Blog Address

I have moved blogs to other places, namely, WordPress.

http://www.deafsongbirdblog.com

Truth swallower

There are some days that I just want to say what's actually on my mind without filtering it or cleaning it up or holding it back. But a decades-old habit of keeping that need bottled in is quite effective at preventing most catastrophes that would result if I actually said what I thought. I'm sure that most people that tell me I should say what I think don't really want to hear it. Every time I do let that cork out of the bottle, I get in trouble.

I guess because I keep it all bottled up, and everything gets all shaken up, that the reason no one hears my real opinions and feelings about anything until the cork flies out because the bottle is about to explode. Even right now, when I dearly need to let the cork out to relieve the pressure before I say or do something I shouldn't and will regret, I cannot, because it will cause me more harm than it would benefit me.

So, I'll swallow most of what I want to say, until I get to talk to someone who is used to hearing my true thoughts and keeps my counsel. Of course, I do the same for that person, too, when that person needs to vent, so it's not like I back up and dump a load of manure on the front yard and drive away. It gets spread around and she adds her own to the mix, and sometimes we have another person to help. We'll all feel better after a vent session.

I am supposed to hang out with this friend tomorrow, so maybe when the two of us are done venting at each other, we'll feel better, huh?

Health Insurance and Health Care Issues

The reason so many people and children are uninsured is that they either can't afford to pay the premiums of 30-50 dollars a week, or they do not qualify forMedicaid or Peachcare. These are the reasons my daughter and I are uninsured. I can't afford to pay $50 a week so my daughter and I will have a $20 co-pay if we need to go to the doctor and %10 off medication. I keep getting turned down for Medicaid and Peachcare for her.

In addition, because there is something wrong with the way Medicare and Medicaid pays doctors and hospitals, the doctor's offices here in Claxton are no longer taking Peachcare or Medicaid patients. Evans Memorial closed its Labor and Delivery department and laid off nurses because Medicaid only paid partial bills, which meant the hospital couldn't afford to keep that department. Now, women have to go a minimum of 30 miles to an OB-GYN, if they can. Many people in this town have no money, no jobs, and no vehicles, and there is no public transportation.

I have to wonder if anyone in government considers people that live in a poor, small town in the middle of nowhere when they make proposals and bills that will not help the people in these small towns.

If Medicare and Medicaid pay the doctors and hospitals properly, so many nurses wouldn't lose their jobs, and small towns, especially rural ones, won't lose so many doctors and their services.

My Standards Are Too High

Apparently, my standards are too high, and that is why I'm mate-less. But I really don't think I'm asking too much.

1.) No heavy drinkers or off-work or weekend alcoholics.
I don't drink, unless you count 6 wine coolers a year, so I don't want someone who feels that every day after work or all weekend that he must knock back beers or liquor like I do Coke. Sorry, it's unacceptable to me.

2.) No drugs.
I don't do drugs. I don't want to be with someone that's not in his right mind. Plus, I don't think it would be appropriate to bring that around my daughter, let alone me.

3.) Tobacco Use: I don't mind if you smoke, but I have asthma, so it will have to be outside. I will not tolerate the smokeless tobacco though. I've had a boyfriend before that dipped, and I swore that would never happen again. It's nasty. The smoking I can put up with, as long as it's outside and not marijuana.

Then the other stand is that I have to actually like you. If I don't like you, I don't care how much you meet the other standards, you're wasting your time bugging me for a phone number, or worse, my address.

Television Shows

You know, I miss family TV shows. You know, the kind they quit making in the 90's, the ones that didn't involve viewer discretion warnings before each episode. At 8 pm every night, and up to 10 pm on Friday nights, there were programs on television that the whole family could watch, from kids on up. Now, you have to order cable to get "family programming," but I have to say, I don't consider junk like "Spongebob Squarepants" decent programming, let alone family programming.

I miss stuff like "Full House," "Home Improvement," "Dinosaurs," and lots of those shows of that ilk. I remember watching them with my younger sister and mother, and all of us enjoyed them. Now, the 8 pm fare consists of crime, blood, guts, murder, and mayhem, which used to be reserved for the 10 pm slots.

Saturday morning cartoons don't even really exist anymore. If it's an actual cartoon, it seems to be meant for the under-7 set. Anything for anyone older consists of insipid shows that are more cringe-worthy than some of the ones that were considered horrible in the 80s and 90s.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, despite the fact that I'm only in my 30s, but I don't think it's only that. We have a television network in my area that shows RTN (Retro Television Network). My daughter, 10, and my nephew, 5, love it. They like watching shows like "Leave It To Beaver," "The Incredible Hulk," "Buck Rogers," "Happy Days," "Greatest American Hero," "Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys," and "Knight Rider." In fact, when I give them a choice of shows to watch, they will pick the retro shows over the new ones about 80% of the time. So, I don't think it's only me that doesn't like the non-family fare offered now on regular broadcast television.

So, I wonder if we will ever see true family programming again. More than likely, we will just keep enjoying our RTN, and just hope for the best, but know we aren't likely to get it.