alrighty then

So. Here we sit with a budget plan that, with concessions from both sides could be a start on workable solutions for our kids and their retirement years. As for us, I think we're all just screwed. If I have to wait until 67 to retire I'll just go ahead and die and save them the trouble of having to pay out megabucks to keep me alive because....really. That's the bottom line in healthcare. It is a basic human right that has turned into a beast with giant tentacles in this country. Insurance companies have been made the bad guys for decades when in reality it was the greed and entitlement of those with company sponsored health plans for using the perks that came to them as a benefit. When I started working, people routinely got sent over for admission after an iffy EKG in a doc's office for an overnight stay. Ours was owned by the county so that got to be a real hassle for good old boy governance and they sold it to the highest bidder. The doctors, once highly specialized and pampered became employees of the companies that followed. Not only no more house calls, but no more hospital visits either. Forget about rounds. Somebody else is doing that. Their salaries are more stable because they don't have to deal with the office billing and coding issues that cause many claims to be denied by....you guessed it. Insurance companies. Including Medicare. Most of the scenarios I've witnessed have the whole process ass backwards using minimum wage non-clinical workers to register patients and the medical necessity ends up in HIMs lap. Seems to me like it would be more cost effective to use a LPN or coder to screen for medical necessity UP FRONT. But then what do I know...I'm just a peon. I've had more congrats on winning that spelling bee the other day! Everybody loves it when the little guy wins. If these jerks in Congress don't get their partisan heads out of their stupid asses I will never vote again. S there!

The humidity eased up somewhat today, thank you BE. The morning was pleasant with a breeze and it will be the same as soon as the sun goes down. Even when it's ninety something, I can handle it if it's not like a sauna. Still no corn, but we did fry green 'maters last night and ate 'em hot out of the skillet. Ya'll, there is nothing like it. We ate it with leftover cornbread and butter. BG washed every dish in the kitchen from two nights of cooking and I'm eternally grateful for the help. BF mowed the yard and it looks nice what with the new blades and such. I can't even see the dairy barn now for the trees and corn but it's still there standing guard over the lane. We'll have plenty of dried stalks for Halloween ;)

The puppies are having siesta and I'm having TGIF on hump day because I work the weekend. It's really not that bad on weekends because most of the powers that be are off and the phones don't ring quite as much. I get to park where I want to, so there you go. There is no cafeteria, so often we cook stuff at home to bring and share. If nobody's feeling culinary, we run to the chicken store. BG and I got into the beer last night and had a nice time catching up on drama and trading stories. Her job is in retail but involves meeting very eccentric people so in a way, it's still social work. Like out in the field, I'm saying!

Daddy will be 80 years old this Sunday and out of the blue an offer came to me to be off so that I can go to breakfast with him and Mama. I've got no idea what to get him except some chocolate doughnuts for the road. His Father's day flag is still waving in the breeze and always lit out of respect for his country. He even saves the old ones to burn properly. He has taught me many things, but most of all he has given me the gift of appreciation for nature and the seasons. Even though there are only two long ones in the Mid-South, it's fun to watch things grow and die and be reborn. I suppose that's where my faith comes from.

^j^