Friday 30 September 2016

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you haven't learned anything. - Muhammad Ali

Thanks Ali, that being said I can concentrate on the warm fuzzy feeling of meeting people for the first time that you may have been friends with on social media and then meeting them in real life. 
This happened at the World Parkinson Congress, Portland Oregon. It's akin to modern day pen friends. Let me explain.
The friendship with one friend, we will call AJ, really began in September 2013, we were on the same FB PD group, AJ was in Florida and I had just landed in New York, an Aussie on holiday with three daughters in a huge city on the way to the third WPC in Montreal. Alarm bells had began clanging before we left Australia  about that particular part of the trip, I'm a true believer in fate and giving things a chance, maybe it would be fine... It was not ideal. Intuitively AJ knew I was unsure of my situation there and reached out with advice and helpful suggestions regarding the subway, good things to do and anything else I wanted to know. How kind! Since then we have typed sporadically at best, but the thread of friendship was there. Zoom through to WPC in Portland and AJ was there in person! My friend AJ. We already know a lot about each other: family, love good music, value a laugh. Easy.
Another one comes to mind AH, we have been long distance friends since diagnosis of PD found us on the same FB group. Last Friday, AH found me at my poster display at the Portland WPC. Wow, we hit it off straight away, the basis of friendship was there, similar likes and ideas on music and stuff. We made loose arrangements to meet for dinner at Deschutes Brewery, a famous alehouse that we had tried to go to twice before...there was a lot to do before then. The Radioparkies Booth had to be dismantled and things divided up. 

The night of the Trifecta

Somehow managed to go to all three of these iconic places on our last night in Portland:
Deschute's Brewery an award winning craft brewery for dinner and drinks, then across the road to Powell's Books - The world's largest independent bookstore, over five levels of books! So many books, so little time, a joke book was needed and found. Voodoo Doughnuts - an avant guard independent doughnut shop that captures the kooky essence of Portland with unusual doughnuts, eclectic decor and iconic pink boxes. The pink boxes are constantly sighted around the city.

A whirlwind week, and by all accounts a very successful first venture by the DJ's and friends of radioparkies. Many connections made, interviews done, information shared photos taken. The huge winner is friendship and the feeling of understanding, camaraderie and compassion, the feeling  is immeasurable and for this I'm most thankful.
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