SKAN TALK

"Is It Safe?"

Anybody remember this 1976 Thriller?  A classic indeed.  The Nazi Dr. Szell (Lawrence Olivier) would ask the unwitting Babe Levy (Dustin Hoffman) those famous words, over and over..."Is it safe?"  Babe, of course, had no idea what the heck Szell was talking about.

Striking similarity to us and the FDA, no?  Unfortunately, we're not holding a dental probe to the FDA's painful cavity.  Oh, if only we were.

Read on...

"To All The Kids Who Survivied the '30s-'70s"

Anyone seen the chain e-mail called:

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

If not...or for a refresher...click here.

Then read on...

Slipping into Something More Comfortable

When was the last time you had a conversation with a complete stranger?  I'm not talking about that person you met at a dinner party, business meeting or other social gathering; I'm talking about that guy in the cafe, that girl in the park, your mail carrier or even a homeless person begging for money.  Take the beggar, for instance.  How many times have we seen one on the street and despite their asking for money or help, we say "no thanks" or "not today" or "no change, sorry"?  Worse yet, we sometimes just keep on walking -- perhaps in the other direction -- saying nothing at all.  Sometimes, we even have trouble saying "hi" to that person in the elevator, on the running path or in line at the grocery store.

What drives us to disregard the presence of another person standing so close to us that they are breathing the same air?  What makes us so uncomfortable?  What are we afraid of?

Read on...

Soldiers in Service

I’m in a conundrum.  I was sent a chain e-mail from a friend recently, containing a link to The Gratitude Campaign (www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php).   I was about to forward the e-mail with the following message:

I trust that you all know how much against the war I am, though I don’t believe I’m qualified to question or judge the motivation of someone who chooses to become a soldier in an all-voluntary military.  The fact of the matter is that they’ve chosen to fight for something, whether it’s us, a cause or themselves.  It’s quite a path to choose and I find myself wanting to thank these people for their service.  Accordingly, if you’re so inclined to do the same, then you can choose to spread the message. 

Then I thought about it some more...