Saturday, August 18, 2018

Car Cane Handle


One of the best things I ever ordered from a Facebook ad is my Car Cane Handle. It’s an assist device that helps the elderly and disabled get out of their cars.

Before I got it, I had to press my left hand against the back of my driver’s seat and pull against the top of my open door with the right to get out of the car. The problem was my left hand. When people age, they lose their fingerprints and the palms become smoother. Bet you didn’t know that, huh?

My hands have become “dry slippery” and the left hand would slip down the seat, creating difficulty with egress. I needed help and didn’t know where to get it.

And then I saw the ad for Bell & Howell’s Car Cane Handle. Seemed like something worth trying.

So at less than $20, including postage, I took a chance. Best thing I’ve done in a long time.

To use it, you just insert the pointed metal “stake” into the metal loop on the door frame that the door latches onto. Then you use it like a handle for your left arm to push up against. Voila! A safe and easy exit with very little strain.

The pointed metal end can be used to break your car window if you need to escape in an accident.

And, a sharp blade within the opposite end of the red handle is an emergency seat belt cutter in case you need to free yourself for safety reasons.

There are also a couple of LED lights at the end that you can turn on when you need help in the dark.

Sometimes it pays to take a chance.


Friday, August 3, 2018

Beautiful Poignancy


Could We Start Again Please (from the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar") tops my list of poignant, heart-rendering Broadway songs. I first heard it performed by Heather McRae in 1972 at Universal Studios, just before returning home to Hawaii.

The movie debuted in 1973, with Hawaii’s Yvonne Elliman singing the role of Mary Magdalene. Her plaintive rendition of Could We Start Again Please did something to my heart, and I began silently weeping in the theater. Me, a big, strong successful up-and-coming public relations man, crying like a baby. Good thing the theater was dark.

As soon as the DVD was released, I bought it and have watched it numerous times, always becoming so emotional when the song came on. We attended the San Francisco stage performance in, I think, 2014, and my eyes were wet again.

I just finished watching the YouTube posting of the song. Three times. I can’t talk right now, but I’d like to share the music video with you now.

If you’ve had a disagreement, argument, or estrangement recently with a loved one, the two and a half minutes you spend listening is sure to soften your heart.