"The Eye of the Hurricane" by Tom Gorman

September 27, 2004

Hurricanes are plentiful this year, with one closely following another.

Some one may quip that living and/or working in New York is like living and/or working in a hurricane.

However, even hard core New Yorkers need a break from their whirlwind pace. Their major refuge is Central Park, the calm "eye" in their "hurricanes." The city's motions and sounds swirl around the Park, but can't overcome the peaceful solitude in one part of the Park or the boisterous camaraderie in another. As the Park is the sanctuary from New York's demands, the Parkinson's Unity Walk for one day is the eye in the hurricanes that face the Parkinson's communities in New York and elsewhere.

Another aspect of hurricanes is that they are unpredictable - no one knows exactly how strong they will be, where they will land, or how long they will last. They devastate people's lives and homes. Parkinson's victims and families can recognize the same characteristics in their own lives.

The importance of the Unity Walk in Central Park grows as it provides a brief respite from the psychological winds and rains that come to those with the Parkinson's disease "hurricanes."