Town Hall Meetings

Is President Obama naive? Is this part of his plan? The media detectives are scraping up all his past promises and some of his reassuring(?) boasts...like saying the AARP endorsed his health plan, and then to have it denied in print by a CEO in the AARP. I voted for him, I am one of his loyal constituents and backers, but he is really playing with the big boys, and they play hard ball. It's apparent throwing this new and radical idea out to the general public is bringing out the fears, the anxieties, and showing the ignorance of many. Doctors are shoring up for the storm. Some doctors are asking for yearly retainers..right now, before any health bill gets written, no less passed. Others are retiring as soon as possible, because they fear their practices will be monitored. The one good point the president made when asked about the Federal Health plan that people who work for the Federal Government are entitiled to, is due to the large pool of participants. He has not subscribed to a single pay plan like that in Canada. The question remains how to PAY for universal health care,or how can the PRESENT system be sustained.
The people who have no insurance and have an accident or life threatening illness go to the Emergency Room. This cost is filtered down to the patients who have insurance and do pay for their care. It is such a complex problem and not possible to explain away at a Town Hall Meeting. As a poor lay person who only has a surface knowledge of the complexity of Health Care and its ramifications to the economy in general,
I sense that it is imperative that every opportunity to learn exactly what is in the proposed law, and to carefully scrutinize all possibilites are the duties of every citizen. Although these Town Hall meetings get all the fears out, will they help us to understand and be aware of all possibilities? We need some trustworthy teachers and information before any changes can be made. To whittle down and reduce waste and duplication is a simple method for improving the present system. There is much to be learned.
I must say President Obama is letting it all hang out. He is a risk taker. Now we must be sure we can trust his judgment. But we will learn this soon enough. The president is really in the hot seat. It's a true test of his mettle.

The Wedding Week

Angela's and Michael's wedding was really an event. There was partying from Monday to Saturday...the day of the wedding. Guests came from Hong Kong, Colombia, London, and all over th USA. The church is right on the water, tiny, rustic, with a window behind the altar facing the bay.
The wedding rehearsal was frantic.. with six bridesmaids and six groomsmen. I could see the priest was thoroughly discombobulated. The ceremony was quiet, but the picture taking was like papparazzi after rock stars.
Frankly, meeting all the people whom I hadn't seen in about 30 years, sitting next to Doug and Nubia, made me withdraw as though I were in a dream world. It's as though I were watching the entire scene, but not part of it. I can't explain my feelings. Did I finally have to admit that Nancy was gone? Why wasn't she here at her daughter's wedding?
The whole picture opened old wounds that had never really healed. I know Tony felt the same way. We were so happy that our beautiful granddaughter, Angela, whose mother died when she was just 9 months old, was getting married to live happily ever after. But the sadness of our loss welled up only to make us realize that the lives of her friends and her husband had gone on. We've always felt that Angela was Nancy's gift to us, and Angela has been the most loving, thoughtful granddaughter
any grandparent could hope for. But I will have to work through these feelings at another time. Enough for now.