Last weekend, Parky, the official mascot of the World Parkinson Congress, sat on the swimming pool deck at John Jay College in Manhattan, while his friend with Parkinson’s, Bruce Ballard, swam on a three-person relay team for a one-hour, non-stop distance competition to raise money for two local charities. So many people, so many lanes….
While watching Bruce and the other swimmers race back and forth, Parky recalled the opening number in Stephen Sondheim’s “Pacific Overtures,” and used it as a springboard to reflect on exercise for people with Parkinson’s. Here’s his output as it stands now, a week after the revised lyrics swam back and forth in his head. Parky’s encyclopedic mind inserted links a-plenty! (Including to the original song, below!)
Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea Pool
In the middle of the pool we float,
In the middle of the lane.
For exercise is good, we note,
When it pumps blood to the brain.
Parkies swimming somewhere,
Parkies winning out there,
Biking up a hill,
Hiking for a thrill,
Never sitting still,
Somewhere out there, and here,
Here we swim laps!
Yes! (Clap!) Many ways of swimming laps! (Clap!)
We slip inside the pool
And contemplate the view (nice bodies!)
The water may be cool
But we’ve got things to do
We swim one length
Then forty more
We build up strength
Like we’ve done before
And no one passes us
(Well, if they do, no fuss!)
And Parkinson’s is losing…
Right here!
So the symptoms may have come, and passed
In the middle of the pool.
The advantages are made to last
We get better as a rule.
Bikers biking somewhere
Runners running somewhere
Parkies smell again
Yoga’s very Zen
Lifting weights, and then
Somewhere out there, and here,
Here we swim laps,
Lift more weights,
Run marathons,
Improve our gait,
Try more yoga,
Don’t be late!
Dance to music,
Feeling great,
Ride some horses
Sitting straight,
Try some boxing
In the ring,
Improve our posture,
Walk like kings
And when we’re cycling
Try to sing
Get blood pounding
That’s the thing
Run much faster
On the wing
And then life’s hardships
Lose their sting….
And then we float!
And so we float!
The splashing in the pool
The walking in the woods
The running up the hills
The feelings that are good
The heaving of the weights
The stretching of our limbs
The jogging on treadmills
The pleasures of the gym
And then we float!
We …
Float!
Here’s the original number, encyclopedic in its own way:
Enjoy!
Remember, you can buy your own Parky, the official WPC mascot, here! All profits go to the WPC Travel Grants Program, which helps a junior researcher or person with Parkinson’s disease to attend the World Parkinson Congress 2016 in Portland, Oregon!
