The Buzz Online

May 13th, 2010

Our March/April cover story by Professor Emeritus of History Tom Gleason prompted readers both to write letters (see "Gleason's Brilliance" on page 4) and to post comments on the BAM website. Particularly poignant was this note from Tom Brudney '79: "You truly inspire a former student who also just received [a diagnosis of Parkinson's]. I am younger (fifty-two) than you were, but received similar clues, mainly when my left leg would not follow my right on daily eight-mile runs that, as you say, are now a receding memory. (One unpredictable consequence is that I lost my markers for detecting the subtle seasonal changes of climate here in Florida, which are mainly hot and humid to bearable to pleasant. Now I actually have to look at thermometers.) The fuzziness of mind is increasingly upsetting. I read a lot of history (thanks mainly to the interests you sparked), and find that I literally cannot recall anything about books I read six months ago. But your roadmap of affirmation, the way you have metabolized the changing symptoms into positive energy put to productive uses, will guide me into the future. All the best."

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Related Issue
May/June 2010