Those of you that have been visiting Island Writer for awhile know that one of my major pet peeves is the lack of customer service we all encounter now a days.  And it's in all areas of public service.  So believe me, when I happen to have a good experience, I like to share it because it's quite rare that this happens.

Last Friday Ray and I had to go to the Gainesville Hematology & Oncology Associates so Ray could have more blood work done to figure out what was going on with his elevated liver enzymes and iron levels.  The good news is.......The liver enzymes are just about back to normal. The dr. said that while Ray's iron was high (at 628 and double the norm) they see levels around 1500 to 2000 when it's hemachromatosis.  So he pretty much ruled that out, but they did test for it.  The dr. feels (which was my thoughts from the beginning) that Ray had some kind of bacterial infection and that's what caused everything to be abnormal.  So they took more vials of blood and we go back May 21 for results.  In the meantime, he's feeling fine and totally back to normal.

Back to my story about customer service:  From the moment we checked in at this place, the staff were extremely friendly.  The girl at the front desk was pleasant and smiling.  She actually looked like she might enjoy her job and didn't mind being there.

Once in the exam room, both of the techs that worked in there were joking with us, laughing and making all of it a very pleasant experience. Then in walked Olivia, the PA and again......chatty, friendly and struck me as somebody who truly enjoys the career she chose.  And then in walked the doc.....he was from Hungary and had a very nice accent.  He went over all the medical stuff first and then we chatted about where he was from, etc.

Added to all of this was the sweet girl we saw on the way out.  The one that scheduled Ray for another appointment.  She told Ray to have a good weekend and then looked at me and said, "Oh, and Mrs. DuLong, if you're a mother, have a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday."  Yeah, I was quite surprised!  Such a small thing to do, but it made such an impression on me.  And left me wondering......now WHY can't other places of business be like this?  Like airlines, grocery stores, banks, etc.

I was telling my daughter, Susan, about this positive experience (yeah, guess I am gushing about it) and she told me something I wasn't aware of.  She works as a nurse in the ER at a hospital in Lowell, Mass.  And she said to me, "OH, did those workers all go to Disney too?"  I had no clue what she was talking about.  Well.......

Apparently, there's a program called "Director of Impressions" and the hospital that she works at has gotten involved with this.  The higher-ups all traveled to DisneyWorld in Orlando, because that's where the training and seminars are held.  And what it is.....is for them to go back to their place of employment and teach their entire staff excellent customer service.  Each dept. from housekeeping to the doctors and nurses must attend seminars (complete with popcorn) to watch movies, do skits, etc. and it all has to do with touchy situations, anger, out-of-control patients, etc. and having the staff maintain their cool and not allowing their emotions to surface, which in turn creates a very bad situation.  And apparently, their raises are based on the way they deal with the public.  They're monitored and given scores.

I'd never heard of this program, but I'm mighty impressed!  So based on what she told me and based on the "feel good" experience that we had at this medical facility, it just might be possible that the staff did attend this training.  Then again, maybe not.  Maybe they're just all truly pleasant and happy to be working where they do and it gets passed on to us.....the customer.

See you here next time...........

                                                                           HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO:

All the mother's out there who are visiting here today . . . But also to . . .

All grandmothers, aunts and all the Mom's who share their maternal instincts with their furry babies.

Remember:  Anybody can be a mother......It takes somebody special to be a "Mom."

Wishing all of you a day filled with much love, laughter and sunshine.

(Fish update:  Photo above is Foster being "motherly" and saying au revoir to these guys.  I gave these fish to Oliver yesterday for his aquarium.  I just couldn't seem to bond with them.  And my new fish are on order and should be arriving Tuesday.  They're goldfish.  Not tropical fish like the Mollies and Tetra that I had here. Guess I'm just an old-fashioned goldfish-kind-of-female.)

Ah......my sweet girl.  One year ago today we had to let you go.  Seldom does a day go by that we don't think of you, Holly.  You were the best!  And you taught Duncan everything that mattered.  His companion is now Brie, but I have a feeling he still thinks of you and remembers all the fun you had running in the yard together. 

We love you, Holly girl, and your memory will always be with us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And a Happy Birthday to my Dad........he's also gone, but not forgotten.  He would have turned 89 today.  It still comforts me that Holly went to the Rainbow Bridge on my father's birthday.  I like to think they're hanging out together.....somewhere out there.

See you here next time............

Many of you in the blog world might know Mary Lee from her blog, Full Fathom Five.  I first "met" her about 2 years ago when I came across her blog and the current entry told of how she'd lost her beloved dog.  I felt the loss and compassion in her words and felt compelled to leave a comment and email her privately.  Since that time, we've become good friends and discovered we had much in common.  One of which was our desire to get our work published.  So I was thrilled to hear last year that this had been accomplished by Mary Lee.

And just a few weeks ago, her profound memoir was released.  I'd already pre-ordered it on Amazon and was anxious to read it.  And read it, I did......in one day!  I simply couldn't put it down.  So yes, it's a definite page-turner.

Mary Lee has flawlessly combined history, a romance, loss and redemption into a wonderful story.   Jim Coe was commander of a submarine lost at sea during WWII seven months before Mary Lee was born.  Her mother quickly remarried into a troubled relationship and Mary Lee's father was never mentioned.  It wasn't until her mother passed away in 1997 that Mary Lee began a search to "construct" a father she never knew.

Having grown up with a father that I was extremely close to, I felt a deep sadness for a woman who never had the chance to know her biological father.  And during my growing up years, I heard many stories about WWII and the fact that my father was part of the Normandy Invasion.  The older I got, the more I learned about the war in Europe.  But something that I never knew much about at all was the part that the submarines played in the Pacific during the war.

So it was with great excitement that I read about this in Mary Lee's story.  She was able to write in layman's terms about the patrols and day to day danger that was involved.  I was astounded by the volumes of research that she did in order to get her story correct.  She searched through old ships' logs, letters, naval communication, visited submarine museums, the Naval Academy and interviewed old friends and crew members that knew her dad and mom.  And all of her work culminates into her exquisite writing to share with her readers.

Mary Lee tells the emotional side of the story that affected not only her mother, but her sister and brother who were ages six and two when their father was lost at sea.  I was beyond impressed with the fact that she writes all of it without placing blame and without leaving the reader feeling sad.  I will admit though, there were parts of the story in reference to the brass where I got mighty angry.  But this author doesn't allow the anger to linger, because with her positive attitude and superb writing she allows the reader to do what she did.....move forward.

This book isn't just informational, it's uplifting and refreshing.  And when I read that final page, I knew I still hadn't finished it "in my head."  It was extremely thought provoking and in my opinion.....THAT is an excellent book.  One that leaves you still thinking about it days later.  And that's exactly what Full Fathom Five did to me.

Did she "find" her father, you might ask?  Well........I'll leave you to read the book for that answer.  However, not knowing Mary Lee as well as other friends that I've had for years, I will say this.......without a doubt, she IS her father's daughter.  And as I read the book and discovered little ways in which I connected the both of them......their love for dogs, their love for the sea, their diplomacy in social situations......it left me feeling joyful and gratified that this daughter's search had proved there is a very special bond between fathers and daughters.

My thanks goes to Mary Lee for enabling her readers to also come to know Jim Coe.....a very special man.  One that I know I would have liked.  And a man I'm sure she's very proud to call her father.

Do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Amazon so you can also get to know Jim Coe.

See you here next time..........

Not being in Paris today, as originally planned, was made somewhat less disappointing with the hours and hours that I spent last week rescheduling our trip for the fall.  And believe me, I did do hours of research.  But I loved every minute of it.  And now.......everything is arranged, booked and actually, it's only 5 months away.

We decided that since we spent so much time in Paris last year, in March and again in October, that we'd explore a new area.  We'd been to Normandy and southern Brittany years ago.  Another trip took us to the Jura area, on the Swiss border.  When I wrote for Bonjour Paris, I spent a few days in Provence with my friend, Karen Fawcette, the owner of Bonjour Paris.  And on another trip to France, Ray and I spent a week in the northeast region of the Languedoc.

So this time we've decided to visit the southwest area of the Languedoc, very close to Carcassonne, and also very close to the Spain border. 

We will fly to Paris Monday night, September 29, arriving at Charles de Gaulle on Tuesday morning.  We've booked the Ibis Hotel at the airport to stay for Tuesday night.  So I still get a taste (and I do mean that literally) of Paris, because we'll take the RER into Paris after settling in at the hotel.  We'll change our dollars into Euros (and oh yeah, I'm hoping they'll be a bit better by then) and I'll do some shopping.  There's certain things I can't leave Paris without.  And we'll have a late lunch in Paris.  Then back to the hotel to get over jet lag.

Wednesday morning, we'll be booked on the TGV (high speed train).....which we get right at the airport......and 4 hr. and 17 min. later, we'll be in Montpellier, where our rental car will be waiting.  We'll browse around that area and wing it that night for a place to stay.  Although I am an organizer, I also love to be flexible and go with the flow.  Besides, you just never know what you might come across.  So we'll look for a place to stay outside of Montpellier. 

On Thursday, we'll drive from there about an hour and 45 min. to Caunes Minervois, which is just 20 minutes north of Carcassonne.  We've rented a charming and picturesque house there for a week.  It also happens to be owned by an author and her author husband.  "La Gaillarde" is a lovingly restored house in the medieval heart of Caunes Minervois.  Walls are original stone with century old beams, complete with a fireplace in the second floor country kitchen for cooking and our own garden accessed from the living room. But the house has 21st century conveniences, like WIFI.  (Yes!  I can blog from there) The house is furnished with local antiques and looks delightful.  Here's our entrance.

And our kitchen...........

And our garden.........

I'm already enchanted with the medieval village of Caunes-Minervois......with twisting, narrow streets and sand-colored stone buildings, it's surrounded by the great 8th Century Abbey that lies at its heart.  Although the village is small, with only about 1000 inhabitants, it has two restaurants, two bistros, a pharmacy, two grocery stores, bakeries, a butcher and a gas station.  Wineries are everywhere and I discovered in my research that some of the local wines sell for under $10 per bottle.  This particular one that I researched looks very good........

So I definitely plan to visit this winery.

Spain is under a two hour drive from our village, so we'll plan a day trip over the border.

I'm very much looking forward to this trip and the way the days seem to whiz on by, I have a feeling that September 29 will be here before I know it!

See you here next time.................