One Of My Favoite Go-To Meals

We all have go-to foods when we're busy or just not in the mood to be very creative with our cooking or eating.  I have several go-to dishes for one bowl eating and they're usually very simple.  This recipe takes a total of about 30 min., it's filling, and offers many nutritional values.  Sometimes I add a little cooked zucchini or drained and chopped artichoke hearts or bell peppers (fresh or roasted).  Be sure to sprinkle some olive oil over the top for added healthy oil.

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that I share because it's healthy, delicious, and is 7 PPV.

Penne With Tomatoes and Spinach  (serves 4)

Ingredients

	8 oz uncooked penne
	1 tsp table salt, for cooking pasta
	1/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, (see note)
	2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
	8 oz fresh spinach, washed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
	1/4 tsp dried oregano
	1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
	1 cup(s) grape tomatoes, halved
	6 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

• Cook penne in boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid before draining pasta.
  
  
• Meanwhile, heat broth in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add spinach, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  
  
• Add cooked penne, reserved cooking liquid and tomatoes to skillet. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until tomatoes are slightly pulpy, stirring occasionally, about 2 to 3 minutes; add cheese and heat through. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

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Lord, we ask for your blessing and guidance in our life choices for our present and future. Amen

~~~~

A Purposeful Pest

In recent days I've read an article about the ever present dandelion.  Realizing that this poor wild flower is so terribly discriminated against, I was fascinated by some of the information in that article.

For instance, did you know that the dandelion is present on every continent including the Arctic?  In the not too distant past this plant was considered a wonderful spring tonic and was not so mistreated as in modern day industrialized America and Europe.  Everyone is busy trying to make sure that one of these poor plants never shows up in their yards.  That obsession didn't begin until the 1950's when suburbia became the new center of human existence and the perfect yard was the lifetime goal.  I wonder what homeowners concentrated on before the battle of the dandelion started?  Hmmmm...

The dandelion is a major contributor to the nectar gathered by bees for their honey.  The dandelion seeds are a major contributor to several native sparrows during their migration.  I remember that as a little girl my friends and I would pick a dandelion and twirl it under our chins.  The yellow mark (which I now know was the pollen) meant something or another, but I just can't remember what!  I also remember my son Mark, at about the age of 4, picked me a bouquet of dandelions and presented them with great pride.  Of course, I had to put them in a cup of water and put them on the table for a few days.

The entire dandelion plant is edible, including the prized roots.  European herbalists believe that the dandelion root is a good treatment to diminish anemia.   It is a good source of vitamins C, A, and K.
The dandelion has far more calcium than the same amount of spinach.  The young leaves are added to salads giving an added flavor similar to chicory.  The older leaves can be steamed or sauteed like spinach.

So while some herbs and wildflowers have some undesirable effects, a few are even poisonous, that just isn't the case with the much maligned dandelion. 

~~~

When Does Grieving Begin

A few years ago my dear husband, Don, started having some health issues that seemed minor yet bothersome.  The doctors did some testing and found a couple of issues that required attention, medication, and intermittent monitoring.  About 18 to 24 months ago these same health issues caused a couple of bouts that required hospitalization and treatments.  Then about 12 months ago all of the issues raised their ugly heads at about the same time and have wreaked havoc with my husbands well-being ever since.

We have seen many doctors, we have travelled to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, dear hubby has truly been poked and prodded from head to toe.  A cause for Don's health decline can not be found so the doctors are left with the only option of treating his symptoms and trying to make him comfortable.

Although I have watched my darling spouse try to remain positive, and chipper, and calm, I have also watched him become emaciated, pallid, breathless, weak, dependent.

A few days ago Don's doctor told us it was time to think about Don's at-home care, that it was important that end-of-life issues are discussed and decided upon.  While it isn't known what has caused Don's health to decline so rapidly, it also isn't know how fast it will continue to take it's toll.  The doctor, whom we have known quite well for about 12-13 years, wants us to be prepared whether it's a couple of months or a couple of years.

I have been doing a lot of crying in these last 3 days and I realize that some of that is stress and some is part of the grieving process.  As a retired Registered Nurse, I knew what was inevitable but when faced with a reality such as this, I think I am first and foremost a wife and mother.  We have been married for almost 46 years and our two lives are so tightly entwined that it's hard to get an actual handle on all the various issues that must be addressed in the coming weeks, as well as, maintain a positive, peaceful, and pleasant presence along with the various levels of nursing that will need to be added to the homemaking chores. 

So...that's why I ask the question 'when does the grieving begin'?  It may have started many months ago when the health issues started and the RN side was realizing in the very back recesses of my soul that yes this is not going to go well.  Did it start months ago as Don kept losing weight and losing weight regardless of how much he ate or what he ate. 

The word "grief" has several meanings but the only one that I can relate to is sadness.
The sadness began several months ago and will continue.  I have had a few talks with God and He has assured me that I will have the strength to get through this and He will be standing next to me through it all.  Praise the Lord.

Stress Relief

TRUE WORDS OF WISDOM

I think that I will read this often and let it be my mantra.  These points will be great to remember and, for each of us, they can be the points to remove a frown and bring a smile.  Personally, my favorite one is the first one!

1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon,

and somedays you're the statue!


2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can't push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.(remember Elaine on Seinfeld?!)

11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.


    14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.                                                          
     
                
15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.


*Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!

AMERICAN EUGENICS

I believe it is important to understand that the following is just background information on a topic that is very disturbing and, while many may think it is a thing of the past, it is a latent ongoing worldwide movement.  You can discover much on your own by simply using Google to explore or use your local library. Sharon

Published on Tuesday, February 15, 2000 in the Chicago Tribune

Yale Study:
U.S. Eugenics Paralleled Nazi Germany
by David Morgan

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. doctors who once believed that sterilization could help rid society of mental illness and crime launched a 20th century eugenics movement that in some ways paralleled the policies of Nazi Germany, researchers said on Monday.

A Yale study tracing a once-popular movement aimed at improving society through selective breeding, indicates that state-authorized sterilizations were carried out longer and on a larger scale in the United States than previously believed, beginning with the first state eugenics law in Indiana in 1907.

Despite modern assumptions that American interest in eugenics waned during the 1920s, researchers said sterilization laws had authorized the neutering of more than 40,000 people classed as insane or ``feebleminded'' in 30 states by 1944.

Another 22,000 underwent sterilization from the mid-1940s to 1963, despite weakening public support and revelations of Nazi atrocities, according to the study, funded by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Merck Co. Foundation.
Forced sterilization was legal in 18 U.S. states, and most states with eugenics laws allowed people to be sterilized without their consent by leaving the decision to a third party.

``The comparative histories of the eugenical sterilization campaigns in the United States and Nazi Germany reveal important similarities of motivation, intent and strategy,'' the study's authors wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a journal published by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.
Eugenics sprang from the philosophy of social Darwinism, which envisioned human society in terms of natural selection and suggested that science could engineer progress by attacking supposedly hereditary problems including moral decadence, crime, venereal disease, tuberculosis and alcoholism.

``The eugenics laws in the United States were virulent, just as they were in Sweden, France and Australia,'' said Art Caplan, head of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics.

The U.S. practice ended in the 1960s after being overwhelmed by court challenges and the civil rights movement.
German and American eugenics advocates both believed science could solve social problems, tended to measure the worth of the individual in economic terms and felt mental illness a threat to society grave enough to warrant compulsive sterilization.
And while Nazi claims of Aryan superiority are well known, researchers said U.S. advocates of sterilization worried that the survival of old-stock America was being threatened by the influx of ``lower races'' from southern and eastern Europe.
There was also mutual admiration, with early U.S. policies drawing glowing reviews from authorities in pre-Nazi Germany.

``Germany is perhaps the most progressive nation in restricting fecundity among the unfit,'' editors of the New England Journal of Medicine wrote in 1934, a year after Hitler became chancellor.

U.S. Eugenics Movement Waned
But the study, based partly on old editorials from the New England journal and the Journal of the American Medical Association, also demonstrated how the U.S. eugenics movement gradually waned while its Nazi counterpart carried out 360,000 to 375,000 sterilizations during the 1930s and grew to encompass so-called ``mercy'' killings.

``In the United States, a combination of public unease, Roman Catholic opposition, federal democracy, judicial review and critical scrutiny by the medical profession reversed the momentum,'' the article said.

The U.S. practice of neutering ``mentally defective'' individuals was backed by most leading geneticists and often justified on grounds that it would relieve the public of the cost of caring for future generations of the mentally ill.
Sterilizations also took place mainly in public mental institutions, where the poor and ethnic or racial minorities were housed in disproportionately high numbers.

``It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind,'' Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in the majority opinion of a landmark eugenics case in 1926.

--------------------------------
Prominent Founders of The American Eugenics Society

American Eugenics Society : Leon Whitney was the executive secretary
The prominent list of original founders of sponsors of The American Eugenics Society each had some direct relationship with either Wickliffe Draper of The Pioneer Fund or Andrew Preston founder of The Boston Fruit Company, later United Fruit in New Orleans, LA:

In 1930 many of the wealthiest people in the world were members of the American Eugenics Society.
It earliest members and sponsors included:

J. P. Morgan, Jr., chairman, U. S. Steel, who handled British contracts in the United States for food and munitions during World War I. Wickliffe Draper used his J. P. Morgan Trust Account to fund The Mississippi Sovereignty Commission and its activities.

Mrs. Mary Duke Biddle, tobacco fortune heiress whose family founded Duke University.

Cleveland H. and Cleveland E. Dodge and their wives, who used some of the huge fortune that Phelps Dodge & Company made on copper mines and other metals to support eugenics.

Robert Garrett, whose family had amassed a fortune through banking in Maryland and the B&O railroad, who helped finance two international eugenics congresses attended by Harry Laughlin and Wickliffe Draper.

Miss E. B. Scripps, whose wealth came the Scrips-Howard newspaper chain and from United Press (later UPI).

Dorothy H. Brush, Planned Parenthood activist, whose wealth came from Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929), who invented the arc lamp for street lights and founded the Brush Electric Company. Draper's version of Planned Parenthood was to pass the Involuntary Sterilization laws in 15 different U.S. States.

Margaret Sanger, also from Planned Parenthood, who used the wealth of one of one of her husbands, Noah Slee, to promote her work. Slee made his fortune from the familiar household product, 3-in-One Oil.

The other Finance Committee members included:
Leon F. Whitney the son of Eli Whitney inventor of the Cotton Gin who was the Chairman. The Draper Looms in Hopedale, MA were used to spin the raw cotton harvested by the Eli Whitney cotton gins into fabrics, cloth and yarn.

Frank L. Babbott the well-known philanthropist and educator.

Madison Grant later of The Pioneer Fund, founded by Wickliffe Draper following the 1936 Olympics when his namesake, Foy Draper, was edged out for Olympic glory by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalf.

Mrs. Helen Hartley Jenkins and John H. Kellogg who started the Kellogg's Cereal Company.

John Kellogg and The Race Betterment Foundation
Kellogg was outspoken on his beliefs on race and segregation, in spite of the fact that he himself adopted a number of black children. In 1906, together with Irving Fisher and Charles Davenport, Kellogg founded the Race Betterment Foundation, which became a major center of the new eugenics movement in America. Kellogg was in favor of racial segregation and believed that immigrants and non-whites would damage the gene pool. He acted as a sort of mentor and advisor to Wickliffe Draper through his publications. Draper adopted Kellogg's recommendations and beliefs on subjects like racial segregation, anti-miscegnation laws, staunch anti-immigration attitudes and also the lifestyle choice of total sexual abstinence as a lifelong habit. Draper later died from prostate cancer. It is not known whether or not Draper was converted by Kellogg into one of the favorite Kellogg routines of taking regular yogurt enemas.

Robert Garrett was one of the primary financial sponsors of the American Eugenics Society the personal project of Wickliffe P. Draper who sponsored most of the research behind "The Bell Curve" published in 1994. Garrett also served on the Finance Committee of the International Congress of The American Eugenics Society along with Madison Grant author of "The Passing of the Great Race."

[edit] List of presidents
•Irving Fisher 1922-26 (Political Economy, Yale University)
•Roswell H. Johnson 1926-27 (Cold Spring Harbor, Univ. of Pittsburgh)
•Harry H. Laughlin 1927-29 (Eugenics Record Office)
•C. C. Little 1929 (Pres., Michigan University)
•Henry Pratt Fairchild 1929-31 (Sociology, New York University)
•Henry Perkins 1931-34 (Zoology, University of Vermont)
•Ellsworth Huntington 1934-38 (Geography, Yale University)
•Samuel Jackson Holmes 1938-40 (Zoology, University of California)
•Maurice Bigelow 1940-45 (sex education, Columbia University)
•Frederick Osborn 1946-52 (Osborn-Dodge-Harriman RR connection)
•Harry L. Shapiro 1956-63 (American Museum of Natural History)
•Clyde V. Kiser 1964-68 (differential fertility, Milbank Memorial Fund)
•Dudley Kirk 1969-72 (Demographer, Stanford University)
•Bruce K. Eckland 1972-75 (Sociology, University of North Carolina)
•L. Erlenmeyer-Kimling 1976-78 (Genetic Psychiatry)
•Lindzey Gardner 1979-81 (Center for Advanced Study, Behavioral Sciences)
•John L. Fuller 1982-83 (Behavioral genetics)
•Michael Teitelbaum 1985-1990 (US Congress staff; US population policy)
•Robert Retherford 1991-1994 (East-West Institute, Hawaii; funded by AID)
•Joseph Lee Rodgers 1994, 1995 (family influences)
•Current: S. Jay Olshansky

[edit] See also
•British Eugenics Society
•Human Betterment Foundation

Medical Office Quotes

My Record of Patient Quotes

During the 10 years that I worked at the doctors office prior to retiring, I kept a listing of statements made by some of our patients.  When someone calls the office they are usually in need of an appointment, assistance with an issue, or have a question regarding the health of themselves or a loved one.  Care must be given when trying to help the patient since they are usually in some degree of stress or frustration.

The following are most of the quotes that I documented.  The patient or family member have no idea how their statement ends up sounding, they only know what they 'mean' to convey.

Please enjoy these actual quotes as they are humorous and/or just plain silly.

"I was at the Acute Care Clinic - they said I needed a normal doctor."

"I lost my tampon - can't find it!"

"Is the doctor an OB for pregnant women?"

"I accidentally took my dogs Prednisone!"

"I need a prescription called in and I can't come see the doctor 'cause I don't feel good!"

"I'm not surprised I found a lump in my breast 'cause I've had cystic fibrosis for years."

(at 9:18am) "My daughter has an ear ache and can I get her in real quick with any doctor?"

"Yes, Doctor R has a 10:15 available.  Would you like to bring her in then?"

"No, I was hoping for later - I'm a teacher you know."

"Okay, how about 3:45 with Doctor R?"

"Well...I was hoping for tomorrow after school..."

"If I pay cash can I get my test results sooner?"

"What was the date last Thursday?"

"...the 3rd" is the reply

"OK, so I've taken the pill 7 days.  Now, what day was the 3rd?"   !!!

"Do you know the number for Dr. Riley?"  I have a deep desire to answer "yes" and hang up!!

"I think I have a hernia, there's a bulge in my crotch."

I know for a fact that doctors, nurses, and administration in every office has many quotes that are similar and some that are more bazaar.  Serving the public is fun if you keep a smile and a sense of humor.

Willpower

The word Willpower brings a whole stack of attitudes, stresses and emotions.  I mean, really, what runs through your mind when you hear that word?  Willpower...do I have enough?...do I have the courage?...do I really care?...will it be hard and cause me discomfort or pain?...and so on. 

Whether we are using that word to spur ourselves forward or to change an integral part of our life or to stop whatever needs stopping, we cringe at the demand that the very word implicates.  It is sooooo much easier to point a finger at others and click our tongues and shake our head and thank the good Lord that we whatever whatever.  But...can we pull together the willpower that we, personally, need to accomplish that one thing that looms ahead? 

Almost 13 years ago I stopped smoking cigarettes for the rest of my life and been very proud of that accomplishment ever since.  That experience taught me that each of us can do what we need to do BUT the decision has to be made absolutely.  And, even when we know this and tell ourselves we need to make that decision it is mind boggling how hard it can be to come to that conclusion.



A couple of years ago I watched Dr. Daniel Amen on PBS give a presentation on his book Magnificent Mind at Any Age.  It was enlightening and I took notes.  Dr. Amen has a five point plan for willpower that I want to share with you and that is fairly self-explanatory.
1. Keep your blood sugar elevated to normal or slightly above normal.
2. Always get enough sleep - approx. 7 hrs. a night and a short midday nap is okay.
3. Clearly state your goals on paper and ask yourself daily if the goal is met.
4. Practice accepting willpower and rejecting options.
5. Balance brain chemistry, i.e. nutritional foods, water and juices, increase serotonin, fresh air, etc.

Now, that may seem easy but I want you to really look at 3. and 4..  Those are the items that will force you to really look at yourself and think about where you are and where you want to be.  My personal struggles make me face these questions and challenges me to proceed with the knowledge that God is by my side and the battle is worth fighting.

Weight Watchers - A Double Meaning

The term 'weight watcher' carries the same connotation that the word 'dieter' carries; the person must be fat, must be overweight, must be obese.  I think that is usually the case, however, in some unusual cases the person is morbidly underweight.  My dear husband, Don, has lost about 30 lbs. in the past year due to his new health issue of heart failure.  Don is on a weight gain diet and has to eat a high calorie diet that includes Ensure Plus, cookies, puddings, potatoes of any kind, cheeses, pastas...well, you get the picture.  The problem he has is that he has NO appetite or he may have a problem with losing what he ate.

So, yes, he is watching his weight and trying to get the numbers to go up!  Meanwhile, I, on the other hand, am trying to get my numbers to go down.  Now, there's a conundrum.  Weight watching can be extremely preoccupying and can cause you to think of nothing but food all day long.  Between thinking about what Don needs to be eating and how often and what I need to be eating and how often, I seem to be spending at least half of my day either planning or preparing meals, snacks, and food shopping lists.

Good wholesome well balanced meals are not hard to plan or prepare, but sometimes it does get bothersome.  Sauces have to be geared for Don's consumption or for mine, there just aren't any sauces that are high calorie and low calorie!  Go figure!!


I'm lucky because I was blessed with a husband that is neither demanding nor finicky, but he's just not capable of eating some things and, as with many people, Don can take just so much vegetables and fruits before he balks.  Don has never thought much about food, has never craved anything in particular, can go for hours and hours without food or even thinking about food.  I wonder if all thin people are like that?!?!

I'm also lucky because I do love vegetables, grain, and legumes.  That doesn't mean there aren't times when I could and would just absolutely adore having a huge bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy!  A big piece of cherry pie!

Jim Davis once said, "Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie!" 
Sounds like a good idea to me...but, alas, I have lost 18 lbs in 18 weeks and I know that I must continue to lose and keep it off.  But...don't you get tired of hearing things like, 'all things in moderation' or 'it's not what you eat, it's portion size' and so on.  Oh, good grief, some of us just love to eat and it's a struggle and a compromise to gain even a little control.  Give us some credit, please...

The Mayo Clinic Experience

Generally speaking, I try to keep my postings impersonal and focus on posing questions or offering food for thought or giving alternative sides to proposition.  Three weeks ago, my husband, Don, went through a series of consultations, tests, and procedures at Mayo Clinic system that I simply must talk about. 

In the past 2 years, Don's health had become a concern with the main emphasis on his pulmonary functions; apparent chronic bronchitis that worsened as months passed, emphysema that went from mild and then passed moderate, growing weakness, 90% loss of appetite, occasional light-headedness, increased right hand tremor, gradual weight loss of 30 lbs., large amounts of maroon colored sputum, general malaise, slowing thought process, and eventual loss of driving ability.  The severity of all of this grew so strongly in the months between July and October that I was growing fearful about his ability to ever improve.

Our time finally came to leave for Rochester, MN and our appointment at Mayo to see Dr. Wang, Internal Medicine.  Dr. Wang heard something when listening to Don's heart, ordered an EKG along with several other tests.  After many tests and consultations with other specialists, it was determined that Don had left-sided heart failure with functional capacity down to 20%.  Following the nuclear stress test, angiogram, and lab tests we were told that the cause of the heart failure is, as of now, unknown.  We were sent home with a plan for further testing and consults with cardiology and hematology to try to determine the cause and, most importantly, the treatment for the heart failure.

The Mayo health system is unlike anything I've ever encountered.  Mayo is a nonprofit organization that focuses on patient care and education.  Because they are focused on the patient and educating better doctors, they are projecting a level of care that is hard to find in any government or for-profit organization.
The medical consumer is never given the impression that they are a 'bother' or wasting their time.  The employees of Mayo ALL project the attitude of caring thoughtfulness and positive compassion.  The entire facility was spotless, organized, upbeat...it's true I could go on and on about the whole organization.  The employees don't ever act as though what they are doing is their duty, but rather they act as though helping you is their joy and mission in life.  It's such a grand experience.

I don't want to make this political, however, keeping the government fingers OUT of our health care is vital to our national well-being.  Mayo is the epitome of identifying the importance of each and everyone of us, and bureaucratic medical decisions have no place in a nation that considers life important.

You do feel God's hand at work when in the Mayo facilities and it is a blessing gladly received.

Hospital and Doctor Care

This isn't a topic that I was wanting to comment on right now but hubby, Don, was in the hospital for 4 days so this topic seems to be most timely.  Olathe Medical Center (OMC) is a mid-size hospital that serves the local Olathe area and several points out into the rural community.  OMC is owned by Olathe Health Services, Inc., (OHS) which has about 28 clinics as well as OMC.

Since I worked  for OHSI for 10 years and retired from there about 14 months ago, I am familiar with the facility and some of the employees.  I must state right off that my husband's care was top-notch, the employees were professional and compassionate; call lights were answered in a timely manner, food was served promptly, personal time/space was honored whenever possible, tests and treatments were accomplished as quickly and thoroughly as possible.  So do I have an issue with anything?  Do I question any decisions or actions?

As a post-hospitalization analysis, it all comes down to the overall experience which was excellent. But...and that is a huge 'but'...if we had federal control of healthcare my dear hubby would probably not be given the care he received.  He's retired, he's 69 years old, he gets a federal pension, he has a handicap tag, he has fragile lungs that will cause him a great deal of problems for the rest of his life.  As I understand the twisted wording of the convoluted healthcare proposal, he would not be considered to be a productive member of the citizenry and, therefor, would not be entitled to sustaining care regardless of his Medicare and his expensive commercial insurance. 

There are still people out there in America, somewhere, that want this federal healthcare to become law and I wish I could talk to the actual everyday person who wants this to be done.  Are they in perfect health, do they have a regular full-time job and do they pay for health insurance?  What are they looking for?  Do they want all the rest of us to pay for their insurance?  Do they feel they are not getting their "fair share"?

I am truly appalled that there is a segment of citizens in this country that feel that those of us over the age of 60 years old are, somehow, useless and less human:  that a man or woman born with a chronic illness or handicap are expendable; that absolutely everyone that is overweight is a moronic criminal; that a man or woman who is diagnosed with a debilitating illness or cancer are less than worthy.  Do these people have any family and, if so, does their family know about their opinion?  Heaven forbid that my own children would be among this group, or neices or nephews.  

May each of us know good health and long life.  May each of us know how to smile at the hummingbirds and clap when we see a fish jump in the middle of the lake.  May each of us grow old in the arms of our family and friends and know the love that comes from caring, prayer, and Christian goodwill. 
Our life is part of our freedom, and our freedom is part of our life.  Protect both with your last breath.

Health Insurance and Healthcare

Since the State of the Union is on in a few minutes, and since I have no intention of watching that dog-and-pony show, then here I am! Hah!
I have watched 3 State of the Union speeches in the past 30 yrs. The last one was the one Bush gave a few months following the attack on our country on Sept 11th.

The other day I received some very valuable information for all of us over the age of 50, and actually, for everyone of voting age. Please feel free to read the info at this website:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115617

Don and I have never been members of AARP, so gladly we can claim that we were not among the unwilling enablers that helps to give AARP their clout.  Back in the 90's, when AARP came out in favor of universal healthcare, I knew that this organization was NOT looking out for the welfare of the senior Americans.  After living in Germany for 10 yrs and talking to the many Germans that I worked with for the US Army, national health insurance is not a good thing and the main example is Medicare.  For those seniors that have very little income and need something to get by, the social workers should be lining up information on low-cost or free clinics, charities, various agencies, pharmeceutical eligibility, etc. to enable these seniors to be taken care of as best as possible. 

While it is true that none of us has a guarantee of good health and happiness, it behooves all of us to be educated medical consumers.  We must all learn where to go and for what, how to approach issues and when and why.  We need to learn if there are alternatives even if the alternative is harder to do or takes more work.  Many of us tend to take the easiest means which is often medication, when ,more often than not, the smart thing to do might be to alter our diet, change our activity level, practice positive thinking, look into herbal supplements approved by our M.D., or even just something as simple as maintaining good posture and sleep habits.  This is true of all ages, not just the elderly. 

The insurance companies are among the lowest profit corporations, unlike the oil companies.  Some of us are locked into our insurance whether we want to be or not.  Hubby has cardiac/lung issues and I'm a cancer survivor; both of us carry "pre-existing" health concerns that 99% of health ins. companies won't accept.  It is people like us who should be irate about the healthcare debacle in this country, but we aren't.  We pay too much for our insurance, but are unable to change, however, we just go on and help each other and look out for each other.  We confide in each other, our family, our doctor/nurse team, and reason out our decisions.
It is not up to the government to decide whether Don has surgery on his lungs or not, it is up to Don (and me! 0;-}  ) 

We had a friend in Germany that had torn his ACL to an extent that he had to have knee surgery.  The surgery was botched somehow and the therapist told him that his limp would be permanent without a corrective surgery.  Guess what?!  The national health ins. in Germany told him that at age 52, he couldn't be given another surgery on the same knee, but he was eligible for govt. issued canes.  This is not what we, as a free people, want in this country.
We'll talk about this some more later...