Column

Billboard Magazine began in 1894.  The first “Hit Parade” was in 1936, and by the 1940s, various charts tracked the top songs of the day in different categories. Here are some questions about “One-Hit Wonders” from Billboard Magazine, focusing on the Hot 100.

1)  Born Vincent Francis Guzzo, Jr., this singer’s only Billboard Top 40 hit was “Sea Cruise.” It included a ship’s bell and horn for sound effects.  He made his stage name an alliteration. Name this artist.

2)  In 1963 “The Singing Nun,” born Jeannine Deckers of Belgium, had a Billboard # 1 hit with what song praising the Lord?

3)  Roy Clark of “Hee Haw” fame only had one big Billboard Hot 100 hit, in 1969.  Originally a French song, “Hier Encore,” it’s a lament of an older man who wasted his youth. He sang it at Mickey Mantle’s funeral, per Mantle’s request. Name this bittersweet song.

4)  Oh no, it’s another downer hit!  “Seasons in the Sun” had lyrics by poet Rod McKuen. Maudlin lines like “Goodbye Papa it’s hard to die” were in there. Name the Canadian artist who had his only big hit in 1974.

5)  Here’s something more fun—The naughty hit “Afternoon Delight,” from 1976, had lyrics like, “Rubbin’ sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite.” The song was so popular it landed the group their own variety series on TV (one of the writers was David Letterman). Name this one-hit wonder band.

6)  This ‘Star Trek’ elder character officiated over Mr. Spock’s wedding ceremony.  She later lent her name to a band that had their only U.S. hit in 1987 with “Heart and Soul.”  Name this British band.

One of my vivid childhood memories involves a time when I “rescued” a baby bird. I was about six years old and I was always curious about animals and nature. I lived in a small rural town so there was no shortage of outdoor exploration opportunities. One day I found a baby bird. I’m not sure if I found the bird in the nest and believed its mother abandoned it or if I found it on the ground (a very important detail actually), but nevertheless, I decided I should take the baby and care for it on my own. I put it in a comfy box filled with cotton and went looking for worms to feed it. Within a day I realized this was a tough job. The worms didn’t seem to be enough and I couldn’t keep up with the constant attention it needed. Every time I walked into my room it would wake up and crane its neck for food, attention; warmth; its mother— I didn’t know what or how to care for it. Unfortunately it died a short time later.

I remember how guilty and sad I felt over the death of the baby bird. What was particularly disconcerting was that I also had this intense painful aching, cramping, hollow feeling in my tummy at the same time that I was filled with all of these terrible emotions. I knew that I hadn’t injured myself and that I wasn’t sick, but the pain was undeniably present. I didn’t tell my parents about the pain. I realized that the bird’s death and the pain were connected and I hoped it would go away. My little sister and I buried the bird and sang “Amazing Grace,” which we thought was the appropriate send off to heaven. Over the course of the day, I accepted that I was responsible for the bird’s death and vowed to never interfere like that again. Eventually, the pain went away with the terrible feelings.

Whether you’re a child or an adult, unresolved emotions and feelings can cause tremendous chronic physical pain. The brain is a powerful instrument that can suppress these emotions into the subconscious or even the unconscious, but it doesn’t delete them. There may be another event or memory trigger that causes them to resurface, and if they don’t resurface as emotions, they can resurface as physical pain. It’s the body’s way of letting you know something needs to be addressed; something is wrong that needs to heal.  Most psychiatrists and psychologists believe that in order to resolve or move past traumatic events that cause negative emotions, one must confront those feelings and find a solution that allows for the relief of guilt, sorrow, anger and embarrassment. Frequently that involves defining the causative event and then finding a way to forgive yourself or another for what may have taken place.

People often self-medicate emotional pain with drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol can work as analgesics and distract us from acknowledging those negative emotions and the events or issues that cause them. Even the Opioid Crisis is partially the result of physicians’ attempts to control pain that is often more related to major anxiety, depression, and stress than physical injury or pathology. Opioids can alleviate emotional pain, but usually the dose exceeds what is needed to reduce purely physical pain and the relief is usually short lived. The best treatment for emotional pain is found with a certified therapist who is trained to identify the psychological and stress factors that are causing the pain and then to help you find a way to accept and resolve. Do not confuse this with the sentiment “it’s all in your head” or “your pain isn’t real.” Neither is further from the truth. Emotional pain feels like physical pain, but the appropriate treatment is mindful or spiritual medicine, not oral medicine.

In my last article in the January issue of Alive Magazine, I introduced five new vitamins:  H1, H2, L1, L2, and vitamin F. All these vitamins are part of health and happiness. This is no joke, as many illnesses, especially chronic ones, can be a result of poor attitudes and bad habits.

Now let’s talk about an anti-vitamin—the ego.  The ego, when created in a very positive upbringing, can be quite helpful. However, if the ego is influenced by negative contributors, it can become an enemy you must fight against throughout your life. In primitive times we needed warnings built into us about what to watch out for outside of the cave. Now the ego, that little built in system that forms between age five and ten, wants to guide us through life, and at times, holds on to a poor self-image, unhealthy self-talk, and self-destructive behavior.

For example, when a child is raised getting attention and recognition mainly when misbehaving, it can lead to an adult who subconsciously uses pain and illnesses to get attention and care. And self-talk matters. Many patients share their symptoms with me at their exam and history appointments, stating things like, “my constant neck pain,” “my craving for sweets,” “my headaches,” “my arthritis,” etc.  Many of these problems are emotional, or at least so supported by the fact that the patient “owns them,” that those of us in holistic medicine see a need for counseling. 

Yes, medical intervention may help, but changing one’s mind set and the self-talk can sometimes allow symptoms to go completely away rather than just be reduced. The psychology of illness and the energy that we give that illness when we “own it” is very powerful. 

A simple step in the right direction is to change the lingo.  When sharing about your history, say, “the neck pain that has been affecting me since…,” “the headaches I have had,” etc.  Giving into the illness or diagnoses adds to the emotional stress which in turn can create horrible dietary habits, making the inflammatory and pain responses worse.

At AODTC we treat the patient, not the symptom. If there is a factor causing the symptom, drugs can prevent us from finding this factor. Discovering the cause and working toward eliminating that cause is our goal. As you can understand, the side effects of this approach can be far reaching in promoting optimal health and vitality for the whole person, mind and body.

For more information about my TMJ and sleep practice in Danville, CA visit www.aodtc.com. 

Q. Recently, I saw an advertisement for a “fruit cocktail” tree. I’m intrigued. What should I expect from planting one?

A. A fruit cocktail tree typically has a peach, plum, nectarine, and apricot growing on a single trunk. They are also referred to as a “four and one combination fruit tree.” The “fruit cocktail” name is strictly a marketing name created by an out-of-state mail order nursery. They were available locally during the eighties but faded away. They’re once again being promoted because of the homegrown trend. While they have great name recognition, the trees don’t always live up to their expectations. I’d expect them to disappoint many gardeners who don’t recognize the unique issues necessary in growing them successfully. The diameter of the grafts are not uniform, so the trees look unbalanced or awkward, but they will balance in time. The plum and apricot grafts are usually pencil-thin while the peach and nectarine are more the size of your thumb. The grafts are fragile. If one breaks off, you now have a three-and-one tree. The four varieties do not necessarily have the same growth rate; hence, they’re pruned throughout the year to avoid overcrowding. Each variety should be allowed to occupy only a quarter of the canopy space. During the winter months, you’d remove fifty percent of the peach and nectarine growth and half as much (twenty-five percent) with the plum and apricots. The grafts can easily exceed fifteen feet without some diligent pruning to keep the height down. They’re planted seven to ten feet off a fence line to keep all the fruit in your yard. Established deciduous fruit trees are watered deeply, twice a month, so the area under the tree should be left unplanted, to prevent overwatering. Apples, pears and Asian pears are the exceptions. Frequent watering is a quick method of attracting borers and eventually losing the tree. With today’s small gardens, this can really limit the available planting area. If you have a large enough garden then planting three to four trees in a single hole is a better option. The trees are spaced two feet apart in a triangle within a four-foot planting space. You’ll have multiple varieties growing in a small space with sufficient room for each variety to develop. You’ll get to select your personal favorites, not someone else’s. The key to choosing varieties is the ripening date. You don’t want all the fruit to ripen at the same time or while you’re away on vacation. I’d select Ultra Dwarf fruit trees over a semi-dwarf variety, as the Ultra Dwarfs grow to about ten feet. The nursery professional at your favorite garden center is an excellent resource for selecting combinations of fruit trees, as they’re all not compatible. You’ll find a video on planting three trees in a single hole, at http://www.davewilson.com/video/diy_1.html.

Q. Several years ago, I replaced the plastic sheeting in my yard with landscape fabric. The fabric was to stop the root rot that was killing the plants. The fabric was covered with bark to control the weeds. It did the job for but last year, and now there is grass and other weeds throughout the area. Why isn’t the weed fabric working?                                   

A. The landscape fabric didn’t fail you. The fabric is superior to plastic as a weed barrier around plants as it allows the soil to breathe letting the excess moisture evaporate. It also prevents weed seeds from germinating and with a thick layer of mulch it suffocates other weeds. However, it’s not a permeant solution. Bark and other organic mulches decompose while adding an aesthetic look to the landscape. It’s not thought of in this fashion, but it’s a form of passive composting. The more prominent particles become smaller, while the smaller particles become tiny and so on. You end up with soil that supports the growth of desirable and undesirable plants on top of the fabric. Now add in another factor. We don’t live in a sterile environment. The annual vegetation on the hills produce seeds that are redistributed by the wind. In non-irrigated areas, the seeds lay dormant until the rainy season and where there is moisture the weeds germinate throughout the growing season. Landscape fabric will only control the weeds under the barrier. Those resting on top of the fabric sprout in time. Hence again, it should never be thought of as a permeant solution. There are several options in dealing with this problem. Every three to four years, you rotate and replenish the mulch. This would require you to remove the old mulch from the fabric and separate it into fine and coarse piles. The coarse material is mixed with the new mulch and spread back over the area. The fine material is then added with other soil amendments or potting soil for container plants. Another solution is to leave the mulch in place. You then spray the weeds with Round-Up or similar non-selective herbicide and be sure to protect the desirable plants from the spray. Once they have died off, apply a pre-emergent herbicide to kill the dormant weed seeds before they germinate. The pre-emergent herbicide can be applied right over the top of existing plants without harming them. The nursery professional at your favorite garden center can help you decide which product or solution is best for your yard.  Depending on the size, there are granular and liquid solutions. Also, you handle irrigated and non-irrigated areas differently, because water activates the chemical barrier. Also, you do not want to cultivate the treated areas, as you will disturb the barrier. Each solution will work for an extended period, so check the label for the specific time. With a new or revamped landscape, the landscape fabric or plastic is unnecessary if you adopt the pre-emergent strategy.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis is an irritation and swelling of the thick tissue (plantar fascia) on the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of connective tissue originating on the bottom surface of the calcaneus (heel bone) and extending along the sole of the foot toward the five toes. The plantar fascia helps hold up the bones on the bottom of the foot, creating the arch. When this fascia becomes inflamed it makes walking painful and difficult. The pain is usually felt on the underside of the heel and is often most intense with the first steps of the day. Plantar fasciitis is commonly thought of as being caused by a heel spur, but research has found that this is not the case. On x-ray, heel spurs are seen in people with and without plantar fasciitis.

Risk factors for plantar fasciitis include:

• Foot arch problems (both flat foot and high arches)
• History of low back pain or sciatica
• Tight Achilles tendon (the tendon connecting the calf muscles to the heel)
• Obesity
• Running, extended amounts of driving or repetitive stress to the foot or leg
• Sudden weight gain

What treatments are available for Plantar Fasciitis

Western medicine typically treats Plantar Fasciitis with oral and/or injectable anti-inflammatories. These may temporarily reduce the pain associated with Plantar Fasciitis but they do not treat the cause of the problem, and by no means heal it.

Long term correction of Plantar Fasciitis is a two step process.

First:  Heal the Damaged Fascia

Ending the pain caused by Plantar Fasciitis requires stopping the cycle of inflammation. Class IV laser therapy is an excellent method for this, because it is presently the only modality that can both reduce inflammation and heal tissue simultaneously. Laser treatments at Align Healing Center are done with the K-laser Cube a Class IV Laser.  This laser does not cut or burn but is gently absorbed by the tissue. During Laser Therapy the infrared laser light interacts with tissues at the cellular level, increasing metabolic activity and improving the transport of nutrients across the cell membrane. This initiates the production of cellular energy (ATP) that leads to a cascade of beneficial effects, increasing cellular function and health. This creates an optimal healing environment that reduces inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness and pain. As the injured area returns to normal, function is restored and pain is relieved.

Second: Correct the Foot and Gait Mechanics

This involves rehabilitation of spine as well as the arch of the foot.  Arch rehabilitation is achieved by utilizing specific insoles and/or specific taping of the foot in order to re-establish proper motion of the arch while walking, then specificstrengthening and stretching exercises are used to rehabilitate of the musculature of the foot and lower leg to ensure lasting results.  

At Align Healing Center we are having great success treating plantar fasciitis, sciatica, shoulder and neck pain, migraines, arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, post surgical pain, sports injuries and more; even if it’s long-term residual pain. Ar­thritis and degenerative disc disease sufferers may also see long term benefits from this treatment without any of the negative side effects experienced with the long-term use of medications.

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC is the founder of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA. To set up a complimentary consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com for more information.

It is so inspiring and amazing to see so many women involved in fundraisers and non-profit organizations. Charitable organizations help to change lives and make monumental changes. Over the years of being in business at The Rouge Cosmetics in downtown Danville, I have had the opportunity to be involved in raising funds for many charity organizations. This year I am going to partner with a fantastic and passionate professional dancer and choreographer, Melanie Buttarazzi from Los Angeles, who started a program to help foster teen children through dance. 

Living in Los Angeles, Melanie Buttarazzi has worked with the industries’ top choreographers on stage, in music videos, and on set, including A-list-artists such as Pitbull, Neyo, and Jennifer Lopez, and has toured the world with the award winning musician Robert Michaels. She also performed in numerous commercials including Christian Loubutin, Sony, and many more. Melanie, an acclaimed pro-dancer and exceptional choreographer from Canada, started dancing at age four and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance, from York University.

In 2014 she enrolled in a self-expression leadership program to further her studies in dance. While attending she met a former foster youth who changed the course of her life. She realized after talking to him she wanted to make a difference in foster children’s lives after finding out that only two percent of foster kids go to college and 50% end up homeless. She felt called to make a change.

Melanie understood that foster and at-risk youth needed critical tools to find confidence in themselves. They needed friendships, a sense of community, team building, and most of all, the ability to see a brighter future for themselves and that they could make their dreams happen.

Through Melanie’s influential dance programs and classes at middle and high schools in Los Angeles, she has since helped hundreds of foster teens get through tough times through the Fostering Dreams Project she created. It has helped shape and give positive direction and purpose to these young children through dance, giving them important team building exercises and accountability through dance competitions and performing as a team. The program creates dynamic, self-building, lifetime motivation.    

With the donations raised from the many events Melanie does throughout the year, she will be able to continue her outreach program providing youth in group homes and in school districts in Los Angeles and beyond, providing foster kids the means to join in their community and feel a part of a family and team, while meeting kids their own age and developing friendships. While it is hard for foster kids to feel welcome or comfortable in a new environment, through the dance program, Melanie has seen a tremendous shift in attitude with a very successful positive outlook socially and academically amongst the youth. They achieve self-belief, develop a magnificent sense of confidence and high spirits, and do well in school, thus creating a brighter future for themselves.     

Melanie brought her youth program to one middle school in Los Angeles with resplendent success and now has seven schools involved with more that want to join. Her success is equally shared with the generous donations from donors that believe in the arts as a way to make positive change. There is mutual benefit for all involved. Evidence shows how the arts inspire and change people’s minds and hearts, which in turn energizes social influence and change. 

On March 27^th and 28^th, you will have a unique opportunity to improve and grow the Fostering Dreams Project by shopping the boutiques on Prospect Avenue in Danville. A portion of all sales will go directly to the program to pay for dance teachers, studio rentals, dance productions, costumes, and scholarships to continue youth dance training and transformative activities. Please come and share with us the dreams of the future generation and give them a chance to dream big.

You can also donate directly to Fosterdreamsproject.com. Any contribution, big or small, will go directly to fund the foster youth program and to grow the organization to benefit each and every foster child attending now and for the future.