Surprising Places I Love #2: My Dentist’s Office

It’s pretty standard that dentists get a bad rap.  This no doubt, enforced by Steve Martin’s evil “Doo-Wop” song and dance in the 1980’s  “Little Shop of Horrors” flick – yanking teeth like Bob Fosse starring in SAW V.  And also from my dad telling me about the dental procedures he endured as a young man in the US Army.  No water, no suction and no shame.

So, I guess it’s pretty odd that one of my new strange favorite places is my dentist’s office.  Yep.  Let me explain:

It begins with a comfy waiting area with a coat rack, two nice couches, magazines and a large screen TV tuned to something awesome like HDTV or TLC’s, “What Not to Wear.”  There is also a nice, clean bathroom adjacent to the waiting room.  Then, in no more than 5 minutes, they don’t make you wait long (another bonus!), Leslie – the Happy Hygienist (she is so sweet!) invites you in.

“Hi Boomer!” I say, as the dentist’s dog, a very large and ridiculously cute poodle comes and sniffs you – to see if you have treats in your pocket (which I usually do because our family has a dog too).  He let’s you give him a quick head rub and then saunters back to his doggy bed grande.  (And if you don’t like dogs, well this teeth place ain’t for you.  But I love doggies so this adds to my joy…) Anyways, Leslie has you sit down in her chair while she gets started with the bib and doin’ the mouthwash thang.  She is nice, she is pretty, she is gentle and she makes nice conversation, expertly able to understand one’s garbled responses while being flossed.  And then, here comes the magic…  She massages your neck, throat, checks behind your ears and then takes a piece of gauze to pull out your tongue to check around in your mouth looking for anything that looks amiss (like the “C” word…..OK, I mean cancer…Oy!).  Wow.  I had never had a hygienist do this.  She says its standard procedure.  …okay, I’ll take that.

Enter Dr. Kaufman, a quiet, medium-build gent who’s mostly “all business” but sometimes, if in a rare mood, likes to talk about his boat or going out and having fun.  And I know that he is NOT keen on afflicting any pain because he is fine with giving me lots O’ shots of Novocain when needed.  And so far…he does not resemble Steve Martin, sing, dance or have any scary back-up singers behind the curtains.

Cool Quote: By Jane Fonda

“Life is not about success or getting ahead, it’s about being whole.”

Great People #2: Sherrie Gahn, Whitney Elementary School Principal, Las Vegas, NV

More than just the “boss” of an elementary school – overseeing teachers and staff and the various responsibilities pertaining to the Spongebob set, Mrs. Gahn, rising from her own personal experiences with childhood poverty, has added a few more responsibilities to her ever growing list.  Oh, there’s the usual: observe & guide teachers, decide curriculum, be sure the building gets cleaned, have parent/teacher conferences and all that kind of stuff…but she gladly adds such tasks as: collect and distribute donations of food & clothing, find places for homeless families to stay, help locate jobs for parents, hire dentists and medical professionals and even…buy a kid her own bed.

(From the October 17, 2011 issue of People Magazine):  “Kids are bustling through the halls of Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas on a recent Tuesday morning as principal Sherrie Gahn greets them with a singsong, ‘Good moooorning!’  Fifth grader Charlee Morrow passes by and Gahn stops her, asking in a low voice, “Did you get the bed?”  Did you sleep on it? Was it nice?” Charlee beams and claps.  “It was great,” she laughs.  “I didn’t want to get up.” As the student disappears into her classroom, Gahn can’t hide her emotion.  “I’m so glad,” she says, her voice wavering, “my kids are getting the things they need.”

In Nevada, where foreclosures are the highest in the Country and where unemployment is the norm, 85% of the kids in her school are either homeless or on the verge of homelessness.

Working lots O’overtime, Mrs. Gahn coordinates with over 400 individuals and businesses in order to provide all that she does.

In return, all that she asks of her students and their families is to just “pay it forward” and help other people and themselves whenever they can.

Wow…..

 

(Jennie is the Producer/Reader/Editor of “The People Magazine Show” broadcast by Gatewave, America’s newest Radio Reading Service.  Gatewave, formerly InTouch Networks, provides news and interest programming to the sight-impaired and disabled 24/7 nationwide.)

A New York City Tourist? 5 Friendly Tips for You:

1. POTTY TIME?:  Finding a bathroom in New York City (if you don’t live or work here) is like trying to find a cab when it’s raining.  There’s lots of them, but they’re all unavailable.  SO in this great City, you’ve just gotta visit the privy prior to leaving your hotel and then wherever your destination is: a Broadway show, Top of the Rock, Central Park Zoo or MOMA…be sure to “go” there too, even if you think you don’t have to.  Some of my favorite places with the nicest bathrooms are: Grand Central Station, The Toy’s R Us in Times Square, The Main Library next to Bryant Park in midtown, any Whole Foods Market (and they even sometimes also have lotion ~ snazzy!), or any large hotel (just act casual – like you’re staying there).  Although, in a pinch – any bar or specifically an Irish pub is always a nice choice.  Plus you can’t go wrong with a mid-day pint and some seafood chowder.  The prices are good and the native folks that usually work there have RAWKIN’ Dublin accents.  So fun.

 2. Repugnant Puddles:  After rain, sleet, snow or fire hydrant flushing, small pools of thin, gray water edge each NYC curb.  And it is not just some lovely rainwater in which to gleefully tap dance a number from “Singin’ in the Rain.”  Neh…not in New York City.  You name it and it’s in there.   Could there be drippings in it from the Halal food truck?  Sure.  How ’bout pigeon poo.  Okay.  Spilled coffee, shvitz, diet coke, motor oil, Vita Coco, cheese burgers, pee pee, a doughnut, acid reflux, carrot juice, antifreeze, milk and cigarette butts?  You betcha.   And seriously, it smells like day old sushi left out in a Bikram Yoga center’s lunch room.  Please watch where you walk and DO NOT STEP IN IT!  It could burn a hole in your Converse or make your toes shrivel up like a house from Kansas was dropped on it!  And to be sure you don’t get splashed by the nuclear schpiltz ….walk on the inner side of the sidewalk.  Cuz…in a New York minute, a zealous taxi (which is quite common) might speed by, it’s wheels peeling through the ick, and carelessly fling it up and on to your new Ann Taylor jacket.  OMG!

3. KNOW your subway:  Please do not do what I have done – act “cool” thinkin’ you can just get on any dern subway train and that it will work out, magically whisking you to your intended destination.  And then it doesn’t.  Great.  I’ve ended up in Brooklyn when I meant to stay in Manhattan.  I’ve ended up in Queens when I meant to go to 8th avenue.  I’ve ended up on the Upper East Side, when I meant to go to the West.  Or how ’bout getting lost amongst “The Village.”  That’s fun.  You climb out of the depths of the Earth to find even more interesting people (if that’s possible), bead shops, cute restaurants, hip clubs, “adult” evening wear boutiques and those fakackta “name” street signs that lead you to NOTHING!  (This is where tip #4 comes in.)  So please study your subway map prior to descending into the belly of Apple.   And surely, you can always check with that helpful NYC Subway representative behind the bullet proof glass.  They will help you get where you wanna get, even if it means…they hafta look up from their crossword puzzle.

4. Go ahead – ASK PEOPLE STUFF:  Yep, it’s true.  New Yorkers are actually kinda nice.  Hey, you don’t know until ya try it, right?  Just ask someone for directions on the street,  most of the time…they will stop and help you with a smile.  I mean, we’ve all come from somewhere and have been lost here at one point or another.  Oh sure, for good measure, check with your native buddies BEFORE you venture out or grab a map of the City from a tourist spot or something.  But, mostly, NYC peeps will help you out.

5. WACK-A-DOO Alert:  Okay, yes, you can approach ALMOST anyone on the street for surprising, accurate, friendly advice…BUT, please observe them first.  Are they yelling things you don’t understand while scantily clad?  Do their eyes sparkle while they mumble into their styrofoam cup?  Maybe when the doors open – that lady will teeter out of the subway car and onto the platform because she’s had a tad too much drink since 9 a.m.   New York City is an awesome City with all kinds of folks from everywhere on Earth.  That’s all good…but if you see a large man in front of Macy’s doing push ups on the street – wearing a pink tutu while whistling The Star Spangled Banner…maybe skip him and ask the nice young man holding the other nice young man’s hand…how to get to Rockefeller Center.  Not only might you, in addition, receive superb fashion advice but you WILL KNOW the best place to find some tapas post NBC tour.

Enjoy your stay!

Good Brownies

Because I love Ben & Jerry’s ice cream…and I love their partnership with Yonkers (NY) – based Greyston Bakery…I give you…their new magazine ad:

BROWNIES THAT DO GOOD

Ben & Jerry’s partners with people who share our values – like Greyston Bakery.  They show how business can serve the community by providing jobs, training & child care to the underserved.  And if that’s not enough, we put their brownies into chocolate ice cream that we make with Fair Trade cocoa, which benefits the farmers and their communities too.  That’s another way we work to make the best possible ice cream in the best way possible.  To learn more about Greyston’s brownies, go to benjerry.com (or go to greystonbakery.com).

So….in that case….on this hot summer day…I’ll gladly take a Ben & Jerry’s big brownie sundae with whipped cream, nuts and a cherry please!

Thanks!

My Top Ten Favorite Movies of All Time…so far….

Note: I have selected the following films not so much because they are fantastic pieces of cinematic glory (even if they actually are), but because of how they made me feel when I watched them.  Whether a great adventure, a mysterious tale, intriguing characters, first love, nostalgia, melancholy, silliness…or just a well-told story…all left me either joyful, content or deep in thought about the movie’s message…plain and simple, any movie that makes me think and one that I actually remember in great detail, even after years and years…well, that’s a GREAT movie.

10. Silence of the Lambs:  I could not go home after seeing this movie.  I had to grab coffee with my then boyfriend, Bobby, to talk about the film for hours.  Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins were of course, AWESOME.  But the reason this movie stayed with me was threefold: 1. The brilliant yet wacked idea of seeking the opinion of the solitarily confined insane mastermind – Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) to help find the main freak-show criminal; 2. How Mr. Lecter could be so nuts as to peel another dudes face off and then WEAR IT to fake out the cops; 3. And lastly to find out what the main freak-show’s mission really was (in the end) to make lamps and dresses out of size 14 chicks.  OMG.  Whoosh!…there went the rest of my innocence.

9. The Shawshank Redemption:  An eloquent movie with a freakin’ spectacular ending!  Love Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.  To this day, in metaphorical terms, I still think about how life sometimes feels like you are digging an enormous tunnel with a spoon.  It seems impossible, but if we concentrate and never give up, eventually, you’ll break through to the other side (even if it ends up being a sewer).

8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter #1):  Deep down I think we all would love to be able to attend a school where we can learn how to properly wield a  wand and polish up our potion making prowess.   You know those dreams you had when you got to “fly” or be a super hero that could become invisible?  It’s all there in the first Harry Potter film, when the series was most sweet and fun.  (As the story continues through to book/film #7, the story gets much darker…still good, but not the super fun mix of wide-eyed whimsy and lumps and bumps of ”back to school.”)  In all, the reason I think the HP author J.K. Rowling has been so successful, is her talent to spin a story and make it so real and “everyday” that every kid in the World can relate.  To me, Ms. Rowling is to writing as Steven Spielberg is to directing.  Lots of heart and beautiful detail.

7. Stand By Me:  Boys on a journey on foot through the countryside to see a dead body that they heard was there.  Sounds kind of simple and gross I guess.  But the story takes place in 1959, a much simpler time when there was not much to do but to just be together, play games, tell stories and do stupid stuff.   It was a time where kids had to learn about life from each other, about self reliance, being brave and over coming adversity.  And now when kids no longer go out to play so much but are gladly hovering around some sort of “screen” indoors, this movie is so very refreshing.  The boys on a journey: Wil Wheaten (loved him in Star Trek the Next Generation), Corey Feldman and River Phoenix RAWK.  (But we will forever miss you River…so sorry your bright spirit had to leave us all so soon…oxoxo)

6. Goonies: A group of kids on a fantastic adventure, each wanting so much to fit in with their friends and their friends really feeling like family – as they morph from childhood into teen land.  Plus a young Corey Feldman and Sean Astin are HOT.

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark:  Love the khaki outfit, matching hat and whip.  Sweet.  But mainly, since my grandfather was an anthropologist and had all sorts of strange stuff placed all around his house (Kachina Dolls, maps, shrunken heads…etc…)  I guess this movie felt like home.  Hieroglyphics, treasure chests, sliding down tunnels chased by a gynormous ball, dead people, running through busy marketplaces in far off places, monkeys, dates, dusty tombs, nazis getting melted, snakes and my favorite: The Staff of Ra in the map room!  It is uber cool how at a specific time of day, the sunlight shines through the window, hits the gemstone in the headpiece of the staff which, in bending the light, illuminates the location of the Ark upon the 3 dimensional map on the floor.  Extreme wicked coolness here.

4. Popeye: I loved this movie.  Not only are Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall dead ringers for “Popeye” and “Olive Oyl” but so are all of the other characters and costumes and sets and songs.  The total “feel” of the movie IS a popeye cartoon.  And I will never understand, for the life of me, why the critics panned Robin Williams and this movie so.   Cuz I gladly saw it in the theater and then on cable maybe like, 50 times…  Plus realizing that the guy that smooshes his neck down after Bluto freaks out at the hamburger place is none other than the great (30 year old) Bill Irwin.  Cool!  Hey everybody, it’s “Mr. Noodle!!!”

3. Revenge of the Nerds: This is how “being a nerd is cool” got its start.   I wonder if Bill Gates or Steve Jobs enjoyed it?  Maybe I also liked it a lot because Lewis resembled my dad.  Nonetheless, I remembered laughing so hard in the theater that my milk duds almost came out of my nose.  (Sigh….jeez, and to show you just how technology has changed: Lambda Lambda Lambda’s high-tech electrical instrument finale that really knocked my sox off then - I could nap through today.  I mean, 2011′s ”Lady Gaga” would give them all a serious case of Angina, don’t ya think?) (Get your mind out of the gutter people…)

2. E.T.: Steven Spielberg kicked the kickball out of the school yard with this one.  It is not a story about an extra terrestrial (E.T.) that would like to nosh on your skull and then lay its eggs in your abdomen.  Neh.  This alien is instead SO cute and loveable that we would like to adopt him and keep him safe under our pillow.  And once again, the theme of kids taking matters into their own hands and trying to make a difference (Hmmm…do I sense a trend here?) with any and all resources at their finger tips, even when it’s using an 80′s “Speak and Spell” to “phone home” to a distant galaxy (NASA, please take note!).  In all,  I laughed, I cried (a lot), I felt the warmth and wonder and really really just wanted to buy a teeny weeny Drew Barrymore a cookie with rainbow sprinkles on top.

…and drum roll please…

1. A Little Romance:  This movie has stayed with me my whole life.  Firstly, the film sports a perky, preppy and very pretty 13 year old Diane Lane, who moved to France with her parents because her father had to go there for business.   She meets Daniel, a young, handsome French boy, but from the “wrong side of town.” They fall in love.  But Diane Lane’s upper crust mom forbids that they be together because Daniel is from a poor family. Enter Sir Laurence Olivier, a wise old man (and pickpocket) whom the duo befriends.  He tells them about “the legend” that if they were to kiss in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset when the bells toll – that they will love each other forever.  So, they run away to Italy together with Mr. Olivier as their guide – to do just that.  It is a MOST delicious, “first love” film.

Surprising Places I Love #1: The Hardware Store

Just walk down the 7 skinny aisles packed to the gills with “the world.”  I betcha need some cool buckets in handy sizes?  How about some curtain rods, picture hooks or an American flag?  Maybe you’re seeking window insulation strips, spackle or smoke alarms?  Ah, no…today you’re in for some bird seed, a trowel, a plumbing elbow and to get a couple of keys copied.

Now, there are those gynormous hardware stores that stock larger, more important items like ceiling fans, lumber and paving stones.  You know, the warehouses that take hours to get from one side of the store to the other.  But nothin’ compares to my sweet little mom and pop store.   About the size of a 7/11 or McDonalds (without the indoor playground), it’s got just what you need when you need it.  Who else would stock army-colored duct tape, chandelier light bulbs and a refill on staple gun staples? 

But the best part are the scruffy dudes that work the registers or mix your paint.  There’s always one or two of them on staff.  They look like they just woke up after a long night at the racetrack , sporting dirty jeans, messy hair poking through their NASCAR baseball cap and a 5 o’clock shadow (even though it’s only 10 a.m.). But…they’re friendly as all get out and they really really know their stuff.  They can tell you exactly how to do your next hair-brained house-hold scheme.  Or maybe they’d tell you what you had in mind wouldn’t work anyway and thus…save you LOTS of trouble.    They can tell you how to properly anchor a hook in both dry wall and cement.  They can point you to the very blessed hydrolic cement when your basement is flooded AGAIN!  And they will help you go through the bins of very special screws and anchors to be sure you picked out just the right size for your project.

I love wandering through the store, thinking of all the possible projects that I could do.  Or…neat art projects that could somehow include bolts, hinges or dowels.

And as for their bold – new hire, the goth guy who is a dead ringer for The Cure’s Robert Smith? 

Well, I’m not sure he could tell me where “The Frog Tape” is…but I think I’ll give him a chance.

Maybe they’ll start stocking black lights and guitar strings. 

I would like that.