I just got back from the barbers. I knew I should have gone on Tuesday.
There was no one there when I passed by, but noooo, I had to wait till today.
There were 4 guys ahead of me. Now, you've go to picture this to understand
this barber. You do not just climb into the chair & he whisks off your hair & you
pay him & leave...Nooooo. He greets you first with some kind of a homey choice
of words; talks about something that just may have happened in our very small town;
then asks how you want your hair cut; is interrupted by a lady coming in wanting to
purchase some hair treatment or shampoo or whatever all those bottles on the shelf
are---of course, he has to exchange some pleasantries with her first. She whips out
a bill of unknown denomination, he takes it & puts it in his pocket & thanks her. She leaves.
Then a phone call that doesn't appear urgent, but he keeps on talking anyway.
THEN he finally starts to put the sheet around you & almost strangles you with it
around your throat. Ok...now he actually starts to cut your hair. Multiply this by
each of the customers in the shop.
Now more guys are coming in & it's almost standing room only. Of course, the
current state of the U.S. & specifically, the auto industry ensues, & a series of 'what-if'
is brought into the discussion. What if the automakers go bankrupt? What if the Gov't.
DOES bail them out? Etc. Etc. "Now is the time to buy GM stock", the barber boldly
states. "Of course, I do not have any money to do that, but if I did, I'd snap up a whole
bunch & sit on it for awhile." Well, about 3 hairs on your head have been cut by now.
Only 15,986 to go.
Finally your haircut is complete, but before you can get out of the chair, you ask for
your glasses. You get an answer from the barber that he hides them until the customer pays.
Everyone laughs, of course. I guess he was kidding ! So a $10 bill is handed over to him &
he says,"See you in 6 weeks.", & you leave. A 15 minute service turns into 1 1/2 hours....
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Joseph
Let me put something in context for you –
since the start of the Iraq War five years ago,
nearly 4,200 American troops have been killed.
In the first three months of 2008,
4,800 people were killed by prescription drugs.
That's according to a new analysis by the
Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a watchdog
group that compiled reports from FDA statistics.
ISMP's research found that the first quarter of 2008
not only set a record for serious drug reactions (21,000),
but also for deaths from those reactions (4,800).
Two drugs caused a lot of the statistics: the blood
thinner heparin and the antismoking drug Chantix.
ISMP found heparin accounted for 102 deaths among
779 reports of serious problems. In April the FDA
announced that many doses of heparin were
contaminated during manufacturing in China.
Pfizer's drug Chantix, introduced in 2006, is a whole
different story. Chantix has been linked to depression,
suicides and blackouts resulting in traffic and other types
of accidents. The ISMP noted 50 deaths linked to Chantix
during the quarter, and a whopping 1,001 reports of serious injuries.
As frightening as these figures are, you know what else is frightening?
It took a watchdog group to put the FDA's own statistics into perspective.
It's shocking that the FDA cannot compile its own numbers to give us a
sense of just how dangerous prescription drugs have become in America.
As the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way.
But when there's no will – and, believe me, the FDA doesn't have the will
to stand up to the billion-dollar drug companies –
there's no way we're ever going to get the protection we need.
Joseph
Remember the saying, "You can never go back" ?
Well, on my recent trip back to Ohio, I found that to be very true.
I had some extra time between visiting family & friends & thought it might be nice to visit my two childhood neighborhoods on the outskirts of the inner city in Cleveland.
The first neighborhood was almost unrecognizable. Houses were missing everwhere. Most of those still standing were in poor condition, with doors and windows boarded up. Weeds and small trees almost obscuring a lot of the houses. Serious inner-city blight.
Evidently, someone thought they would start their own reclamation project, & build a 1 1/2 story house, with nice vinyl siding and an attached garage. The house was beautiful upon finishing I can only surmise. Now, all the windows were smashed out & the doors and windows on the first floor were boarded up.
I proceeded to where I knew my old house was located, & drove right by it. I backed up to witness a sorry sight. A lot of the aluminum siding was ripped off...sold to the junkyard, no doubt. No windows or doors were boarded up though, & there was a car in the drive...someone must be living there. Weeds were everywhere. Amazing.
What once was a vibrant ethnic neighborhood, complete with red brick streets, was now almost a ghost area. Weeds & junk everywhere. Houses and yards that were once tenderly cared for were now a shell of their former self.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I kept saying to myself, "Why?" Why has my old neighborhood deteriorated to this extent? Why didn't all the people living there all these years no longer have any pride in their houses & neighborhood? Why do people choose to live like this?
After this traumatic experience, I was aprehensive to visit my second childhood neighborhood, only 2-3 miles away.
As I had to drive past an area of commercial businesses to get there, I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of the old factories that were there when I was a 'young pup' were still there and were viable places of commerce. When I say 'old', I meant it. These factories were old when I lived there in the 40's & 50's.
Turning into the street approaching my old neighborhood, I slowed the car down & was much surprised to find the houses in better condition, with nothing boarded up. A lot of the yards weren't as kept up as I remembered them, but they were decent.
My old Parochial School was closed, but the old Church stood there magnificently, a beacon of light to me. It looked like it had just been built. The brickwork was red & clean. The massive wooden doors were still as I remembered them. The bell tower still had the 2 bells there & they both looked great. There was a sign on the front of the church. The Parish was to celebrate 100 years of existence... 1909-2009...next year.
With my soul feeling good, I spied my old house. It was in need of paint, but the yard was decent & there were no weeds or junk in the yard. I felt good.
Gone was the store next door that us school kids would go to after school for those great nickle phosphate drinks with the carbonated water. In its place was a newer 2 story home, that stood there majestically. Now I'm feeling even better.
As I continued driving slowly down the street, I was being eyeballed by 3 rather tough-looking boys, I thought to be about 15-16, who no doubt, wondered why an old redneck from Kentucky was cruising their territory. I laughed out loud at this situation. My sorrow had turned to laughter. Thank you Lord.
I then decided to see if my first place of employment after high school was still in business. Much to my surprise, there it was....as clean as a whistle, with the shining glazed blockwork gleaming in the sun & the 2 bronze namplates freshly polished. The grass was deep green & the smell of newly mowed grass wafting in the air. The only thing different from memory was that the employee parking gates were locked up tight. Oh well, things do change.
I am grateful I had the opportunity to go through both a deflating & uplifting experience on this trip. I believe the good overweighed the bad ...but just barely.
To those of you that have read this far, I thank you...for reading the thoughts of an old man that just experienced both good & bad & had to get it in writing.
May God bless & keep you in the palm of his hand.
Joseph
Tags: Memories
