Stop & Smell the Roses…Or Else!

February 22nd, 2010

Have you ever felt that the universe was talking to you?  Maybe you know what I mean; it’s that message that keeps recurring in your mind and you have no idea of its origin but its incessant message remains constant.  At first we might dismiss the possible meanings and then out of nowhere, it hits you—the meaning, the message and the lesson.  

Such a thing happened to me 3 years ago. In the days leading up to a night I will never forget, friends, family and colleagues had been telling that I work too much and that I should “stop and smell the roses.”  As you may not know the saying derives from, “Stop and smell the flowers” – which is a quote of advice from the golfer Walter Hagen that appeared in the 1956 book “The Walter Hagen Story”: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. “In my case, this story is of a rose bush and not flowers.

In late November, I was required to attend a business meeting at Eddie Merlot’s on East 96th Street.  Since my son was a valet during his college days, I have since adapted the custom of having someone else park my car.  As he approached from the front of the car, I walked behind.  As I did, my right middle finger was maliciously grabbed by an aggressive man-eating rose bush.  Here I was, minding my own business and a rose bush decided to go on the offensive and bite an unsuspecting human.

Once bitten, I stopped, removed the thorn from my finger and carried on my business affairs by shaking hands, engaging in conversation and then listened to an investment presentation that I ultimately committed to.  Later in the evening or should I say early in the morning around 2AM, I awoke to a throbbing pain in my middle finger.  No matter what I did, ibuprofen or soaking it, the pain would not subside.  Mr. manly man finally had to admit his defeat to pain and drove to the hospital.  Once arrived at St. Vincent Carmel, the attending physician doped me up on pain med and sent to an awaiting hand surgeon to perform emergency surgery to relieve the pressure of poison building up in my finger.

Bottom line, I spent three days in the hospital in one of the most painful experiences of my life.  It seems that the thorn of the rose had nothing to do with my subsequent pain.  It appears that once the rose thorn had punctured my skin, I had shaken hands with someone who had strep throat, coughed in their right hand that I would ultimately shake.  Soon thereafter, the strep would permeate through my entire body and cause a three day male version of child birth.  I remember the doctor telling me, “Strep won’t kill you; you will just wish you were dead!”  Those words rang true!

Since that encounter I have lived my life differently.  I can’t say that I literally smell every rose that I pass but I will admit that I have planted more that 30+ roses around my house to serve as a constant reminder to appreciate the “nows” in my life as opposed to what might be in the future.  As the saying goes, “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery… but Today is a Gift that’s why it’s called the Present.”  Therefore don’t let a rose bite you to remind you about the importance of your “now”.

As a post-script, I would like to thank Eddie Merlot Restaurant for taking full responsibility and paying my entire hospital bill.

Paul Lushin

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