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Carole Orlin
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| Carole can be reached at Caroleorlin@yahoo.com
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Articles by this Author
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COMMON SCENTS
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When I first moved here from the East coast, I was flooded with visits from friends. Over time, I noticed my anticipation of these visits turned to a sort of unacknowledged dread. I felt so guilty about these negative feelings toward beloved friends that I didn’t even try to figure out why I was experiencing them. I just ignored the feelings and tried to be a good hostess and tour guide.
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COMMON SCENTS
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It’s been nearly a year since my last column about outsourcing/offshoring (SMDP, February 14, 2005). The issues that surround outsourcing have not gone away. They have only gotten more complicated for all of us: as employees, as business owners, as stockholders, as consumers and as Americans.
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COMMON SCENTS
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This last week or two has had so many bizarre news stories that my head is still spinning: the Vice President of the United States being referred to as “The Shooter” in connection with his hunting episode in Texas; the President of the United States giving his unconditional support to the outsourcing of the management of port terminals in some of our largest ports (New York, Miami, Baltimore and others) to a Middle Eastern company owned by the government of Dubai (United Arab Emirates); and a death row inmate in California being granted an indefinite stay of execution after more than 23 years of appeals because state officials could not find an appropriate medical person to administer the lethal dose of chemicals to kill the condemned man.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I had been having a problem with my neck for about a year and a half. The “problem” turned out to be a golf-ball-sized benign tumor in my parotid (salivary) gland. Although I had been dealing with it in a homeopathic way — acupuncture, nutrition, herbs, chiropractic — the lump kept getting bigger.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I received a lot of e-mails in response to my last column (SMDP, March 27, page 5) about the frustrations and shortcomings of our hospitals and health care delivery systems in general.
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COMMON SCENTS
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Last Saturday, my husband, our cousin Cheryl, and thousands of other people grabbed their pets and went to downtown L.A. for the annual Blessing of the Animals led by Cardinal Mahoney. I admit I went there more out of curiosity than out of a belief that any blessing could help my wild and crazy dog.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I reviewed some interesting polling numbers done by Opinion Dynamics Corporation for FOX News within the last week. The focus was on when the American people consider the price of gasoline to be at a price point that could be described as a “crisis.” Right now, with gas at the $3 level, only 32 percent of Americans consider the current situation as a crisis. Rising above $4 per gallon brings the crisis number to 52 percent. It appears that the magic number must go over $5 before three out of four people reach the crisis conclusion.
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COMMON SCENTS
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In the midst of the endless, redundant debates about the issue of illegal immigration, we find ourselves bombarded with stories about the rampant poverty in Mexico. We are told that the United States is the only hope for these desperate people and their desperate country. Mexican President Vicente Fox was even in the U.S. recently admonishing us for how we choose to strengthen our borders and for our token gestures at untangling the chaos of illegal immigration into our country.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I recently discovered the perfect example of political correctness obliterating common sense. The city of Los Angeles made an announcement that it was disassociating itself from a July 13 Hooters of Hollywood Charity Bikini Contest. The “Hooters for Neuters” event had designated the six shelters of Los Angeles Animal Services, where nearly 20,000 innocent animals were killed last year, to be the recipient of the $20-a-ticket fundraising event to encourage spay and neuter programs in LA. Unfortunately, one chick too many had her feathers ruffled by the city’s original participation in the Hooters’ event — that would be Laura Chick, the City Controller.
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COMMON SCENTS
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As I reviewed my last column in the SMDP, “L.A.’s panties in twist due to a few bikinis” (July 10, 2006, page 5), I realized that the Hooters for Neuters Scandal made me tired.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I don’t know if Mel Gibson reads the Santa Monica Daily Press. I suspect that someone who knows him personally probably does read our paper. I would respectfully ask you to share my thoughts with Mr. Gibson.
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Mountain retreat smack dab in the desert
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If you are looking for an extraordinary adult adventure, fitness and health destination that is easily and inexpensively reachable by air or automobile, I found a location in southwestern Utah made for you.
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COMMON SCENTS
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As I look back upon the five years since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, I have come to believe that the biggest challenges facing us as Americans today are personal choice and perpetuating democracy.
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COMMON SCENTS
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I have watched with serious fascination the network phenomenon that has catapulted Howie Mandel and his entourage of 26 identically dressed women to television fame and fortune. This seemingly uncomplicated game show requires the contestant’s random selection of one of 26 numbered briefcases. The contestant then proceeds to open the remaining (25) cases, one by one, revealing the money inside. Ultimately, “The Banker” offers a sum of money to the contestant to walk away at predetermined intervals, and prompts Howie to ask the simple question: “Deal or No Deal?”
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COMMON SCENTS
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As someone who grew up during the most significant historical event of the 20th Century — the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963 — I can’t help but still be stunned by the equally historical event of the 21st Century — 9/11. I am amazed by a certain parallel in the aftermath of those two horrific events, and the evolution of conspiracy theories.
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COMMON SCENTS
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Every time I travel, I come back home with some degree of additional insight. A few weeks ago, I spent some time in two downtown areas of large, urban areas in northern California — San Francisco and Sacramento. Given their size (approximately 739,000 and 456,000, respectively), I expected to see at least as many street people there as we have in Santa Monica (total population of approximately 87,000).
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COMMON SCENTS
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Since my last column appeared (“Mental illness is the tragedy within,” Nov. 27, pages 4-5), I have received numerous e-mails and noted a number of Letters to the Editor touching on the same subject matter. Because of space constraints with the prior column, I wanted to continue with some additional thoughts about this critical problem that faces us on a daily basis in Santa Monica.
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No need to beg
When looking for an incredibly beautiful and tranquil destination that is not far from home and is also dog-friendly, Santa Monicans might consider the San Ysidro Ranch.
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COMMON SCENTS
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Living in California, we are faced every day with the staggering and seemingly unending growth surge stemming from illegal immigration. There are currently between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrants in this country. California has at least 3.2 million. This has become a very sensitive issue to discuss. One can be termed racist or worse if one opposes the apparent open or rather “no door” policy of our state and country. I have seen in the few years that I have been living in California the apparently insurmountable challenges that result from the rapidly accelerating pace of illegal immigration.
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