Page 6 - MidWeek Kauai - March 1, 2023

6 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK MARCH 1, 2023
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high school and college pa-ha pers — The Piper at McNarywa High in Salem and The Cav-(b alier at Concordia College inI c Portland — to sports editorisl for the Daily Emerald studentgo newspaper at University of Oregon, assignments for UPIMi and Springfield News, andedi then jobs at East-Oregonianlea and The Mercury News (inlic
SEEPAGE7sh
enerable journalist Don Chapman, who
the world.” But he was well aware of the symptoms — “the shakes, you can hear my voice isn’t the old voice, and an awkward walk.”
Chapman enjoys visits from his canine friend, Jagger.
lowing an illustrious five-de- cades-long newsprint career, believes he was born to write. As a young boy growing up in Salem, Oregon, he was an avid reader, who by the fourth grade was already scanning the daily Statesman as part of his morning routine.
was voted co-best boy danc- er. So, I was pretty decent at controlling my body’s move- ments. Parkinson’s steals that ability, and that’s the frustra- tion.”
a wooden sign quoting his words of encouragement.
Giants, on TV.
As for writing, he says he’s
like it or they didn’t like me.Ad Journalism, however, I’veeri never had a bad job. I’ m not an certain there’s such a thing.” the From associate editor of his
Fast forward to today, and the award-winning writer, who turns 74 later this week, has a new story to tell — liv- ing with Parkinson’s Disease.
weights.
“The hardest thing about
You can also bet that the die-hard University of Or- egon fan is enjoying his well-deserved retirement by watching the Ducks, along with his other favorite teams, the San Francisco 49ers and
Chapman was a longtime columnist for The Honolulu Advertiser, editor of Mid- Week, and most recently ed- itor of Building Management Hawai‘i magazine.
He received the diagnosis just prior to the pandemic, which unintentionally al- lowed him to “hide it from
this is I used to be an actu- al athlete. I played college baseball for two years, and in my high school senior year I
“This is the only thing I’ve been good at my whole life,” says Chapman. “I tried all kinds of other jobs and pro- fessions and either I didn’t
Despite the challenges, Chapman remains optimistic. “There is evidence that physical activity is the best thing you can do to fight Par- kinson’s,” he says. “I started shadow boxing. I also juggle a bean bag and bounce a ten- nis ball. I’ ve got a stationary bike that I do, a couple of light
A naturally easy-going per- son, Chapman also practices positive thinking — some- thing he’s done all his life. He recalls his days coaching a T-ball team in Kāhala in 1982, and as the players came in to bat in the last inning of one of their games, he told them, “OK, guys, let’s go. We’re only down by 12!” At the end of the season, the par- ents, who were quite amused by that pep talk, gifted him
“I still have the sign, and that philosophy continues to guide my outlook on life,” shares Chapman. “It’s also one of the things I got from the Dalai Lama (who he inter- viewed for a MidWeek cover story in 2012) — that we’ re all responsible for our own happiness.”
written everything that he needs to pen, including his life story for his two grown children — son Kai and daughter Dawn Luat.
Cover Story
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STORY BY
YU SHING TING
PHOTOS BY
ANTHONY CONSILLIO
He may be retired, but former newspaper editor and columnist Don Chapman has a new story to tell about his determined battle with Parkinson’s Disease.