My Name Is Bob, and I Don’t Have Parkinson’s

My Name Is Bob, and I Don’t Have Parkinson’s

So they look at me and notice some things about me and say, “You have Parkinson’s Disease, don’t you?”

To which I say, “No. I don’t have Parkinson’s Disease.”

And they say, “Then why do you take little shuffling steps and sometimes freeze and can’t decide which foot to step out with next?”

And I reply, “Oh, my legs have Parkinson’s. That makes them often uncooperative. I don’t like it when they shuffle like that, but what can I do?”

So they say, “Well, if you don’t have Parkinson’s, then why do you sometimes slur your speech and drool and talk too fast and so softly that people can barely hear you?”

And I answer, “Don’t you see? All those effects are the result of my mouth having Parkinson’s. I keep telling it not to slur or talk too fast or too softly, but it just doesn’t pay attention. That’s common in mouths with Parkinson’s Disease.”

So they say, “Oh, I get it. I suppose the reason you no longer have a sense of smell is not because you have Parkinson’s, but because your nose has Parkinson’s; and the reason you have tiny, unreadable handwriting is not because you have Parkinson’s, but because your hand has Parkinson’s.”

And I say, “Yes, you’re catching on. Now you understand when I say that I don’t have Parkinson’s.”

And they say, “Then what’s wrong with you?”

And I say, “Nothing is wrong with me. After all, I’m still me. I’m not my body. I’m Bob.”

That is why we never give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. 
—2 Corinthians 4:16