Solitary Precautions

So, yesterday reminded me of a Woody Allen movie, made years before Allen’s social behavior tendencies started coming into question.

Back in 1969, when I barely retained little grasshopper status, Allen made “Take the Money and Run.” And while similarities can be drawn regarding the film’s title and certain politicians who pull in the big bucks while serving in government, it’s recent developing circumstances I'm talkin’ about.

In Take the Money, Allen’s character (Virgil) plays an inept bank robber who gets bullied, arrested, sent to prison multiple times, and finally brutally condemned to faux solitary confinement in a steam box…with a life insurance salesman.

Yesterday, during marathon hours limited to me, myself, and I; I would’ve welcomed an Allstate visit, but no Good Hands handshake.

During my multiple decades in dentistry, going way back to the Carter Administration and Odd/Even gas line days, I’ve never experienced anything close to the Virgil Effect. And Don McClean chronicled “…the day the music died” but I wasn’t ready for the day the NBA died, only 24-hours before the unreal day March Madness died as well.

No sports, no groups, no travel. As I’m typing, I just saw that the state of Illinois has closed dine-in restaurants to the end of March. Thankfully, I’m two blocks away from Trader Joe’s and wake up at a ridiculously early stand-in-line hour. Fortunately, I’m good with TP (toilet paper) supplies and I subscribe daily to the LA Times (and the Classifieds, like my past copies of the ADA Journal, could still come in handy.)

On September 11, 2001, we closed the office for one day; we were unsettled, scared, and angry. On September 29, 2008, my team and I were enjoying quality time in Honolulu, and celebrating reaching some breakthrough goals…as the Market crashed and banks folded; 401ks became 201ks. We persevered; no jobs or benefits were lost.

This time we’re up against something we can’t even see; the symptoms can be invisible to us as well. A handshake can pose a threat…even from another handshake and six degrees of separation. We’ll persevere again.

We see our team, patients, and community as family. My dad’s #1 rule was “protect the family.” When I’m facing a difficult choice that impacts others, I always source my most important mentor and ask, “What would Dad do?”

Today, our entire team has been in communication; two important team members are here today, helping out. Dani has been part of our practice for almost 20-years; Lupe is still in Year One; they both help patients feel listened to, liked, and safe on “Hello” …even on a Sunday.

We’ll be here if you need us this week; we won’t be seeing patients unless an emergency dictates our attention. We’ll be delivering our message, implementing and structuring our precautions, and monitoring Coronavirus developments in preparation for, once again, serving our family next week. You might even see a walk-through video explaining some changes and hopefully providing reassurance. We’re prepared for the blood borne likes of AIDS and Hepatitis; we’ll figure out this challenge as well.

Be healthy. Stay great.