Does anybody really know what time it is?

I don’t know about you, but I quit showing up on time for doctor’s appointments years ago. I am ALWAYS on time, or better yet, early. As I tell my students, in the business world, 15 minutes early is the new “on time”. But when I was thrust into the cancer arena which required spending more time in waiting rooms than I spend asleep (or so it seemed), I began to chafe at the fact that I was NEVER talking to a doctor when my appointment time came around. Just yesterday, I spent 2 1/2 hours in a waiting room, to then spend 12 minutes updating a doctor about my condition (no change), my diet (no change) my side effects (none), and to have my vitals taken (no change). But every now and then, I am surprised and heartened. I went to an initial consultation for a root canal (and that’s always something fun to do!), and I was early (thank heavens…old habits die hard). I was sitting in the waiting room, and a man came in for an appointment. I actually heard the receptionist say “I’m sorry, Mr. Smith, but our appointments are scheduled so that our patients do not have to wait more than 5 minutes to be seen. You were 22 minutes late, so I’ll have to ask you to reschedule.” I about fell over. I love that doctor. I love that receptionist. I love the fact that I can be on time/early and it will be rewarded. If you have anything to do with health care, I challenge you to do the same thing for your patients!

Smart is the New Cool

I am old enough to remember when there were definitive rules for girls and boys through their educational years; when girls wore only dresses, when competitive sports were for boys and physical education classes for girls consisted of either dance or gymnastics, and when girls took home economic classes and boys took math and science.As we move towards a time when gender does not define who we are, we salute those that have helped pave the way. Check out one of our local trendsetters at Smart Girls Rock, an online community for girls who intend to make their mark and change this world for the better. The website is the brain child of local media personality Dayna Steele and Terry McDonald, web designer for a major national space agency. As Dayna says, “smart is the new cool.”

Angel Food - not the cake…

I was reading an email from a friend of mine about an organization called Angel Food Ministries, which helps provide groceries to needy families across the country. The website is Angel Food Ministries. It just might be a lifesaver for my friend, who is about to take on two foster kids into her home, and it looks like a pretty neat program. Anyway, I was leaving work on a lunch break and had stopped to get gas, when a woman tapped me on the shoulder. Middle 40’s maybe, with obviously a tough life behind her. And the first words out of her mouth were “excuse me ma’am, but do you know of any “angel” organizations that help provide food for families? I’m really down on my luck and could use some help.” Needless to say, between the man in the red truck who was filling up his tank next to me, the mother of a toddler in the yellow VW bug and I, she left with more than she came with. And she now has the website to use when she gets home. There are no coincidences….

4th of July

The 4th of July is more than a day off work to most of us–or at least I hope it is! It is a time when we are all united. Americans came together after 9/11 with one sole purpose, to project solidarity against terrorism. That solidarity still exists, but tends to get watered down as the years go by. Still, I saw it demonstrated this afternoon, as the folks that live down the street paused their schedules of work and kids and carpooling and grilling to dig through their respective garages for their American flags. One by one, flags are going up all over the neighborhood. The fact that one neighbor hates the way the other cuts his grass, or that one household has a really annoying dog that keeps another household awake is put on hold. People that don’t normally chat with each other do so as they dust off their flags and tighten the ropes. Right now, the only thing that matters is that we are all, for at least one day, on the same team.