Could ‘Chronic’ be the ‘Tonic’ Parkies Have Been Waiting For?

Cover of Zap Magazine #8, Copyright 1976 by the Genius R. Crumb

A scientist in New Zealand has been granted over $140,000 to conduct a two-year study into whether or not marijuana (aka “pot”) could be helpful in treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Peter Freestone, of Auckland University, has been awarded almost $172,000 to carry out the two-year project.

The study would “provide much-needed information for evaluating the therapeutic potential of these substances for Parkinson’s disease”, said Freestone in his funding application.

It is one of 10 projects awarded grants from the Auckland Medical Research Foundation totalling more than $1.8 million.

Now, keep in mind that this study is only being conducted in New Zealand at the moment.  And I recall seeing something about a group trying to get funding for a similar project in the Philippines.

Mr. ‘Body Worlds’ Announces He Has Parkinson’s Disease

And is QUITE the DRAMA QUEEN about it…

Nothing quite like getting out of your SKIN at the end of a long day...

When Gail and I shuffle off this mortal coil, we both have little cards in our wallets that mean we will be trundled off to a nearby lab in Glen Burnie where our remains will be parceled out as part of the “Anatomic Gifts Registry.”  That means we’ll be used for study, to look at how the ravages of age and disease have affected our mortal remains…

I’ve written before that I kinda hope I get snapped up by this Gunther von Hagens fella so I can be incorporated into his “Body Worlds” exhibit.  My choice would be to be seated at a diner table, eternally feasting on a plasticized cheeseburger.  And, if my fantasy plays out as I hope, folks who knew me in life will walk by the exhibit, nudge each other and whisper, “Say, doesn’t that look a little like BILL?”

Well, turns out von Hagens and I have something in common.  We both have Parkinson’s, and we’re both Drama Queens.

To Pay or NOT to Pay… a $2,000+ Deposit Which Would Be Wasted if I Die Before 2017.

The only decision left for me to make in this retirement drama… to pay or NOT to pay.

If I choose NOT to pay, it affects nothing.  Not yet.  If I choose TO pay, it affects nothing.  Not yet.  My retirement pension will be the same no matter WHAT I decide.

Until January 4, 2017.

On the day I turn 62, the government will refigure my pension.  This strikes me as unpatriotic, but I get NO CREDIT for the 8 years, 8 months and 24 days I spent in the Navy when they figure my retirement pension — unless I pay a deposit of 3% of all the base salary the Navy paid me during my years in the service.

This is just me, venting, but I think if you’re a Federal Employee, ALL your service to the government should be credited, both civilian and military.  And it used to be that way, until EISENHOWER (that radical Republican) signed a bill that changed that in 1957.  Now, if you want your service to count, you pay the deposit.

First of all, I have no idea how much I actually made in base pay for the years 1973-1977 and 1981-1985.  I have my yearly Social Security statement, which tells me I was actually paid a certain amount during those years, but my HR department has given me a form to mail to the Military to tell me EXACTLY what I was paid.

By my estimates, I’m figuring that deposit will be somewhere around $2,100 — and it has to be paid BEFORE I can retire.

Filing for Social Security Disability — Online!

In the Federal Civil Service, we have this little Catch-22.  If you file for Disability Retirement from the government, you have to prove you’ve filed for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) before your retirement request can be approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).  However, SSDI tends to cast a jaundiced eye on filings made by people who are still (technically) working.

But soft!  We have a FORM for that.  We call it the FEDMER.  “Federal Medical Evidence of Record”.

Ya fills it out after you go through the tedious online process of filing for SSDI.  Then you send it back to your HR office… and wait.  This proves that “I have filled for Social Security disability benefits, but I have not received a decision.  I will provide my Human Resource office with proof (e.g., copy of Social Security disability application receipt…)”

A Chance to Double Your Gift to NPF

Don’t you love it when you donate money to a charitable organization and someone matches your amount?  Well, here’s you chance to benefit Parkinson’s Disease research in the memory of  National Parkinson Foundation Chairman Emeritus Nathan Slewett.  Go to this website, make your donation, and Mr. Slewett’s family and friends will match it, dollar for dollar.

I just got a huge $40 royalty check for one of my books.  Look how I can turn it into an $80 donation.