A Real Class Act (Part 3)

The first thing he told us was to "Stand up.  Now pick a spot on the wall.  Any spot.  Stay completely focused on that spot and do not take your eyes off of it," he said with a gentle calm voice.    It is here that I do have to tell you though, before I selected my spot, I looked down at my watch.  You see, I was always very time conscientious when I worked.  I had to be.  It was an integral part of my job and therefore it became an integral part of who I was even in my personal life.  I remember seeing seven forty five and thinking that I'd already been in that room for forty five minutes...in Conference Room # 4 with this nut job!

I'm really not sure on how long he went on talking and or of everything that he said.  I do, however, remember certain phrases.  I remember him telling us to sit down.  I remember him telling us to take our right pinkie and point it up in the air.  I remember him telling us that when he counted back down to one to open our eyes.  I remember opening my eyes.  The first thing I did was realize that my eyes were all teary and watery and then, after blinking and actually wiping away a tear or two, I looked down at my watch.  It was close to eight thirty!

Forty five minutes had passed and yet, to me, it was a mere moments.

 I really don't know what happened during that forty five minutes!  It's forty five minutes of my life that I missed, so to speak.  But, what I can tell you is that when I left Conference Room #4 and got out to my daughter's little red Fiero, I thought I was going to puke from the stench of the stale cigarettes when I opened the car door.  What I can also tell you is that on that very chilly November  evening in Connecticut, I drove home with the window down because the smell was so nauseating.  

What I can also tell you is that when I got home, I took the pack of cigarettes out of my purse,  placed a label inside with the date on it and then placed them in one of the kitchen drawers.  What I can also tell you is that I haven't smoked a cigarette since and that this little "funny looking man" turned out to be 

A REAL CLASS ACT in my book.  He was a hypnotist from an organization based out of New York.

The date on that slip of paper, my friends, is "Nov 14."  The year was 1989.

It was the best $19.95 I've ever spent!


P.S.  There's a lesson here:  Don't judge a book by it's cover!