Category Archives

Though she really did exist, her name was not Josephine, and she was extremely smart, except in one important area — interactions with people.

Over the years I’ve told my children, as well as anyone else who would listen, that if you can have only a single skill in life it should be getting along well with others. I think that Josephine missed that lecture.

She first saw me for counseling when I was an apprentice in the Counselor Ed program at the USC School of Education.  She continued seeing me, sporadically and at no cost, for many years after.

I remember one of Josephine’s many problems. On the second day of a new job she gave her employer a list of everything she thought they needed to correct in their business.

How much longer do you think she held that job?  (Hint: think Minutes rather than Years.)

I have absolutely no idea whether Josephine’s suggestions had value. In any event, her ideas might have been eagerly implemented if their source had been a paid consultant rather than a know-it-all high school student. (Consider the source?) But she was hired as a file clerk, not as a Consultant .

If she had been driving, I might have bluntly suggested that she stay in her own lane. But she was just an intrusive busybody with no common sense. (There’s nothing so uncommon as common sense?)

So what should I say?

Wait a minute. You think I’m going to just give you the answer?

No no no. You’re going to have to work for this one.

Actually, I’m going to have to work for this one. I did learn in the USC Professional Wiriting program that a self-help author is expected to be an expert. No hemming and hawing. Just perfection. Now.

Interestingly enough, research in Counseling at the time clearly indicated that talking to a friend could have the same value as talking to a professional counselor. I don’t think the Counseling industry publicized this finding to any major extent.

So here we are. Pretty much as we were before.

But now we realize that maybe finishing the GRE quickly, and even with a perfect score, does not necessarily guarantee success in life.

It’s the personal touch that really counts. 

Alan

In many of the childhood memories I’ve held onto, I’m just having fun. Like the times I used to play at the beach — that is, until a large wave slammed my small body onto the sand. Ouch.

One particularly happy memory from days gone by is of the Good Humor Man. Every summer afternoon of my childhood, sure as sprinkles, I waited to hear the tinkly tune from the Good Humor truck. For those of you who may have come of age after me, this was an ice cream vendor who drove his truck around the neighborhood selling ice cream bars. I remember half and half bars, vanilla ice cream coated in chocolate, for only five cents.

Though cash was chronically short (even thrift can be costly), my mom always seemed to have an extra dime to spare for two ice cream bars — one for me, and one for my little brother. (I always thought of David as my “little” brother, even when he grew up to be taller than me.)

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a dime in circulation for years. And now, the U S treasury has announced that it will no longer mint any more pennies because they cost 3.7 cents each to manufacture.  (I guess that they finally figured that they weren’t going to make a profit with increased production.)

While dimes and pennies and nickels seem to be following the same course as the dinosaurs, Daveen and I still carry around quarters for — see if you can guess?

That’s right!  For parking meters. Because it is easier to drop in four quarters than it is to deal with the vagaries of using a credit card to buy time on a meter, which it seems, are often broken. (Parking tip: I frequently find available parking in a space with a broken meter. It seems other people don’t know you can park for free if the meter is broken – up to the maximum posted time limit.)

The Good Humor Man is long gone from the neighborhood I grew up in, as am I, but the sweet memories linger, of licking a cold ice cream bar on a hot summer afternoon.

In my world, back in those days, a nickel was all I needed to be happy.

Well, maybe a dime to buy a kite, from time to time.

Alan

What is the most important thing about … well, it felt important at the time … but now, I can’t remember what it was, much less why it was important. I’ve already forgotten it, kind of like last year’s income tax return (after it’s been filed and forgotten in the dustbin of history).

My memory used to have a half-life of thirty seconds. After thirty seconds I’d forget half of my thought, and then the other half no longer seemed to matter. Eventually, I’d forget the second half too. Oh well.  Now the half-life is … well … fewer than thirty seconds.

When he was my age, my father had already mastered the fine art of … ah, yes … remembering. He simply carried around a small notepad, and he wrote reminders to himself. His system worked well for him. Maybe I’ll give it a try, although I would use the notes app on my phone instead of a notepad, because I’d probably set that down somewhere and forget where.

But memory is a strange and fleeting ability. I can forget what happened ten minutes ago, but a memory from 40 years earlier will reappear uninvited. For example, just now I’m remembering a statement attributed to a famous classical pianist:

“If I don’t practice for one day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, my students know it, and if I don’t practice for three days, everyone knows it.”

So, what was my point?   Ah, yes. If I’d written it down immediately, I’d remember it. Provided that I can remember exactly where I wrote it down. These days, things can even get lost in the labyrinth of files in my computer. That’s why I’ve learned to use the word “Blog” in the title of the file for every blog entry. Type that word into the search field and like magic – every blog related file appears.

It’s been a nice weekend — I enjoyed watching several excellent playoff games in the National Football League.  But after the Super Bowl (that happens on February 8, if you care to write it down) woe is me. I’ll have to reestablish my relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers and NBA Basketball. (Is the “Dancing With the Stars” show still on TV – maybe in its 200th or so season?).

All right. I’ve avoided work long enough. I’m off to my office to … well, I’m sure I’ll remember by the time I get there.

Alan