So here is legitimate proof of another goof. We received this card today with a dog bite out of it. I especially like the red words that say, "Received in Damaged Condition". This must be post office speak for "I didn't do it!" I also guess this means that my friend, Julie, mailed it in this condition. I sort of doubt it since they don't have a dog. It must have just been a ghost from Christmas past. Julie, we could still see the adorable photos of your Santa boys.Friday, December 18, 2009
Going Postal
So here is legitimate proof of another goof. We received this card today with a dog bite out of it. I especially like the red words that say, "Received in Damaged Condition". This must be post office speak for "I didn't do it!" I also guess this means that my friend, Julie, mailed it in this condition. I sort of doubt it since they don't have a dog. It must have just been a ghost from Christmas past. Julie, we could still see the adorable photos of your Santa boys.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tewkesbury Abbey Carol Service & Next Week
Last night Finn sang with the Lower School Choir and the Chamber Choir at Tewkesbury Abbey. It was a wonderful evening service with reflective readings and beautiful singing. Finn stood smack in the middle front and he was so still. I have never seen him stand that still in his 12 years.
Tomorrow, Owen will sing in the Junior School Choir at their carol service at school. Then, we are going to see the local panto of Sleeping Beauty. Pantos are comical adaptations to fairy tales and involve old men dressing up as women. More on the panto after we have experienced it.
On Saturday, we leave on our vacation to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France and possibly Switzerland. We are taking the ferry from Dover to Calais and then driving all around the place. We are staying mainly in Alsace which is in France and bordering Germany. The area has both French and German history and is supposed to be beautiful. We are expecting snow as well. We will return home on Christmas Eve.
Tomorrow, Owen will sing in the Junior School Choir at their carol service at school. Then, we are going to see the local panto of Sleeping Beauty. Pantos are comical adaptations to fairy tales and involve old men dressing up as women. More on the panto after we have experienced it.
On Saturday, we leave on our vacation to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France and possibly Switzerland. We are taking the ferry from Dover to Calais and then driving all around the place. We are staying mainly in Alsace which is in France and bordering Germany. The area has both French and German history and is supposed to be beautiful. We are expecting snow as well. We will return home on Christmas Eve.
Monday, December 14, 2009
We fear change.
The issue of universal health care has been on my mind a lot in the past few weeks. I have decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and rant a bit about it because it's my blog and I can. Sit back, relax, open your mind and don't forget your pencil and paper to jot down agreements and/or arguments 'cuz I am sure there will be a few.
Firstly, a definition of socialized medicine is warranted. From Wikipedia, under a search using the term 'socialized medicine':
From the above, one can see that:
a) Universal health care already exists in various forms in the US as I type;
b) The model of universal health care upon which this administration is attempting to base its proposed system is delivered by private medical providers;
c) The United States is behind the times in its system of health care delivery.
I assume many arguments abound, the first being that small businesses in the US will be required to offer health care their employees. This system in no way models the NHS system where you are covered from birth and your workplace has no involvement in your health care coverage. The US should just make the jump to eliminate the health care insurance industry and use these grand institutions (haha) to their benefit and bring them in as the paper shufflers. Secondly, I think I might hear that health care in the UK isn't all that great. In response to this, we receive medical services for FREE in a country in which we are not even citizens, nor do we pay taxes. Granted, we are in a special situation, but it is what it is. Now, allow me to tell you a few things:
1. Infant mortality is higher in the US than in the UK or any of the countries listed above as having a type of 'socialized medicine' (6.3 per 1000 live births in the US; 4.8 in the UK; 3.7 in Finland; 4.2 in Spain; 4.7 in Israel; and 5.1 in Cuba). This means that 150 more babies survive in the UK than in the US for every 100,000 babies born. Also, all of these countries have a higher survival rate of children to the age of five than does the US. A Cuban child is more likely to see its fifth birthday than a child in the US. Please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate for further statistics.
2. Appointments to see a doctor are free and available when needed. We have never had to wait more than 10 minutes to see a doctor and the actual doctor came to greet us in the waiting room. We never leave with a bill to be paid or filed. There is no paperwork involved on our end. In the examination room, the doctor puts everything into the computer during your visit.
3. They do phone triage here which means that if you need to see a specialist, the doctor will send you to the next level via phone instead of making you go to the local surgery (doctors' office) to be told you need to see someone else. This does not happen all of the time, but it is common practice.
4. Health care for children 16 and younger is completely and utterly FREE from birth. This includes and we have experienced all of these:
doctor's visits including all immunizations
ALL prescriptions
eye exams
lenses for glasses (frames are a small cost depending on style - my kids' frames cost on average $30 each)
free repairs to frames and one repair of lenses per year
free dental visits & cleanings
free sealants
free orthodontia (must meet criteria of malocclusion - Evan did easily and his teeth aren't really that bad)
5. Adults on daily prescriptions can obtain an Exemption Card depending on the medical disorder which allows for free medications. I am on a daily med for hypothyroidism and my medications are free. In the US, I was paying at least $100 every three months for medications and we had insurance. Also, the surgery applied for the Exemption Card for me, just asked me to sign the form and the card was mailed to me in less than a week.
6. Non-exempt adult prescriptions cost a flat fee of about $10. This includes every and any prescription which if long-term are usually a three-month supply. That's $10 every three months per medication.
7. Private health insurance is also available here just like in the US. However, sometimes when a person goes to a "private" hospital that accepts only private insurance, they end up at the NHS hospital because care is not available such as diagnostic machines and surgical options or the cost is too high and the private insurance won't pay the full amount. The NHS gets government funding so the more up-to-date methods and diagnostics are readily available whereas they are unavailable or extremely costly in the "private" hospitals.
Downside to universal health care:
1. Sometimes you have to wait for follow-up or an operation but this is definitely based upon severity and need.
2. The Brits must purchase travel health insurance when they travel outside of the UK. Cost is minimal though and you can buy it when you purchase a plane ticket, it's that easy.
So here's what I see:
In the US we pay health insurance premiums to still pay co-pays. We pay to pay. For those without insurance, regular doctor visits are cost-prohibitive to the less wealthy therefore eventual visits are more serious and often result in trips to the emergency room. The patients still can't pay and eventually get treated, often in a substandard way, and we as US citizens still wind up paying for it in the form of higher premiums or taxes.
Since we already pay health care premiums, why not just assume that is the amount of "tax" or whatever each person, family, etc. would contribute to the national plan and put a cap on the actual amount no matter what age, race, medical condition? I mean really, what's the difference?
I know I am going to get the argument of how great Hopkins is and everyone has access, blah, blah, blah. Well, for one, Hopkins makes mistakes too and is a huge bureaucracy in its own right and two, if there were institutions like Hopkins in every state in the US, universal health care would not be an issue. We are very privileged to live in a privileged area. Ever been to Baton Rouge General? I worked there and it's no Hopkins. It's scary and depressing and no one should have to be in some of the situations I have seen because they don't have the money to see a doctor or they don't know how to fill out the stacks of paperwork involved to obtain Medicare or Medicaid.
It's very easy to say 'no', it takes a strong commitment to say yes. Our country has a definite and very recent fear of change which seems ludicrous since it was born from the need for change. And whatever happened to our belief in democracy and equality which is being overtaken by capitalistic attitudes? I say let's try it. Things can change again with a new administration if it doesn't work out. That's what our country is all about.
Firstly, a definition of socialized medicine is warranted. From Wikipedia, under a search using the term 'socialized medicine':
"Exact definitions vary, but the term can refer to any system of medical care that is publicly financed, government administered or both.
The original meaning was confined to systems in which the government operates health care facilities and employs health care professionals. This narrower usage would apply to the British National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts and health systems that operate in other countries as diverse as Finland, Spain, Israel and Cuba. The United States' Veterans' Health Administration and the medical departments of the US Army, Navy and Air Force would also fall under this narrow definition. When used this way, the narrow definition permits a clear distinction from single payer health insurance systems, in which the government finances health care but is not involved in care delivery.
More recently, a few have used the term more broadly to include any publicly funded system. Canada's Medicare system, most of the UK's NHS general practitioner and dental services, WHICH ARE ALL SYSTEMS WHERE HEALTH CARE IS DELIVERED BY PRIVATE BUSINESS WITH PARTIAL OR TOTAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING (my caps), fit this broader definition, as do health care systems of most of Western Europe. In the US, Medicare, Medicaid and the US military's TRICARE fall under this definition.
Most industrialized countries and many developing countries operate some form of publicly-funded health care with universal coverage as the goal. According to the Institute of Medicine and others, the US is the ONLY wealthy, industrialized nation that DOES NOT PROVIDE universal health care (my caps).
The term is often used in the US to create an understanding that the health care system would be run by the government, thereby associating it with socialism which has negative connotations in American political culture."
More recently, a few have used the term more broadly to include any publicly funded system. Canada's Medicare system, most of the UK's NHS general practitioner and dental services, WHICH ARE ALL SYSTEMS WHERE HEALTH CARE IS DELIVERED BY PRIVATE BUSINESS WITH PARTIAL OR TOTAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING (my caps), fit this broader definition, as do health care systems of most of Western Europe. In the US, Medicare, Medicaid and the US military's TRICARE fall under this definition.
Most industrialized countries and many developing countries operate some form of publicly-funded health care with universal coverage as the goal. According to the Institute of Medicine and others, the US is the ONLY wealthy, industrialized nation that DOES NOT PROVIDE universal health care (my caps).
The term is often used in the US to create an understanding that the health care system would be run by the government, thereby associating it with socialism which has negative connotations in American political culture."
From the above, one can see that:
a) Universal health care already exists in various forms in the US as I type;
b) The model of universal health care upon which this administration is attempting to base its proposed system is delivered by private medical providers;
c) The United States is behind the times in its system of health care delivery.
I assume many arguments abound, the first being that small businesses in the US will be required to offer health care their employees. This system in no way models the NHS system where you are covered from birth and your workplace has no involvement in your health care coverage. The US should just make the jump to eliminate the health care insurance industry and use these grand institutions (haha) to their benefit and bring them in as the paper shufflers. Secondly, I think I might hear that health care in the UK isn't all that great. In response to this, we receive medical services for FREE in a country in which we are not even citizens, nor do we pay taxes. Granted, we are in a special situation, but it is what it is. Now, allow me to tell you a few things:
1. Infant mortality is higher in the US than in the UK or any of the countries listed above as having a type of 'socialized medicine' (6.3 per 1000 live births in the US; 4.8 in the UK; 3.7 in Finland; 4.2 in Spain; 4.7 in Israel; and 5.1 in Cuba). This means that 150 more babies survive in the UK than in the US for every 100,000 babies born. Also, all of these countries have a higher survival rate of children to the age of five than does the US. A Cuban child is more likely to see its fifth birthday than a child in the US. Please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate for further statistics.
2. Appointments to see a doctor are free and available when needed. We have never had to wait more than 10 minutes to see a doctor and the actual doctor came to greet us in the waiting room. We never leave with a bill to be paid or filed. There is no paperwork involved on our end. In the examination room, the doctor puts everything into the computer during your visit.
3. They do phone triage here which means that if you need to see a specialist, the doctor will send you to the next level via phone instead of making you go to the local surgery (doctors' office) to be told you need to see someone else. This does not happen all of the time, but it is common practice.
4. Health care for children 16 and younger is completely and utterly FREE from birth. This includes and we have experienced all of these:
doctor's visits including all immunizations
ALL prescriptions
eye exams
lenses for glasses (frames are a small cost depending on style - my kids' frames cost on average $30 each)
free repairs to frames and one repair of lenses per year
free dental visits & cleanings
free sealants
free orthodontia (must meet criteria of malocclusion - Evan did easily and his teeth aren't really that bad)
5. Adults on daily prescriptions can obtain an Exemption Card depending on the medical disorder which allows for free medications. I am on a daily med for hypothyroidism and my medications are free. In the US, I was paying at least $100 every three months for medications and we had insurance. Also, the surgery applied for the Exemption Card for me, just asked me to sign the form and the card was mailed to me in less than a week.
6. Non-exempt adult prescriptions cost a flat fee of about $10. This includes every and any prescription which if long-term are usually a three-month supply. That's $10 every three months per medication.
7. Private health insurance is also available here just like in the US. However, sometimes when a person goes to a "private" hospital that accepts only private insurance, they end up at the NHS hospital because care is not available such as diagnostic machines and surgical options or the cost is too high and the private insurance won't pay the full amount. The NHS gets government funding so the more up-to-date methods and diagnostics are readily available whereas they are unavailable or extremely costly in the "private" hospitals.
Downside to universal health care:
1. Sometimes you have to wait for follow-up or an operation but this is definitely based upon severity and need.
2. The Brits must purchase travel health insurance when they travel outside of the UK. Cost is minimal though and you can buy it when you purchase a plane ticket, it's that easy.
So here's what I see:
In the US we pay health insurance premiums to still pay co-pays. We pay to pay. For those without insurance, regular doctor visits are cost-prohibitive to the less wealthy therefore eventual visits are more serious and often result in trips to the emergency room. The patients still can't pay and eventually get treated, often in a substandard way, and we as US citizens still wind up paying for it in the form of higher premiums or taxes.
Since we already pay health care premiums, why not just assume that is the amount of "tax" or whatever each person, family, etc. would contribute to the national plan and put a cap on the actual amount no matter what age, race, medical condition? I mean really, what's the difference?
I know I am going to get the argument of how great Hopkins is and everyone has access, blah, blah, blah. Well, for one, Hopkins makes mistakes too and is a huge bureaucracy in its own right and two, if there were institutions like Hopkins in every state in the US, universal health care would not be an issue. We are very privileged to live in a privileged area. Ever been to Baton Rouge General? I worked there and it's no Hopkins. It's scary and depressing and no one should have to be in some of the situations I have seen because they don't have the money to see a doctor or they don't know how to fill out the stacks of paperwork involved to obtain Medicare or Medicaid.
It's very easy to say 'no', it takes a strong commitment to say yes. Our country has a definite and very recent fear of change which seems ludicrous since it was born from the need for change. And whatever happened to our belief in democracy and equality which is being overtaken by capitalistic attitudes? I say let's try it. Things can change again with a new administration if it doesn't work out. That's what our country is all about.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Our Country's Future Postal Workers
I mailed our US Christmas cards approximately a week and a half to two weeks ago at the USAF base nearby. I handed them in inside a small shopping bag. They were rubberbanded in groups and because they are thick in the middle (like some Americans - heehee), I flipped some over alternating them to make them fit better in the bag. Each card had an address label and a stamp on one side and our PO box return address label on the back flap of the card.
Yesterday, Craig received a call from the postman at his work. A large group of our Christmas cards had been returned to sender and he was just telling Craig that he was going to resend them. It seems that the postal clerk (either US Air Force or US Army) fed some of the cards through the address reader machine upside down and backwards and they were mailed back to us - to the return address! He/she was either too stupid or too lazy (or both) to feed the STAMPED side through the address reader. He/she probably thought, "Oh look, they are all grouped in a block of cards. I can just put the entire block into the machine."
This leaves me to wonder what the IQ cut off is to be placed in the mail room as an enlisted soldier/airman. No wonder the mail takes so long sometimes. Literacy should be a requirement to work in the post office. Maybe it's the lack of intelligence that makes the intelligent postal workers to "go postal"? I think I would go postal everyday if I was a postman.
Yesterday, Craig received a call from the postman at his work. A large group of our Christmas cards had been returned to sender and he was just telling Craig that he was going to resend them. It seems that the postal clerk (either US Air Force or US Army) fed some of the cards through the address reader machine upside down and backwards and they were mailed back to us - to the return address! He/she was either too stupid or too lazy (or both) to feed the STAMPED side through the address reader. He/she probably thought, "Oh look, they are all grouped in a block of cards. I can just put the entire block into the machine."
This leaves me to wonder what the IQ cut off is to be placed in the mail room as an enlisted soldier/airman. No wonder the mail takes so long sometimes. Literacy should be a requirement to work in the post office. Maybe it's the lack of intelligence that makes the intelligent postal workers to "go postal"? I think I would go postal everyday if I was a postman.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Phineas McFinn is 12!
Well, he survived 12 years. Here's the cutie pie and some entertainment to boot.
This was even before cake.And for your listening pleasure...
After the festivities, Craig and I polished off an entire bottle of wine while listening to Finn and Owen practice their instruments. One bottle was almost not enough.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
This Weekend
We had a busy weekend. On Saturday, we caught a train to Birmingham to go to the Christmas Markets there. The markets were very authentic compared to our Germany experience last Christmas and also very crowded since it was a Saturday. The train ride was about 40 minutes and very pleasant without transfers.
On Saturday night, Craig and I went to his work Christmas Party, but to be as politically correct as possible, it was termed the "Winter Seasonal Event". It was held in Winchcombe, the next small town over. A good time was had by all. The food was excellent and our dinner companions were very enjoyable.
On Sunday, Craig's work has a joint reception with the British contingent at a venue called the Pittville Pump Room. This is a grand old building built ages ago for the sole purpose to "take in" the local mineral water which is said to have healing qualities. The water tastes slightly salty and sulfuric, like heavy mineral water but not completely disgusting. Craig sang in the choir and it was a good socializing afternoon even though I do not tend to enjoy these soirees.
On both occasions, the kids watched themselves without incident. They grow so quickly...
On Saturday night, Craig and I went to his work Christmas Party, but to be as politically correct as possible, it was termed the "Winter Seasonal Event". It was held in Winchcombe, the next small town over. A good time was had by all. The food was excellent and our dinner companions were very enjoyable.
On Sunday, Craig's work has a joint reception with the British contingent at a venue called the Pittville Pump Room. This is a grand old building built ages ago for the sole purpose to "take in" the local mineral water which is said to have healing qualities. The water tastes slightly salty and sulfuric, like heavy mineral water but not completely disgusting. Craig sang in the choir and it was a good socializing afternoon even though I do not tend to enjoy these soirees.On both occasions, the kids watched themselves without incident. They grow so quickly...
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
What's Been Happenin', Hot Stuff
Lately, we've been just living the day-to-day stuff.
On Thanksgiving, Craig and I ate lunch at a local pub he has been wanting to visit but one in which I had no interest and I experienced a "told you so moment" when the food was so-so. Drinks were good, so we did find a local "drinks only" pub. Then we lazed around while trying to get motivated to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. We finally caved in at around 4 pm and had chicken instead of turkey, but with all the trimmings.
Owen has joined the school choir and he had a singing engagement the night before at a nearby hotel (www.cowleymanor.com) who was hosting a Winston's Wish shopping evening. Winston's Wish is a charity for bereaved children. The evening was a bit unorganized in typical British fashion and parking was truly horrendous, but the kids did a great job.
It was very, very dark that evening and as I was trying to park, we noticed that the reverse lights on my car were not working and therefore, I could not see where I was going. I managed to come back around and find a spot. The next day, I called the mechanic who "Briticized" our car and asked him about the back-up lights. Apparently in Britain, reverse indicator lights are not a requirement, however, side turn indicators are and yellow rear indicators are, so he had to rewire and use the circuit for our back-up lights... It's only taken us 16 months to realize it.
Owen also achieved a bronze certificate in Maths which surprised Craig and I, well, more like shocked us. Only twelve or fifteen (can't remember the exact #) children of 60-65 total in his year earned a gold, silver or bronze certificate.
All of the parents-teacher conferences went well. Evan's teachers are very impressed by his aptitude and more than one said he was Oxford/Cambridge material which was nice to hear.
Finn's recent test results indicated he was Gifted and Talented and when we told him about the letter we had received, he said, "I've always wished something like this would happen" like he didn't know he was smart. Everyone needs some external affirmation every once in a while.
It's getting really cold. There was a thick layer of frost everywhere yesterday and I had to scrape the car windows. Luckily, Craig has decided to change his miserly ways and a) actually turn on the boiler, b) set it to a reasonable temperature and c) allow it to run throughout the day instead of on a timer so I feel like I am living in a real house vs. an igloo. I don't want to hear comments about how igloos are actually warm inside. I am sure an igloo is warm compared to no igloo in the arctic or wherever igloos are built! When we went around the table at Thanksgiving to say what we were most thankful for, I said, "A warm house."
The future holds a train ride to Birmingham this weekend to see the Christmas markets and Craig has just finalized a driving trip to Belgium, Alsace in France and Luxembourg with some side day trips into Germany and possibly Switzerland. I was totally off my game and dropped the ball on a Christmas holiday planning session.
Then, my friend, Jane, from the US is coming over here to visit her family for the holidays so I will be seeing her SOON!
Cheers!
On Thanksgiving, Craig and I ate lunch at a local pub he has been wanting to visit but one in which I had no interest and I experienced a "told you so moment" when the food was so-so. Drinks were good, so we did find a local "drinks only" pub. Then we lazed around while trying to get motivated to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. We finally caved in at around 4 pm and had chicken instead of turkey, but with all the trimmings.
Owen has joined the school choir and he had a singing engagement the night before at a nearby hotel (www.cowleymanor.com) who was hosting a Winston's Wish shopping evening. Winston's Wish is a charity for bereaved children. The evening was a bit unorganized in typical British fashion and parking was truly horrendous, but the kids did a great job.
It was very, very dark that evening and as I was trying to park, we noticed that the reverse lights on my car were not working and therefore, I could not see where I was going. I managed to come back around and find a spot. The next day, I called the mechanic who "Briticized" our car and asked him about the back-up lights. Apparently in Britain, reverse indicator lights are not a requirement, however, side turn indicators are and yellow rear indicators are, so he had to rewire and use the circuit for our back-up lights... It's only taken us 16 months to realize it.
Owen also achieved a bronze certificate in Maths which surprised Craig and I, well, more like shocked us. Only twelve or fifteen (can't remember the exact #) children of 60-65 total in his year earned a gold, silver or bronze certificate.
All of the parents-teacher conferences went well. Evan's teachers are very impressed by his aptitude and more than one said he was Oxford/Cambridge material which was nice to hear.
Finn's recent test results indicated he was Gifted and Talented and when we told him about the letter we had received, he said, "I've always wished something like this would happen" like he didn't know he was smart. Everyone needs some external affirmation every once in a while.
It's getting really cold. There was a thick layer of frost everywhere yesterday and I had to scrape the car windows. Luckily, Craig has decided to change his miserly ways and a) actually turn on the boiler, b) set it to a reasonable temperature and c) allow it to run throughout the day instead of on a timer so I feel like I am living in a real house vs. an igloo. I don't want to hear comments about how igloos are actually warm inside. I am sure an igloo is warm compared to no igloo in the arctic or wherever igloos are built! When we went around the table at Thanksgiving to say what we were most thankful for, I said, "A warm house."
The future holds a train ride to Birmingham this weekend to see the Christmas markets and Craig has just finalized a driving trip to Belgium, Alsace in France and Luxembourg with some side day trips into Germany and possibly Switzerland. I was totally off my game and dropped the ball on a Christmas holiday planning session.
Then, my friend, Jane, from the US is coming over here to visit her family for the holidays so I will be seeing her SOON!
Cheers!
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