The Night They Froze Ole Dixie Down

dixie

The Night They Froze Ole Dixie Down

Last week, while I was busy observing the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ invasion, “I read the news today, oh boy” and, lo and behold, it was snowing in Atlanta. And some of my colleagues down South on the right coast actually thought the sight of folks shoveling sidewalks in Atlanta made for a great argument against climate change.

And sometimes I wonder if it’s wrong being an independent thinker in a world of dentites and anti-dentites. Some of the most amazing peeps in one group have a few seemingly uneducated, superstitious beliefs that defy science while the other guys simply don’t use dental floss.

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder and worry about my colleagues living and practicing in strange distant environs…such as Middle America or gulp, the South. Other times, I get to reflecting about how a few of my fellow molar jockeys can accept the wonder of a diode laser but remain blind to stuff like evolution, climate change, and USC Trojan Football.

I’m a card-carrying member of an amazing organization called the Crown Council. And I know the title is kind of hokey but honestly, we’re not some clandestine cadre of dentites meeting under a full moon and plotting to take over the world using green tea, fluoride, and non-alcohol mouthwash.

Matter of fact, this select nationwide group of DDS-types is progressive beyond belief and includes some of the top educators, clinicians, and good guys in dentistry (I gained admittance only because I’m a stud athlete.) And the organization reaches out into communities like no other. In just two weeks, the Crown Council will kick off Smiles for Life, a fundraiser benefitting seriously ill, disabled, or under privileged children in local communities. Since 1998, Smiles for Life has raised over $30 million with 100% of proceeds going directly to children’s charities. This year, our practice will once again be raising funds for local global jewel, the City of Hope.

If you’ve ever wanted a whiter brighter smile and all you needed was an excuse to indulge, check out www.smilesforlife.org; the campaign starts March 1 and runs through June. The fees for teeth whitening will be reduced big-time and all the proceeds will benefit children who could use a helping hand.

So the Crown Council has an email network and last week the drift was “…how can we have global warming when it’s snowing in Atlanta?” And there are about 20 guys who still prefer Tim Tebow’s long-term global forecasts to Al Gore’s. Personally, since I thought organic chemistry was really hard, I’m going with the scientists on this one (the only argument on the table is if global warming is man-caused. Out of 1,200 peer-reviewed abstracts, over 97% say “yes.”)

My email response was: “I played golf in 82 degrees weather on Valentine’s Day and the LA Times said Cachuma Lake, up past Santa Barbara, was drying up.”

And in the end, I guess my awesome DDS buddies are really the independent thinkers and I love ‘em…but sometimes they do remind me of my crazy Uncle Harold who used to show up every Thanksgiving proclaiming the Seahawks would one day win the Super Bowl the same year the Clippers dominated the Lakers. Oh-oh.