My father used to sing one particular hard luck song
out of all the hard luck songs he sang that has always stayed with me as a
bit of worldly wisdom, and home comfort.
Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
spending all my money, and I didn't care
Taking my friends out for a mighty good time,
buying high-priced liquor, champagne and wine
Then I began to be so low,
Didn't have a dollar, and no place to go
Well, if I ever get my hands on a dollar again,
I'm gonna hold till the eagle grins
Cuz’ nobody knows you when you’re down and out
In your pocket not one penny,
and when it comes to friends you haven't any
and then you get back on your feet again,
everybody wants to be your long, lost friend
Well, it's mighty strange, without a doubt
Nobody knows you when you down and out
I was in high school when that song started to make
sense to me. I never lacked for food on my plate even if it was creamed
eggs over toast. I never wanted for a roof over my head even though
perhaps it leaked during every rainstorm of my high school years—right
into my room. I never went in need of any medical attention –ever.
Long out of high school, I look back and see how
hard it must have been at times for my parents to keep that roof with six
kids in it from not caving in, even though my Dad had a pretty good job –
how hard to even keep creamed eggs and toast for six on the table and to
find the wherewithal to continue throughout his working life —at least as
much monetarily as mentally. But even then, my parents knew where they
were going, and how they would get there. When my father was my age, he
had bought his second house in a wealthy suburban neighborhood. But every
so often on a Friday or Saturday night, he still would take down his
guitar and sing: Nobody knows you, when you’re down and out…
My point was to compare my father’s understanding of
what it means to be down and out and my understanding. His was based on
having been a child of the Depression who attained a certain amount of
wealth and financial ease in the world, and thus a certain social ease and
confidence in the world. It is far different from my understanding, based
on the change from a childhood of relative privilege and opportunity to
an adulthood of chronic illness, which has brought with it personal
poverty and dependence.
The point is not that I have any “better”
understanding of the song than my father, but that the song istself—for
all of its worldly wisdom and isolating comfort—isn’t true, as. least not
here at PLWP.
And that is the message of the Benevolence Team as
we announce that we have opened or doors for business. Without a doubt,
people here stay loyal to each other, support each other as much as they
can , through good times and bad.. Think nobody knows you when you’re down
and out? Look around. Read the journals, go to the chat rooms, sit on
Sandy’s porch awhile. None of us is alone here.
The Benevolence Team is the latest manifestation of
PLWP’s mission “to create an atmosphere that encourages mutual support and
friendship for people living with Parkinson's, their partners, family and
friends.” We will work quietly with the utmost discretion to help PLWP
members when financial difficulties come along and a reprieve of a month’s
bill payment or a quarterly payment will provide enough breathing space
for the PLWP to implement a permanent or long term solution to the
problem.
It would be nice if no one ever had to visit the
Benevolence Team pages on the PLWP website, but we know how life can
change for us in a moment’s time, and we will be here to help if we can.
Let us know what we can do for you.
--aj & Greg
Read the
Benevolence Team
Guidelines
Visit the
Benevolence Team on the PLWP website