Rantsville

My brother was diagnosed with lung cancer, lost half a lung, was told to expect six months – maybe, endured chemo and radiation and has been given clean bills of health for the last approximately 13 years or so.  About five years ago when congestive heart failure raised the possibility I wouldn’t see the morning he was more concerned for my survival than I was.  It was the same a few months later for my heart valve surgery.  In other words there’s history.

Yesterday afternoon after doing the H&R Block thing with his (very recent) ex-wife he arrived back here and explained he’s intensely ill after a few days feeling out of sorts.  By this morning he’s concerned because he started coughing up blood meaning either pneumonia or a return of the cancer.

Emotional stresses become physical stresses now more than I would have imagined in my youth (y’know, like until my late 40’s or early 50’s).  Even though I diligently tried to convince myself he only has pneumonia (only pneumonia – what the heck is wrong with me?) the imagination ran rampant thinking what if it happened to be cancer returned.

Imagine getting laid off nearly a year ago with unemployment benefits now at an end, no insurance, no local doctor and gotta get treatment.  It’s going on twelve hours since we left a local urgent care clinic and there are signs of improvement.  Pneumonia was the diagnosis.

I’m an agnostic and a cynic but please, God, pneumonia is enough! OK?

Thanks

This showed up in an email just the other day. This would fix the current financial situation:

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You’ve probably seen this at least once, but the idea is still sound.

The Fix

There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg Fl. Times.. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: “How Would You Fix the Economy?”

I think this guy nailed it! _____

Dear Mr. President ,

Please find below my suggestion for fixingAmerica ’s Economy.

Instead of giving Billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the ” Patriotic Retirement Plan “:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings – Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered – Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage – Housing Crisis fixed.

It can’t get any easier than that!!

P.S.. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes.

Mr. President, while you’re at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I’ll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.

Sounds good to me..

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Forty million people at one million dollars each = $40 Trillion.

Add $40 Trillion to what our broke Uncle already doesn’t have.

Yeah, that’ll fix everything! I’m almost surprised the White House hasn’t enthusiastically jumped on that one. And if you believe that, I have some stunning ocean front property here in North Dakota. Drop me an email if you’re interested.