Life Is Not a Stress Rehearsal: Bringing Yesterday's ...

The author ofbRelax! You May Only Have a Few Minutes Left/b, Loretta LaRoche is one of the most sought after lecturers in the country and is a member of the Mind/Body Medical Center (affiliated with Harvard University) in Boston. An international consultant for over 20 years in the field of stress management via humor, she has spoken to Fortune 500 companies, universities, and medical professionals around the world and her three PBS television specials have all aired nationally to critical acclaim. She lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts.OnebrbrEdgar Allan Poe and Cousin IgnatzbrbrOn individuality and our culture of self-improvementbrbrI TOOK A TRIP RECENTLY to Los Angeles to give a corporate presentation, and the company I was speaking to put me up in one of the hip, trendy hotels in town. It's one of those places that is so hot, there's not even a sign outside to identify it. So if you're driving along Sunset Boulevard looking for it, you'd better know where you're going before you get there. I guess the idea is that if you're cool enough to stay there, you'll know where it is, and if not, it's the Days Inn for you. How's that for a warm welcoming attitude to start things off right?brbrDespite that, it's actually quite a nice hotel and has a fantastic restaurant and the staff found me pretty funny and entertaining to have around. They all walked around acting as if they barely noticed when a Sophia Loren clone checked in-but I could tell that it was all an act. The staff's disaffected and elitist attitude was part of what the hotel was selling. But I wouldn't buy it. I tried desperately to make them see the scene as I did: as a Fellini rerun. I'd make funny bored faces at them and grab my head with mock dismay and say things like, "Oh, God, no! Not another sunny day," or look disdainfully at a magnificent plate of calamari fritti and say, "How dull to have to eat like this day in and day out."brbrI think another