quinta-feira, setembro 20, 2012

Stop complaining: "a lady had a baby in a tree"


"If you imagine the worst case scenario and it happens, you've lived it twice."
Vou ter que me lembrar desta pequenina frase. I really, really, really like this guy – what an attitude!

3 comentários:

Miguel disse...

Honestly... the guy looks very nice and cool but he seems as coming out of a bottle of something very strong ;-) Possibly i'm being unfair and that´s just his very style! Or it´s me being too conventional :-(

Teresa disse...

Tu, “conventional”? Man, you must have changed ;-)

Miguel, the man has Parkinson’s disease. The reason why I like him is not because he’s “cool” or looks “nice” (actually, looks have nothing to do with it). I’ve never met him (although I know someone who has) but I’ve known of him (notice that I didn’t say “I know him”) close to 30 years now, I’ve seen him being interviewed and doing Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on numerous occasions…and, unfortunately, I’ve also seen how this dreadful disease has taken its toll.

What you refer to as “coming off the bottle” is, more than likely, the cocktail of meds he alludes to in the interview. I would imagine that on a day that he knows that he’s going on national television, he made sure to ingest those very same meds.

Before he made his diagnosis public, as far as I was concerned he was just another Hollywood actor. I was completely indifferent to him. Ever since he went public with his medical diagnosis and as the interviews and PSAs became more personal, I’ve come to admire him.

Despite his apparent courage, I see sadness in his eyes and I always get the feeling that he’s trying incredibly hard to control those tremors…and getting frustrated along the way. And as the years progress, the greater that struggle seems to be. Even his speech pattern has changed.

Besides, because he strikes me as someone who has his heart in the right place, he’s someone I wouldn’t mind having in my circle of friends. One thing’s for sure: I can think of at least one person in my life that I wouldn’t mind trading for Michael J Fox.

The bottom line is this: had I been the one diagnosed with such a progressive and debilitating illness, I don’t know that I would now have the courage, determination and positive attitude he espouses. Not after 20 years.

http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/default.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295

Miguel disse...

I apologise for overlooking that "small" detail of him suffering from parkinson; now i understand much better that is in fact an integral part of why you liked so much the interview; and therefore i fully share such an appreciation.