Texan ENT Specialists - July 2021

Texan ENT Specialists - July 2021

TexanENT.com

512.550.0321

JULY 2021

Main Office:

Satellite Office:

1180 Seton Parkway, Suite 330 Kyle TX 78640

1009 W. San Antonio Street Lockhart, TX 78644 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month

‘EAR, NEWS, AND THROAT’

THE TRIP THAT STARTED IT ALL My First Real Childhood Vacation

When people talk about traveling, they sometimes mention a “trip of a lifetime.” One thing that’s so special about traveling is that often, the memories from your trips are deeply imprinted in your mind. That’s certainly the case for the first real vacation I took with my family the summer after my freshman year of high school. My aunt who lived outside of Los Angeles was getting married, so my family planned a two-and-a- half-week vacation around the ceremony. We really packed a lot into that trip! We visited two national parks — Sequoia and Grand Canyon — spent some time in Las Vegas (which was more family-friendly back then), and had fun with our cousins at Universal Studios and Six Flags Magic Mountain. The theme parks were definitely fun for us as kids. We actually bought season passes even though we were only there for about a week. It didn’t take us long to figure out that at Magic Mountain, the trick to getting on rides was to go after 5 p.m. By then, the families that had spent the day there were heading home. That’s when we showed up to go on rides nonstop until the park closed. The whole city of Vegas was kind of like one giant theme park, too. My family and I stayed at the Luxor Hotel, which was relatively new at the time. It’s the one that’s shaped like a pyramid.

They really played up the Egyptian theme, and all the rooms have sloping windows that look out onto the city. The coolest thing about the Luxor, though, was the elevators because they went diagonally. Obviously, I couldn’t do any gambling as a 15-year-old, but we still had a fun time. Just walking up and down the strip seeing all the lights and buildings was quite fun. As a kid from Virginia growing up near the Appalachian Mountains, the thing that probably made the biggest impression on me from that trip is how much vast, open space there is in the West. Driving through Arizona or Nevada, you can easily go 50 miles without seeing much of anything. That was so different from my experience in Virginia, where even driving to a rural town meant you saw some houses or businesses along the highway. Not so in the West. Part of what makes the West special is that vast, open space and the natural places that live on untouched there. The Grand Canyon was a perfect example of this. I was in awe the first time I got my first glimpse of it. I’d never seen anything like it before. From the human-made buildings of Las Vegas and the roller coasters in California to the natural wonders of the Sequoias and Grand Canyons, I

really got to experience a whole gamut of things on that first real vacation. It wasn’t like the previous trips we’d taken just to see family. And I think it’s where my wanderlust really began. I’m looking forward to getting back to traveling again. Having a new baby and toddler at home plus dealing with the pandemic for over a year has really limited our travel opportunities. I do hope we’ll be able to take a family trip to see my parents in Virginia this year, and Renee and I are hoping to take a short trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary this fall. I guess for now this trip down memory lane will have to do!

If you’re able to travel this summer, enjoy your trip and be safe!

–Dr. Seth Evans

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(THEORETICAL) BENEFITS OF SLEEPING WHILE SWINGING

You Can ShareWithYour Kids FUN FACTS ABOUT THE FOURTH OF JULY What do your kids know about the Fourth of July? Do they know it’s a day when you have a barbecue, spend time with friends and neighbors, and watch a fireworks show? These hallmarks of the holiday certainly do make it fun and memorable, but they don’t really exemplify why we celebrate the Fourth of July, the anniversary of when the United States declared its independence from Britain. So, along with the sparklers and hot dogs, here are a few fun facts about Independence Day you can share with your kids to help them understand the significance of the holiday. The Fourth of July marks our country’s independence because it’s when the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence . This fact might seem like a no-brainer, but it contextualizes the holiday for kids. It’s a great jumping-off point to talk about why the United States wanted to be its own country, what the Continental Congress was, what the Declaration of Independence said, and what it means to “ratify” something. Two future presidents signed the Declaration of Independence: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They both died exactly 50 years later, on July 4, 1826. This fact is an interesting coincidence sure to fascinate both kids and adults. It’s also a great way to introduce kids to some of the Founding Fathers and share how they helped shape the United States today. In 1776, the year the United States was founded, only 2.5 million people lived here. Today, the U.S. population is 331 million. Lots of people have been born in the United States since it was founded, and millions more came here from other places, hoping to find a better life. Many succeeded, too. Many people want to call this country home! On the Fourth of July, around 155 million hot dogs are eaten in the United States . Okay, so this fact might not have anything to do with American history, but it’s still pretty funny! If anything, the fact that we have so many hot dogs to eat on that day is evidence of the prosperity so many people enjoy in the United States of America.

Hammocking has become a popular leisure activity within the last 5–10 years, with the global hammock market growing about 17% between 2017 and 2021. As fun as it is, though, could hammocking be more than that? Could it be a better way to sleep, not just on camping trips or in the park, but in our homes, too? The short answer is that the >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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