Home Town Advantage

It seems like everybody does it.  Or should I say doesn't...

What I'm referring to is that one thing that your home town area is known for, that every tourist comes to do, and yet you've never actually done yourself.

Why is it that so many of us do that?  And what does it take for us to finally go ahead and enjoy the thing that our area is known for?

Maybe it's because it will 'always be there'.  I think that for me it's a little bit about wanting to avoid looking like a tourist.  Shoot, I don't like looking like a tourist when I am a tourist...

Anyway this time around, when we head back down to Palm Springs next week, we plan to finally do the one thing that nobody would possibly have taken this long to do.  We are going to play a round of golf!

My husband has played exactly two rounds of golf in his whole life.  I have played none.  Wish us luck!

I'm really looking forward to driving the golf cart!

credit:  Wikimedia Commons

I certainly hope I can drive better than this!

We are so going to look like tourists!

No Pain, No Gain???

Last week, at the dentist, I ended up needing to have a couple of old small fillings replaced. 

Credit: ponsulak, stock photo contrubutor/ found at freedigitalphotos.net

I have never needed any major dental work of any kind.  However, when I have needed small fillings over the years, I must admit that the worst part for me was definitely the left over numb feeling from the anesthesia.  I would invariably end up turning my cheek into hamburger and couldn't eat at all for the remainder of the day as the numbness would spread into my throat and all the way into my eyes.

For years I had a fabulous dentist that did the most beautiful work and was so nice.  He held the belief that there is no reason to lose your teeth to poor dental care, no matter how old you are.  I referred many friends who did need significant work done and they were so thankful that I had sent them.  However,  there was always this problem for me with the leftover numb feeling that would drive me insane, cause me to be unable to work the rest of the day and give me a mouth full of pain that lasted for more than a week from all the chewing I ended up doing to my over numb mouth.  No matter what I said about it, the dentist would never offer to do anything about this problem. Since he was so good and I rarely needed anything done, I just chose to live with it.

A couple of years ago that wonderful dentist retired.  He found a replacement that came highly regarded.  I have to admit though that I was skeptical about having someone new work on my teeth as I have heard so many dental horror stories.  But the other day I had no choice; it was time to try out the skills of the new dentist. 

I decided that I would 'bite the bullet' and hit this guy up with my over-numbness issue.  I figured if I gave him the true test of my worst issue right off the bat, then that would tell me a lot about this guy.  I laid it out there that I would actually prefer a little pain during the procedure than to have to put up with the awful problems I have with all the numbness.

To my surprise, the dentist offered to let me have a short acting anesthesia and to use about half as much as he usually would.  He told me that some people choose to forgo anesthesia altogether.  So here was my chance.  I was going to have to put my money where my mouth was!

And I did.  I took him up on the offer and I went with very little anesthesia.  My fillings were small and I only felt some real sensitivity in one area.  I still got numb all the way into my eyes, but it didn't last long.  In fact, by the time I left the office my numbness was almost completely gone!  I did also notice a little soreness in the two areas where the work was done for several hours after, but that was nothing compared to the damage I would have done to my mouth had I been so darn numb. 

It turned out to be the perfect trade off for me.  I will absolutely choose this option again, when needed.

What about you?  Do you ever choose short term pain over a more long term annoyance?  Have you ever had dental work without anesthesia?

A Memorial Day Option For A Patriot

On this coming Memorial Day, the Palm Springs Air Museum will host its 15th annual flower drop.

The highlight of the ceremony will be a B-25 Mitchell bomber fly-by that drops 3,000 red and white carnations onto the tarmac and the into the awaiting crowd.

Carnations and Mignonette- Boston Public Library

The carnation is sometimes known as the flower of the gods with its scientific name being dianthus.  Dios for god and Zeus and anthos for flower.  

The flowers being dropped will honor all those who lost their lives defending the U.S.  White will signify those lost in the wars of WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  Red is for those lost in more recent military conflicts from the Persian Gulf and Desert Storm to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

I can just imagine the resulting red, white and blue effect as the flowers drop from a sunny Palm Springs sky.  

I am always on the lookout for meaningful ways to celebrate our proud American heritage.  What will you be doing this Memorial Day?

Maybe There's Hope

I have tried to describe for you what it is like to live out here on the 'Left Coast' and I'm sure that I have annoyed some by reiterating several times about how there is really only one way to express your personal beliefs around here- with a very liberal bend...

Or else you risk rolled eyes, condescending comments and my personal favorite- the 'look'- the one that says more clearly than ever that you are just some kind of imbecile that needs to be re-educated and indoctrinated into true understanding.  Surely then you wouldn't actually attempt to have an other than liberal belief system, or at least would have the decency not to voice it.

So imagine my complete and utter surprise when the other night I pulled into a parking space right between two Toyota Prius vehicles- you know the official vehicle of the northwest that clearly shows your left leaning superiority.  The vehicle that comes standard with an I heart Obamacare bumper sticker and also signifies that anyone who isn't driving said vehicle is obviously looking to slash and burn all forests and feed your children straight coal for breakfast.  (Never mind that electricity comes from coal.  Don't look behind that curtain.)

Now around here pulling into a parking space between two Prius cars is not all that unusual.  They are very popular vehicles in these parts.  No, the thing that was really, truly weird is that the place I was parking at was a gun range.  (I know, I know.  I'm stereotyping.  But tell me you've ever seen a Prius with an NRA sticker and I'll ask for photographic proof.)

We Americans may not be able to come to any agreement on global warming, but it looks like the 2nd Amendment has some pretty universal appeal.

Attribution: Howard Chandler Christy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Goodbye Possum

Just can't let it go without putting in my own goodbye for George Jones, one of the finest that country music has ever offered up...

If you are one of the majority who has been blessed by the unique and truly emotion-laden voice of George Jones, then you already know why I feel compelled to mark his passing.  If you have never really explored his music, please do yourself the favor of finding out what everyone is making such a big deal about.  George Jones is one of those voices that can mean something special to everyone.  A person who can embody and develop those emotional moments that life hands us, that are just so hard to quantify, is such a gift.

George Jones is much more than just the sad songs he is very well known for.  His stuff often contains a humorous twist that brings out another level of understanding and appreciation for what he has to offer as an interpreter of the human condition. 

One of the positive things that I was given as I was growing up was an exposure to almost every kind of music that exits.  Maybe because my family life was so chaotic, there was always room for anything that might come out of a radio speaker.  The soundtrack that I grew up with contained everything from heavy metal to disco to classic rock to pop to country gold.

And when I think of country greatness, of course I think of George Jones. 

I love the fact that George Jones was able to overcome his demons for the most part.  His story of recovery from alcoholism, with much help from his 4th wife, speaks to the idea that there is always hope for any person who truly wants to improve themselves.  George Jones managed to pull himself out of the depths of failure with a lot of hard work and a little luck.  He once said that "a four-decade career had been salvaged by a three-minute song", referring to his Country Music Association Song of the Year for 1980 and 1981:  He Stopped Loving Her Today.



Realizing that he was singing about a man who loved a woman so much that he continued to love her through decades of her life- without him in it, hoping against hope that she might someday return to him, only to finally stop loving her because he had died... well, that was just such a singular experience.  I remember actually getting the full gist of the lyrics as I was waiting in the car outside the grocery store, drawing with my fingers on the fogged up windows.  There are few songs that embody so much in such a simple melody.

Thank You George Jones for everything you brought to the world of country music.  And thank you for everything you brought to my own little piece of the world...