Thon page and scroll down the page for our chapter's address or for one closer to you, if you prefer that. (Back to top -Stamp Out Parkinson's)
The latter page, with contact names and phone numbers, is also a
wonderful resource for any of you who might know someone with
Parkinson's Disease, or a family member, who is looking for information
and support. We belonged to the chapter in NJ before moving and joining
the one here in South Florida.
PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease experienced by man, Alzheimer's disease being the most common. See Patient Information on the APDA site for more detailed information on description and treatment. I've also included a few more facts on the Tulips donation page.
Ah Sheila - so beautiful!
The tulips in the second photo almost don't look real. And what a fitting symbol for hope - tulips pop up in some parts of the country before the snow has even disappeared. Did you know they actually continue to grow even after they have been cut? I heard this last year and tested it with a small bouquet and it's true - the stems continue to get longer and soon the flowers were drooping over the sides of the vase. As an aside - I am delighted to see you are a participant in Julie's latest writing class - and thank you again for referring me to Julie's classes in the first place.
Posted by: Lauren Strouse | March 12, 2008 at 02:10 PM