Posts Tagged 'Loretta Laroche'

Get a Life by Loretta LaRoche

Posted by kbuxman on September 13, 2010

The other night I clicked onto the” movies on demand” station and as I scrolled through possible selections, a young woman’s voice relentlessly announced and reviewed other possible selections. As I became more and more perturbed by her faux cheeriness, I realized that I could hit the mute button and her barrage of words would be eliminated. The relief I felt from the silence was immediate. I also realized that we somehow have transitioned into a society that is always bombarded with someone talking about something.

There was a time when television stations shut down and all you saw and heard was static. I often yearn for static. At least it doesn’t share any kind of information. Most often you don’t have any choice in whether you want to hear the incessant “blah, blah, blah”. It seems to permeate every public area.

Try going to a restaurant and simply enjoying a meal with some quiet background music. Not a chance! More often than not, there are two or three flat screen TV’s each airing different programs. After all we don’t want the customers to go into withdrawal.

Many people have the TV on all day so they don’t miss anything that might be happening here or somewhere on the planet. The insanity lies in the repetition. Take the recent alert for hurricane Earl. Every station reported it and went over it until most of us could have gotten a degree in meteorology.

Yes, I could have turned it off, but my passion is the observation of absurdity, and nothing was more absurd then watching one of the reporters describing waves as she was buffeted about the beach in an almost horizontal position.

Many talk shows not only have guests but also include a panel of” so called experts” that engage in verbal boxing matches”. Outshouting and interrupting in order to get their point across is par for the course. I guess listening while someone else talks and then responding has gone out of style in exchange for being rude.

But then, what’s new? We have all seen the erosion of civility over the years as we marched into the era of “self absorption”. I am always optimistic that we may wake up some day and actually start listening to one another, but until then I have a new best friend, “the mute button”.

Loretta LaRoche writes the Get a Life column for the Patriot Ledger.

Tags: background noise, Loretta Laroche, nurse humor, stress reduction for nurses

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Get a Life by Loretta LaRoche

Posted by kbuxman on September 6, 2010

As a young teen I would beg my mother to let me wear blue jeans. Her response was always a very forceful “NO”! Her rationale was the fact that she felt they were unladylike.

I finally got my first pair after I was married. Mine were baggy and had the look of someone who was about to plow the north forty. My kids practically lived in overalls called Oshkosh B’Gosh, which were all the rage, and my husband had a grown up version.

I loved how comfortable my jeans were and they really suited my lifestyles. A tee shirt and a pair of sneakers was all you needed to get through the day.

Well, blue jeans have certainly evolved and transitioned into an entire industry that seems to have created a national uniform for most Americans. I travel a lot and I have witnessed hordes of people wearing them. There are still individuals attired in the slouchy jeans of my generation, but some of the newer versions look more like applied body paint.

Recently I was in the airport sitting at a coffee shop when I happened to notice a few women standing on line waiting to get served. They all had jeans on, but they were so tight, that they looked as if they were going to shred into a million pieces if they made one wrong move. As I continued to observe them I kept thinking “how do they get them on or off”?

I gave up wearing panty hose because I would often feel like a sausage. I hate tight anything because it makes me feel like I’ve been captured by maniacal fashion designers who care more about their designs then how they look or feel on real people.

Believe me, I’m not advocating for shrouds, but shouldn’t there be a modicum of common sense around what we look like? Tight jeans, tight underwear, tight anything has some unhealthy side effects. Skin and our parts are supposed to be able to breathe and have circulation available to them.

I’m surprised there aren’t more people calling 911, because they can’t get their pants off and are being strangled by them. The other issue for me is that a lot of individuals who encase themselves in tight jeans should find a three way mirror and have a good look, they just may think twice before they go out the door.

Loretta LaRoche writes the Get a Life column for the Patriot Ledger

Tags: funny nurse, Loretta Laroche, nurse humor, tight jeans

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Get a Life By Loretta LaRoche

Posted by kbuxman on August 23, 2010

We live in a world where everyone expects things to come quickly and easily. God forbid we should have to wait a few extra minutes for a cup of coffee or have to put up with traffic. Fast-food restaurants have become a metaphor for life: Get it fast and easy!

It just may well be that as we’ve gone down this road, we’ve lost something along the way. Consider the following startling facts:

*Rates of depression have risen in recent decades, at the same time that people are enjoying time-saving conveniences such as microwave ovens, e-mail, prepared meals, and machines for washing clothes and moving lawns.

* People of earlier generations, whose lives were characterized by greater efforts just to survive, paradoxically, were mentally healthier. (Our) human ancestors also evolved in conditions where hard physical work was necessary to thrive.

* By denying our brains the rewards that come from anticipating and executing complex tasks with our hands…we undercut our mental well being. (Scientific American Mind ).

Evidently, we’d feel a deep sense of satisfaction when true physical and mental effort produces something tangible. The newer generations have tried very hard to create atmospheres and situations that are comfortable and rewarding.

Much of that mindset has produced individuals who “want what they want, when they want it”. Losing weight should be instant, therefore we want our food in boxes or cans that are so-called easy weight loss plans. Finding a mate has boiled down to five minute lunch dates. You sit with someone for a few minutes and are supposed to gauge whether they might fit your criteria. Children are supposed to be rewarded for just showing up at a sports activity, even if they haven’t any skills.

Sadly it is creating a society that will not have a lot of resiliency which comes essentially from hard work and having to put up with situations you’re not in the mood for.

Studies in longevity consistently point out that those who reach one hundred have been through hard times, and were able to adapt to those situations.

Maybe the real success in staying well mentally and physically is in discovering that the mind and body like effort. Perhaps that’s what makes us thrive and survive!

Loretta LaRoche writes the Get a Life column for the Patriot Ledger.

Tags: instant gratification has a high price, Loretta Laroche, stress management for nurses

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Get a Life by Loretta LaRoche

Posted by kbuxman on August 16, 2010

I was both amused and saddened by the incident on board JetBlue that propelled Steven Slater a flight attendant for over twenty years to blow his cool. His decision to respond to a passenger’s rudeness will likely cost him his job and perhaps a prison sentence.

A huge portion of the population felt a sense of satisfaction that at last someone had the nerve to say what so many stuff every day. I fly a lot and I have witnessed a lot of situations that have left me in a state of disbelief.

Flying used to be something you felt was special and you even dressed for the occasion. People often had their Sunday best on and behaved as if they were visiting their old maiden aunt. Over the years I have seen clothing on individuals that looked as if that had just rolled out of bed. Disheveled doesn’t even cut it.

Food is brought on board now and many don’t care if their pizza carton spills over onto your lap, or that you really don’t want to hear them chewing and talking on their cell phone at the same time.

Some people spend time trying to shove an over loaded suitcase into a bin meant to handle a gerbil’s luggage. It doesn’t matter to them that there are twenty or so people behind them waiting to get on. The world has become filled with entitled, self absorbed individuals whose primary goal in life is to get what they need at the expense of the rest of us.

I have watched as individuals walk into elevators as I’m trying to get out with no thought that they should wait. Their eyes are glazed over and their ear is glued to a phone as they blah, blah, blah!

One has only to read the newspaper daily to see the results of how our lack of civility has begun to unravel our society. We are less patient, more aggressive and violence is more prevalent. I don’t ever remember reading about a disgruntled employee killing several of their co-workers when I was growing up. It seems par for the course over the last several years.

Does this mean we’re all going to hell in a hand basket? No, because there are many kind, considerate, patient people who role model civility every day. However, we might want to view Slater’s dilemma as one that we should all begin to respond to by being more vigilant every day about how we communicate and react. Our presence in the world can make a positive or negative impact..you choose.

Loretta LaRoche writes the Get a Life column for the Patriot Ledger.

Tags: civility once we knew you, JetBlue flight attendant, Loretta Laroche, losing our cool, mann, Steven Slater

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Get a Life by Loretta LaRoche

Posted by kbuxman on August 9, 2010

I travel a lot and because of that, I’m often at the mercy of using public restrooms. It used to be easy. The toilet paper was on a wooden spindle and it was easy to get what you needed. The sinks had faucets that turned on and off, and the paper towel dispenser was pretty simple.

Well, those days are gone forever as technology marches on even into bathrooms. I know part of the changes are based on creating less waste, but I think it has also created high levels of frustration.

Some efficiency master mind decided how long most people take to empty their bladders and as a result the toilet flushes whether you’re done or not. There have been times when flushing has occurred five or ten times in 30 second intervals making me feel as if I’m visiting Niagara Falls.

Once you’ve established yourself, try getting the toilet paper. If you can manage to grab a piece from the new Ferris wheel like gadget, you’ll be lucky if you can get more than a couple of pieces, and you may also get your hand stuck and have to have it extracted by the jaws of life.

If they’re looking to save money why don’t they take more time figuring out that we are all not in a race to just “come and go”.

Washing your hands is like playing a game you can never win. I recently spent at least five minutes trying to get the water to turn on. The woman next to me shared that I had to make sure my hand passed over the sensor under the faucet, otherwise it would not turn on. Why has hand washing turned into a segment for Survivor?

We’ve all been warned that we need to be vigilant about the germs that linger on every surface ready and willing to invade our bodies and establish residence until we come down with whatever bug resistant illness is the disease du jour. But how can we protect ourselves if the sinks and faucets don’t cooperate.

Perhaps directions are in order. If they were printed clearly over each sink we might have a chance at survival.

But then, you also have to dry your hands, and now there are automatic dispensers that you press and voila the paper spills out. Unfortunately, the little red eye on the dispenser doesn’t always know you only need only one or two sheets. I have often watched as individuals drag their suitcases out the door with several hand towels stuck under the wheels.

Maybe what we all need to travel with are portable potties. Then we can go on our own terms.

Loretta LaRoche writes the Get a Life column for the Patriot Ledger.

Tags: bathroom humor, funny nurse, Loretta Laroche

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