OH TRUE APOTHOCARY!

Here I go again…




Just saw the following poll on CNN.com:

What should the Supreme Court do with the health care law

President Obama signed two years ago?

Uphold it—51% [141,269]

Toss it all—36% [99,174]

clearly these are people who have government healthcare and EVERYTHING is covered

Toss parts—14% [38,860]



Total votes: 279,303



WOW—finally a response number that isn’t a pathetic/apathetic embarrassment!



Personally, I think the reforms have only scratched the surface. There needs to be accountability with the drug companies. Yes, they offer programs to help low-income people afford their medicines, but they do it by charging those of us that have your standard issue health plan an arm and a leg for ours. Meanwhile, their profits are growing by leaps and bounds. And the stuff costs them miniscule amounts to make.



Plus, they offer kickbacks to doctors, so some of them become prescription happy. “One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small…” Heaven forbid they should find a holistic approach to treating something.



I switched doctors about two years ago for one closer to home. And I couldn’t be happier. She actually listens to me and gives me time and attention. She doesn’t instantly whip out the prescription pad, but discusses options as far as diet and lifestyle.



And let’s not get started on the insurance reforms needed-I don’t think I have enough space here for that. ‘Nuff said that the insurers should not be deciding what course of treatment or medications a patient should have. I have a friend who was just diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis, which is exceedingly painful. His insurance company says he has to fail treatment with other medications before they will cover the drug that Phil Mickelson says is working wonders for him. Does that seem fair or compassionate to you?

##   ##   ##   ##   ##

It is a heretic that makes the fire, Not she who burns in 't.
The Winter's Tale, 2. 3

And Rick Santorum’s recent wins are freaking me out.  People—you do not want to elect this man to the Presidency. I am from his home state; he will send us all back to the 1900s—especially with his views on women’s issues and gay rights. He is narrow-minded and views women as basically chattel. Is that really what we want for our daughters and granddaughters? I am shocked and appalled that he has gained so many votes in the various primaries. Are there really that many people in this country who want to take a giant step backwards?

Scared s-less here folks.


Then we have the whole birth-control vs. church-run healthcare organizations… I felt the compromise the President proposed was more than reasonable. There are far too many women who cannot afford contraception any other way. Isn’t it better to have planned families all you “family values” people, rather than kids born to unprepared parents who may wind up abusing them or worse?

Another frightening development is legislation proposed in Virginia [and similars laws being debated elsewhwere] that would require women to submit to a wand ultra-sound prior to obtaining an abortion. Women would be forced to have a rather large (and, dare I say, phallic-looking) object inserted into their bodies in order to receive a medical procedure. And what makes it even more upsetting is that this bill was proposed by a woman! I’m flabbergasted.

Now, let me just say that I am pro-choice. That does NOT mean that I think abortions should be performed willy-nilly. People confuse that. Personally, I feel you should do your damndest to prevent a pregnancy if you aren’t willing or ready to be a parent. But I also feel it’s no one else’s business if you choose to terminate a pregnancy. Every baby should be wanted and loved.

We can’t close the barn door once it’s been opened gang. Roe v. Wade was passed in 1973. It has been the law of the land for almost 4 decades. At least 2 generations have grown up since that time. And yet, the religious right still keeps trying to revoke it.

And many people lose sight of the fact that it works both ways.   As a result of Roe v. Wade, I had no say in what my then 15 year old daughter decided to do regarding her pregnancy.   The decision was entirely hers.     A tough pill to swallow for me at the time...


I don’t get it.    How cn anyone in their right mind think the current climate is a good one for the country? 
And I really resent being told I am not a true American if I don’t think the same way they do. Isn’t that what the founders of this country came here to get away from?




And

                  I’m

                               Getting off

                                                       My soapbox

                                                                                           Now.

Many-headed multitude. ~ Coriolanus, 2.3.16

Poor Mama is still having a hard time adjusting to apartment life…



It is a very different beast—and she is not used to it. When she and my dad got married in 1946, they very wisely took advantage of the GI Bill and purchased a house during their engagement. Granted it was a tiny two-bedroom “row house” just outside of the Philadelphia city limits, but it was a house. She always speaks fondly of that place where they started their life together.


By 1953, they had two little boys and I was on the way. So they went further out to the “burbs” and purchased a house in a new development called Chatham Park. It was 3 bedrooms with nice sized front and back yards. A garage was extra, but they felt it was important to have one. They found out just before settlement that that amount wasn’t included in their mortgage and they’d have to come up with the cash to seal the deal. Ever resourceful, my dad sold their car to pay for the garage.


Well, I arrived not long after the last box was unpacked and my younger brother joined the clan 14 months later. So the joint was full. When I was 6, my parents added another bedroom and a bath over that garage [they’d replaced the car within a year of moving in] so we’d all have more room to breathe.


Our family lived in that house until mid-1974 when my parents sold it to move to Jamaica. [My dad needed a relaxed lifestyle due to his health] By this time we four kids were on our own—two of us married and starting our own families.


My parents rented cottages on the island for 3 years and then continued that practice when they moved to St. Croix. It was there they bought their next house—which my youngest brother renovated for them. As my Dad’s health got more and more tenuous, he wanted to be closer to the Veteran’s hospitals where he received his care. So they moved yet again, buying a house in Venice, FLA.


When my Dad died 3 years later, Mom moved to California with my youngest brother—and helped him purchase a house. She lived in one part he in another.


Two years ago I had to make her come back to the East—and winters—because my brother basically kicked her out. So, here we are, sharing a 2-bedroom/2-bath apartment on the 3rd floor of a nice building.


But Mom is still not used to the fact that you have to put up with your neighbors noises. I guess I’ve learned to tune things out during my decade-plus of apartment dwelling. But even with her hearing aids out, she is aware of quite a bit.


For instance, our upstairs neighbors don’t seem to be cognizant of the fact that their floor is our ceiling and there are all sorts of scraping of chairs and thumping on the floor going on til the wee hours. The discovery that they have a cat cleared up some of the mystery as to what was going on ups there—but not all of it.


We also have the door slammers across the hall and the guy downstairs whose cigarette smoke drifts up through the heating system. And an assortment of other interesting characters; I look on it as good character study for my acting and directing.


Well, maybe I’ll win the lottery soon and I can buy us a nice rancher somewhere…

Every wise man's son doth know.

Just had to share this e-mail I got today…



I promise you will laugh til the tears flow.



Can you imagine the nun sitting at her desk grading these papers, all the while trying to keep a straight face and maintain her composure! Pay special attention to the wording and spelling—out of the mouths of babes.

Even if you only have a passing knowledge of the Bible—and Catholic school Catechism, you will find this hilarious.

These are the actual answers given by students to a Catholic Elementary school test:


1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS. GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF.



2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK. NOAH BUILT AN ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS.



3. LOT’S WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT.



4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS..



5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH.



6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES.



7. MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS .



8. THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE DESSERT. AFTERWARDS, MOSES WENT UP TO MOUNT


CYANIDE TO GET THE TEN COMMANDMENTS




9. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTS WAS WHEN EVE TOLD ADAM TO EAT THE APPLE.



10. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT IS THOU SHALT NOT ADMIT ADULTERY.



11. MOSES DIED BEFORE HE EVER REACHED CANADA THEN JOSHUA LED THE HEBREWS IN THEBATTLE OF GERITOL.



12. THE GREATEST MIRICLE IN THE BIBLE IS WHEN JOSHUA TOLD HIS SON TO STAND STILL AND HE OBEYED HIM.




13. DAVID WAS A HEBREW KING WHO WAS SKILLED AT PLAYING THE LIAR. HE FOUGHT THE FINKELSTEINS, A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN BIBLICAL TIMES.



14. SOLOMON, ONE OF DAVIDS SONS, HAD 300 WIVES AND 700 PORCUPINES.




15. WHEN MARY HEARD SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF JESUS, SHE SANG THE MAGNA CARTA.



16. WHEN THE THREE WISE GUYS FROM THE EAST SIDE ARRIVED THEY FOUND JESUS IN THE MANAGER.



17. JESUS WAS BORN BECAUSE MARY HAD AN IMMACULATE CONTRAPTION.



18. ST. JOHN THE BLACKSMITH DUMPED WATER ON HIS HEAD.



19. JESUS ENUNCIATED THE GOLDEN RULE, WHICH SAYS TO DO UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THEY DO ONE TO YOU. HE ALSO EXPLAINED A MAN DOTH NOT LIVE BY SWEAT ALONE.



20. IT WAS A MIRICLE WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND MANAGED TO GET THE TOMBSTONE OFF THE ENTRANCE.



21. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LORD WERE CALLED THE 12 DECIBELS.



22. THE EPISTELS WERE THE WIVES OF THE APOSTLES.



23. ONE OF THE OPPOSSUMS WAS ST. MATTHEW WHO WAS ALSO A TAXIMAN.



24. St. PAUL CAVORTED TO CHRISTIANITY, HE PREACHED HOLY ACRIMONY WHICH IS ANOTHER NAME FOR MARRAIGE.



25. CHRISTIANS HAVE ONLY ONE SPOUSE. THIS IS CALLED MONOTONY.

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. The Merchant of Venice, 1. 3

I am, no surprise, following this primary season with great interest.   

I am also getting scared to death of how the political discourse in this country has been reduced to such new lows.    Have any one of these candidates done anything more than pander to whichever group they are standing in front of?     Are real issues being discussed?

I don't think so.   It's just more finger-pointing and nothing is actually getting done.   Nothing real is being said.   And not a damned thing is getting accomplished.   We need to stop all of this partisan stalling and bickering and seriously address the problems in our country.    And, yes, we will need to make compromises.  [Oh no she didn't-she said that dirty word.]

I think this is how the whole election process should go down:

Each candidate gets the same amount of FREE airtime on all of the assorted cable outlets and network channels over an 8 week period prior to the election.    They are to use that time to tell how they would handle a particular issue facing the nation--and how they would pay for it.   Nothing more.   Tell us your plans and then get the hell back to the job we're paying you to do--being a Congressman, a Governor, a Secretary of State...

No grandstanding, no name calling...   AND-no PAC groups!!!!!!

We should also do away with the Electoral College-it's obsolete.   We've had too many elections hijacked by backroom dealings with Electoral College votes.    

And for God's sake--yes, I said God's sake, no co-opting the Lord for your political purposes.    I deeply resent being told that I am less of an American because I don't worship the way Candidate A or B does.    The wonderful concept of separation of church and state that our Founding Fathers so beautifully crafted has been twisted and destroyed over the past 15 years.    And it troubles me.

The Pilgrims endured unbelievable hardships to come to this land because they did not want the rulers telling them how to worship-or who.   That is a private matter between each individual and their particular deity, whatever it may. be.

Oy to the freakin' Vey!!!!

I have been locked out of this account forever!!!!!!!!!!!!

So frustrating.

The purple testament of bleeding war. ~ William Shakespeare

Hey, it’s me….

My long absence from this venue has been due to a number of things—some of which I can’t go into right now.

Anywho, yesterday, as we commemorated Pearl Harbor, I started thinking about some things.   One of which is that a man who spent his life devoted to getting the message of peace out was murdered the day after the 1980 commemoration of that day.    The irony of that is just weird.   (The other one is that my eldest brother, who was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, died about 10 days after Lennon.    His alcoholism was triggered by his treatment following his difficult decision.)      So, here’s to John Lennon—and his 2 sons who had to grow up without a father.    And to my brother’s two kids who grew up without theirs.

The other thing I started thinking about was my dad and his experiences in WW II.  

He got turned down by the army because he was stick thin at the time (sadly, I don’t take after him there…).     So, he and his best buddy went and enlisted in the Marine Corps.—the first ones on the scene for most of the battles.    Within days he was at Parris Island in boot camp.    Then it was off to the South Pacific.    He spent the next 2 years in combat; he was stationed for a short while in New Zealand and then it was off to Bougainville Island.     He and his fellow soldiers saw serious battle there.   It was one of the first times Americans faced jungle warfare.

Finally, he was sent back to the States—it suddenly occurred to the powers-that-be that after 2 years, men deserved (and seriously needed) a respite from the front lines.     After about a month’s leave, he had to head back to Parris Island—knowing full well that as an experienced combat soldier, he was going to be returned to the Pacific.     The US was gearing up for the Guadalcanal Campaign.  

Dad was on a troop train just outside of Washington DC when he suddenly passed.    They took him off the train to the nearest VA hospital.    The doctor on duty that weekend looked at him, said “He’s been on leave, he’s probably drunk.  Let him sleep it off.”  and relegated my dad to a bed in a corner somewhere.     Well, when the regular doctor returned on Monday, he wanted to know what was up with the unconscious guy.     When they realized he’d been out for two days, it dawned on then he wasn’t drunk.     His hat (which had been on his lap) with the blood in it has gotten lost in the shuffle of getting him to the hospital.

My dad had experienced a brain hemorrhage on that train that went untreated for 48 hours.    Now, I realize that they probably had a boatload of GIs to deal with, but didn’t anyone in that hospital start to wonder when my dad was still out for the count after 24 hours.    Drunks don’t sleep THAT long.

The poor man suffered neurological problems for the rest of his life; he started having seizures when I was about 9 and when I was in my early 30s, he was diagnosed with an AVM (something one of the Philadelphia Eagles recently developed).      He also had several aneurisms.     He eventually wound up taking several medications to control the seizures and keep him calm—yet the government fought my mother tooth and nail over his qualifying for VA disability.

Yet, he always spoke of his time in the service as one of the best in his life….

My dad died at age 72.   Part of me thinks we were lucky to have him that long, given his fragile health situation. 

But part of me also thinks we might have had so much longer….

*written very late on 12/8/11

Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt. ~ Measure For Measure, 1.4.84

 Doubts—why are some of us riddled with them and others have balls of steel, as it were. I have often wondered about that.   What quality do people like Steve Jobs, Oprah, Barack Obama have that I seem to lack.   What allowed them to look past the risks of taking a certain path to go ahead and attain what I’m sure many told them was impossible.

I am a case study in fearing to attempt.    I sucked at all those things most kids could do.   Whistling took me forever to master.    I couldn’t blow a bubble with gum, I was a mess at sports and I never learned how to ride a bike.     Add to that the fact that my brothers took great joy in making fun of me and you have the perfect recipe for a non-risk taker.     I’ve always tended towards the “play it safe” side of things. Plus, I’m a middle child, so I was always about not rocking the boat too.     Then there’s the whole Catholic school thing of the 1960s….  My daughter has a self-assuredness that I am in awe of.  

I don’t know if it’s all a front, but she doesn’t seem to be intimidated by anyone.    I admire that so much.    [Of course, she is the oldest, so that may have something to do with it.]     I did try to instill in her the idea that women are equals to men, so I’ll take credit for that much of it.  

I know I’m smart and that I have a lot of talents and abilities, but more often than not I let insecurities get the better of me and don’t “go for it.”     The few times I have dug deep to find the courage, I have felt really proud of myself—and enjoyed an awesome experience. 

Like taking on the role of Hamlet’s mother for my first ever foray into Shakespeare.     That was ballsy—I could have totally fallen on my ass.  But I think I rocked it out, if I do say so myself… 

I went through a period of feeling empowered when I decided it was time to save myself from a bad marriage.    Unfortunately, life has enjoyed pissing on me during the decade plus I have been on my own and my get up and go got up and went. 

So I am going to make a concerted effort to push myself more—and grow a pair.