Ready, Steady, Aim, Steady, STEADY . . . Shoot!

"Three out of 26. 

My shots, lower left 3 of 26

Not bad for your first time. You now have something to aim for!" my instructor tells me. He then unloads the remaining 4 rounds into the upper half of my target.

Show off! I don't mind; the instructor is my son. On his target, he was 29 for 30 shots.

My son's shots 29 of 30

Yes, I will work to achieve 27 out of 30 shots on the target. Game on! My first day at shooting practice would make anyone nervous. I was nervously shaking because I had never handled a pistol, much less a Beretta M9, before. I paid $20 for the range and $26 for the box of ammo, which makes it about $15 per each of my 3 holes on the target. Who knows where the other lead landed?
Before I attempted to fire off my first shot, I racked the slide back to chamber the round, and did something wrong. The spring-loaded slide caught the inside flesh of my left pinky and there I was . . .blood dripping off my finger which was now attached to the loaded gun. I said embarrassed, "Son can you get this gun off my finger?"
All said and done, I left the range confident, with a new goal to achieve; despite our scores, my son was actually the shakier one. We did not open the second box of ammo. 

Come and Take It

The Come and Take It flag may touch a little closer to home. In the Texas Revolution, on their way to the Alamo, Santa Anna’s men attempted to retrieve a small cannon from the city of Gonzalez. Rather than give up the cannon, the people of the city made a flag that said, “Come and Take It” with a picture of the cannon above. This showed that they would not give up without a fight, and that if Santa Anna wanted that cannon, he would have to earn it.

When you think about it, these examples serve as battle cries for your fight against Parkinson’s. You don’t have to let it control your life. Yes, pending any significant medical breakthroughs in your lifetime, Parkinson’s may win – just as the Persians defeated the 300 and the Mexicans defeated the Alamo. However, I am referencing those stories because they far outlived the lives of the men they tell us about. The bravery and defiance of those men and women inspired others to win the ultimate victory.

Wake up each morning and make Parkinson’s work for its control of your life. Do not let Parkinson’s conquer you without a fight.

Take pride in your battle. How do you want to be remembered? Will you be remembered as the person who sat at home, and each Christmas lamented about how the disease had taken more and more control of you as the years go by? Or will you be remembered as the one who made Parkinson’s fight for every twitch, every spasm,  every freeze…and made even a terminal disease shudder?

Spartans - Heroic Resisters

Courage, training, equipment, and discipline created the famous legacy of why 300 Spartans and nearly 3,000 Greeks held the pass for over three days against overwhelming odds during the battle of Thermopylae around 480 B.C. The Persians numbered between 70,000 and 300,000.   

 Eventually the Spartans and Greeks were over-run in the battle.

Courage, training, discipline, and positive attitude will equip YOPD resisters in their difficult battle.  Resisters must be high performing.

“This is Sparta” is a way of showing the world that I am a force to be reckoned with. I will not surrender. I will not compromise. If you want to beat me, you will have to toil for every inch of ground you wish to gain. As far as it depends on me, I will make you toil; I will make you pay. And when you overcome me, I will be remembered as the force that made my invincible enemy shudder.

Lesson 3: When you get discouraged, ponder lesson 1 and lesson 2. These are not learned, they are truths.

Go, passerby, to Sparta tell obedient to her laws, we fell.

Thermopylae Memorial Epitaph

We are Sparta!!

My lesson simply applied from the Spartans:

Go, young and brave, to Parkinson's tell

 we fight for the privilege of being well.

We will Resist! 

I choose to resist struggles, whatever comes my way, and live.  My goal on this journey is to minimize the struggles, be positive, search for golden nuggets, exercise, and help others.  

The operative word, "live" is the measure of success.  However as I mature in this journey "live" is the sum of successes measured in daily increments.  It is cumulative. 

Those who are blessed with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD) or who I will call YOPD Resisters have much in common with the Spartans.  This is why the blog is called "Go, Passerby, to Sparta tell." 

Lesson 1: God is Good, all the time!  
Lesson 2: All the time, God is good!