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In my day my mother said baking soda did everything. She sprinkled it all over the bathroom because she said it absorbed odors. I guess it worked because our toilet seat was so gritty I always went next door. Whenever I took a bath, I looked frosted. That’s probably why I love cake. My mom polished her silverware with baking soda and cleaned out our baby bottles. That made the silver look like ivory and I still hate the taste of milk.

My mother didn’t spend money on caustic cleaners. She used baking soda to polish plastic, porcelain and glass. And when she felt a storm coming on, she ran outside and put baking soda on the car’s windshield. She said it repels rain if you wipe the windows inside and out and it keeps lightning from striking the car. When I asked her why she didn’t just pull the car into the garage, she washed my mouth out with baking soda. I think that’s why I’m afraid of thunder.

She made us gargle with baking soda, and when we got sweaty, she rubbed it under our arms. She made us drink baking soda and water if we had indigestion and she smeared it on us for measles, chickenpox and insect bites. But when my vagina itched, she just said, “Serves you right.”

My mother would have murdered me if I ever called a plumber. She saved money by keeping our drains clear with a baking soda solution and a plunger. Read more…

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This week on our lovely “sheeew”—we talk about a customer service practice that is now being used in the healthcare field. It’s called scripting and rounding. In the corporate world scripting and rounding has been part of the customer service model for giants like Disney, major fast food chains and many five star hotels. Now—healthcare? RN DeAnn McEwen gives us a “spirited” overview!

You won’t want to miss Phyllis Katz. Like any skilled improviser, when longtime performer and director with the famed Groundlings comedy troupe was faced with her insurance company being unwilling to pay six figures to fix her two hips, she improvised. Good-bye, Los Angeles. Hello New Delhi. Phyllis is here to talk with us about her wonderful new book Hipwrecked, My Health Insurance Sucked so I Went to India for Surgery.

And if you haven’t heard the our new segment “In My Day” with comedian Lynn Ruth Miller–you need to. This week Lynn Ruth talks about a favorite all-purpose remedy her mother used: baking soda. Told only as Lynn Ruth could—it definitely harkens memories from the old days!

Read more about this show and listen to the podcast. >

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You know, my grandma didn’t believe in drugs. She believed in nuts. She used almonds for everything. She would slip them into everything she fed us just to be sure they did their job. We found them in salads, desserts, candy, and even our underwear. She said they got rid of warts.

I grew up during the depression. And, we spent the little money we had on food, not beauty products. When we saw a wrinkle in the mirror, we just gave up hope. But not my grandma. She made a paste of milk, almonds and rosebuds and smeared it on her face every night. She looked looked like the ghost of the apocalypse but she smelled like Almond Roca. And my grandpa loved sweets.

She had 18 children, not counting the 4 miscarriages and she wasn’t even Catholic. She wasn’t very careful either.

When grandpa lost his hair, she made a paste of gooseberry juice and almond oil. It made his scalp soft as a baby’s bottom. I think that’s why he wore a diaper on his head. He said it was to protect him from a chill. I guess you had to be there.

My aunt Hazel had teenage anemia and my grandma fed her almonds to build her up. It must have worked because she went from a 32A to a 36D in one summer and eloped with Uncle Jack in the fall.

Every night, grandma mixed almond oil with milk and made us drink it before we went to bed. Read more…

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On The Show: Nurses keep up the fight for RN to patient ratios…we should all be very glad they do! We thought we’d check in with our friends in Massachusetts who are working on legislation—so Casey and Dan visit with RN and president of Massachusetts Nurses Association, Donna Kelly Williams. Donna brings us up to speed on current issues—with a central focus on staffing ratios.

Expert says compassion is key. Have you ever witnessed a parent or guardian verbally or physically abuse a child in a public setting? Did you walk away because you didn’t know what to do…or did you intervene? Find out what our expert has to say about what you should do. Cyndy Doherty, executive director of Marin Advocates for Children joins Casey and Dan to talk about what her organization is doing to help and prevent this epidemic. You won’t want to miss her advice and insights.

What about Patsy Cline, beatnik and Sputnick? Read more >

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In my day, safety was your responsibility. We didn’t have laws to take care of us. No seat belts or warning beeps. Either you held on, or you went through the windshield. But that was easier too, because we didn’t have double-paned glass.

When I was a kid, I could jump on my bike without worrying about helmets or shin guards. If I fell off, mama put an ice pack on my head and told me to stop complaining.

We didn’t bother with little lights on our shoes either, when we walked around at night. If someone jumped out of the bushes you just nodded and looked the other way because he was probably going to the bathroom. It was always a he. Trust me on that one.

I never thought of using mace or pepper spray to protect us. If someone scared us, we screamed and there was always a neighbor with a loaded gun. In my day, neighbors really did take care of each other. We used to give strangers at the bus stop rides and sometimes we even invited them over for dinner. But they had to eat what we gave ‘em. One guy said he was a vegan and my mother put on a mask. We didn’t know what vegan meant. It sounded like an STD. We trusted people even when they complained. I guess you had to be there.

But nowadays I dont leave my house without my lipstick, my Lipitor and my Taser. Read more…