Meet me in Long Beach Friday night!

I'm a bit disoriented this week. My schedule was different, and I worked Wednesday so that I could take off Friday. I'll tell you why in a minute.

I think part of the disorientation is the news of the week. I had one patient tell me she can't even listen to the radio anymore, for fear that the news will come on and it would upset her terribly. I've given up reading the paper, but it's impossible not to hear about the current tragedies of the world. Life is so short and we are so mortal that it's hard to separate what happens to others from the possibility that it can happen to us. I'm in a profession where mortality is a constant issue, but this week a few such cases brought me to tears. People talk about "getting over" something or "moving on" but I know that there are certain things that happen when healing and recovery are just not possible. I know, I know, that we should live life in the moment, acknowledge and appreciate every blessing, and love and be kind to as many people as cross our path. But it's so hard not to dwell on such terrible things, because we know it could be us or someone close to us and that's just unbearable.

So what's with Friday night? Life is for the living, I've heard that, and I believe we should enjoy it as much as possible while we have the chance. Watch more sunsets, really take those walks on the beach, stop and enjoy the beauty of a new baby in the stroller going by, and enjoy time with friends. So Friday night? Yep, I'm going to that concert I wrote about recently, the 70s concert in Long Beach that really sounds like fun. And couldn't we all use more of that? Apparently, I'm going to be a worker bee for one of the promoters who I met at an event of a new friend, but again I already wrote about that. I hear a rumor that I'll be working in the "will call" section, where you pick up tickets you purchased online or on the phone. So, I invite you all to join me there and pull me out of the booth so I can "groove" (is that a 70s word?!?) to the music with you. For tickets (and a discount-upgrade) just go to www.supersinglemixers.com and read all about it.

So, I recommend that we stop and smell the roses, tell our friends how much we appreciate them, tell our kids (even the obnoxious teen-agers) that we think they're terrific, and call a friend to invite them to the concert. FYI, I have no financial interest in this event, just think it'll be great music and fun people. And that's a really nice combination.