Doing Life Together

My dad is a WWII veteran. At almost 91 years of age, he thinks clearly, gets around and still manages his own home. He is a remarkable man who is also hard of hearing and needs my help to navigate his health care with the VA. His local team in his small town has been wonderful. Our family is thankful for the federal government programs that assist veterans, but dealing with the federal offices are a nightmare.

Yesterday I had to call to change his account number. Someone tried to take his identity and we had to change all his accounts. It was a simple phone call that should have taken a few minutes. It took  over an hour!

The first time I called I was on hold over 20 minutes, then by the time I ran through the five prompts to get to the right person, he answered. After going through all the verifications of security, we somehow got disconnected. I about cried because I had to start all over again.

I waited another 20 minutes. The person who answered was probably the most unfriendly person I’ve ever had on a phone conversation. Tanisha (she wouldn’t give me her name for the longest time) was combative and made this simple change a nightmare. She talked to my father with no respect and gave him a hard time because he couldn’t hear well and doesn’t own a computer. I explained that my role was to help him hear. I was authorized to do this.

My father kept  trying to answer her questions and she became annoyed with him because he couldn’t hear well. She would answer with YES or NO and then say nothing. I had to keep asking, is there more we need to do. Finally before I hung up, she told me to download a form and send it to the VA. “Any particular address”, I asked? The VA is a large system. Acting like I was an idiot, she didn’t give me the address and told me I should know where my regional VA was located.

If Tanisha worked in the private sector, she would be fired. Her rudeness and unwillingness to help do what she was hired to do was out of line. If I had not advocated for my dad, he would have hung up in frustration. And not all vets have family advocates. But what really got me was her lack of respect for my father who was trying his best to answer her questions. She was downright rude to him.

Tanisha, you have your job because my dad fought a war that secured your freedom. Next time you talk to a vet, try to remember that he isn’t your enemy. Do your job and show a little compassion. And if you are having a bad day, don’t take it out on the men and women who served our country!

P.S. Mr. Obama–this is why federal health care would be a nightmare!

Some feminists believe playing with Barbie leads to body dissatisfaction and the desire for breast implants.

Now I know some of you are thinking, Oh come on, she’s only a harmless doll. An icon from the twentieth century. It’s not like she’s Chucky! Let her play in peace! Put on her Pilates outfit and let’s all calm down!

Well, we probably could if women in media looked less like dolls than people. Barbie is only one of a plethora of images young girls are exposed to daily.

So if Barbie could speak her mind, here’s what I think she would say. And since Barbie has over 100 careers, let’s consult Psychologist Barbie.

First, she would administer a psychological battery of tests to all girls who played with her in order to ensure they aren’t being harmed by her image. After scoring all the ink blots and noting no real harm comes from playing with her, she would schedule breast reduction surgery in order to avoid incredible back pain as she ages.

Next, she would warn young girls about being too thin, reminding them that the thinness of her waist and hips creates physical problems. We all need some fat on our frames to keep the plumbing working well!

Barbie would then set up a nonprofit arm of Mattel that would donate proceeds of her sales to eating disorder research, and she would most likely convert the Dream House to a group home for troubled girls. Regular group therapy would be held there in order to help girls deal with unrealistic body image. Community seminars would explain her evolution into a doll with more sensible proportions.

Basically, if Barbie could speak, she would tell young girls, no one really looks like me so don’t even try! And we would call her, Redemptive Barbie!

What are your family eating habits? Dr. Linda pays a visit to one local mom and discovers what is in her refrigerator and pantry. How did she rate? Watch the short video.

Hand me another chocolate bar, but make it Swedish milk chocolate! Those bars have higher percentages of antioxidant rich cocoa solid than American milk chocolate bars. And when the concentration hits about 30%, it’s good news for chocolate lovers and our health.

Swedish researchers’ evaluated women who claimed to eat two small chocolate bars a week and found a link to lower level of stroke compared to women who did not eat chocolate bars. Basically, a small amount of chocolate reduced the risk of hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. You can review the study in the Oct 18th issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The results make sense given past studies have found a reduction of blood pressure among chocolate consumers.  Since hypertension relates to stroke, this makes sense.

But before you load up on chocolate treats for Halloween and then justify downing the left overs, be sensible.

1) Note the differences in Swedish and American chocolate. You might want to stick to dark chocolate on this continent. Dark contains more of the antioxidants and is lower on sugar.

2) Note I said the subjects “claimed” to eat two bars a week. That is because the study was based on self-reports. People had to accurately report what they ate and well, we don’t always do that!

3) If you add chocolate to your diet, cut back on other calories. Calories are still calories and can add to weight gain.

That said, bring on the chocolate bars! We need to engage in a little self-care!