Surgery and Politics
My first blog started in 2011 and never really took off. Here is the last entry I made in that blog, in March 2012. I’ve been recovering from some painful dental surgery this month and haven’t been posting as often. So I offer this up and hope it will suffice. As the election approaches, it seems relevant. Don’t forget to watch the debate Wednesday nite!
March 21, 2012 Politics for those who have time.
I’m kind of in the middle of the boomer population wave that swept the country
after WWII. My dad participated in that war, along with many other boomers’
dads (and some moms).
Age 62 now, I received my second ever Social Security check today. I’m thrilled to have it, so happy to be free at last. But this morning, there was more bad news from our Congress. The latest budget proposal provides for upping the retirement age for medicare and social security to 67. And for cancelling the Affordable Health Care Act.
For many folks, this means they won’t have health insurance if they can’t last at their jobs until they reach their late sixties. Do you have a job that you will be able to perform into your late sixties? Will the nation’s employers be able to provide health insurance for these extra years? Many employers kick their employees and retirees off their health insurance rolls when they become eligible for Medicare. They can’t afford to do otherwise.
I became embroiled in a Facebook brouhaha this morning about this issue, futilely arguing with some former high school classmates about what they call ‘entitlement’ and ‘job creators’. I have fondness for some of these people, happy childhood memories and all, so I’m sad that I am not skilled enough to get them to consider a different view. I’ll never convince some of them that their best interests are not being served by corporations or by our current tax codes, or by the endless bloody wars. It all devolves into a silly argument with aspersions
about teleprompters, vacation days, birth certificates, and the price of the president’s suit.
Retirement has given me some time to reflect on these things, to look
things up and educate myself about what is happening in our country. This is a
blessing and a curse. I can’t go back to being a person who does not pay
attention, and I can’t stop myself from trying to give good information to my
old friends when I see that they’ve got their facts wrong.
The lesson I have learned today is — volunteer to register voters, help out at your local precinct and don’t get involved in political arguments on the Facebook. We’ll see if I can manage to do that!
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The surgery info: I bit my tongue, literally, and created a little bump on the tip of my tongue. At least, that’s where I thought the bump came from. If this ever happens to you, and your dentist sends you to an oral surgeon, and the oral surgeon won’t give an opinion but is insistent that you need to remove it……. well, just don’t. Just don’t. Yes, this is foolhardy advice, and I have peace of mind now, knowing that it was nothing, but, next to childbirth, it was the most painful thing I have ever done. The Vicodin combined with the 800 mg of ibuprofen only made a thin, frayed little cushion against the misery of the next two weeks. There were several stitches involved, and I spoke with a lisp, using as few words as possible because my tongue would get tired and then hurt more. I ate soup and noodles for several days and wished I had left the damn bump there!
Anyway, I’m back in the saddle again, more blather coming soon.
A Boomer's Blog 