Have you ever taken a “Leap of Faith”? I for one have taken a few, be it in love, work, or just life in general. Now there are all types of these leaps, be it small or large. Some are no brainers (the ones I’m better at) other’s take up all the courage you have.  

Let’s start with ta few no brainers. First one that comes to mine is attending Northwest Missouri State. Now although I had a couple scholarship offers to play basketball the cost to go to the “ville” was still cheaper and besides NW had the Industrial Arts degree I wanted. The next one was trying out for the basketball team at the encouragement of Mark Yager who I meet playing some pickup games with the team. While at NW I also took another easy leap and join the Sig Ep fraternity, these three leaps allowed me to get to meet my best friend Mark and most of my closest friends I have.

I once took a leap of faith and moved to New Hampshire for a job, although the job didn’t turn out to be the best choice I got to meet more friends like Chris Ringer who is to this day on of my closest friends and the reason I try to get out to NH once a year. My next work leap of faith was even though I had taken the job in Denver to run the Hummer dealership I went on an interview that Jim Wyman had set up for me with Arrow Truck Sales. Jim passed away on one New Year’s Eve at an age way to young and not a week goes by that I don’t thank him for talking me into taking that interview 16 years ago.

I have taken a few leaps when it’s come to love, but the fact that I’m still a bachelor you can probably tell they haven’t work out as I hoped, but I do feel that each one has made me a better person. I used to tell people that wondered way I was still single that it was because of timing, either they were ready for the next step and I wasn’t or they weren’t and I was.  Now I’m thinking that maybe it was me all those times. I do believe that the next leap involving love will be a hard one to take, after all I’m finding out that Parkinson’s is not a trait that women look for in a man.

The leaps I’ve been taking these last few years have involved fund raising efforts, either the NW Alumni Golf Tourney or for Parkinson’s with the Moving Day Walk, then there’s the Young Onset group I’ve been helping  with to help other young people deal with this disease. My faith in these leaps comes from the support I get from my friends and family.

This 4^th of July weekend I took another leap at the Lake of the Ozarks, I leaped off a 35 foot cliff into the lake. Now I don’t think that I would have done that if it wasn’t for Parkinson’s, you see having Parkinson’s has made me look at things different and wanting to try new things to feel alive and normal.  

Now there’s no wrong “Leap of Faiths”, some work out and some don’t, but as my best friend Mark’s dad Norm always said “Keep the Faith” and as long as you have that you’ll be fine.

Stew