Small Happenings

So I remember being young AND looking forward to 60 Minutes every Sunday night at 7pm right after NFL Football (except on the west Coast.) And I can’t say I don’t appreciate the chance to show off my long-term memory. I’m 100% sure I was/remain nerdy enough to relish Mike Wallace grilling the likes of the Ayatollah, Nixon, Putin, and a few more. If Wallace were still a part of the 60 Minutes team, I’m sure I’d be fantasizing Mike interrogating USC Football’s all too present “Defensive Coordinator” as well as any/all perpetrators of do-it-yourself dentistry.

Thing is, consistently, my favorite part of the show arrived near the end of the hour when Old School curmudgeon Andy Rooney would share some interesting and frequently irreverent thoughts. To this day, I still love Andy Rooney quotes, stuff like: “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” or “I don't know anything offhand that mystifies Americans more than the cotton they put in pill bottles.” or the 50-50-90 Rule: “Any time you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there’s a 90% probability you’ll get it wrong.”

The Andy Rooney worship got to the point where I’d do virtual interviews with Andy across the street from my office at El Pollo Loco and publish the pieces for local newspapers. I interviewed Rooney regarding Coach Pete Carroll, Clint Eastwood interviewing a chair at the Republican convention, former USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, and former President Donald J. Trump. And it’s awesome interviewing someone you admire about people you really like (or not) when you get to create the questions AND the answers. And there are some fond memories of cashier La Polla Loca attempting to force senior discounts on young guy me and my Pollo Bowl when I was practically a kid.

These days, I search for quotes Monday through Friday. I started the quote thing back when our dental practice first returned from being closed, due to Covid-19 health precautions. I first used the quotes to get me out of my own 4am negative, pessimistic way. Then, during our morning huddle, I noticed I was suddenly surrounded by zombies, so I made the huddle a play-for-pay money game. With liberal use of clues, one team member was gonna win 10 bucks. If the 24-second clock expired, the 10 bucks would roll over. I saw energy levels soar. Since I was surrounded by youngsters who maybe were forced to watch 60 Minutes when they were little, just like I was forced to watch Lawrence Welk on Saturday nights, my team began to transform into 60 Minutes/Andy Rooney old souls.

Somehow, I became a board member for the most productive Invisalign providing group on the globe, the American Academy of Clear Aligners (AACA.) When the organization outgrew our original board status for Presidents of individual subgroups, we former presidents were asked for our functional grounds for continued Board standing. I volunteered to help with the journal and write a quarterly commentary…and supply daily quotes which expanded into the quotes with the added risk (for the viewer) of my video commentary relating to the quotes.

Today’s quote came straight outta my Andy Rooney library. The quote: “I’ve learned that it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.” And what I’ve learned from experience was once again confirmed by Rooney’s wisdom. Since selling my dental practice a year or so ago one of those small daily happenings now consumes around two and a half hours of my life, and love, per day. And there are some little silly things like high-fiving my authentic Ranch Cucamonga Quakes bobble-head version of mascot dinosaur Tremor after flipping a “Be Badass” coin given to me by a 3-year-old, just before taking my blood pressure every morning. But there’s more.

So, anyone who’s ever seen my Organic Chemistry Lab notebook, or the top of my dental school mobile cabinet wouldn’t be shocked when I confess being organized hasn’t historically been one of my strengths. But when I’m not being delusional or over-the-top creative, at least reality hasn’t totally left my room (especially since investing thousands asking for stuff like coaching and 360-degree reviews- okay, counseling would’ve helped too.)

I would arrive at work two hours early every morning. And yeah, I loved the peace and quiet. And I appreciated my clear conscience when the morning huddle arrived and I’d made every effort to avoid surprises…for my team, the patients and me.

But driving in early, having already recited my litany of things I’m grateful for, I couldn’t ignore the beauty of what I saw while gliding down California Avenue just west of Cal Tech. I saw people walking, reading, engaging, and having a cup of coffee. I dreamed that one day, I could pledge that club unopposed.

When family, friends, patients, or colleagues used to tell me they were busier now than ever before, my thoughts would go to Pinocchio, sodium pentothal, and the former president. But now I know and agree.

These days, half of my morning is non-negotiable. Some may think that walking out into the dark of morning, being greeted by name, having a Havana Cappuccino, and cracking open an Italian mystery novel, and then taking a circuitous hike back through neighborhood you’d drive through just get a glimpse when you were a kid doesn’t sound that special. All I got is something else it took a while for me to learn. Don’t know about Andy on this one, but I’ll just agree to disagree.