NINETY-THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS
It looks like this $93,000
That is a nine, a three and three zeros!
It is also the cost of a drug just approved by the FDA for terminal prostate cancer patients.
This should not be confused with a CURE. It is only to extend the life of the patient for another two to four months. (the final months) This is not meant to be facetious. I value life as much as anyone. However, if you poll the patients I would think that very few of them want to live like THAT.
They have already given up the things they valued most about their bodies. Now, you can let them live up to another three months!!
(for $93,000!)
I was duly stunned when I learned the price of Herceptin (for breast cancer patients) This too was hailed as a miracle drug for breast cancer patients. It was a mere $80,000 a year. But again, it was not to be confused with a cure. This was simply to let the patient live a while longer.
It is easier to understand why they call cancer a $200,000,000 industry. I hope and pray that the huge amount of dollars people send to the American Cancer Society is directed towards a cure, and not just another drug to extend the life of a terminally ill person.
The pharmaceutical company explained that they had a difficult time pricing this medicine right because they didn’t want to scare people off with the price but they felt they had to recover the billion dollar price that the investors had spent. Wanna bet that didn’t come out of their own cash registers? Their stock has risen 25% in less than a week.
$93,000 averages out to each day costing about $1,000. So, the next time someone tells you to “Have a nice day” you should do just that. In deed it is precious.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
OUR NEW CIVIL WAR
OUR NEW CIVIL WAR
We already did that civil war thing. It makes for high theatre but it could even get a little scary if we don’t separate our two political parties. They all need to take a time out. Stop the physical threats and insanity. Talk about a bad loser!
Does everything in Washington have to be this convoluted? Our congress can’t agree on anything unless it is just to disagree. I don’t see anything wrong with stating (waging) an opinion, taking a vote, and then going with the winner. That is what they call a two party system.
I do, however, take offense with the long haired brunette in the crowd stating we should tell the democrats to “Sit down and shut up.” I do understand the tone of the tea parties and that she was brought along because of her high profile status and feisty rhetoric. It works. It would even be entertaining if she were at some comedy club instead of just another OBAMA BASHING. If she doesn’t watch out, she may be called upon to run the country herself. (Excuse me; I need to go take some sort of a pill.)
There. I decided on anti-nausea med.
The other thing that makes me want to hurl is that she has been offered a reality show (according to the gossip mongers) for which she will receive $1,500,000 per episode. That’s what I am really mad about. It’s the money she is being paid and I am not. We seem to be about even on other things that matter. We are both mothers, even grandmothers. We both care about our country and the leaders thereof.
We both are concerned with wardrobe, lipstick, babies, book writing,……………mmm… that’s about it.
The things that stand out are our differences. You can bet she didn’t type her own manuscripts, for instance. I also can’t see Russia from my home, or shoot a gun; much less HIT something. I don’t wear clothes that cost the Republican Party $250,000, even though I would be willing to do that to bridge the gap. I also don’t wear waders to fish but only because I don’t fish; and also because my shoulders are not wide enough but neither are her’s. Maybe that is the THING that keeps us apart.
She just ‘goes for it’. My mission is to just watch and judge what she did wrong. It is bi-partisan enough. We don’t need to throw stones or stage a tea party.
We already did that civil war thing. It makes for high theatre but it could even get a little scary if we don’t separate our two political parties. They all need to take a time out. Stop the physical threats and insanity. Talk about a bad loser!
Does everything in Washington have to be this convoluted? Our congress can’t agree on anything unless it is just to disagree. I don’t see anything wrong with stating (waging) an opinion, taking a vote, and then going with the winner. That is what they call a two party system.
I do, however, take offense with the long haired brunette in the crowd stating we should tell the democrats to “Sit down and shut up.” I do understand the tone of the tea parties and that she was brought along because of her high profile status and feisty rhetoric. It works. It would even be entertaining if she were at some comedy club instead of just another OBAMA BASHING. If she doesn’t watch out, she may be called upon to run the country herself. (Excuse me; I need to go take some sort of a pill.)
There. I decided on anti-nausea med.
The other thing that makes me want to hurl is that she has been offered a reality show (according to the gossip mongers) for which she will receive $1,500,000 per episode. That’s what I am really mad about. It’s the money she is being paid and I am not. We seem to be about even on other things that matter. We are both mothers, even grandmothers. We both care about our country and the leaders thereof.
We both are concerned with wardrobe, lipstick, babies, book writing,……………mmm… that’s about it.
The things that stand out are our differences. You can bet she didn’t type her own manuscripts, for instance. I also can’t see Russia from my home, or shoot a gun; much less HIT something. I don’t wear clothes that cost the Republican Party $250,000, even though I would be willing to do that to bridge the gap. I also don’t wear waders to fish but only because I don’t fish; and also because my shoulders are not wide enough but neither are her’s. Maybe that is the THING that keeps us apart.
She just ‘goes for it’. My mission is to just watch and judge what she did wrong. It is bi-partisan enough. We don’t need to throw stones or stage a tea party.
PRESS RELEASE
Breast cancer is not NEWS. Ways to make it more tolerable IS.
CHARLAVAN BAKER HART has written a book called TITTATTS: LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER that could change the lives of so many victims. She knows. She is a survivor of advanced breast cancer.
After many surgeries and treatments, she had all the scars tattooed with flowers and butterflies. It worked like a miracle. Once she could no longer see the scars, the fight ended. She won and has been well for nine years. (and very COLORFUL.)
She is a seasoned author and columnist and approaches life with a smile and a bit of humor. There is nothing funny about cancer. A MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY isn’t a crowd pleaser but the book is. Her approach to it thru tears and fears will help a great many readers.
The fact that she had spent 20 years as an image consultant gave her the biggest challenge of her life and she met it head on.
She claims that looking better always makes you feel better. That needs to be shared.
One of the unique stories behind her healing was ‘leech therapy’ which was used to try and salvage a breast made from her own body. It failed but it made great theatre at the hospital. It is entertaining and informative reading. Her reconstruction doctor is famous as the originator and president of a charity group of doctors who perform operations for those in need and do it without compensation. He made a very generous endorsement of this book.
It is easy reading and is being applauded as a great help in the healing process by HEALING WITH A SMILE.
This book is just now being released and she is busy working on a follow-up, dealing with the different treatments for breast cancer. This one will be called THE LUMP and she shares what you can expect from the treatments like chemotherapy and estrogen deprivation.
Good stuff and easy reading. BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.
CHARLAVAN BAKER HART has written a book called TITTATTS: LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER that could change the lives of so many victims. She knows. She is a survivor of advanced breast cancer.
After many surgeries and treatments, she had all the scars tattooed with flowers and butterflies. It worked like a miracle. Once she could no longer see the scars, the fight ended. She won and has been well for nine years. (and very COLORFUL.)
She is a seasoned author and columnist and approaches life with a smile and a bit of humor. There is nothing funny about cancer. A MODIFIED RADICAL MASTECTOMY isn’t a crowd pleaser but the book is. Her approach to it thru tears and fears will help a great many readers.
The fact that she had spent 20 years as an image consultant gave her the biggest challenge of her life and she met it head on.
She claims that looking better always makes you feel better. That needs to be shared.
One of the unique stories behind her healing was ‘leech therapy’ which was used to try and salvage a breast made from her own body. It failed but it made great theatre at the hospital. It is entertaining and informative reading. Her reconstruction doctor is famous as the originator and president of a charity group of doctors who perform operations for those in need and do it without compensation. He made a very generous endorsement of this book.
It is easy reading and is being applauded as a great help in the healing process by HEALING WITH A SMILE.
This book is just now being released and she is busy working on a follow-up, dealing with the different treatments for breast cancer. This one will be called THE LUMP and she shares what you can expect from the treatments like chemotherapy and estrogen deprivation.
Good stuff and easy reading. BEEN THERE. DONE THAT.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
DUMB AS A BOX OF ROCKS
People! If you have a group of like minded folks, you want to speak up for your cause; you need to be very careful about whom you choose to be your spokesperson.
I heard an interview last night on the Joy Behaur CNN show with a guy pleading the cause of the tea partiers. He was rude, crude and insulting. I don’t know exactly what he said because I had my finger on the ‘mute’ button in self defense. She was as gracious as she could be. (If you listen to Joy, you know that has its limitations.)
But when she finally shut him off, he was undaunted. I think that wasn’t his first rodeo. He seemed pretty insulated if she didn’t subscribe to his views. Her next guest said “Why didn’t you close him down sooner?” She waved it off at the time but I would like to have heard what she had to say over breakfast this morning.
If you are following the story of the missing (and now presumed dead) little girl from Satsuma, Florida, several of the family members have been interviewed. WOW.
I could swear I was watching a movie. The scripting was entertaining. It lightened the spirit of the sad story. I have followed that story for 15 months, continuing to hope that they solve the mystery and find her alive.
I am embarrassed to think that is a bit amusing. It took a lot out of me. I kept the perspective with a little effort, because it could have gone either way. My feelings for the tragedy itself were divided by knowing that someone in that group was responsible for the death, and then back to the look and language of the interviewee. It was a rollercoaster ride and I do the same thing each time I re-live another airing of the story and another brain trust that is telling us what they know.
I am acutely aware that this is shallow of me and I try hard to keep focused. Honestly
I still think the movie version will be entertaining in some weird way (while I deny every bit of this in my twisted mind.)
Charlavan
619 850 2812
www.tittatts.com
www.charlavan.com
www.charlavan-breastcancer-nowwhat.blogspot.com
People! If you have a group of like minded folks, you want to speak up for your cause; you need to be very careful about whom you choose to be your spokesperson.
I heard an interview last night on the Joy Behaur CNN show with a guy pleading the cause of the tea partiers. He was rude, crude and insulting. I don’t know exactly what he said because I had my finger on the ‘mute’ button in self defense. She was as gracious as she could be. (If you listen to Joy, you know that has its limitations.)
But when she finally shut him off, he was undaunted. I think that wasn’t his first rodeo. He seemed pretty insulated if she didn’t subscribe to his views. Her next guest said “Why didn’t you close him down sooner?” She waved it off at the time but I would like to have heard what she had to say over breakfast this morning.
If you are following the story of the missing (and now presumed dead) little girl from Satsuma, Florida, several of the family members have been interviewed. WOW.
I could swear I was watching a movie. The scripting was entertaining. It lightened the spirit of the sad story. I have followed that story for 15 months, continuing to hope that they solve the mystery and find her alive.
I am embarrassed to think that is a bit amusing. It took a lot out of me. I kept the perspective with a little effort, because it could have gone either way. My feelings for the tragedy itself were divided by knowing that someone in that group was responsible for the death, and then back to the look and language of the interviewee. It was a rollercoaster ride and I do the same thing each time I re-live another airing of the story and another brain trust that is telling us what they know.
I am acutely aware that this is shallow of me and I try hard to keep focused. Honestly
I still think the movie version will be entertaining in some weird way (while I deny every bit of this in my twisted mind.)
Charlavan
619 850 2812
www.tittatts.com
www.charlavan.com
www.charlavan-breastcancer-nowwhat.blogspot.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
I TALK TO MYSELF
7:59 A.M. (I said to myself, I said ‘self’…)
Am I really ready to get up?
Well, I could but there is no urgency.
Who is that on the phone, calling me this early?
“This is Charlavan.
No, I think you have the wrong number. I didn't ask for an estimate.”
Well, I am awake so I may as well make some coffee. Bret will probably come by pretty soon to see if I did. OK.
I may as well clean up the kitchen since I would really be a bitch if someone else left it this way.
I'll tell the publisher I am not quite ready to sign off on that manuscript. I need to email her. I don't want that book released until I get a marketing plan in place. Need to raise some money.
No, I'll write to Denise first. I lost her address. There it is.
Maybe I will apply for a loan to finance the marketing for it since I can't go forward without it.
OK, I did that but not sure I would take it even if I qualified. Those rates were not good.
I'll just do a little organizing of my desk before I get into anything else. Well, at least it looks better, even if it doesn't work as well.
My phone is really messing up. My little kids would laugh at that bit of ancient technology. I still can't open that labor intensive text from DB.
I'd better water those plants on the patio. Oops. Those are already soaked.
I really need to get those letters out. I'll check the mail at the same time. Well, that was an exercise in futility. I didn't need to go to the mailbox to get all those fliers but at least they didn't have 'windows'.
I'm not really hungry but I think I'll eat again. Maybe salmon patties. OK. There. They really needed some fresh onions. The onion chips just don't cut it.
It is about 4:00 and this is Wednesday so I'll make something to offer Missy when she comes by after work. It is her night out with the girls. I can't believe she is really bowling! Good for her.
I really should go have the car cleaned but I don't want to. I almost wish the Lakers would have lost one more game before they won. It was more fun watching the game while I eat. Just plain television watching is not compelling. I have heard that news. I am entertainment challenged.
I am really bored today. There are a thousand things I should be doing but most of them are not an option right now. Damn.
Maybe I'll just drive out to the casino and use that bit of credit they gave me. -----------not a good idea. I'll just have a Dr. Pepper.
I'll go to the spa. This swimsuit looks like do-do but it is comfortable. Shee-ott. They are caulking the pool and spa today! Gotta get out of this suit. It is really ugly.
OK, I'll write up that marketing plan. I always work better after I write it out – change it – change it again, read it, change it again. Now I need to make up a list of addresses. There. At least that is a start.
The computer just lost a group of files again! I'll reinstall that program. I hate this thing.
I love this thing. What would I do without it?
OK, I'll let the doctor look at my ear. If I can't hear very well on that side and it is hurting, it might not take Filini to figure out I have an ear infection. Too much of the spa? Maybe it will feel better tomorrow. I'll wait a little longer.
What's the date? Already?
Well, it is almost bedtime. Did I do anything productive? Sure. I got out of bed.
7:59 A.M. (I said to myself, I said ‘self’…)
Am I really ready to get up?
Well, I could but there is no urgency.
Who is that on the phone, calling me this early?
“This is Charlavan.
No, I think you have the wrong number. I didn't ask for an estimate.”
Well, I am awake so I may as well make some coffee. Bret will probably come by pretty soon to see if I did. OK.
I may as well clean up the kitchen since I would really be a bitch if someone else left it this way.
I'll tell the publisher I am not quite ready to sign off on that manuscript. I need to email her. I don't want that book released until I get a marketing plan in place. Need to raise some money.
No, I'll write to Denise first. I lost her address. There it is.
Maybe I will apply for a loan to finance the marketing for it since I can't go forward without it.
OK, I did that but not sure I would take it even if I qualified. Those rates were not good.
I'll just do a little organizing of my desk before I get into anything else. Well, at least it looks better, even if it doesn't work as well.
My phone is really messing up. My little kids would laugh at that bit of ancient technology. I still can't open that labor intensive text from DB.
I'd better water those plants on the patio. Oops. Those are already soaked.
I really need to get those letters out. I'll check the mail at the same time. Well, that was an exercise in futility. I didn't need to go to the mailbox to get all those fliers but at least they didn't have 'windows'.
I'm not really hungry but I think I'll eat again. Maybe salmon patties. OK. There. They really needed some fresh onions. The onion chips just don't cut it.
It is about 4:00 and this is Wednesday so I'll make something to offer Missy when she comes by after work. It is her night out with the girls. I can't believe she is really bowling! Good for her.
I really should go have the car cleaned but I don't want to. I almost wish the Lakers would have lost one more game before they won. It was more fun watching the game while I eat. Just plain television watching is not compelling. I have heard that news. I am entertainment challenged.
I am really bored today. There are a thousand things I should be doing but most of them are not an option right now. Damn.
Maybe I'll just drive out to the casino and use that bit of credit they gave me. -----------not a good idea. I'll just have a Dr. Pepper.
I'll go to the spa. This swimsuit looks like do-do but it is comfortable. Shee-ott. They are caulking the pool and spa today! Gotta get out of this suit. It is really ugly.
OK, I'll write up that marketing plan. I always work better after I write it out – change it – change it again, read it, change it again. Now I need to make up a list of addresses. There. At least that is a start.
The computer just lost a group of files again! I'll reinstall that program. I hate this thing.
I love this thing. What would I do without it?
OK, I'll let the doctor look at my ear. If I can't hear very well on that side and it is hurting, it might not take Filini to figure out I have an ear infection. Too much of the spa? Maybe it will feel better tomorrow. I'll wait a little longer.
What's the date? Already?
Well, it is almost bedtime. Did I do anything productive? Sure. I got out of bed.
THE WALKING WOUNDED
Timing is everything. I have been obsessed for the last few months getting a book ready to publish about life after breast cancer. In fact, that is ALL I have been doing. I have the publisher, am having the site built for the survivors and have been two weeks now recording the audio version of the book.
Right now I am busy looking for sponsors for the project. I thought the writing and reading were the hard parts. No, it is the raising money from sponsors or donors. BUT I woke up way too early this morning to find that the three big network anchors were TOGETHER in one interview, announcing they were bonding together to fight the cancer issue until we find a cure for it. Each and every one of them had lost at least two family members to the disease.
It is taking over the world right now. I feel like I have been put in the right place at the right time.
However, with no better option available, the focus is just to pour more and more money on the problem until a cure is found. My thought, though, is that I have never heard a single word about the lack of funding being the problem. I feel so strongly about this, it is hard to be objective. Naturally, I want the American Cancer Society to be funded for whatever scientific method is out there. And I feel in my heart it will happen. But the fact that it hasn't happened yet is probably not for lack of funding.
The focus of what I have written is about life after breast cancer because from a personal standpoint, that is what I know about. I know about the devastation these women and their families feel when they learn they too have breast cancer. THEY need support. They (we) represent the experts on how to recover from this if we are given a chance. Those are the WALKING WOUNDED. There are millions who need help in coping. The feeling has been if you are one of the lucky ones and survive, you don't need any more help. So, my efforts are to help the ones regain a life and go on stronger than before. It always impacts families and finances as well as quality of life.
What is more urgent to me is that there are so many people with no insurance and therefore not offered all that is available to those with proper funding. Those too are ones I would like to help. There will be a method in my project for donations to be made for these people. There will also be a way to pay tribute to those that didn't make it and have their stories told if the family would like. This was prompted by hearing from one of my best friends in Orange County this week and learning that her daughter had just died from breast cancer. I am more convinced that I survived for a reason.
One of the things I am working on right now is validating the use of natural herbs in fighting the disease. I have been collaborating with a young woman who had had a radical mastectomy in her late 30's and had been given all the chemo, multiple surgeries and still given only a month then to live. She opted for treating herself just with herbal treatment and that was 13 years ago. I think that may be better news than perhaps we have found even in the medical field. Unfortunately those herbs cost her over $10,000 and none of it covered by insurance.
Now I can get off my band box and get back to work. I am glad this much national attention is being paid to the subject and am sure it will also bode well in the promotion of my own book. People are going to be helped here.
Sorry about this being not the least bit humorous because that is usually my M.O. but you will find some humor in the title of this book. It is "Tit Tatts: Life After Breast Cancer." (smile here) I am a piece of walking artwork but as far as the world knows, I have no scars!!
Timing is everything. I have been obsessed for the last few months getting a book ready to publish about life after breast cancer. In fact, that is ALL I have been doing. I have the publisher, am having the site built for the survivors and have been two weeks now recording the audio version of the book.
Right now I am busy looking for sponsors for the project. I thought the writing and reading were the hard parts. No, it is the raising money from sponsors or donors. BUT I woke up way too early this morning to find that the three big network anchors were TOGETHER in one interview, announcing they were bonding together to fight the cancer issue until we find a cure for it. Each and every one of them had lost at least two family members to the disease.
It is taking over the world right now. I feel like I have been put in the right place at the right time.
However, with no better option available, the focus is just to pour more and more money on the problem until a cure is found. My thought, though, is that I have never heard a single word about the lack of funding being the problem. I feel so strongly about this, it is hard to be objective. Naturally, I want the American Cancer Society to be funded for whatever scientific method is out there. And I feel in my heart it will happen. But the fact that it hasn't happened yet is probably not for lack of funding.
The focus of what I have written is about life after breast cancer because from a personal standpoint, that is what I know about. I know about the devastation these women and their families feel when they learn they too have breast cancer. THEY need support. They (we) represent the experts on how to recover from this if we are given a chance. Those are the WALKING WOUNDED. There are millions who need help in coping. The feeling has been if you are one of the lucky ones and survive, you don't need any more help. So, my efforts are to help the ones regain a life and go on stronger than before. It always impacts families and finances as well as quality of life.
What is more urgent to me is that there are so many people with no insurance and therefore not offered all that is available to those with proper funding. Those too are ones I would like to help. There will be a method in my project for donations to be made for these people. There will also be a way to pay tribute to those that didn't make it and have their stories told if the family would like. This was prompted by hearing from one of my best friends in Orange County this week and learning that her daughter had just died from breast cancer. I am more convinced that I survived for a reason.
One of the things I am working on right now is validating the use of natural herbs in fighting the disease. I have been collaborating with a young woman who had had a radical mastectomy in her late 30's and had been given all the chemo, multiple surgeries and still given only a month then to live. She opted for treating herself just with herbal treatment and that was 13 years ago. I think that may be better news than perhaps we have found even in the medical field. Unfortunately those herbs cost her over $10,000 and none of it covered by insurance.
Now I can get off my band box and get back to work. I am glad this much national attention is being paid to the subject and am sure it will also bode well in the promotion of my own book. People are going to be helped here.
Sorry about this being not the least bit humorous because that is usually my M.O. but you will find some humor in the title of this book. It is "Tit Tatts: Life After Breast Cancer." (smile here) I am a piece of walking artwork but as far as the world knows, I have no scars!!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
KNOW WHAT REALLY TURNS ME ON?
COOL!
No, not cool that you know the answer, but COOL IS the answer. I am impressed with a lot of things - superior intelligence, extreme talent, good looks, great sense of humor, natural smile (WAY UP THERE), personality, good carriage, power, concepts beyond my comprehension, and a whale of a lot of other things people possess. But the thing that really turns me on is COOL. Grace under fire.
If you really must fall apart, do so after you have handled the crisis. There are so many things in the course of a day, a week, a life, when you can just LOSE IT. If you aren’t able to handle it with a bit of calm and class, you probably won’t be invited back into the inner circle. There are a few places that are just a set up for those who can’t keep their cool.
Airports are high on the list. The traveler is not usually as challenged as the guy that is supposed to PICK UP the traveler at a designated spot. It is time sensitive because the exact arrival time is inexact. There is no place to park unless you want to go to the parking garage and make the trek to baggage pick-up after you hook up. Or you can get back in the cue to pick them up (standing by their bags on the sidewalk) without much time or space. I have been there on one too many occasions and by the time your ‘picker-upper’ finds you, you are both steamed and thinking the whole idea might have been a misser. What a great way to start or end a vacation. Cell phones have done a lot to ease the problem but it doesn’t really erase it because the cool-free character can usually make a production out of that.
OR, see if this rings a bell with you…..someone is taking a shower and in the adjoining part of the bath the toilet is flushed. The ‘shower-er’ jumps THROUGH the glass door of the shower to escape the hot water. Not cool. It is entirely possible to live past the hot water surge without extreme danger. The same can’t be said for jumping through a glass door, even though they are shatter proof. ‘Cool-ly’ moving out of the way of the water would definitely have been a better choice. (Or choosing a mate who can remember not to flush.)
NOT COOL.
How about this?? You see a little too late that there is a paper bag in the street. You ‘SWERVE’ and barely miss it. The passenger gets a whip lash and the driver gets a lashing, but you miss the bag. Now even if the bag had explosives in it, which is rare, laying right by that dumpster the bag flew out of, it just might have been wiser to take a chance on it just being an old bag full of hamburger wrappings. You could have slightly turned the wheel and missed it completely or taken a wild chance and run over it. Either would have been a much better choice than to risk life and limb for everyone with those wild maneuvers.
NOT COOL.
So, if defensive driving is in your blood and it takes your full concentration, just drive all by yourself. All of those wild antics might add to your enjoyment and make the trip go faster (smoother would be out of the equation). And you might also make your destination on time but totally frazzled and NOT COOL.
Have you ever been HERE??? You make an innocent telephone call to someone and the reason for the call is not earth-shattering anyway but you want to talk about it. Ring - ring - ring - no answer. Fine, just as you start to hang up, someone yells, HELLO! Who is this?? Click. Not cool. If they were too busy or unable to talk right then, how are you supposed to know that? Just don’t answer the freaking phone if you can’t talk. It is a communication device over which we have a bit of control. The call was well intended, poorly received. How could you have been so insensitive to call right then about almost nothing? Didn’t need to push the panic button and I certainly don’t need to talk to you NOW.
So, please, the next time you are tempted to lose your cool, be prepared to lose a lot more than your cool. You might be taken off the Christmas card list. DRAMA IS OVER-RATED. COOL IS SEXY.
COOL!
No, not cool that you know the answer, but COOL IS the answer. I am impressed with a lot of things - superior intelligence, extreme talent, good looks, great sense of humor, natural smile (WAY UP THERE), personality, good carriage, power, concepts beyond my comprehension, and a whale of a lot of other things people possess. But the thing that really turns me on is COOL. Grace under fire.
If you really must fall apart, do so after you have handled the crisis. There are so many things in the course of a day, a week, a life, when you can just LOSE IT. If you aren’t able to handle it with a bit of calm and class, you probably won’t be invited back into the inner circle. There are a few places that are just a set up for those who can’t keep their cool.
Airports are high on the list. The traveler is not usually as challenged as the guy that is supposed to PICK UP the traveler at a designated spot. It is time sensitive because the exact arrival time is inexact. There is no place to park unless you want to go to the parking garage and make the trek to baggage pick-up after you hook up. Or you can get back in the cue to pick them up (standing by their bags on the sidewalk) without much time or space. I have been there on one too many occasions and by the time your ‘picker-upper’ finds you, you are both steamed and thinking the whole idea might have been a misser. What a great way to start or end a vacation. Cell phones have done a lot to ease the problem but it doesn’t really erase it because the cool-free character can usually make a production out of that.
OR, see if this rings a bell with you…..someone is taking a shower and in the adjoining part of the bath the toilet is flushed. The ‘shower-er’ jumps THROUGH the glass door of the shower to escape the hot water. Not cool. It is entirely possible to live past the hot water surge without extreme danger. The same can’t be said for jumping through a glass door, even though they are shatter proof. ‘Cool-ly’ moving out of the way of the water would definitely have been a better choice. (Or choosing a mate who can remember not to flush.)
NOT COOL.
How about this?? You see a little too late that there is a paper bag in the street. You ‘SWERVE’ and barely miss it. The passenger gets a whip lash and the driver gets a lashing, but you miss the bag. Now even if the bag had explosives in it, which is rare, laying right by that dumpster the bag flew out of, it just might have been wiser to take a chance on it just being an old bag full of hamburger wrappings. You could have slightly turned the wheel and missed it completely or taken a wild chance and run over it. Either would have been a much better choice than to risk life and limb for everyone with those wild maneuvers.
NOT COOL.
So, if defensive driving is in your blood and it takes your full concentration, just drive all by yourself. All of those wild antics might add to your enjoyment and make the trip go faster (smoother would be out of the equation). And you might also make your destination on time but totally frazzled and NOT COOL.
Have you ever been HERE??? You make an innocent telephone call to someone and the reason for the call is not earth-shattering anyway but you want to talk about it. Ring - ring - ring - no answer. Fine, just as you start to hang up, someone yells, HELLO! Who is this?? Click. Not cool. If they were too busy or unable to talk right then, how are you supposed to know that? Just don’t answer the freaking phone if you can’t talk. It is a communication device over which we have a bit of control. The call was well intended, poorly received. How could you have been so insensitive to call right then about almost nothing? Didn’t need to push the panic button and I certainly don’t need to talk to you NOW.
So, please, the next time you are tempted to lose your cool, be prepared to lose a lot more than your cool. You might be taken off the Christmas card list. DRAMA IS OVER-RATED. COOL IS SEXY.
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