From Heroin to Heroine -

By Bob Cox

When you hear the word heroin, does your mind automatically go to the dark side with disturbing images of a strung out junkie, desperately shooting up the highly addictive and illegal drug? If you answered yes, you’re certainly not alone. That’s exactly what I see whenever I hear that word.

Interestingly enough, there is another word that sounds exactly the same, is spelled almost identically but has a vastly different meaning. The word heroine is the principal female character in a story, play or film. It can also be a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.

Amazing as it may seem, there is a real person that encompasses all three definitions above. In the 2014 movie Wild, the heroine in the movie (actress Reese Witherspoon) plays the role of Cheryl Strayed, a former heroin addict. The movie is based on Strayed’s real life experiences and her popular memoir titled Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.

The movie takes us back to 1995, when Strayed made a life transforming decision to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert in Southern California to the Bridge of the Gods in Oregon. Along this extraordinary journey, Strayed reflects back on her life experiences, including her divorce, the death of her mother and years of self destructive behavior. Her motivation to go on this solitary hike was to walk herself back into the woman her mother raised her to be. During her 94 day odyssey, she discovers an inner strength and wisdom she never knew existed.

One scene in the movie stands out when Strayed flashes back to a moment with her mother (played by Laura Dern). Strayed’s mom is cooking and humming in the kitchen with unabashed joy. Strayed becomes increasingly annoyed and shouts, “Would you stop humming that (expletive) song? What is wrong with you? Why are you happy? We have loans we’ll be paying off for the rest of our lives. Our house is falling apart. You’re on your own because you married an abusive alcoholic (expletive). And you stand there singing. What is it you’re not getting?

Her mother paused for a moment and calmly replied, “Oh, there’s nothing I don’t get, believe me. But then what? If there’s one thing I could teach you, it would be how to find your best self. And, once you found it, how to hold on to it for dear life. Actually, I’m not sure there’s anything else worth knowing. Do I regret marrying an abusive alcoholic (expletive)? No. Not for one second. Because he gave me you. You’ll have worse days than this honey. And you can let it kill you if you want, but…you know, I want to live”.

Ironically, the further Cheryl “strayed” from her old home, the closer to her new home she got. She learned the valuable lesson that a heavy backpack full of unnecessary items on a long hike is a lot like excessive emotional baggage along the journey of life. She discovered the wisdom of letting go of the need to focus on everything that was wrong with her life and began to invest her time more wisely by appreciating the beauty of everything that was right. She found a way to break free from a dysfunctional nightmare and courageously chose to take her chances by blazing new paths to uncharted territory, on earth and in her heart.

Strayed is now a successful author that’s remarried and has two children. Like her mother, she doesn’t regret the mistakes she's made, as they have brought her to a happier and healthier place.

Is Your Car Ready for Summer?

By Dave Trux

Summer is here and so is the heat. You may be able to withstand the heat but can your car? If you haven’t done so yet, take your car to your trusted auto service center and make sure they thoroughly inspect your entire AC system.

An AC service starts out with a function test to make sure that the fan operates at each speed setting and the temperatures of the air vent is also measured. In cases where we don’t get adequate temperature, we perform a vacuum test and draw all the freon out of the system. The vacuum test is our way of making sure that the system is not leaking. It is against EPA regulations to put refrigerant into a system. Basically you are just pumping it back out into the environment.

It’s more important nowadays with new refrigerants because they are not as efficient, they have to operate at much higher pressures. We find that because of the higher operating pressures, it’s even more important to make sure the system is sealed and working. Refrigerant is not the only thing in the system; there is also oil. Oil is used to lubricate the pump. If you just keep adding refrigerant and not drawing it down, making sure it’s not leaking and doing a proper service, you could burn up your pump because you don’t have adequate oil in your refrigerant system.

Make sure your mechanic does a comprehensive function test. If the system doesn't function properly, the next step is to go back and perform a vacuum test. If they don’t do that test and merely add more refrigerant without adding additional oil, then you will likely end up with a system that will fail because the pump could burn up.

We offer a free basic function test and inspection. Based on the results, we’ll determine whether we will move forward with a vacuum test. If we do see a leak, then we will add dye to the system and use an infrared light to see where the leak is located.  

Our Neighborhood Flooring Store And So Much More!

By Bob Cox

A few years ago, Lynn Lawson, the owner of Ralph Opfer Floors had reached a crossroads after all her kids had all grown up and moved out. She began to experience what millions of American’s go through every year: empty nest syndrome. She intuitively knew that she needed to reinvent herself to overcome the negative emotions of loneliness, grief and lack of purpose.

“For the most part, I’ve been a mother most of my life. When the kids were old enough, I started working part-time,” said Lynn. Lynn took on a wide variety of jobs in the evenings after her husband Gregg came home from working in construction to help with the finances and avoid the expense of hiring baby sitters.

Shortly after her four children had left the nest, Lynn took on two part time jobs, one as a dula (similar to a midwife, according to Lynn) while also helping out her father’s business (Ralph Opfer Floors). After a couple of years, her father was ready to retire and asked Lynn if she would be interested in taking over the business full time. After considerable soul searching, Lynn decided to take a leap of faith and go for it.

I asked Lynn some questions about her experiences since she took over the business six years ago from her father, who started the business in 1974. Here’s what she had to say…

Q: What was your thought process like when your dad offered you his business?

A: I thought to myself, “Okay, what do I do? Do I make the decision to take on this big monster?” At that time, my kids were all grown up and out of the house, so I decided to take it on.

Q: What were the greatest fears you had to work through?

A: How to get enough sales to cover the store so I wouldn't have to sell my house and keep my head above water. Also, not having the experience of owning a business was tough. You have to try things and if they don’t work, you move on to other things. I call it trudging through the sludge.

Q: What’s been your most difficult sludge trudging moment in business?

A: When I took over in 2009, the economy was at rock bottom. My dad gave me a checkbook with $5,000 in it and a warehouse full of wood and said here you go. The rent was $2,450 a month at that time, so I only had two months worth of money in that checkbook. I renegotiated the rent and figured out how to get business back into that store because it had been flat for so long. So, we trudged through the sludge for a long time.

Q: How did your dad get started in the flooring industry?

A: Dad started selling and installing laminate floors in the 1970’s. He became known as “the bargain hunter,” to all his suppliers and he would buy all of their closeouts. With a warehouse full of inventory, you could always come to Ralph Opfer Floors to find a bargain and you still can today!

Q: What else makes Ralph Opfer Floors really special and unique?

A: The personal attention you get when you come here. I go to quite a few lengths to actually find what people want. I’m also a bargain hunter. You can get some really nice products at lower prices, but it takes time to search for those things. We carry every type of flooring you would need, including laminate, hardwood, carpet, tile and vinyl. I also have a lot of stock in my warehouse at huge discounts.

Q: What do your customers enjoy most about working with you?

A: I've become friends with a lot of the people I help. I try to treat them like they’re family and spend a lot of time on each individual person. I also try to keep up to date on new products and trends of the industry so I can be as knowledgeable and helpful as possible.

Q: Are you capable and qualified to take on other home improvement projects?

A: Yes, Gregg (husband and business partner) and I have our own general contractor licenses. Occasionally, a customer will ask for our help with other home improvements. On a recent job, Gregg helped one of our customer’s by opening up a few walls and remodeling her bathroom. She was pleasantly surprised that we could help her with all her projects and more than pleased with the overall quality and attention to detail. We've also added a line of window treatments, so we can help our customers with that as well.

Q: Last year, you took another leap of faith and moved from your old warehouse and built this beautiful showroom. What factors motivated you to do that?

A: In the old warehouse, the lighting was poor and the temperatures were uncomfortably hot in the summer and cold in the winter. We wanted a space where our customers could see our selection in a clean, comfortable and well lit space. Even with the new showroom, I’m worried about covering the costs of this store. So, it’s a constant 24/7 job.

Q: So, you’re still thinking about the business when you come home?

A: Yeah, except when I get around these two (Lynn’s Granddaughters) and then my brain switches over a little bit, which probably keeps me sane (laughs). How do you not enjoy this!

Q: Do you have a technique that really helps you to stay grounded and peaceful?

A: Well, I’m pretty centered by nature. I do have my days when I’m a little more stressed than others but I try not to focus on that type of stuff because that would really drive me crazy.

Q: I understand that your daughter Briana is working here. Do you plan to one day pass the baton to her and keep your family business going strong?

A: Yes, she just moved from Portland, so I’m working on training her to hopefully take over someday.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Ralph Opfer Floors, browse their website at www.ralphopferfloors.com, visit their showroom at 3330 Mather Field Road in Rancho Cordova or call (916) 366-1672.

Saving Your Water Soaked Phone

By Alika Salazar

If you own a mobile phone, chances are good that you either have or will drop your phone in a pool of water, like a swimming pool, bathtub or the dreaded toilet! Here are a few simple tips to take if you want to prevent getting soaked by your soaking wet phone.

• Turn your phone off right away. If you can’t turn it off, don’t try to force it. Call us right away and we’ll talk you through it.

• Put your phone in rice and bring it into our store as soon as possible. Rice will help pull moisture out, but it isn’t as effective as many people believe. We’ll open a phone that’s been in rice for two or more days and it will still have water in it, because it’s so tightly enclosed. Don’t leave your phone in rice for a week and hope it works.

• Don’t put it in rice for a few days and then plug it in. If you plug it in, you will most likely short out the components. We recommend getting it to us right away, while there’s still liquid in there.

• Don’t take your phone apart and try to dry it off. That is one of the most common mistakes people make. Bring it into the store as soon as possible and allow us to do a chemical cleaning on it. We have about a 75% recovery rate on water soaked phones. We usually need about two to 24 hours, depending on the severity of the damage.

So, what happens if you are one of those unfortunate folks that have a phone that cannot be restored? Is there a way to save your information? Yes! We can refer you to a company that specializes in extracting information from motherboards that are dead. You simply send it off to them and within a few days they will have an answer for you. More often than not, they can preserve your information and transfer it to your new phone.