Hi, Joe

I was about to reply using Private Message since we've been talking more about running and not so much about PN,. Then I thought, Wait a minute, there IS a connection, at least for me there is, a powerful connection between my years of running and my PN: identity. PN has damaged my sense of identity. And not just because it has taken away from me the joy I used to associate with all sorts of vigorous physical activity. (My TKR was what took away the running, and that pre-dated my PN by several years.) What PN most certainly stole from me was my career on-stage. Since my mid-20's, I've earned my living as an actor. In the summer of 2019 (pre-Covid days) I was performing in what was to turn out to be my last play. My balance had grown so bad I actually had to ask the actress with whom I shared most of my scenes if she would "keep an eye on me," should I show signs of being about to loss my balance. I'd never asked anyone anything like that before. It shook me to the quick. I decided then and there to quit the stage (hopefully, temporarily, but at this point––2025–– who knows?). I mention this because PN, like that TKR (admittedly, I was much responsible for the bone-on-bone … ), each in its own way stripped me of my identity. When asked, among certain people, I used to be able to say I'm a runner. Equally, when asked, among other people, I was once able to say I'm an actor. These days … well, I don't mean to sound so glum, because I'm not, but have had to rebuild a sense of who I am, something at which I believe I've been fairly successful. (I have often thought of creating a new Connect topic: What PN Has Done To My Sense of Identity.)

I'm rambling, Joe. 🙂 I'd better quit while I'm ahead (or at least not too far behind 🙂 ).

Cheers!
Ray