Alive and kicking, and if I kicked (complained), I oughta be!

Hello Wednesday. It's June 15, 2011 and it is time to get up and get with it. This past Monday afternoon my wife asked we what she could fix for supper that would help me have a good report during my doctor's visit today. While I appreciate her concern, I told her that it was way too late to do anything about it now. That A1c blood test is kind of like Santa. It is an amazing test and reading about the technical stuff in how it works is mind boggling. Bottom line, it can tell what you have been up to over the past several months. In other words, it sees you when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. It knows if you've been bad or good, and by the time it reports, it's too late to be good for goodness sake. I had my dental check-up yesterday, my doctor's visit is today, and my lab stuff on Friday, and finally, my ophthalmology exam next week. The dental check up went great. Nothing has changed since I was there last. In 2005. When they asked me about it being so long I told them the dentist told me to keep on keeping on doing what I was doing and my teeth should last easily over 100 years. See there. I was only using his schedule. But I am thankful that all was okay. These will be my last visits under my current insurance regime. The next visits will be when I become a part of that new world (to me), Medicare, Obamacare, or as one of the fellows running to be the Republican candidate for president called it, Obamneycare. He was trying to implicate one of his opponents, Mitt Romney, because Mr. Romney instituted a type of universal heath care while he was governor of Massachusetts. I'll soon be in the middle of it all but one thing thus far kind of sticks out. At a time when folks desire to simplify their lives, all of this stuff does not seem to be put together in a way that helps that to happen. Folks retire and then take a new job keeping up with all their paperwork, changes to their coverages, and chasing payments and wrongly billed services. My mom and dad have the best coverages one might imagine but that has not alleviated them from the time and effort it takes to make sure everything is handled properly. I'm tired just talking about it. Whew!

I know. We all should be thankful we live in a country where all these options and choices are out there and available. These are some tough times however. I have noticed more and more of the older folks still at their jobs and working. I'm not talking about the mid sixties people like me. I'm seeing more and more of the mid seventies and even into the eighties still having to work. How could that be? Unless it happened to you or someone you know, many of us didn't get a first hand glimpse at all that got wiped out by this recent financial collapse. Think about what happened to all those Enron employees several years ago. I well remember a local fellow living on his farm being interviewed. He had been a forty year employee as a field superintendent and had a huge sum of money tied up in Enron's stock to supplement his retirement. The Company failed. Every penny of his investment was gone. Nearing 70, he was then faced with trying to rejoin the workforce again. I mention this because it has been repeated thousands upon thousands of times in the lives of men and women whose plans for retirement crashed when the market crashed. I don't know about you, but as I stand in the checkout line and observe the weary face of the elderly cashier, my heart goes out to her, and to all of those similarly impacted. Like I say, if you didn't get hit like they did, then you are blessed. My retirement, thus far, has been in the hands of companies that did survive and I am thankful for that. However, I have no illusions about the future. We all must trust God each and every day as we seek our daily bread. Amen.

I will not be an armchair quarterback with the proverbial perfect vision looking backwards. They should have diversified. They should have known better. They should have, and it could go on and on. What good is that? It could happen to anyone including those who feel they are totally secure. What was the real cause behind all of this? It's not a popular way to respond to that question but when you think about it, it was sin. That's right. Unbridled greed, corruption, false witness as to the truth about where they were financially, and it trickled up and it trickled down. You may be satisfied with someone saying it was market forces at work, but not me. Sadly, we have become dependent upon a corrupt system, (Remember: Too big to fail?), therefore, the crooks had to be protected while the innocent had to pay, now and tomorrow, and the next day, and for generations to come. Nearly every week we read about another category where China moves to the top and our nation slips. Ultimately, we know that all things, good, bad, or indifferent, work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. (Romans Chapter 8, Verse 8) This means that He is at work even in these turbulent times to bring about His plan and purpose. We can't always know how these things work together but we have God's word on it, that they do work together, and that my friend is the greatest consolation we could hope for in this life. Amen and Amen. I'm sure I'll have a few choice observations to pass on after my final visit with Dr. Mock. I'll let you know, but until then, know that there will be.....more later.