1) I have had a problem with extreme sensitivity with one of my teeth for a while. Patricia (mi esposa Colombiana) suggested that I see an ancient endodontist name Jack Levi, DDS.
Dr. Levi is probably famed as an original member of one of the 12 Tribes of Israel and looks the part. He graduated dental school in 1966 – possibly when mankind had fewer teeth per person. He is rumored to have invented teeth (“what’s not to like? You can chew with them and smile with them! People will want at least one set, maybe two”) and basic human instincts like chewing and aggression (“more ways to get people to need teeth and repairs”)
He is proud of being an inventor (“how about give them the first set of teeth free and sell them the brushes!”) and since he is so intimately knowledgeable about teeth I decided to let him remove my tooth nerve last night [left mandibular first molar for all you dentophiliacs out there].
Honestly, he teaches this field at Columbia School of Dentistry which I assume is Columbia University and not some back alley operation with a similar name. I feel relieved even though I have to return a few times to finish the work. I am not allowed to chew hard things or have any fights with Conor McGregor (MMA joke).
Even though this will cost me more than other dentists (I have to go elsewhere for the post and cap) I think that since he has been around doing this for over 50 years (and seems so happy about things – either running his tiny office or still breathing without any assistance) that I am in good hands.
True: He took the x-ray by having me hold the film with my finger in my mouth (“just hold it and don’t move”)
His wife runs the front desk (“don’t you remember? I said cash or checks only”). You do the math: over fifty years and no paper trail for the money. I am sure that God asks him for a loan once in a while. J.K. Rowling and Bill Gates probably need to use him as a bank.
2) My 10-year old (“I’m 11!”) stepdaughter makes me feel very happy and loved. She dances around our living room every night to an improvised choreography she has created to the newest songs from the radio. She requires that I be critical and help her to perfect the dance to match the music. She takes this very seriously so I try to help.
She really loves all the activities we do (beach, movies, bowling, and chores) that her mother and I share with her. She adores her older sister who sometimes remembers to be nice to her (it is difficult to be selfless when you are 22. I sympathize with the older stepdaughter because when you are ambitious the mountains you have to climb seem insurmountable).
I am impressed by the little one’s desire to be happy and joyful all the time. I recall being her age and younger and feeling the same way before life and the crushing sense of resentment and work wore me down.
With my wife and this daughter I intend to regain my soul and be the person the little one thinks I am.
3) Like many men, I try to avoid conflict. I know that this can be rephrased as “lacking a desire or need to communicate” but there is no resolution to many arguments. In many arguments people take the same approach as lawyers and make the argument one that is completely different from the other person’s arguments (“this is an issue of clear spaces and open fields”, “no, this is an issue of personal freedom”). People phrase issues into something that they can win on and ignore what they will not win on. There is no issue to argue since both sides are arguing different issues!
For many people winning the argument is more important than preserving the relationship. If I compromise I am the only one negotiating and it makes me feel uncomfortable and frustrated.
I walk away. I am lucky that I don’t have to answer to anyone and be judged, except for my wife. She “wins” all of our arguments because it makes her happy to win. I just work more hours at the office.
4) When you have a business, especially a chiropractic office, you have a physical address and a phone number. This means that you spend many hours (cumulative) dealing with businesses that offer you services, a majority of them are just scams or near-scams:
a) chiroappointment.com – easily the biggest scams there is. The only people who fall for this are newer offices desperate for patients. Basically, this company get paid $50 each for directing patients to your office. They assign you a phone number and “advertise” a great deal. Once a call comes in and you answer the phone and identify your office the call gets recorded and if the caller states that they are looking for a chiropractor, you have to pay this service.
Problem: almost 100% of the calls my office received were from outside the state (and could never come to my office) or were for people looking for a MEDICAID doctor (which, at that time, paid $6 a visit and could never have paid for the cost of using this service at $50 a call). I ended this service within a month when I realized that they were ripping me off.
After that, I got no more calls from out of state or MEDICAID calls which indicated to me that this company was arranging these calls to me just to make the $50 a call.
Chiroappointment.com tried contacting me again 3 years later but I told them never to contact me again. I still feel bad about having to tell the young woman who called me that she worked for a scam organization.
b) The Civil Service Leader – it sounds reasonable that you could buy an ad in a newspaper that goes out to Civil Service employees in Newark, NJ until you find out that they don’t publish until they have enough ads. In my case, that took a year! They also insist on being paid by check and they send a large guy who looks like an extra from a mafia movie to collect the check.
For your trouble you get a stupid wooden plaque that you can display which I guess means that they don’t come around to bother you again.
5) Concerning our President Trump: I am certain that three books will come out after he leaves office, (a) “The Worst President Ever”, followed by “The Worst President Ever!”, and finally (c)”The Worst President Ever?”
6) While I think that we can all accept that president Trump is a con-man and liar with very little integrity or any kind of moral center, he has surrounded himself with people who are worse than him.
It is one thing to lack any redeemable value as our prsident has proven about himself, it is another thing to DEFEND someone who display these qualities.
KellyAnn Conway (“Con” is even in her name!) has a history of being a spokeswoman to slimy types of people (even before Trump she defended cigarette companie, among other clients), her use of the phrase “alternative facts” (an Orwellian-type phrase of deception), her defense of Roy Moore (who dated TEENAGE girls as a prosecutor – let’s put this in perspective: he had a college degree, graduated law school, worked as a lawyer, been appointed a district attorney but still managed to not understand the concept of ‘statutory rape’ when he initiated a sexual encounter with 14-year-old Leigh Corfman when he was a 32-year-old district attorney) and can actually repeat the twisted logic of her boss.
What about Sarah Huckabee Sanders who has no problem being the spokesperson for Trump, repeating and representing his discriminatory logic about his behavior which is so far away from any prior president and can usually be matched to all the worst actions of his predecessors or his former adversary (Hillary Clinton). Sarah is obviously intelligent but has to represent such a toad as Trump. [As an aside, by studying her countenance I think she may have a tumor behind her right eye.]
Sanders also perpetuates the basic lies of “fake news” and attacking the media that her boss repeats without merit. She has to mouth the words of a person no one can trust; a man who is only looking out for himself and the rich people like him.
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