I think it is truly sad, if not downright reprehensible, that so many major media outlets have become gigantic Chicken Littles these days. Every night when I watch the national network news, I can’t help but get the distinct impression that the people in charge of these news departments are actually thrilled to death that there is bad news to report. Even my local news channels run ads, showing snippets of them reporting past horrible storms, big fires, government corruption, and abuse of power by large business entities. They always emphasize the absolute worst possible elements. Yes, okay, perhaps 20,000 people lost their jobs at a big company today, but no mention is ever made of severance packages or unemployment insurance, or plans to rehire them in six months. That info would make the news less dramatic, so it’s left out. All this economic shock and awe has a lasting ill effect: it leaves all of us feeling more and more fearful, making the economy worse and worse. All in all, the whole approach is somewhat unpatriotic, in my humble opinion.
What all of these large media entities seem to have forgotten is the power they have to affect morale. During the Great Depression and World War II, both movie houses and newspapers made considerable efforts to "buck up" in the general state of mind of the population. But nowadays, the media giants have completely forgotten their civic responsibility in this realm, and at a time when we could really use some focus on progress and maybe some good news, all we get is doom and gloom. Money is an expression of emotion. Shame on them for abusing their power. But shame on us if we let them get away with it.
One of the things I’ve tried to emphasize in all of my speaking appearances is the amazing power of individual effort. So, to that end, I’m going to do my bit in terms of creating an economic stimulus. In this case, I’m going to give you a list of some of my favorite "vendors," that is to say, local shops and stores and individual service providers, that I use on a very regular basis and I recommend wholeheartedly.
First up: my massage therapist. Michael Bacso lives in Jamaica Plain. I have been taking advantage of his extraordinary skill and healing hands for some 20 years now. I have had many massage therapists work on me all over the world, and I can say unequivocally that Michael is the best I’ve ever encountered. Beyond his core knowledge of anatomy, he also exemplifies a wholistic approach to health and stress reduction. No two sessions with him are the same, because everything is customized to what’s ailing you today.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a regular regimen of massage therapy is one of the best ways to deal with stress, both physical and mental, and maybe head off more serious problems. You can go to his house in Jamaica Plain, he also works at various downtown Boston hotels, he offers various training seminars and such, and he does chair massage at company offices and at events. Hey, the people working for you in all those cubes could use a break today, and a chair massage would be a fabulous perk.
You can find Michael thru his website, http://www.bostonwellness.net/
My second vendor recommendation is my favorite restaurant here in Waltham, Massachusetts. It’s called Treetop Thai Cuisine. http://www.treetopcuisine.com/ It is not on the main Moody Street drag… it’s over on Prospect Street more or less across from the Hess gas station. This is a genuine family restaurant, the food is consistently fabulous and is very reasonably priced.
My other favorite eating place here in Waltham is Masao’s Kitchen.
http://www.masaoskitchen.com/
This is a vegetarian macro biotic place. Masao basically puts out a steam table of brown rice, tofu or tempeh, and various fresh vegetables, as well as soups, salads, sugar-free desserts, and so on. You pay by the pound. It’s on Moody street, south past maple, between the firehouse and Bank of America. noon to 8, closed sundays.
And the last vendor I will mention in this post that I highly recommend is a salesperson at Bloomingdale’s in Chestnut Hill, MA. Her name is Roseanne Armstrong.
I realize in times like these, perhaps purchase of designer clothing is not high in your list. But for some of you, clothing is key to your work. When I get up in front of a thousand people to give a talk, I can’t be wearing a sweatsuit.
Bloomingdale’s is great, they always carry very high quality stuff in all their departments. Expensive clothes are actually cheaper in the long run, as they practically last forever.
The wonderful thing I find about Roseanne is that, unlike many people who sell clothes, she will not let me buy something if it doesn’t look "just right." The first time I dealt with her, I was ready to fork over the dough for an Armani suit, and she just looked at it and said, "nope." It just didn’t look right. It is so uncommon to find a salesperson that thinks more about what you need than about closing the deal. But it was a great thing to do on her part, because now I will not buy clothes from anybody anywhere else.
I am clothing challenged, in the sense that I really don’t know how to buy clothes, but now, I just go see Roseanne, and I just can’t believe how good I look when I put on the shirts and ties and suits that she has sold me.
I am sure I will think of more vendors in the coming weeks. Those of you visiting who have blogs of your own, I hope you will take up the torch here and ignore the doomsayers and use this newfound power of the blogging press, to bring about positive economic change without getting permission from some only-interested-in-ad-sales and scaring-us-to- death-all-the-time distant corporate entity that has lost track of their civic responsibilities.
© Justin Locke
