The "back" things in life...

Just wanted to do a short post because I guess you must be wondering by now how I did with the open MRI and EMG. Open MRI was a success and I just wonder why anyone would ever do any other type. I had the EMG (Electromyography) on the same day I did the MRI's. I decided if I was to be tortured, I just wanted it all to be over in the same day. So the day after picking up the new puppies (which I will write about next), I went and had all of these tests done. For those of you in the know, my Orthopedic told me that the EMG would be extremely painful and yes, it was uncomfortable but nowhere even close to the pain I have everyday caused by this neck/back problem.

I went back for results for all of those tests this past Monday (10/18). Everything they indicated and more is going on in my back. In addition to the pain, I also have frequent numbness in my hands and lower arms. In addition to feeling very strange it causes some clumsy moves from time-to- time. The results affirmed the arthritis in the back and that is causing a narrowing of where the nerves enter the spinal cord, hence the numbness. There is a similar problem in my lower back. With that my doctor discharged me to a back doctor, who very appropriately is named Dr. Rumi. (I wonder just how many patients he has with arthritis?) It's kind of like going to a podiatrist called Dr. Corn or Dr. Foot. It does make me laugh when I think about it. I always thought that list of doctors that comes across in my email once in a while was fictitious. I guess there really are doctors with names appropriate for their chosen specialty. Laugh here because I know you all thought they were fake too.

Monday morning I will get up with a positive attitude and go see Doctor Rumi to see if there is anything he can do to improve my painful status. That way I could stay on here just a little longer and get some things (writing) done.

With that said, for most people all of this would be a bad thing but I choose to make it a "back" thing and plug along the only way I know how...forward.

Be well until next time...

~D

Just breathe...

Once again after a little break I'm back. I guess you might say I have been on a journey. A journey that has been frustrating. Although I learned something new about me, I almost think I'd be better off not knowing.

One of the reasons I've been writing less frequently is that I am in total and complete pain when sitting at the computer for any length of time. Unless I take something for it and we all know how ambitious anything we take for pain makes us. Not to mention the senseless schlock my brain would be committing to the perpetuity of the Internet. Finally, after putting it off for some time, I went to the doctor as I thought I might have carpal tunnel syndrome. After so many years on the computer, I just figured it caught up with me. Not so much.

What I've now learned about my body is that I have bulging discs in my neck. In my lower back I have a slipped disc. Not to mention that the arthritis that I have had intermittently in my fingers has also positioned itself in the bones of my spine. I have many bone spurs, so that even if they get the disc problem under control eventually this arthritis with time will become more of a problem. Not the news I expected or wanted to hear but hey I've dealt with a lot worse in my time and the people closest to me know that I speak the truth. I always have been and always will be the proverbial cat that still lands on its feet. After all, I haven't used up all of my nine lives, only 3 of them. I've still got the magic number 6 left. Insert snicker here for those that will get this plague of 6.

But still with all that news, that's not what I learned about myself. Following the x-rays my doctor wanted me to get two MRI's and an EMG. I was scheduled to go have the MRI's this past Tuesday. I never thought anything about it and left work early to go for my appointment. It's just the nature of my job that I usually end up being early for appointments because I get when the getting is good. I got to the doctors office and checked in. The MRI tech got all ready and I was ready so we started. The loud ticking of the machine wasn't scary but looking into that tiny space of the MRI was.

You all know that I am a bigger person so I asked. The tech was very reassuring that I would fit fine so I calmed down, laid down and focused on getting this two hours of my life over with. I would do anything to get out of this pain. Well I guess I should restate that to be almost anything. After placing the plate over my face the machine began to slide me head first into the machine and as the machine covered my face panic set in. I am not a panicky person so I tried to convince myself this is just a medical test I can take it. I inched a little further into the machine and this overwhelming feeling of being buried alive consumed me. My eyes are closed, hands were crossed on my body and I truly felt that this must be how it must feel to be dead. PANIC and I mean it in a screaming way. I was hitting that panic button for all it was worth and punching the sides of the machine to get out. I cannot tell you how it felt when they finally got me out but needless to say, I've never taken a better breath of air in my life than at that moment my head came out of the machine.

The MRI tech tried to be understanding and tried to calm me down but all I wanted was to be out of there. I went to the reception desk, explaining that I couldn't go through with the procedure because I felt like I was in a casket. To which the dimwit at the desk replied, "Well how do you know that? Have you ever been in one?" All of you that know me very well know I think fast so I replied "Well, I do know that I have several family members that are in one and I don't want to be the next to try it out, even in practice." Needless to say that pretty much shut her up.

Now we get to the point, here is what I learned about myself. I suffer from a bit of claustrophobia. I have been in many tight places including the little round cylinder in the airport where they lock you in and run air over your body to analyze the results and that's a pretty small space. I never had this problem before, so where did it come from? The intelligent side of me tells me that this is a routine test that millions of people have everyday with no problem but the illogical fear still rules my brain. I just can't get past this one.

I have now scheduled an open MRI for the same day I have the EMG on October 7th. I have heard that the open MRI is similar to a CAT Scanner and I've had that before without incident. So I'm hopeful that I will be able to have that done. They have informed me that if they can't do the open MRI that I would have to be put to sleep to have the test done. Without the test they cannot treat. Let's hope that I don't have to be put to sleep (like a sick dog) to have this test done. I'll report back because I know you'll all be waiting to read more about my medical adventures.

If it's any consolation, I'll be staying at a hotel in Dallas from Sunday to Wednesday and most of you already know how many wonderful adventures I have when I stay in hotels. Can you feel that sarcasm coming through yet?

I thought so... until next time...

~D~

Burning....

I can't help but notice the irreverent hoopla surrounding the recent activity by the Reverend Terry Jones of the 50 member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL who plan to burn the Quran this coming Saturday. Talk about media attention! Phew! I haven't heard a newscast yet that isn't regurgitating it about every five seconds. All the while, General Petraeus is warning that proceeding with the plan could instigate violence against our troops and citizens still overseas. Like we haven't already provoked them just by invading their country? Give me a break. We went to a country where we weren't wanted for a nonexistent reason and way overstayed any minimal welcome we might have initially had. Oh, did I mention we were there for a nonexistent reason? Well, I just can't say that enough. We still haven't caught Bin Laden who appears to be still around spreading hate and discontent to anyone who'll listen.

Here is the link to this story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-koran-burning-20100908,0,7795425.story

So does burning the Quran seem like such a bad thing in light of all of the bad things that have already been done to our troops and citizens overseas? I didn't see us over here killing Muslims the last time the Muslims celebrated overseas in the town square by burning our flags and effigies of our political figures. I mean enough already.

Is a show of burning the Quran as a freedom of speech display to support a religious organization's belief against the very real atrocities of the radical Muslims such an outrage in light of the number of our military troops (among others) who have lost their lives? Those men & women are fighting for our right to be able to have this type of protest. I don't think anything should happen to the troops or citizens that may be there but if the radical Muslims have their way they would be decapitated and for a reason far less than burning the Quran.

I could understand the Muslim outrage at our actions if we're going to take 50 Muslims (because we don't know which ones may be radical) and burn them in the street. In my opinion, it wouldn't even begin to be close to equal to the number of Americans that have already lost their lives due to the radical Muslims. For doing nothing more than just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I am a bit radical by nature and I tend to think to the extreme. So while I'll probably not light a Quran on fire, not out of respect or due to my religious beliefs but because I believe in the "people's" right to live their lives the way they see fit. I believe in the rights we adopted under the Constitution and not the continually evolving interpretations used to create more control. The Constitution is about rights, not control. We need to start being more sensitive to people's rights and not so hung up on control. Most of the fight about issues in our country are about control and not rights. Under my first amendment right, it is my right to say, if you're a Muslim in America, I am open to accepting you in my country and my life, however, if you're a radical Muslim who has a plan to hurt even one American then you need to leave this country. Do not pass go and do not collect $200.

Now that we're on the subject, this has a direct tie to the rights that the people in New York are talking about when it comes to the Mosque building. Yes. You have the right to build a Mosque under our Constitution and Reverend Terry Jones and his followers have the right to destroy a copy of the Quran if they choose, after all the Constitution provides us the right to practice all religions. Reverend Terry Jones (and parishioners) believe that in the freedom allowed to practice their religion and under their first amendment rights they are able to burn a book (the Quran) that isn't part of their religion. Religious freedom and freedom of speech. Two of our most basic Constitutional rights have turned both the Mosque issue and the Quran burning threat into an exercise in control rather than a battle of rights.

Just like Greg Gutfield has the right to build a gay bar on the corner by the Mosque and just like someone else has the right to build a Texas authentic Barbecue on the other side of the Mosque. (See my earlier post on this issue.) This is a free country for the most part (however, I add here for emphasis little by little we are losing our freedom).

So in ending tonight my point is this and I've been saying it all week: Just because you have a right to do something, that in and of itself doesn't make it right no matter how much justification you can provide.

Think about it.

Until the next time ~D

On an Even Keel: Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!

On an Even Keel: Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!: "I have been patient listening to the issues surrounding the mosque issue in NYC and I can tell you I've had about enough of the blitz on the..."

Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!

I have been patient listening to the issues surrounding the mosque issue in NYC and I can tell you I've had about enough of the blitz on the issue. I don't how you feel but I am sure that I feel if we continue to keep elevating these issues to the level that they are we will have a much larger internal war than we have right now. I am not religious. I don't care how you worship just don't shove your "god" down my throat because I'm not listening anymore. Picture me with my fingers in my ears singing la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la .... Blah-de-blah, blah ... because that's what it sounds like now (laugh now because you know you pictured it and it's funny). Is it me or are we becoming so tired of listening to it that we can't hear it anymore?

That seems to be where we're going lately. We're so inundated by an issue that we speak out because we are offended by a situation but no one listens. So we speak louder and still we cannot get any attention. Then in outrage because it so totally pisses us off, we yell as loud as we can hoping to be heard. But because we are just a soft whisper in the loud roar of the media, no one will listen to what WE (the people) want anymore. Finally, defeated, we just shut down. We don't have the media attention to cover our outrage unless their "network" is going to get something from it. After all, there's no story of the people. The State Department isn't spending money on us (the people) or sponsoring our visit to foreign countries with no specific purpose, except to backhandedly legitimize (or try to justify) the presidential endorsement of an Islam mosque being built so close to ground zero. The President isn't listening to our wants or needs even though we continue to scream at the tops of our lungs. As we rage against the machine, only the machine is winning.

We're being broken down by the system, people! A system that only cares about making us a socialist country so they can be in charge of everything in our life. They've got their noses in the people's life, health, money and probably someday our death (all while we're screaming and beating our chest that we're not ready to go anywhere). Remember, the best way to quell the masses is to pretend you agree with them and distract them while you're accomplishing what you set out to do. I only ask you to keep this in mind in any battle that you decide to fight in life. Whether it's about the mosque in NYC, the doctor who's going to provide your care, an issue with your significant other (or spouse) on down to who's buying your lunch.

The first two rules I learned in my business career are CYA (cover your ass) and there's no such thing as a free lunch. I tell this to associates that are coming into the business world and I reinforce it with anyone I know, whenever I can. Keep it in mind. It applies in life as well. The next time someone offers you something for nothing (rule 2) always know that nothing good will come from it and if there's any doubt about the outcome refer to rule number 1, CYA.

To wrap this up, when I started writing tonight this isn't what I anticipated writing but it comes from the heart. I really wanted to write about a story that someone sent me today. My Dear friend "G" from Florida sent me a story by email about this man named Greg Gutfield that is planning to build a gay bar next to the proposed Islamic mosque in NYC and that he is going to cater his bar to Islamic gay men. I thought it was a great story and then wondered if it was true and guess what it is! Hallelujah, praise Allah! You have just got to love the irony of it! You know you're chuckling. So am I. With that I am passing it along to you because I just think it's the best idea ever, aside from maybe opening an authentic Texas Barbecue that only serves the best pork ever as the anchor restaurant for the building. I know you're chuckling again. So am I.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/greg-gutfield-to-open-a-gay-bar-next-to-ground-zero-mosque-to-cater-to-islamic-gay-men/

When I talked to "G" last night after a long time with no communication, she told me how much she likes reading my blogs. Her friends, sister and some of their friends are also reading. So while they're not officially following me on this site, it's nice to know that they're reading and enjoying it. It spurs me on to continue this writing journey. So, I will continue writing and hopefully, you will read.

Thanks for tuning in until next time...
~D

Infant-Toddler - icide - Why?

I have been following a story closely this week, especially because it's happened before. In Orangeburg, SC less than 100 miles from where Susan Smith drowned her children in October 1994. I follow all of the kid stories religiously (murdered, missing, beaten). It's like an addiction for me. I'm not sure why. I guess I just find it unbelievable that a mother could abuse or kill a defenseless child. It tells me that these mothers have no conscience. If they could kill their own children then they can kill anyone, including you and me, without conscience.

Briefly, in the Orangeburg case, for those that haven't heard about it (I'm not sure how you didn't), the mother orchestrated a pretty complex "get away with murder" plot. From paying money to stay in a hotel and rent a car to getting it into the water with her already deceased children in it. She asphyxiated them long before they ever made it to the water and then walked away to "get help" to the farthest location possible, without a drop of water on herself. These children were completely defenseless. One just over a year old and one just under 3 years old. The 1 year old child never knew what happened. The 2 year old fought like hell as supported by the evidence, all because his 29 year old "mom" (and I use that word loosely) who clearly didn't want to accept any responsibility for the children she made, fought with her mother about the care she was providing to the two boys. It should be noted that this "mom" also has a 10 year old daughter that lives with her grandmother. What a waste. She should have just killed herself instead. Now that wouldn't be a waste in my mind. This "mom" should have to suffer the same fate as her children and even that would be too kind.

For those that are interested here is the story: http://abcnews.go.com/News/children-dwon-south-carolina-river-mother-arrested/story?id=11413283

There was a case not long ago here in Austin of a little boy (Julian, 5) who was found less than a mile from his apartment complex. For the longest time APD didn't make an arrest only to finally arrest the caretaker (Ms. Turner), the girlfriend of Julian's father. Again, I say let the mother suffer the same death as her children. Regardless that this wasn't Julian's mother, Ms. Turner had accepted that role when she "hooked-up" with Julian's father. For you unbeliever's here is the link to that story:

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Girlfriend-indicted-in-child-death

And finally this week, I heard about a flight attendant on Southwest Airlines who took a one year old away from its mother after "mom" slapped her one year old child in the face after the child kicked her. After the flight ended, the child was returned to the parents. Why? Unfortunately, we have become a society of "I don't want to get involved". Does anyone beside me believe its insanity to think that a one year old would benefit in anyway by being slapped in the face? If this mother did this in public on a plane is there any doubt that she would do worse in the privacy of her own home? What are we going to do as a society when in 5 years something much more serious happens to this child because "mom" couldn't control herself? I've got an idea! Let's put "mom" in a public venue and let everyone that was on that flight slap her in the face so that she can experience the public abuse and humiliation her child did. Extreme, I know but giving her back the child isn't a great approach either. My only satisfaction is that I do think she's experiencing a bit of abuse and humiliation already due to the media coverage surrounding the incident. Check it out here if you're so inclined:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38739441

So did "moms" really all get that crazy and selfish or is it just media blitz? I don't know the answer to that but I will still follow all of these types of stories. I can only hope that someday we really will be a country of an eye-for-an-eye most especially when it comes to murder or abuse of a child. I don't think any of America's criminals learn anything from our current "justice" system except for how to get-off or get a free ride at the taxpayer's expense. That's why we have so many lifers and repeat offenders. This subject will be reserved for a later blog.

So what do we do? How do we stop insanity? There's no answer but if you're as passionate as I am about the issue then speak up. Maybe that will at least reduce the insanity.

That's all for now folks, until I write again...
~D

I'mmmmm backkkk!

Sorry all. I have just been very busy with a walk down Memory Lane. For the last couple of weeks I've been putting together some music CD's for some special people in my life. Additionally, for those that don't know I'm getting ready for new puppies in October (6th to be exact). Writing hasn't been my first priority. I have now returned with what I hope will be a good balance of the good, the bad and the ugly.

I also know the reality is I probably haven't been missed too much. I know a lot of you are getting ready to get your kids off to school, while wondering "how an I going to deal with traffic again?" At least here in the Austin area, the opening of school means a huge increase in traffic at peak times. With that said, this week one of my focuses will be to talk about some of the issues I've heard about over the last couple of week but have just been too busy to write about.

For all of my 5 loyal followers this week's for you!
~D

I Love You Everyday.

My Mom had surgery last Friday. I was able to talk with her today. It was great to hear she had come through surgery so well. Hospitals have come so far since I last had surgery in 1993 (another medical horror story for another blog).

She's in California and I'm in Texas but I knew she was in good hands because her husband and my sister would be with her through it all. Last week before the surgery I was like a nervous mother. I called her everyday like a countdown to D-day. On Thursday night before her surgery, just before I hung up and I wished her good luck, I said "I love you, Mom". This isn't something I say often and I guess I am "that" person that just doesn't think about saying those 3 little words until there's something serious going on.

Tonight I had a particularly long phone call with Mom. When you're in the hospital, we all know that once the visitors leave you're stuck there with just a bunch of strangers who pretend to care about you as long as their on their shift. There's a lot of comfort in being able to have a cell phone to call the people that you know and love. After that call ended it started me thinking about telling her I loved her. I didn't say it tonight when I hung up. Was it only because now that surgery was over and she was okay that I didn't love her anymore? Absolutely not. I still love her as much as I did the night before surgery.

I think like many people I take those 3 little words for granted. It's assumed that you love your family. I'm not sure why it's so hard as an adult to tell another adult that you love them but it's so easy to tell your husband, lover or children that you love them. For me it's about making myself vulnerable to people. I don't like being vulnerable and in all relationships it takes a lot for me to say those 3 little words. It's almost that by saying them aloud you're giving a part of yourself away but isn't that what love should be? When you truly feel love you should be giving away part of yourself and accepting part of the person that you're giving your love to. It can't go one way. Love, if you mean it should be easy all the time not just when it's convenient. Still, there's something in our DNA that makes this harder in some situations than others.

Michael Jackson said it best when he said, "Tell them that it's human nature..." It's human nature to want to wait until the other person expresses their love first. It's human nature to hold our heart close and protect it. It's human nature to express the sentiment more when there is something that could be threatening the one we love. Whether that threat is real, imagined or only in the perception. Like surgery.

It's human nature to be worried about giving our love away when there's the risk it may not be returned. Life is all about risk. If you never take risk you live a safe life but you also get nothing in return. With that in mind, the next time you feel the sentiment just give in and say those 3 little words. I know after this week I will make an effort to say them more often.

You know that saying, "You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family". Most people say that as though it's a bad thing. I personally feel it's a good thing. Yes, some times we put the word "fun" in dysfunctional. We don't always tell each other I love you. I do know that in my family we all are different as much as we're the same. Some of us have more of Mom's traits and others more of Dad's. Some look like one side of the family and some like the other. Underlying all of it there is love. We don't have to say those 3 little words all the time to know it. Sometimes it's just a phone call, an email or a Facebook post that reaffirms our family love and maybe that's why it doesn't need to be said aloud to the other adults in our life. Getting back to the saying, if I had to pick my family all over again I wouldn't change a thing. They make me who I am. They give me balance, strength and motivation that I can't get from anywhere else.

In ending this I just want you all to know one thing. I love you all EVERYDAY. Whether or not I say it aloud it's in my heart.
~ D

Bridges

I was thinking today and that's always a dangerous endeavor. Most people that know me well know that once I start thinking it's hard to turn my brain off. I was thinking about bridges and why we build them where we do. It's obvious that we build them to go somewhere we want to go but is that a forward place or a place where you've already been? There's no right answer. I know it's all balance, engineering, architecture and thrown in for good measure, a little geography.

So when we cross a bridge that's over a river do we cross the bridge or the river? The answer is clearly both. There's a lot of history in bridges. They are in our everyday fabric of life. We build bridges, burn bridges and cross them when we come to them. So just why do we have so many life statements that are related to bridges? I don't pretend to know the answer but I am going to tell you what I think (because that's what I do with this page).

I think we go through many stages in our life. In our younger years we build our bridges but we are much more willing to burn them down after we've crossed them. We're alive; we're young, indestructible and able to move on without a second thought. As we grow a little older, there is a realization that when we burn bridges, there's no possible way to cross them again, so we adopt the philosophy of crossing bridges when we come to them. That is a very challenging mental exercise. We approach issues much like a bridge, testing the strength and durability before we're willing to make the decision to burn it down or leave it alone for now (wait and see). I'm not sure that the age at which we change really matters but I believe the maturity of the individual makes a difference.

In our middle and later years we start revisting the bridges we've burned or crossed and wonder if we've always made the right decision along the way. I don't dwell on it but I sometimes wonder if some of the friendships I've ended would somehow be different today if I made the time to build them rather than burn them. On most days, all I have to do is look around me and know I've made the right decisions when it comes to crossing bridges.

So why is it so much harder in our later years to build bridges than to burn them? It's because you've lived, you've made mistakes and you've learned something that reinforces those original decisions made to burn bridges or to maintain them over time. It's also much harder because bridges mean moving forward not backward. It's hard for me to say (because I pretty progressive) but as we age, we become more resistant to change. I see it everyday in my job and life. It's harder to learn, make lifelong friends or establish new relationships. Moving forward means change. Looking back brings warm, fuzzy feelings of the great times in your life.

So how do we change? We keep in mind that building bridges takes a lot of effort, time, energy and commitment. Those carefully built bridges can be destroyed in an instant with a wrong word or deed and in most cases the bridge cannot be rebuilt.

We still need to cross bridges when we come to them and make the decisions to maintain or destroy them but we might want to take some time to evaluate if the bridge is worth saving. I can only recommend that you remember that building bridges assures moving forward and the future. Crossing them takes a lot of skill but it's rewarding. Destroying them means you can never go back and hey it's nice to be able to go back to a good memory once in a while. Until the next time...

~D

I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue

Do any of you remember all of those silly sayings we had as children? There were rules though, everything had to be short and it had to rhyme. I guess that's why I remember most of it. It' amazing some days how many of those little "ditty's" (or should I call them doozie's) I remember everyday. Maybe that just means I'm getting old. I don't think so but that doesn't mean it's not true. I do know that different parts of the country all have their versions of those old school daze sayings (and I do mean daze).

There is a receptionist I work with who loves when I get in that mood where I'm telling her some of those old sayings. She's born and raised in Texas and a lot of the things I quote from my childhood, Texans don't know them or know them in an entirely different way. Growing up when we started and sentence with "so"...my Grandmother would always end it with "buttons on your old man's underwear". I never understood it until I got older. Duh!

That leads me to the saying "I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue", now that is a Texas saying. I never heard it until I moved here to Texas. These days I mostly think of it while I'm driving and some inconsiderate driver is hugging my rear bumper trying to make me go faster. That's always been a problem of mine being a "speed limit driver" and now I know you all hate me. Yes, it's me in front of you, but hey I'm still in front of you and you're never going to make me go any faster.

That's still not the point but I am getting there. The thing I've learned in Texas is that as a child it's something you tell a boy (or girl) you really, really like. For an adult that particular statement takes on a whole new meaning. If someone says that to you, it mean's you're their friend and it means something to them. So, (buttons on your old man's underwear... shut-up Grandma!) when a Texan extends his or her hand and wants to be your friend you know you're going to make a good friend but when a Texan says to you... "I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue" you know you've made a friend for life.

Thank you all my Texas friends (whether born here or transplanted) for making me always feel welcome, appreciated and above all for always being my friend.

~D

While we weren't looking...

There is a tactic in this country and finally my fellow Americans, you are catching on. I have known the political machine for a long time. Here's how it works.... get people very passionate about something and then pass a law that we don't want or need. The most recent example of this was passage of the new Health Care Reform Bill. No one wanted this. We "the American people" passed this message on loud and clear to our representatives in the Congress and Senate who clearly didn't listen. They did what they wanted to feed their own special self-interest.

So for those of you who weren't paying close attention, this is how they fed us what we didn't want. Look back to the time immediately before passage of the Health Care Reform Bill and the country was up in arms at the threat to reduce the number of allowable mammograms for women of certain ages, specifically if there was no breast cancer history. The media and all of us were so focused on that hot topic we were fighting in the streets for ourselves, for our families and for all of the people we have known that have either had breast cancer and survived it because there was early detection or those that didn't win their battle.

While we weren't looking, the parties involved were feverishly working on the bill they really wanted to sneak through... the Health Care Reform Bill. This is just wrong on so many levels and I get so irate about the fact that it got through, because we weren't looking. It was only when there we deals made behind closed doors that this bill passed.

The time before that was when they touted the Credit Card Reform Bill as a consumer protection endeavor. Yea, finally something for the consumer! After all they had bailed out all of those banks, this surely was something to help bail us out, right? So wrong. Anyone that had his or her pulse on this bill knew what I knew. The part they didn't tell you. From the time that bill was drafted until the day it was passed they put no protection for the consumer against the credit card company raising your rate to any interest rate they wanted before the bill became effective. The sky was the limit. I had 3 credit cards that in spite of my great credit history and owning my house for 7 years, my interest skyrocketed to 29.99%. At that point I realized that I would have been better off borrowing from a loan shark. Credit Card companies were my loan sharks and this "sharking" is sanctioned by the federal government.

Every state has laws on what is considered usurius interest rates but not the feds. There is no state that wouldn't consider 29.99% usurius so why can the credit card companies get away with it? We weren't looking. Our federal government has done nothing to bail out the American people. Do we not see this? I know for a fact that Lady Justice wears a blind-fold but do we have to?

Wake-up!!!! Wake-up!!!! Wake-up!!!! If you don't, we will be exactly where we now (or even further behind) for the next several years. If we continue with this "regime" and yes, I relate it to a dictatorship because that's where we're headed with our current government. To borrow a quote, "America is about we the people, not me the President."

Make believe for one second that a vendor has ripped you off. Would you just stand there and let them or would you fight back? If the scanner at the supermarket gives us the wrong price on a scan we fight with them to correct the error. Why aren't we willing to fight as hard for a leader in our country? We need to fight back now before the next election and make it clear that if our next leader isn't willing to "bail-out" the people then he/she is not an appropriate leader. Making the banks better has done nothing to help you and me. In fact, it has made our life harder than ever before. Republicans give us a candidate that can win! Tea Party, Independent Party, anyone willing to step up to the plate? Giving us candidates that can't win the electoral votes that truly represent the people is the same as no choice at all.

So I say again, Wake-up!!!! Wake-up!!!! Wake-up!!!! If you don't then what will they do next while you're not looking? Are you willing to take the chance that the next thing they take away will be something that you and your family really need? That's what Health Care Reform does. You get services when they decide you get services, regardless of whether or not you've got the money to pay.

Picture the supermarket scanner and it is charging you 10 cents an item more on every item scanned. Would you be mad? Yet, most people are looking the other way right now and while you're not looking our government will be passing through the 10 cents on a dollar federal tax. I don't know about you but I think we have played "blind" for too long. FIGHT back!!! Call (or email) Congressman and Senator offices. Do it once a day. Document it. You can do this by creating one email draft and sending it every single day. Program their number on your cell phone and call while we sitting on packed roads not being developed with state stimulus money. If there's no answer leave a voice mail. The next time something happens while we're not looking at least we'll have evidence of our representatives ignorance.

Don't close your eyes. Look! Always keep in mind one of the first lessons you learned as a child... STOP, LOOK, LISTEN...and I will add the ending... ACT!

~D

How do you hit a moving target?

I have to admit that today was one of those days I dread. You know that feeling you get when you know you have to go to a DOCTOR (dunt, dunt, duh!). We go along day-to-day thinking we're fine but when that doctor appointment comes along we leap to all of these random and irrational thoughts. What if I have cancer? What if I have MS? What if I'm dying of some rare and strange tropical rain forest fever? Silly, right? But if you're anything like me, we can't shut our brains off to the "bad" behavior of last week, last month... the last several years.

Silly, you just have high cholesterol, high blood pressure and now that the standard of what is "normal" keeps changing over time, you're diabetic, or pre-diabetic (the newest major illness in America). Yep. My doctor declares it's so, so therefore it is. I feel like I'm in some strange version of the "Ten Commandments" movie.. "So it is written, so it shall be done!" Really people, come on! It was a very long time ago after a near close call at age 26 (heart attack, but alas story for another blog) I learned that doctor's don't know everything and most times they know little more than nothing. We know our own bodies better than anyone and I have to have a doctor that believes that too.

I interviewed many doctor's when I moved to Texas before selecting my doctor. Call a doctors office sometime and tell them that you just want an appointment to talk to them before you actually have an exam (yeah, sure that'll work). I want to assure you that it is nearly an impossible feat, so I'll save you the time. Getting back to the subject. Yeah, the moving targets. Two years ago my doctor, not usually an alarmist, did blood work that gave the result of a test called HC1A. You might have thought I had cancer they called within hours with the results "you must come in right away!"

I spend another $25 copay to learn that this is now the test used to make the diagnosis of diabetes. Oh, which by the way, was only a 1/10 of a point above the normal range and not yet in the high range. This test "determines diabetes, no matter what your sugar level is and it can magically tell your food behavior over the past several months." What the heck is that? If I wanted something to look at my "food behavior" over the last several months all I have to do is look in the mirror or get on the scale.

That brings me back to the present. Today, yes, today. In discussion with my doctor about my "food behavior" over the last several months we once again discussed the dreaded HC1A test (dunt, dunt, duh!). She kindly informed me that they moved the target again. When I first started having these tests, which "magically" became so effective over the last several years (kind of like "magically" delicious frosted Lucky Charms, which is what got me here in the first place) the desired "normal" result was 5.5 - 6.5 and if you go over 7.0 you're "magically" diabetic. Today I was informed the new "normal" is up to 5.5. When I first learned about blood sugar a really long time ago 90 - 120 readings were "normal" and I was/am "normal" (ask a diabetic they'll tell you they'd kill for a reading in that range). The new "normal" is 70 - 100. What? Cholesterol, too. When I started this journey they wanted me under 225 so I got there. Then they wanted it under 200, so I got there. Now the "normal" is 175 or under. What? I talked about this with someone very close to me who stated it best, "to meet the criteria for the perceived normal you best be only barely breathing". I couldn't have said that better myself.

So here's where I am. I read a sign once in someone's office that read "Normal is a cycle on a washing machine." I 100% agree with that sentiment and apply it frequently in my day-to-day existence. You should too!

In answer to the question, how do you hit a moving target? The answer is ...you don't. I'm not saying you shouldn't try but you need not dread it or obsess about it. There's always that "magical" pill the medical community is more than willing to give you (and get their kickback) to help cure what ails you. Remember, it's about how YOU feel not how someone else convinces you to feel.

~D

I'm not actually on an even keel today, not even close. Overall, I am even keeled but I'm not so sure why most people aren't. I listen and read and strive to understand people but the more I do, the more I find that they are fickle. We are just happy to ride on someone's coattail, waiting for the next big "thing" to come along. Tell me my friends, when did we (the U.S.) become so judgmental, yet at the same time so complacent and gullible. We judge the book by its cover in almost every case. We obsess about what other people think and do. Then because it's not enough to dream of getting the "things" others have, we watch their every move trying to emulate them. We often overextend our resources and jeopardize our underlying moral values only to find out that those we mimic have little or no substance but lots of meaningless "things". At the end of all our observant "want", all we're left with is "things". They weren't "things" WE wanted and now we have to pay for them! What a betrayal!

We set our goals at mostly unattainable heights. Have you talked to a kid lately? They all have stars in their eyes. I'm not saying that as children we didn't want those things too, but I feel that we were at least realistic. We weren't encouraged to pursue drama, the arts or anything that you probably wouldn't be able to make a buck at. Yet most kids I know are taking acting lessons, dance lessons or drama classes. We hold out hope against hope. While all along our society continues to pass along the right to succeed with a family name. If you're a child of a someone famous it's pretty much in the cards that you'll be successful even if you don't try. I'm not bashing anyone, this has been the American way since the beginning of America. We've bartered, sold and changed our names for generations in an effort to be one of the "lucky" ones who has the best "things". While we haven't sold our souls outright yet, we're getting there very fast.

I remember reading once that "the man that dies with the most toys wins." I think we've taken this to a level that didn't exist when that quote was written. I think we need to turn a corner here America and change that quote to "the man that dies with the most integrity wins." I believe it would eliminate a lot of competition. It's much easier to get "things" than integrity. You can't pay for integrity.

And get ready to pay because for every"thing" else there's...Mastercard!

~D