Rick is a 62-year-old man who was diagnosed with ALS in January 2007. Currently a resident of Southwest Florida, he has lived in four other metropolitan areas, but greater Chicagoland will always be “home.” Rick is a degreed engineer, spending his career in the medical device industry. He’s had the good fortune of extensive travel throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He writes, in part, to be an ALS advocate. Additionally, it is his hope that his output will help dispel the myth that technical folk and digestible prose aren’t mutually exclusive.
It’s Thanksgiving Day tomorrow in the United States. Unsurprisingly, the evolution of its celebration has been shaped by our nation’s cultural dynamism. Rooted in religious ritual imported by the initial European settlers, it was institutionalized by the constitutional congress, with specific…
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” One day recently, I became incensed. My anger was not your garden-variety ire; I experienced the kind of rage that blinds. The cause of my eruption was the coincidental convergence of one…
In Mark Twain’s book, “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” the protagonist, Hank Morgan, is ridiculed during a roundtable assemblage for his strange appearance and dress. He is subsequently sentenced to burn at the stake. Except for…
“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” —Bob Dylan Recently, I had the pleasure of participating in the annual Southwest Florida Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraising gala, “Toast…
About a week after my initial ALS diagnosis, the crippling fog that it had produced lifted enough for me to seek a second opinion. The appointment took place at the neurology department at the University of North Carolina…
From time to time, a comment in response to one of my columns reveals that the commenter has lost someone to ALS. The first time it happened, I paid it little mind. Subsequent occurrences aroused my curiosity as to why a survivor would continue to thoughtfully remain current…
Shortly after emerging from the stupor that culminated in my ALS diagnosis, I was consumed with a zeal to learn all that I could about the millstone dangling heavily from my neck. Toward that end, I read everything I could lay my eyes upon, though some material was…
A week ago last Sunday, I spent a portion of the day, as I often do, going to church. Well, not quite “going.” Owing to the challenges of readying and transporting me, I participate in worship via a livestream of the service. The…
With apologies to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant: Chairway to Heaven I can no longer walk down the road Unable to take on any load Those facts cause much grievous woe…
During my early childhood, I often played Chutes and Ladders. For those who are unfamiliar with the board game or have a foggy memory, the board is made up of 100 numbered squares. Beginning in the lower-left corner, players move a certain number of spaces, determined by…
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