Carl the Chiropractor

I know most people don't wait until they're senior citizens to buy a brand new car, but I did and, as it turns out, I should have waited even longer.

In the past six months since I purchased it, two little old ladies of the Conejo Valley (a group of which I am a bona fide member) have rear-ended me, making me feel that my Honda is somehow jinxed and that I have no real right to be on the road.

If you've been through this kind of mini-nightmare, you know the drill:

First, the car rental agency, where you select the least expensive car available, usually an unrecognizable model with a residual odor of smoke, and second, the body shop, where your car will supposedly be restored to its former self within a time period that always seems much too long.

Then, if you have any physical problems as a result of these incidents, you proceed to the "healthcare provider," who will help you be restored to your former self and avoid the follow-up nightmare of lawyers and litigation.

In my case, this last item has proven to be the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal driving scenario because it has given me an excuse to spend some time with my favorite chiropractor.

Dr. Carl Larson has been practicing chiropractic in his own warm and friendly manner for a long time now. Many years ago he was in the family printing business and, as he tells it, one day he looked at his inkstained hands and decided he wanted to do something more meaningful with his life.

It was lucky for me and for his many other patients that he decided to become a chiropractor.

Dr. Larson is not the first chiropractor I've ever gone to, but he is the last. As opposed to many of his colleagues who leave you in the treatment room with a hot and/or cold pack and then work on you for five minutes, he is literally "hands-on" the entire time-so much so that you wonder about the wear and tear on him, doing this all day long.

But he assured me that he has his own chiropractor to help him deal with that. So having an excuse to see Carl Larson (and his lovely receptionist, Staci, a rare human being who seems to mean it when she asks "How are you today?") is the silver lining in this otherwise bleak scenario.

I had seen Dr. Larson in the past for occasional "tune-ups" and always felt much better after leaving the office than when I came in. He's always been very gracious about such things as appointments and fees, but now, when it really counts, I am doubly appreciative of his manners and his methods.

So, as I slowly make my way back to a fully functioning neck, I want to publicly thank him and to tell all the other senior citizen drivers to keep their distance from a golden 2005 Honda Accord with a new bumper, driven by a rapidly aging and still reluctant driver.

You can contact Adler at dinaadler@yahoo.com.