We need each other.
Of this I am certain.
Especially when the daily noise tells us that we are polarized, that we are hopelessly divided by political party affiliation, religion, race, gender, class . . . Seeing our world through the lens of what divides us, rather than what binds us is all too easy. I suspect that what binds us is by definition stronger than what divides us.
We need each other.
Of this I am certain.
I speak with such confidence because I know what goes on three mornings per week in a former Hollywood Video rental store on the south-west side of Elkhart. 20 of us gather to fight back against the dreadful diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. We participate in a program called Rock Steady Boxing, a program with deep Hoosier roots, designed for patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. We are men and women from all over Michiana, ranging in age from our 50s to our 80s; We fight Parkinson’s with boxing gloves, open minds and open hearts. We are guided by Rock Steady certified coaches who volunteer their time to help us; the coaches don’t have Parkinson’s, but they want to help others. Volunteer coaches and boxers joining TOGETHER is a compelling example of why we need each other now and always.
To be clear, Rock Steady Boxing is a supplemental therapy of sorts, not a replacement for physician-recommended medical interventions to treat Parkinson’s Disease.
So what do we do in that old video rental store? We don’t hit each other, but we do don our boxing gloves to hit speed-bags and heavy-bags, we stretch together, we do some light cardio, and we talk about how to find calm when tremors prevent us from buttoning our shirts or how to find balance when Parkinson’s makes us fall. We also talk a lot about our symptoms; Recently, I have been drooling excessively, which, frankly, is embarrassing. In between practicing uppercuts to the heavy bag and hitting the speed bag, I asked my fellow boxers if they have had
drooling problems, a half-dozen heads immediately turned my way and confirmed that I am not alone in my drooling.
I am not alone.
We need each other.
Of this I am certain.
Real life can be stranger than fiction. a potential plot summary for this story of community would not attract many readers, I suspect -Throw 20 strangers together, with boxing gloves, in a retired video rental store in Elkhart; Oh! And they all have Parkinson’s Disease! Still, it is a story worth sharing. Whether we are at our best (happy because we are together again), or at our worst (hunched over, tremor randomly kicking in at full strength), or both, we come together with no regard for political party affiliation, religion, race, gender, class. . . we just come together to fight back against Parkinson’s.
We need each other.
Of this I am certain.
Music: "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers
