Minding My Manners: ALS and Etiquette

Minding My Manners: ALS and Etiquette

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” ―Emily Post In case we ever meet, I want to apologize in advance if I ever appear insensitive to, or unaware of, your feelings. That is…

The ALS Workaround Dilemma

If you’re like me and live with ongoing physical changes from ALS, you’ve probably used workarounds. What is a workaround? A workaround is a creative, temporary solution that solves an everyday problem. For example, in the real world, folks put red duct tape over a broken tail light…

ALS Cannot Change Who I Am

“You just got lesson No. 1: Don’t think; it can only hurt the ball club.” That was the advice that Kevin Costner, who portrayed baseball player “Crash” Davis, dispensed to Tim Robbins, who portrayed rookie pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh, in the 1988 film “Bull Durham.” Ordinarily, I opt…

How I Took a Vacation from ALS

Hello again! I’ve just returned from my summer vacation — my month-long vacation from ALS! No, I didn’t suddenly escape my disease or experience a miraculous recovery; my ALS is most certainly still here. My vacation was a mental vacation; an abstention from any and all ALS-associated media;…