There was a news item last week about an MS sufferer who had his walking stick stolen.  He had left it at a service station, and some young hoodlum had walked off with it.  A radio station broadcast a plea for its return, and there was bit of talkback as a result - someone objected that if he left it behind then he must not really need it, someone else hotly came to the man's defence saying that with MS, sometimes you are fine and other times you are bad.  The theft was apparently the culmination of this man's bad luck: he had lost his job, and as a result lost his house, in the meantime he had sold off most of his stuff in a vain endeavour to keep the house, and then - to cap everything! - his walking stick got stolen.

Don't laugh!  Walking sticks seem to be very significant!

Don doesn't use one any more, having progressed (if that is the word I want, hardly appropriate, is it?) to a walking frame and then a wheelchair.  But here is his collection:



Why so many?  Do people really need more than one?  Apparently so.  I took a photo of them all and when I was with Don yesterday I asked him to remind me what they were all for.  Here's what he said:

• Far left is his father's walking stick, great sentimental value, in fact Don has engraved it with his licence number, same as he does with valuable things like the laptop
• Next was the very first one he got, ten years ago - son moving out of his shared house, current girlfriend hands the walking stick to Don and says, Don't  know where this came from, but would it be useful to you? - at which I thought he would have been very offended (we're not THAT old!) - but it was in the days when he started to get inexplicably staggery, and accepted it gratefully.
• The little one was just a knick-knack at a market - too small to be any use, but decorative
• Next was purchased at an aboriginal arts and crafts shop, after a lengthy and companionly chat with the maker
• The dark one on the far right was bought one day when we had gone somewhere without a walking stick and he got very staggery and needed one.