How Do We Define These Stories? Coincidence? Luck? Miracle?

If any if these events happened to you, personally, would you share them, or would you be fearful of being misjudged…
It was in mid 1990s and fashionable to take pictures of oneself showing the colors of the fields of energy around one’s head and body. The color was believed to be indicative of certain healing qualities a healer possessed. Purple, white, violet, we’re indicators of healing qualities. Of course, as a massage therapist it was a dream come true to SEE the confirmation any healer wished for in her picture.

After the picture was taken I left in a rush the house of my friend where it was officially confirmed I had the aura of a healer. I had several objects in my hands and couldn’t unlock the car door.
I placed the precious picture with great care on top of the car to unlock the door. Just for a minute, and after I wiped off the dust on the top of the car with great care!

I drove away happy with one thought on my mind, A had the AURA of a healer. White, purple and violet were all around my head. For once I was considering myself beautiful!

At a stop light I glanced at the passenger seat where my preciious picture had been placed… or so I thought.
I looked… and looked again! The light turned green. People honked! Then cursed. I was NOT moving because the picture was not showing up! Stubborn picture!!!
I pulled to the side of the road… Looked again and touched the seat…

No… there was no picture staring back at me. At that point of total desperation, I’d have accepted any picture. I would have been willing to color my own healing aura! May be…
I drove around in a state if panic, tracing my way back to the friend’s house.
About 8 to 10 miles.
I drove slowly, aggravating several regular drivers, not healers, like me, but at some point that gut voice we usually ignire, told me to stop the car, get out of it and search around…
Crazy, right? Crazy and even crazier I did exactly that. Stopped, get out and searched the side of the road and the side walk…
…and guess what? Here it was, face down, at the edge of the sidewalk, was my healer picture.
I still have it, still stare at it daily and smile when I remember this story.
But wait… this is not ALL.

Fast forward to 2015 in a busy Grocery in Pennsylvania.

The passage of time gave me wisdom but took away some of my good sight, so I needed glasses.
On that fateful Friday evening, (it wasn’t the 13th) at the Smart Shopper in Middletown, PA I could not read the price on a label and in the process I dropped my glasses on the hard floor. I was so upset, didn’t even check the extend to the damage. Just put the glasses in my purse while figuring out the amount of credit card debt necessary to get new glasses.
When I arrived home, I checked the glasses, to discover one of the lenses was missing.
An insane thought crossed my mind. What IF I went back to the store and found the lens?
Oh well… it was Saturday morning, they cleaned the store overnight, It made no sense, but… many things in my life didn’t, yet they happened!

The biggest mistake one could make is to not try. If you don’t TRY how would YOU KNOW?
At the store, I bent to the floor and since I barely saw, I slowly touched the floor where I thought my lens could be… it wasn’t but I refused to give up. It’s not in my nature. .. to give up, that us.
This very focused action of combing the grocery store floor with care and love, was interrupted by a store employee
May I help you?
She looked fearful. I looked hopeful and explained. She managed to not look surprised and gently directed me to the customer service desk.
The clerk listened to me. A great sign and then a miracle, he handed me MY LENS
He explained that had I come to ask 15 minutes earlier, he wouldn’t have had ut. It had just been handed to him and they couldn’t figure out what it was.
I already loved Smart Shopper in Middletown, PA now, I am a DEDICATED SHOPPER.
HERE IS THE PROOF OF… WHAT DO WE CALL IT?

… believe it or not, because I truly believe in the impossible and the unpredictable, in the twists ans turns of life, I would love to share a third true story with you in hopes it will convince ONE person, just one, to NEVER give up and always hope anything could happen!

Meanwhile, please share your thoughts…

Coincidence?
Luck?
Miracle?
A little of each? We don’t know? and sign up to receive our specials and up to date information which will give you information to make your lives easier and more pleasant.
No matter what I call such events in my life, I never forget to say,
THANK YOU GOD.

Sunflowers… never fail to find it, even when covered by clouds

Cycles of Life –THE SUNFLOWER

Every living entity goes through the same cycles: birth, living and death. Just observing the cycles ought to bring us peace of mind and the trust that the essence of us never disappears, it only transforms and each has its unique, beauty…and mystery…

These images are dedicated to my favorite flower, which no matter how cloudy, it senses the Sun which has guided it forever and turns its head towards it, with no sign of hesitation:

The SUNFLOWER

Your Dog’s Paw Is Infected! What TO DO??? What Is a DEW CLAW???

Do you love your furry companions? How far would you go in taking care of their needs?

For as long as I remember we called Sophie Princess, because she has a royal personality!

With my daughters leaving the parental “nest,” my love for dogs and pets in general, reached a new high.
Please don’t take it wrong, I stay within the limits of not going bankrupt because I have to pay vet bills, but still, must confess most of the “big item” purchases are somewhat connected to care for my furry companions.

In this spirit, I take Sophie to be groomed at Petsmart, 2-3 times a year. Primarily, to be shaved before the summer comes and her claws to be trimmed.

She hates it. I don’t blame her, but at times we don’t know what’s good for us, and Mother knows best!

At the very end of April, I took Sophie to be groomed for the summer. Everything went as expected. The groomer at the Petsmart in Harrisburg was soft spoken and loving and I felt I left my Princess in good hands, and so it seemed.

The summer was uneventful, Sophie, the senior of the pack of three, still rules. She is completely deaf, but that doesn’t bother her at all. As a matter of fact, she uses it to her advantage! Her “voice,” definitely makes undeniable statements and to pharaphrase, the saying: “The louder bark gets the… favorite food, the ice-cubed water, being carried up the steps…

Deafness works for Sophie! Another example of how adversity could be used in one’s favor!

This story would be utterly boring if I continued to praise Sophie for another 500 words. I’s be like one of those new mothers who talks about her baby’s poop consistency when she meets with her not yet married girlfriends, and at the end is surprised no one touched their lunch! No… I wouldn’t do this to you, my friends and readers.

So… here is the POINT in the story where the plot changes. Drama happens! Please stay with Sophie!

About a month ago, I noticed Sophie was chewing at her left front paw and on a closer look, I noticed the paw was infeced and bloody, as Sophie was trying to heal a CLAW which curled into the FLESH of her front paw! I checked the right paw as well, to only discover BOTH these claws, called DEW claws have been MISSED when she was groomed, and were NOT trimmed! Missed several times, as the grows does not happen overtime! A litte lesson in the anatomy of the dog paws: The FRONT paws ONLY have FIVE claws. The claws called dew, are on the side, similar to our thumbs. The back paws only have four claws. So, if the trainer (I assume there is a trainer at Petsmart) doesn’t TELL the aspiring groomers the well kept secret of the dew claws, it is easy to miss, since one doesn’t know it’s there!
I called Petsmart and the “Salon” Manager, a cute young woman, after consulting with one of the senior groomers, had to agree with me: The Petsmart groomer MISSED Sophie’s drew claws and now she needed to be seen by a vet!

Call me old fashioned, but I was expecting the Salon Manager, if for no other purpose, but to keep her job or get a Christmas bonus, to call Corporate,” to call a vet, as it had been determined the situation was serious and Patsmart was at fault and a Petsmart groomer was NOT qualified to care for the dew claw.

Yeah… I was expecting some sort of a fake display of empathy!
None of this happened. The young woman handed me a card with the name of the General Manager of Petsmart on it and a phone number from the Corporate. I explained to her, Sophie’s Vet died and we were in the process of switching vets, could Petsmart help me make an appointment, since she had an infection thanks to the lack of knowledge of their groomer? She gave me the phone number of a Veterinary Hospital up the street from them. Sophie and I were on OUR OWN!!!

Sophie in my arms, I drove over the suggested veterinarian hospital, to only find out, their FIRST available for NEW patients was in three weeks! The man at the reception desk suggested I take her elsewhere, since she was infected.

I figured if they were busy and also were sending me elsewhere, that was actually a good sign. It showed me they were honest and not greedy for more business in the detriment of a poor job, and also they must have been good since their first appointment was in three weeks. Call it twisted Romanian thinking, but I stuck with it! In other words, I decided to wait the three weeks so, my Princess could see the vet who I thought was a good, responsible professional.

The ONLY problem was, how to keep Sophie comfortable for a few weeks? Was I endangering her life? She had an infection, pain and the dew claw kept growing and curling into the flesh of her paw!

Here’s what I did. I am NOT suggesting anyone follows this unorthodox protocol, but it doesn’t hurt to share and it worked.

The major problem when our companion animals have a wound, is their desire to chew or leak it, thus making the problem more complicated.
Here’s what to do to avoid this major problem:

I disinfected the entire paw with hydrogen peroxide. It is not as painful on contact as alcohol. If the open wound is infected, you will notice the wound becomes whitish and it bubbles. I continued to drop (NOT rub) the hydrogen peroxide on the infected area until it stopped changing the color and was no longer whitish.

The next step was “putting” a cotton sock on the ENTIRE front leg. The highest the sock, the more difficult to take off.
To secure it better, I used a twisty (one of those from the supermarket) and made sure I didn’t tie too tight to prevent the flow of blood, I secured the sock stayed on.

When Sophie had to go out, I removed the sock and when she came back I repeated the entire process.
You could also use Triple Antibiotic Ointment instead of hydrogen peroxide, but somehow, I liked the hydrogen peroxide better. I guess, that “bubbling assured me something WAS happening!)

Last Friday, the much anticipated day arrived at last and Sophie saw her new vet.
There was a lot of blood, a lot of pain, but also I lot of obvious empathy and love for her suffering!

In conclusion, this is how because of a bad experience at Petsmart Grooming, we found a new good veterinary Hospital: Harrisburg Area Animal Hospital. Thank you for your professionalism and empathy.

After all, there IS a silver lining in everything. It’s worth our time to search for it. No matter how small… it’s there. Keep on looking and you shall find it.

How Do You Define Bigot? A Defining Experience At The Central Penn Fitness and Aquatic Club, Harrisburg, PA

Bigotry felt and explained! A personal experience…

I have been in the United States since 1981 and a citizen since 1987. Prior to coming here I escaped from communist Romania, where I worked for 8 years as a translator at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest. In fact, I only worked for the United States, even when I was in Romania.

So… would someone like me, an educated European woman, who worked all her life, but still maintains an accent experience bigotry in The MELTING POT, AMERICA???

Over the years I held many positions, including selling insurance on the phone, also public speaking in front of hundreds. Not once did I feel discrimination because I had an accent.

Well, I had to move to Central Pennsylvania and late in life feel the “FEELING” that I was LESS than the person next to me. Why? Just because I was a woman with an accent.

Of course this is debatable as a “feeling.” It’s not real, it’s subjective… Oh well then let’s assess why I FELT discriminated, put down, insulted.

LET’s look at the FACTS of September 3, 2015, as they took place at the Central Penn Fitness and Aquatic Club, Harrisburg, PA!!!

CENTRAL PENN Fitness and Aquatics, Harrisburg, PA

I suffer from arthritis and aqua exercise and swimming are a life saver. I was beyond hopeful when I was told by friends at church that there was a large pool which offered this option.

At first I called the Cetral Penn Aquatics. A flat-voiced man answered the phone. At first I thought I dialed the wrong number, but NO, it was the Aqua Club!
I wanted to make an appointment but I was told to just stop by.

As I hang up, I was already questioning whether it would be a good idea. The man who answered the phone at the club was the opposite of what employees at health clubs are trained to do and have the personality to do well. Simply, to be nice!
Okay… I thought. I will STOP BY!!! I really needed to swim!

At the desk, a “seasoned, unsmiling” gentleman, informed me the second I open my mouth:

“I recognize YOUR VOICE!!! YOU SPOKE WITH ME! Feel out this card, give me your driver’s license, all insurance cards!”

I am not the type to “obey” but this man, who FAILED to introduce himself and asked for ALL my personal information, meant business! Damn it! I complied!

He took my information and re-appeared in a few minutes informing me my insurance does not cover their Membership!

It was explained to me the insurance would, may be, cover the ground part of the membership, but not the AQUA, and the Aqua was an extra $14.99 a month, I had already made up my mind, I’d pay the $14.99 and use the pool, since I didn’t plan using the ground anyway!

Well, I continued to have the “nerve” to ask to be shown the pool. Rather, I forced the still NAMELESS GUIDE to show me the pool.
As we go through a maze of up and down corridors and he unlocks doors, he stated that in fact the $14.99 monthly aqua fee was ONLY offered to people whose insurance paid for the ground membership.

In PLAIN ENGLISH, NO ACCENT: the $14.99 fee for aqua was a discounted fee connected to the full membership paid by insurance. Mine, didn’t and suddenly, the $14.99 CHANGED into $45 a month!!! WHY WASN’T I BEING TOLD THIS ON THE PHONE???

No… I was not happy and asked the no name, no smile guide to put me in touch with his manager.
For the first time, he exhibited emotions: it looked like HURT!

“I am the MANAGEMENT!!!” he announced.

It went from bad to worse. Next he told me there was an owner, but the owner was mostly not there.
It all culminated when I asked again:

WHAT IS YOUR NAME???

He replied:

“I AM NOT GIVING YOU MY NAME!!! AND, he continued:

I AM PLACING YOU ON A LIST AND YOU WILL NEVER BE ALLOWED TO COME TO THIS CLUB!!!”

I was BLACK LISTED IN AN AQUATIC CLUB IN HARRISBURG!!!

Should I have cried? Smile? Was this funny, stupid? A clear sign of bigotry? Craziness? All of the above!

I stormed out and went next door to the two facilities, a Physical Therapy and the OIP (Orthopedic Institute of PA)

From question to question I found out the OWNER of the Aqua Club was a retired OIP physician. I even managed to speak with a manager, who behaved like a Manager. Thank you.

From question to question, I also found out the name of the no-name man was LARRY Well Larry, I am still not clear why you treated me as a second hand citizen…why you were gong to black list me??? WHY Larry?

Oh!!! I could imagine… I imagine you refused to give me your name, give me an appointment, didn’t explain the fee schedule, and YOU THREATENED TO PUT ME ON A LIST TO PREVENT ME TO COME IN THE CLUB. UNFORTUNATELY, these are FACTS, Larry! FACTS! not feelings!

Part II

After speaking with the Manager at OIP, the Owner of the Club called me. A retired surgeon. My best description: He was civilized.

I come from a family of physicians, my daughter graduated from Harvard Medical School, and I hold a Master in Clinical Psychology.

I know social skills are NOT a surgeon’s strength. However I could not but think, when one assumes the ownership of a Club, they learn the basics of marketing, unless they already make too much money, or for reasons I will not call bigotry, because I might FEEL it, which would make it subjective.
Anyway, the conversation with the OWNER of the club, focuses on his concern that I might accuse them of bait and switch. In other words, not that I was emotionally shattered, insulted and minimalized as a human being by his employee, LARRY, but the concern was material, to MAKE SURE I will not accuse them of bait and switch!

I am assured by the owner my accent had nothing to do with it, neither does my being a woman. Sure. I believe him.

In my innocence, I was waiting for the OWNER, the retired surgeon, who is probably a millionaire, to offer an olive branch, a sign of TRUE “WE ARE SORRY.” A lolly pop? $5.00 off?

It does NOT happen. He just wanted to make sure they were not being accused of bait and switch in explaining the fees schedule.

Please know that even if I will be able to walk FREE OF CHARGE and use that facility, I will not.
Furthermore, I will never use AGAIN OIP OR ANY FACILITY WHICH IS FINANCIALLY CONNECTED TO THE CENTRAL PENN FITNESS AND AQUATICS!!!

The entire experience was the first time in my life when I FELT treated as less than a person!

I guess I had to have the “nerve” to think I could swim at Central Penn Aquatic in Harrisburg to really FEEL bigotry first hand.

So… what is the definition of bigotry? I don’t know to put it in words but if someone, through their ACTIONS (FACTS) makes you feel as less than a person, think of bigotry. You are experiencing it, and it hurts like Hell!
Oh, as a reminder,
This is the 21st Century!!! Let’s try to honor it!