“Wheels of Progress… Mired in the M­ud”

Hello, my friends.

Question:What did the snail say to the turtle, as he hitched a ride on his back?

Answer:“Wheeeeeee!”

Speed, I suppose, is a relative term.And as far as that goes, I’m not such a fast-moving fellow myself (just ask Mary Sue).But have you ever noticed that regardless of how long it takes to make up your mind about something, or how slow you are to actually take action, when that fateful moment finally arrives, and you’re sitting at the starting gate, “revving your engine,” nobody else is ready?

That’s kinda how our office expansion project has gone.It took us over a year to get the building bought, then a couple of months to decide whether to use the whole thing ourselves or rent part of it out, then a while to find a contractor who could actually get started right away.Finally, early one Saturday morning, a half-dozen guys showed up with hammers and saws and… WOW!It was amazing, how much they got done that first day.When they’re framing up those walls and slapping on that wallboard, it seems like things are really progressing quickly, and the job is going to be completed before you know it.

Then comes the phase that I think they call, in the vernacular of the building trades, the “finish work.”During this time, there are still guys over there every day, working hard and making quite a bit of noise, and although the progress is not nearly as dramatic or immediately noticeable, it is steady.I can go over at lunch time, or at the end of the day, and see that they’ve been busy, and that things are slowly changing.It’s still pretty cool.

Finally, we arrive at phase three, which is the phase we’re in as I write this article.I’d hired the regular contractor to do a certain amount of work, then thought I’d do a little “sub-contracting” on my own for the rest (despite my total lack of experience or qualification for the position).I know a guy with a “regular job” who does painting on the side, and another one who’s an electrician, and another one who gets laid off every winter and is always looking for something to do.They’re all patients of mine, so it works out pretty well.

At this point, I have to say that I’m very pleased with the quality of the work – these gentlemen all seem to know what they’re doing, and to be particular about it, and I think we’re going to wind up with a very nice facility.It looks like we even have a renter lined up for the space we aren’t going to need, which is awesome.

By the middle or end of March, we should finally be ready to begin the “active care” programs I’ve been dreaming about for so long, in which we teach patients how to stretch and strengthen the spine, and actually “partner” with us in correcting the underlying causes of their problems.Despite the overwhelmingly high satisfaction rate with chiropractic care (over 95% in a recent nationwide survey), I believe combining it with active rehab training will be much more effective than either approach by itself.

Until then, I guess I’ll simply pretend I’m that snail, riding on the turtle.Sometimes, though, I really wish I’d been born a rabbit.

Wishing you health, happiness and peace,

Dr. Frank Bowling