Thanksgiving Interfaith Services. Be there!

If you live in or near Skokie, I would love to see you at the following service:

http://www.tbiskokie.org/pdf/2013%20Thanksgiving%20poster.pdf

If you don't live in, or won't be in the Skokie, IL, area, please search on the internet for a "Thanksgiving Interfaith Service" in the area where you will be spending this wonderful holiday.

Below is a slightly modified notice which I sent out a few days ago to my Dental Family. You may have seen this already.

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Thanksgiving Eve Interfaith Service in Skokie!

This is a big deal in my mind. It is a wonderful gathering of our community. This is an event which is very inspirational and brings good people together of many different backgrounds. Belief in God should unite us not divide us! Join your neighbors, friends and families in a celebration of Thanksgiving which will help you view life from different perspectives.
This is an event which is on my calendar as a priority for each year. You, your friends and family may want to have it as a priority on your calendars after experiencing the magic of our diversity coming together at an event like this. Encourage your acquaintances of different faiths or of no faith to attend this event with you and hopefully each of you will understand one another a little better.

The service usually lasts less than an hour and a reception with light snacks and drinks follows. It features inspirational talks by members of various faiths and excellent music as well. It is a great opportunity to mingle with members and leaders of our communities. The mayor and other government officials are usually in attendance.

There is no cost to attend this event. Non-perishable, food items with unexpired dates on them are accepted as donations for the Niles Township Food Pantry. Cash donations will also be accepted which will go directly to the Skokie Community Giving Program. Many attendees contribute and many don't.

I hope to see you at this event or I hope you can attend an event like this some day.

I wish you and yours the best during the holidays and always!

Sincerely,

Dr. Dave McWhinnie

PS If this is not a convenient location for you, search online for a Thanksgiving Eve Interfaith Service in your area. There are many of them held throughout our great country.

Temple Beth Israel

3601 Dempster, Skokie

Wednesday, 7:30pm 

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Great Safety Tip!

This is something I never thought of but it is a great idea. It doesn't have anything to do directly with oral health.

It was sent to me by my friend and a member of our "Dental Family", Karen Gatherer. Thanks, Karen!

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What to take to bed with you - not a joke.
Pretty neat idea. Never thought of it before.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr's office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds, all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

Please pass this on even IF you've read it before. It's a reminder.

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What do you think of this?

Please share it with your friends!

The Secret

This is an transformational and inspirational documentary/movie. It is available on Netflix and I would highly recommend it.

http://thesecret.tv/index.html

Watch it!

"Racist"? [Religious Bias?]

A friend of mine asked me recently if I was a racist because I was stopping him from pontificating about how Obama was so great and his political opposition was so wrong. I like this friend of mine, but it is impossible to discuss anything of any substance reasonably with him because he just won't listen to opposing arguments or reasoning. He just doesn't have an open mind it seems to me. We also have some differing moral/ethical positions, we are both Roman Catholics, and his morals/ethics go against the teachings of our church. He won't listen to reason here either, but still feels he is a good Roman Catholic.

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I really don't understand where you come from when asking me if I am a racist for not agreeing with your far left wing stance this morning. Your opinion is your opinion and I respect that. Mine is mine and I hope you respect it too. We obviously have different political opinions so please don't discuss politics or the like with me because I don't appreciate the way you discussed it this morning or in the past. We are better off leaving politics, etc. out of our morning discussions.

Racism has nothing to do with anything that was discussed this morning. You were the one who brought this up which took me totally by surprise. Obama's race has absolutely nothing to do with my feelings toward him or the democrats winning in November. I am actually quite happy we elected a non-white as president. As a man I respect him but I don't agree with his policies and tactics in dealing with our country's current problems. I am most certainly not a racist. As a matter of fact, Juan Williams, Herman Cain, and Clarence Page come to mind almost immediately as popular, respected, intellectual, public figures whom I admire greatly and are definitely non-white. [... and I just saw the movie, "Red Tails" about the Tuskegee airmen and loved it. I would highly recommend it.]

Another point in fact is my wife. Did you ever notice she is not a white caucasian? She is actually a rather dark skinned Filipina whom I love dearly. Race has no bearing on how I feel about people. And you seem to have the nerve to imply that I am a racist for not leaning far enough to the left and begging to differ with you? Please don't ever imply or hint at anything like this ever again. There is absolutely no merit to that argument about me at all. I take offense at anyone thinking this of me and take much greater offense when they state such a groundless accusation out loud, in public. It seemed to me you were just trying to cause trouble by mentioning this. Why?

Religion doesn't have much bearing on what I think of people either. I have quite a few beloved patients who are actually Muslims. [How do you feel about Muslims I might ask?] I am a devout Roman Catholic who adheres to my church's teachings to the letter of the law as best as I can. I feel my opinion is subservient to my church's teachings. My scientific education actually supports and reinforces these teachings very well. Unfortunately some people tend to twist and distort religion until it fits their view of what they want their religion to be in spite of what the facts are. Muslims who distort their religion and use it to promote violence are most certainly doing this when promoting jihad. Those Muslims I cannot tolerate but it is not because they are Muslims but rather they are terrorists. Religions as a whole should influence and direct their followers to the proper path through good ethics, and followers should follow the moral experts at the head of their religious entities faithfully. It seems some of us Catholics are more adherent to our church's proclamations and teachings than others. I don't want to discuss any of this with you either.

I will pray for both of us in regard to all of the above.

I really don't have time for any of this and won't address it any further at all [if at all possible] with you ever again. With your thoughtless racist statement this morning I am much more inclined than ever before to not ever discuss any of the above with you ever again. [You just don't seem open to any opinion differing from your own, from my perspective.] Let's keep our discussions with each other as superficial as possible in the future if you don't mind.

I have said my peace and am finished with all of this. Your statement did upset me this morning which prompted this response.

If you feel you need to respond to me in regard to any or all of this, I will be happy to read one response from you, but one only. You won't be hearing from me about any of this again. As stated earlier, I don't have time for this.

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Responses or thoughts in regard to the above are welcome from anyone assuming they are reasonable and respectful.

Our troubled country

I hear that things are getting better in our country and this is certainly very welcome news after all we have been going through the last few years. Hopefully you are doing well or better now too.

We have had enough political infighting. Let's hope our political leaders will become more like the statesmen we need to help us move forward in a more stable economic environment. They must leave their bickering behind and do what is truly right and good for our country long term.

I believe we have all had enough of partisan politics and we need our political leaders to work together for the overall good of all of us. The American people are a great, hard working and honest people and we need to demand these same qualities from our politicians.

The influence of big money and big corporations has been drowning out the voice of the people for too long. We need to make ourselves heard. It seems to me we need large corporations and campaign financing held in check much better than they are now. After all, our country is supposed to be of, for and by the people.

In my humble opinion, I feel we need to vote out the political elite, who are now in office, and get fresh blood and fresh, common sense perspectives in our governments to serve us the people for the good of all for the long term. When possible we need to vote out incumbents without a vision for the overall good of all of us.

Skokie Health Department survey request.

If you visit or live in Skokie, please completed this survey:

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Hello Dr. Dave,

I am writing to request that you complete the Community Health Survey in the link below, and consider sharing with others who would be willing to assist the Skokie Health Department (Rotary Members?). We are conducting the survey to establish the top health priorities for Skokie for the next 5 years, and are seeking wide community input. A blurb describing the survey is below, along with a link to the electronic version. We will publish the results of the survey later this year.

Thank you for your help, and please call me if you have questions!

Catherine


Please take a moment to answer a short "Community Health Survey" for the Skokie Health Department. The survey is being conducted to assess community health needs, as part of the state re-certification requirements. This process will identify the top health priorities for Skokie for the next five years.

The Health Department is seeking input from persons who live, work, attend school or enjoy events in Skokie. If you prefer, paper copies are available at Village Hall, or by calling ... 847-933-8252 . Here is the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C3LSS5G

Thank you for your assistance!


Catherine A. Counard, MD, MPH
Director of Health
Village of Skokie
5127 Oakton Street
Skokie, Illinois 60077
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Thanks!

Analogy: Taking down the bird feeder.

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... Everywhere!
Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.
And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like it used to be... Quiet, serene... and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now, let's see... Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care and free education, and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's second grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

If you agree, pass it on; if not, just continue cleaning up the poop...












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Craig Bristow, GRI