Babbling On About Current Events
“So, round and around and around we go, Where the world’s headed, nobody knows. Oh, great googa-mooga, can’t you hear me talking to you? Just a ball of confusion, Oh yeah, that’s what the world is today.” The…
Notes From the ALS Front
— Rick Jobus
Rick is a 62-year-old man who was diagnosed with ALS in January 2007. Currently a resident of Southwest Florida, he has lived in four other metropolitan areas, but greater Chicagoland will always be “home.” Rick is a degreed engineer, spending his career in the medical device industry. He’s had the good fortune of extensive travel throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He writes, in part, to be an ALS advocate. Additionally, it is his hope that his output will help dispel the myth that technical folk and digestible prose aren’t mutually exclusive.
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In Memoriam: Rick Jobus, Feb. 6, 1958-June 19, 2022
Courtesy of Rick Jobus It is with deep sadness that we inform the ALS News Today community of the passing of our friend and treasured columnist, Rick Jobus, on June 19, 2022. Rick published the first installment of…
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United We Stand, Divided I Fall
“It wasn’t me she was foolin’, ‘Cause she knew what was she was doin’, When she told me how to walk this way.” Run-DMC’s hip hop adaptation of the Aerosmith classic “Walk This Way” conjures up images of…
A Moment of Silence: Craving a ‘Re-lease’
“He wants to give the answers but his words are only Answers to nothing … They think this is the answer, But their thoughts are only Answers to nothing.” — Midge Ure “And the vision that was planted…
Bearing Down With Equine Intent
“Welcome to my nightmare, whoa, “Welcome to my breakdown, “I hope I didn’t scare you …” If there were a “Welcome Wagon” function in the ALS community — whereby incumbent residents indoctrinated new arrivals — surely the introduction would…
In Pursuit of the Perfect Omelet
“No one knows what it’s like, “To be the bad man, “To be the sad man, “Behind blue eyes.” – The Who Last week, it was time for the annual agency performance audit of my aides. Actually, owing…
The Mystery Behind Keeping the Home Fires Burning
“You shoot me glances and they’re so hard to read, I misconstrue what you mean. … Are you just playing, making passes? Well, my heart could use some glasses. ……
Come Smell the Bacon
“Everybody’s talkin’ at me, Can’t hear a word they’re sayin’, Only the echoes of my mind.” – Fred Neil ALS has rendered me a minimalist creature of habit.
The Redemptive Power of a Stroll on the Beach
“Tracing your footprints in the sand, Trying to walk like a man, … But I didn’t think there’d be so many steps I’d have to learn on my own.
Celebrating a Trivial Pursuit at the 100 Mark
“One hundred bottles of beer on the wall, One hundred bottles of beer! Take one down, Pass it around, Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall!” That…
Bifocal Vision Correction and the Art of Dance
“I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.” Last week, the Jimmy Cliff version of…
Life Imitating Art Imitating Life
“They’re gonna put me in the movies, They’re gonna make a big star out of me, … And all I gotta do is act naturally.” — Johnny Russell…
I’m Craving a Measured Change of Seasons
“When she walks, she’s like a samba, That swings so cool and sways so gently, That when she passes, Each one she passes goes, ‘Ah.'” One day last month,…
