Open Letter to Potholes

By Dave Trux

You’re horrible, plain and simple! You have no regard for my car or the cars of others. You lie in the street with nothing better to do than ruin tires, wheels and parts of our suspensions. If I had my way, I’d erase you from the face of the planet. But, as you know, this is not the case. Instead, you laugh at oncoming traffic and cause thousands of dollars in damage to unsuspecting drivers and their vehicles. As of today, be warned! You may win the battle, but you won’t win the war!

Sincerely,

Dave

Although this open letter is a bit “tongue and cheek,” I doubt anyone reading this feels differently about the pothole situation on our roads. This winter, the situation has been worsened as we’re actually receiving welcome rainfall, which merely increases the amount of potholes on the road.

You may be asking yourself, what can a pothole do to your car? At a minimum, they can put your car out of alignment. With or without potholes, I recommend aligning your vehicle once a year. Tire and wheel damage is another common problem associated with potholes.

On a larger scale financially, suspension damage to shocks, struts, steering racks, bushings and tie rods are often associated when crossing paths with the dreaded pothole. Shakes and clunks felt in the steering wheel? That can possibly be attributed to pothole damage. Again, I recommend an undercar inspection once a year as preventative maintenance.

So, beware of those gremlins hiding on our roads and happy motoring!

Positive Addictions

By Bob Cox

After reading the title of this article, did you think to yourself, “that’s impossible because all addiction is negative and bad for you”? You would be right, but only if you look at addiction through a conventional pair of eyes. Dictionary.com defines addiction as: The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

We can all agree that no rational thinking healthy person would ever say, “Yes, I want to give up all my freedom to make healthy choices and become enslaved and controlled by something outside of myself that will ultimately damage the quality of my life as well as the lives of all the people that care about me”.

When people are trapped in the shackles of an addiction to a mind altering substance, a common pattern will emerge: A painful event will trigger an involuntary reaction to reach for the favorite comforting substance that will numb the pain immediately. Within that split second between stimulus and response is where every battle between freedom and enslavement takes place. The faster and more often you react without a conscious thought process, the more enslaved you become to the habit.

When my friend and client Janina Guarino, the founder of Better Decisions Counseling Services introduced me to the concept of replacing a negative addiction with a positive addiction, I knew she wasn’t an advocate of becoming enslaved by a new and healthier choice, but to actually be set free of the negative addiction by achieving a higher level of consciousness during that tiny gap between stimulus and response, and while in that space making a better decision. I understood what she meant immediately because that’s something I’ve done since my childhood.

From the time I was a little kid, I watched how some family members in our house turned to alcohol and drugs to relieve emotional pain and how those substances consistently made our home environment a living hell. The question was never “Will mom be drinking tonight but how drunk will she get and how long and loud will she rave into the darkness?” At that time, I had no idea how to solve my own painful feelings but I did learn that drugs and alcohol were not the answers.

As I became a young adult, whenever I chose to drink, I was extremely cautious about doing it only when I wanted to enhance a positive feeling. Whenever I wanted to escape a negative repetitive thought, I refused to allow myself to drink and react just like mom. Instead, whenever I felt overly stressed out, I would engage in a variety of adrenaline draining activities, like going for a brisk run around the neighborhood or lifting weights in our garage. Even though those activities didn’t completely erase my negative thoughts and feelings, they consistently made them a lot more manageable.

If you or someone you love is being strangled by the chains of addiction, find out what they love to do physically and suggest that they replace their negative addiction with a positive one. Some great ideas include gardening, yard work, a walk in nature or an enjoyable sports activity. The best time to make that suggestion is while your loved one is calm and sober. If; however, just the mere mention of their addiction triggers a knee jerk response for them to reach for their favorite mind altering substance, you may be in over your head. If they’re that unstable, you will likely need to contact an experienced professional like Janina. People like Janina are invaluable to have on your team because she knows firsthand the struggles of negative addiction and most importantly, how to break free from them and live with greater peace, joy and love. 

Does Your Kitchen Reflect your Uniqueness?

By Chris Barr

Let's begin with the obvious:  you are not exactly like anyone else.  Oh sure, there are characteristics you share with your mother, lots of things you have in common with your spouse and a couple of very good friends who can always guess what you're thinking.  But there is no other human being with precisely your own set of likes, dislikes, taste and style preferences and emotional responses to your surroundings.  No cookie cutter for sure!

That's why when you start to think about remodeling or upgrading your kitchen, the room your family spends the most time in, you do NOT need to squeeze your personal needs and style into someone else's box.  Pre-fab is easy and most retailers will be happy to show you the colors of which they have the most inventory overstock...but where's your satisfaction in that?  Where's that happy moment when you first walk into the kitchen in the morning and think "wow!"

Granite Transformations can help you find and express that part of you.  Beginning with our wide selection of quartz, engineered granite, recycled glass and hand-cut artisan backsplashes, we'll help you put together the kitchen design that best reflects how you use the kitchen, the ease of maintenance you deserve going forward and that very personal style that's uniquely you.  Whether you like warm and cozy, or cool and contemporary, or a splash of bold color, or an eclectic mix of all those things - we've got it for you!  Call for your complimentary in-home design consultation with one of our experts today.

The Road to Recovery is an Adjustment

By Dr. Beth Blakely

Did you know that it can take up to seven years or more to experience pain from the damage caused by an auto accident? In auto accidents, the soft tissues are injured. Soft tissues include the joints, discs, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Soft tissues are sort of like a rubber band, which means they’ll stretch, but then over time they’ll heal in a bad position without adequate treatment. As strange as this may sound, you’re actually better off breaking a bone than damaging soft tissue. Why, because bone heals stronger after it’s broken, but soft tissues degenerate over time, creating greater and greater levels of pain.

Once these tissues begin to degenerate, they pinch against the nerves, which will be extremely painful. So that’s why people tend to get worse as they get older or if they’ve never had adequate care after an auto accident. It’s imperative that you come in for treatment as soon as you’re injured, because then we can control the healing process and get your tissues to heal in a more normal fashion, where everything is in proper alignment.

If you don’t get your vertebrae put back into their normal positions, they’re just going to heal anywhere they ended up and your body will not line back up. A competent chiropractor will put the vertebrae back where they belong and then the tissues will heal in healthy alignment.

Sadly, about 10% of our population suffers needlessly from chronic pain after an automobile accident. In far too many situations, people don’t think they are seriously injured and then six months down the road they realize they are once they start experiencing unbearable pain.

A second very good reason to be checked out immediately after an auto accident involves your bank account. Let’s face it, most insurance companies will not be eager to pay for your injury. If you waited six months before pursuing treatment, they’ll likely say, “Oh no, you did something else to your back, which doesn’t have anything to do with this auto accident.”

If you’ve been in a recent auto accident, don’t try to tough it out, especially when the aches and pains seem relatively minor. And that especially goes for all you men out there. Get the care you need and deserve as soon as possible: The health of your body and bank account depend on it!

Better Decisions Article

By Bob Cox

The world of entertainment was forever changed when music legend Michael Jackson was pronounced dead on June 25, 2009 at 2:26 pm while at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. The cause of his death was a lethal dose of propofol, lorazepam and midazolam, which was administered by his personal physician Conrad Murray. Murray would later be convicted of involuntary manslaughter and serve two years of a four year sentence.

Less than seven years later, music lovers around the globe were rocked again when another member of pop royalty, Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as Prince, died on April 21, 2016 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl. Tragically, just one day earlier, a representative of Prince had reached out to Dr. Howard Kornfeld, an addiction specialist. Dr. Kornfeld’s son placed the 911 call when he found Prince unresponsive in his home.

The deaths of these two icons of music has shined a light on the dark subject of the escalating crisis of legal and illegal drug addiction in America. Many public health officials have declared the current opioid epidemic as the worst drug crisis in American history. From 2000 to 2014, American rates of death from opioid overdose have tripled from three deaths per 100,000 people to nine per 100,000, according to an article published on February 3, 2016 by Pacific Standard. In 2014 alone, 28,649 deaths from opioid overdoses occurred, with the vast majority of the lethal overdoses involving prescription opioids.  Just one year later, those numbers have risen to over 33,000 deaths, according to an article in the New York Times on January 6, 2017.

The heroin crisis has been closely linked to prescription drugs, as many users go on to become addicted to a prescription opioid before switching to the oftentimes less expensive and more potent illegal street drug heroin. So, who might become our next opioid overdose victim? Could it be the local high school football star who suffers a painful injury during the big game, an elderly family member that’s fallen or perhaps the quiet girl next door who winds up in the hospital for over three months with traumatic third degree burns all over her body?

I recently spoke to Janina Guarino, the founder and owner of Better Decisions Counseling Services, who many years ago, was that quiet girl next door. Here is her story, which is amazing and inspiring!

Q: What was your experience like in the hospital after that tragic motorcycle accident where you suffered third degree burns all over your body?

A: I was in the hospital for three months and they helped me manage extreme pain by putting me on a morphine drip. I got to push a button every time I needed more. Within about three or four days, I was completely addicted to it. They stopped giving morphine to me three months later and I went through terrible withdrawal symptoms and had no idea what was happening to me. I actually thought I was going to die and even told them my hair was hurting! That’s how psychologically addicted I became.

Q: It must be incredibly satisfying to help empower people to live a healthy and addiction free lifestyle, especially in light of the fact that you once stood in their shoes and truly understand their struggles.

A: Absolutely. I had such devastation as a young single mom coming out of the hospital. I went through a divorce, I didn’t have the money to afford an attorney, my car was vandalized by my ex and we didn’t have grocery money. I didn’t even know how to go down to social services and ask for food stamps or sign up for job skills training to find the perfect job. These are all the things we’re helping young people learn how to do and that feels great!

Q: Your counseling program has an extremely high rate of success (86%) helping clients stay addiction free. How have you accomplished this?

A: We address the psychological and physical symptoms of withdrawal at the same time with our intensive outpatient services. I’ve counseled many people that were addicted to opioid prescription medications who had no idea what they’re going through when they experienced extreme withdrawal symptoms. Many become severely depressed and some suicidal, because those drugs release serotonin from the central nervous system, which helps people feel a greater sense of euphoria. Also, we offer customized counseling plans that meet the very unique and specific needs of our clients. The conventional cookie cutter programs offered by many other counseling services are simply not as effective. In addition to that, we encourage our clients to deal with their emotional problems by replacing negative addictions with positive addictions.

Q: What is the purpose of Better Decisions Counseling Services?

A: Our intensive outpatient services are designed to help people live independently as they stabilize and move toward progress. These services are provided in partnership with community-based agencies and mental health care centers. The services are based on a needs evaluation and an Individual Treatment Plan which is monitored, reviewed and modified as needed on an on-going basis.

Q: What services do you offer?

A: Our dynamic intensive outpatient services include core mind and health services such as counseling, individual and group therapy, and medication monitoring. They also include community support in getting and holding a job, finding a place to live, enrolling in higher education, improving social relationships and gaining access to benefit programs. Clients receiving intensive outpatient services may also receive forensic evaluations (court required) and treatment, including prescription medications. We also provide case management services. We have a recovery coaching program for long term care and we also offer a very effective intervention service.

Q: What are some of the most common behavioral symptoms and signs that someone in your home is becoming addicted?

A: Anger, lots of outrage and major changes in the personality. Another common symptom is discovering that items are missing from your home, like medicine from your medicine cabinet, jewelry and a variety of other items from your home and garage. There may be more frequent requests for financial help, especially if they keep asking you for the same amount every day.

Q: Do you offer assistance to clients who are feeling vulnerable to relapsing?

A: Yes, we offer a sober companion, which is their recovery coach. If a client is feeling the urge to use or drink, they can reach out to someone by phone to talk them through it.

Q: What’s the relapse rate with opioid drugs?

A: It depends on which opiate. If it’s heroin, the chances of relapse is pretty good. You’re almost 99% sure that you’ll have at least one or two relapses. Relapse; however, is not a bad thing. It’s like riding a bike; it takes time to learn how to be successful.

Q: Can you tell us about your Michael Jackson and Prince Scholarships?

A: Yes, these are scholarships we’ve put into place to help kids who are addicted get the counseling they need, including those who might not be able to afford it. So instead of going out on the street and prostituting themselves to fund their next fix, they can get the counseling they need to change those destructive behaviors. Simply put, no individual can withstand prolonged stress indefinitely and we want to be there for those who desperately need counseling, in loving memory of Michael Jackson and Prince.

Q: Are you accepting donations for the Michael Jackson and Prince Scholarships?

A: Yes, and it’s great because we directly apply those donations towards reducing our counseling fees from 50% to 100%. With these scholarships, a child in need will never get turned away from receiving counseling for stabilization once they get out of the hospital. We are now 501 (3) c, which means we can now accept large donations and we’re tax exempt! Also, if somebody wants to donate a house to Better Decisions so that we can offer residential treatment, we have the programs written up and are ready to go.

Q: Do you accept Drug MediCal?

A: We have submitted all the paperwork and are waiting for approval. Hopefully, we’ll be approved very soon.

Q: Is there anything else that you want people to know about?

A: If you have a loved one that is currently struggling with or has passed away from drug addiction and want to speak to someone that understands, feel free to contact me.

Editor’s notes: To get help and/or donate to the Michael Jackson and Prince Scholarships, contact Better Decisions at (916) 368-0700, visit their office at 10366 Rockingham Drive in Rancho Cordova or email us them at betterdecisions724@gmail.com. 

A Stormy Day in Southern California

By Bob Cox

When my parents decided that our family could afford to move to the nicer side of town, I was really excited we were going for it. Sure, I was going to miss the good old days playing with my friends, eating corn dogs with my dad at The Yellow Basket Restaurant and driving by the Mobil Oil Refinery and watching the sifting piles of “black sand” empty out of long tubes from the tall machines. But our new house had plenty to offer, so I was feeling good about the future.

As a 6 year old adventure seeker, I didn’t care about the cleaner air, the prettier neighborhood or the great view we had at the top of the hill. What really mattered was living in a 2 story house and the cool fountain that spilled into a small pond in the corner of our backyard. Behind the fountain was dirt and plants, the perfect setting to create my own primeval world!

From the time I was little fat dough-ball in diapers, I had steadfastly collected every plastic dinosaur ever created. Now I had the perfect environment to travel back 65 million years with T- rex and his biggest and baddest rivals!

A few months after we moved in, T-rex and triceratops we’re engaged in an epic struggle when I noticed that the water wasn’t coming out of the fountain as fast as it once did. My sisters tried to convince me that I ruined it, but I refused to believe it had anything to do with the dirt I piled at the top of the fountain to create a more authentic jungle-like atmosphere of a muddy river poring into a dark and spooky lake. With the river not flowing right, I needed another strategy to avoid the dreaded B word…boredom, the silent killer of joy among our kind, you know brats like me!

Back then, we only had six television stations to choose from and my thinking at the time was that if it made it on television, it must be good enough to watch and learn from. My next great inspiration came before the phrase “kids, don’t try this at home” became vogue. I was watching Lucille Ball on “The Lucy Show.” I sat mesmerized as Lucy and her neighbor Vivian (Vivian Vance) were stuck in the bathroom shower with the water rising near their necks. I couldn’t understand why they had such panicked looks on their faces, since having a swimming pool for a shower looked like great fun to me!

I rushed home from school later that day, tore out of my clothes and slipped on my one and only pair of swimming trunks. I dashed up the stairs, turned on the shower in my parent’s bathroom and braced myself for an afternoon of wet and wild adventure. Since our shower didn’t have a plug to keep the water in, I was forced to improvise. I grabbed a washcloth and plugged up the drain to prevent the water from draining out. I thought “Boy, wait until my three big sister’s get home. I’ll be the envy of the neighborhood!”

As the minutes went by, I noticed the shower not filling up as high as I expected so I cranked up the water full blast to get the swimming party started. When my sisters came home, I heard some muffled yelling behind the closed bathroom door as I looked down at my prune textured fingers. I was shouting “Life Boy with mint, mint, mint” from a soap commercial I saw one too many times), when the door suddenly flung open, I can only remember a few choice words, like “You idiot,” “What were you thinking” and “Wait until dad gets home!” Wow, that certainly wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.

Before I made the long and soggy walk down the stairs, I was struck by how wet the bathroom floor and the carpet in my parent’s bedroom was. “How did that happen,” I wondered to myself. When I finally reached the family room, I couldn’t believe my eyes as drops of water fell from our ceiling like rain. That indoor thunderstorm would be a drop in the bucket compared to the force that would be arriving home soon and straight out of Inglewood where he worked, “Hurricane Dad!”