Where are these clever and sometimes even erudite words coming from? I mean the ones that just seem to spill out of my brain at will. And how do they manage to arrange themselves so prettily on the page, each one interestingly depicting an idea or a person, or charmingly connecting to another word? My …
Author: Andi Brown
I was born in 1951 and raised in Providence, RI. I retired in early 2022 from a long and successful career in fund development, helping nonprofit organizations secure the resources they need to fulfill their missions.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in July of 2021. I am attempting to box and dance the disease into submission despite being horribly uncoordinated. I'm a graduate of Colgate University and live in Brookline, MA, not too far from my adult son and daughter. When not “moving and shaking” I can frequently be found writing fiction, or with knitting needles in hand, eating chocolate.
I hate my lamp
I bought the lamp when I first moved into my empty-nester apartment, and thought it the coolest thing. To turn it on, you swiped your hand over a red dot on the top of its stem, and voila! It lit up. It was also in possession of a USB port, so, with its final destination my night table, …
Singin’ in the rain (and the snow, and the sunshine….)
Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. Do you have a happy place or event from your past, one that elicits perhaps a mixed array of emotions? Glad you got to have that experience in that place, but sad that it’s over? Maybe it was your participation in the …
Continue reading Singin’ in the rain (and the snow, and the sunshine….)
To sleep, perchance to dream….
Parkinson’s dreams. As in the ones we Parkinsonians act out. Like when I dreamt I was playing basketball, and found myself standing on my bed and leaping onto the floor as I reached for the ball. Or the one where I was again standing on my bed and diving into the swimming pool in my …
Dan Levy Saved My Life
Many of my acquaintances have recently confessed something to me. They sidle up as if it’s early 2020 and they’re in possession of a secret stash of toilet paper. Do I look like someone in the market for bathroom tissue that fell off a truck? They pull me aside and they tell me their dark …
Final Jeopardy
The final Jeopardy answer is "This is the hardest question you can be asked.”What is "How are you?" But before we get down to business, here I am with my grandcat, Alex. He's the sweetest. My father used to tell about a man he knew who, when you asked how he was, he’d reply candidly …
Adults Only
We’re taking a wee break from Parkinson’s this week, in favor of a tale of a trip gone wrong. Thusly…. Twenty years ago todaySergeant Pepper said take a vay-cay And that was when I found myself at an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Here’s my trip report..... POSSIBLY my favorite part of any vacation …
The Lost Month
What do Seth Rogen and I have in common? We’re both human.We’re both Jewish.We’ve both been high for much of the time. Or in some cases, ALL of the time. But I’m not saying who. Okay, time for a digression. Unstaged view of my night table during the "Lost Month" I entered college in the fall …
Why? Why? Why?
For me, the most shocking aspect of becoming ill is that…it wasn’t supposed to happen! My father lived to be 96 and my mother 90. My dad had experienced several health issues during his long life (tiny stroke at 60, a mild heart attack a few years later, non-fatal case of prostate cancer) and my …
Creepy-crawlies under my skin
“My leg feels like it’s made of wood,” I tell my friend, attempting to describe my Parkinson’s symptoms. “But is it like balsa wood?“ she inquires. “Or maybe more oak-y?” “Shut up. I’m describing a sensation in my body, not a model plane or chardonnay.” I try again. “My left thigh and calf feel heavy, …
Moving and Shaking 