Run your own race

I realize we aren’t all runners, but hear me out on this. So the other night I was running on the indoor track at Central Michigan University’s Student Activity Center. It’s where I run in the winter. Not that I mind the cold outside, but it keeps my MS-numbed feet and me from running/slipping/falling on the ice and snow. Nine laps make a mile. The middle lane of the three-lane track is intended for runners. And this time of year, the SAC track is packed with college coeds eager to sculpt their bodies into spring break shape. This is my fifth winter running at the...

My San Antonio-inspired life

If only I could live everyday like I was in San Antonio. I try, but I sometimes lose sight of the lesson I taught myself in the Lone Star state several years ago. I was on a three-day business trip, and on the first day there were no conferences or workshops I needed to attend. So I woke up and, still exhausted from the plane trip, had every intention of spending the entire day in the air-conditioned Red Roof Hotel room. I’d eat vending machine food while watching ESPN and take a nap after I had seen the same episode of SportsCenter for the third consecutive time. ...

Happy New Year

A good friend recently e-mailed me this Handbook for 2011. Because it inspired me, I wanted to share some of it – along with a few additions from me, of course My thoughts are in italics. 1.       Drink plenty of water. Yes, that is tough with MS, but we should try. 2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince & dinner like a beggar. 3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and on plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. Or that comes from the drive-thru. 4.       Live with the 3 E’s – Energy,...

Magic #7

It’s barely six songs into the set list and I’m already winded. But this is exactly what I expected from my eighth time seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live in concert, this time promoting their Magic album. I always tell my friends and family that if I could afford it, I’d buy tickets for all of them just so they could experience the nearly three hours of rock and roll insanity that ensues each time Springteen and his New Jersey-based posse take the stage. Ten musicians together. At the same time. Controlled rock and roll chaos that only Bruce...

A good pair of black pants

Whether you are male or female, you probably have heard about the all-important “little black dress,” well for me, an outfit starts with “a good pair of black pants.” It has been a little over eight years since I’ve driven a car. Hate that, but I accept it. Been almost that long since I’ve walked. Yep, that stinks, but considering my disease, life could be much worse. Have to have help in the restroom. That one is hard to accept, but I do –begrudgingly. Again, it could be worse. However, there is one thing in my life that M.S....

Becoming the bat man

In the spirit of Halloween this past weekend and Springteen’s upcoming Nov. 16 release of recordings stored away in the vaults for years, we felt inspired to share this essay that appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of InsideMS. We have never directly featured this creepy story (it still freaks Dan out!) on our home page. Enjoy! It began in mid-October when my hands, chest and feet started feeling numb. The numbness, of course, was my penance for being a weekend athlete and stretching my body to the point that I had pinched a nerve. I needed to have my doctor take a...