"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." ~ George Washington

It's good to greet you once again here on this Thursday edition, filed on July 18, 2013. The latest Gallup poll indicates that Americans continue to grow in their distrust of the new health care law that is bearing down on them. Those that now flat out oppose it have grown by 7% since the first of the year. How about a real world gut check on how this will impact individuals? The other day I received an email notice that my annual checkup is ready to be scheduled. The instructions said I could use the automated scheduling system to line up my appointment. I tried but according to the system all the dates were unavailable. I tried a second time. Same result. I called my primary care doctor's office and told the nurse what had happened. She asked for my birth date. I gave it to her and she said, "There's the problem, you are over 65 and we are very limited in how many of those we can fit into the schedule." She went ahead and manipulated the schedule and set me up for next week but doesn't that seem odd to you? I believe it to be only the beginning of what we all will be dealing with as this new law becomes totally implemented. Our out of pocket continues to go up and this latest experience very much sounds like a form of rationing to me. Maybe folks are overly skeptical but I can really identify personally with the reasoning behind the concerns showing up in the polls.

Speaking of health related matters, I wanted to bring you an update from the Community Coffee Wellness Center. When I was very ill the Community Coffee was not very tasty to me. I really had trouble drinking it, along with anything else, but that's not my point. On Sunday my taste was slightly better which triggered that appetite for Community but it was still a hit and miss proposition. On Monday it was better but not where it should be. On Tuesday I knew that the whistling of Happy Days are Here Again could not be far away because I had Community on my mind, in my heart, and on the tip of my tongue. That's when I knew I was back among the living. I was at my desk about 4:30 a.m., and by 6:00 a.m., I had worked through my third cup of that day-starting brew. We do need those barometers in life and I'm glad to have this facility to help me gauge my recovery and status. I want to send a shout out to the Community Coffee Wellness Center for providing this valuable medicinal benefit to me. Thank you very much.

I know what some of you are thinking. You are wondering if I ever have sought professional help regarding the variety of weird stuff that seems to surround my way of life. That my friend is a good question but I would need to know what one means when they use the term weird. I can almost guarantee that every single solitary person has ways of thinking or doing things that somebody would think to be a little odd. The good news for me is that much of what I write about is over the top for comedic effect, but, can you say the same? And, by the way, we have differences because we are different. The world would be dull indeed were it not for the uniqueness found in our different personalities. When I was but a lad, I well remember knocking on a lady's door to sell her something. I had learned the routine from the book perfectly. When I began speaking to her something was apparently dreadfully wrong. She was giving back to me the exact words as found in the book. Perfectly. It threw me for a loop. She finally laughed and confessed that she too was selling the same product. If life was always a matter of verbatim, it would not only be boring, but I wouldn't have anything to write about. Or would I? I'll let you ponder that until next time. May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen.    ....More later.