Monday, March 24, 2014

ground control to lieutenant lisleman can you hear me

Was there a time when you could have used some ground control?
Often our reception is bad and we can't hear them.  As a teen you often learn how to turn the ground control transmission off.

After you have learned something the hard way, don’t you wish you would have just listened to available advice and learned it an easier way?

Like the difference between crash and burn versus touch and go practice (touch and go is an aviation term for practicing take off and landings).

I rewrote this post from 2011 because I noticed it received good attention, comments and I read an commentary today about hospice.

My introduce to hospice was when my mother went under its care years ago.  Her period with it was too brief (days).  Then it was done and she had passed on.  A tough aspect of hospice is accepting the certainty of the outcome.  My siblings and I were all in agreement about the choice.

The commentary about it (Chicago Tribune not sure if it free for non subscribers) pointed out an aspect of the hospice care decision that I had never thought about before.  It puts the patient more in control.  Control of their last days.  Not complete control.  No one gets to control death but if it has place itself on your near term calendar at least hospice allows you more control over your remaining time than doctors at a hospital.

This control aspect is the connection to this post.  The original post had thoughts about advice.  Doctors can dish out advice like ground control.  I think if you are about to leave earth on a one way no return ticket then you should turn off ground control and share the time with family.


Companies make a point of throwing advice at you.

Just do it. 

Yeah that’s great for Nike. Sure everyone needs to try new things but some activities go better with a little thought and planning. The “Just do it” attitude might just work better in a retirement community than a high school.

The circus is mostly a thing of the past. I don’t know anyone who ran off to join the circus. However, I know a teen or two who ran off to join the homeless. Maybe we need to bring back the circus.

We are not always receptive to suggestions. However, I know many seek advice at different times. Plenty of books out there filled with it.

As we travel our life road (avenue, street, back alley?) we constantly need to make decisions. We never know if the decision will have a big impact until later.

Of course some decisions have little or no noticeable impact.


(oh my experience tells me the ice cream bar melts quicker than the beer warms, so finish that first)

So before you open the hatch and step through the door will you listen to ground control?

Ground Control ==> Take your protein pills and put your helmet on - (if you having kids you'll need both protein pills and a good helmet)



9 comments:

Bearman Cartoons said...

Hoping that the one way ticket is to somewhere good

Scarlet Blue said...

I'd dunk the ice cream in the beer... so I probably need all the advice I can get.
Sx

lisleman said...

eating them at the same time didn't seem too odd but dunking one into the other just sounds weird.

thanks

lisleman said...

yes that is what I've heard preached.
thanks

Mrs4444 said...

The “Just do it” attitude might just work better in a retirement community than a high school. Good one.hahaha

lisleman said...

Less to lose by then? thanks

Cheryl P. said...

I have dealt with hospice on several occasions. (not for me personally, you understand) and have the utmost respect for people in that field. Yes, I think hospice does give as much as it can, the dying person some control of how to say their goodbyes and get things in order emotionally, knowing that they are at the end of their life's journey.



As for advice...would we take advice from people if we thought our way was the better way to go? It's not until we realize that we were wrong that we say we "should of listened" Then there are those glorious occasions that we prove that we were right. With all the self-help books out there, you have to think that they all can't be giving the right information. I have read some of those books and just couldn't believe that anyone would buy into the theories touted by the author. Seemed like total junk to me but it often doesn't keep the book from becoming a top seller. There seems to be a lucrative market in doling out advice.



I guess we just have to take control of our own decisions and be prepared to take the consequences.

lisleman said...

Beer n ice cream - you don't put both in your mouth at the same time. However people will try anything different so maybe I should launch a beer ice cream drink.
Yes the hospice idea is a good one for both patient and family.
thanks

lisleman said...

Realizing our errors is not always easy. Depending on a person's stubbornness it could be a long time coming. Advice giving and taking involves trust and good balance. You are right that advice can be bad even if it's written in a best selling book.
You might remember me mentioning "Sunscreen" speech before. Wearing sunscreen - one of the good bits of advice.
thanks

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