How to start a dental practice

   I asked my 8 year old son, Max, if he likes going to the Dentist and he surprisingly said, "Yes."
   "Huh?"  I thought, that was surprise answer.
   "Why do you like going to the dentist, Max?"
   "Because they give me ice cream!"
    Voila!    He had been going to one of the best pediatric dental practices around, and yes, they gave the kids a choice of an ice cream cup or Popsicle after getting a filling.    That is brilliant.   It is brilliant because that's what he remembers!   (FYI, he's been through a baby-tooth root canal and tongue-tie snip)
    I got to thinking...  most EVERYONE would like a treat after a dental visit?   What would my dental patients like for a treat?    Ice Cream?   ... beer card to a local brewery?   What do you think?
 

All I wanted was a Christmas Carol...

October of 2011.

   The air is getting crisp, leaves are falling, and I am thinking about the upcoming Holidays.   I'm not religious or even Christian, but I love Christmas Carols.   They take me back to my childhood.. They are the soundtrack to Christmases past:  As a small child, I remember sitting on the floor by the 1950's style Blaubunkt stereo console.   On the left side of the console was a hidden liquor cabinet full of colorful bottles.  On the right side was a colorful radio with knobs and buttons.  Below that was the record player.  I would stack the records, pull the lever, and listen to the beautiful Christmas carols of Bing Crosby,  German Chorals, and some Gospel albums.  

    My father,  a musician in a previous lifetime, would occasionally pull out his trumpet and blast us with music.  That was kind of annoying.   A trumpet doesn't really belong in a 1960's style ranch house.

   One Christmas he bought me a toy electric organ and taught me some popular Christmas carols.  We set it up and I practiced the songs by following the big colorful dots on the pages and on the keys.   It was pretty cool.   I was making music!    I played "Silent Night," and the adults stood by the organ and sang in a multi-pitch, uneven rendition .   It was Christmas eve, 1970.  

   And now, forty years later, I'm here, driving down Pine Street in Boulder, Colorado, looking at the churches, wanting Christmas Carols and something more...   and no, I haven't become a musician.

(Few weeks later)

  My kids made dreidels in public school today: they learned some Jewish songs too.   Last year it was Kwanza.   They've learned Mexican folk songs and a dance for Cinco de Mayo.   They've learned some Chinese words and songs BUT.....  Have they learned a single Christmas carol, ever?   "Rudolph-the red nose reindeer," maybe...      We need some Christmas Carols!