March 10, 2013, State College, PA., 7:40 PM. I was asked this afternoon why I nearly went crazy before each of my daughters was born. The lapse of judgment—mentioning Raquel Welch to my 22 year-old daughter this afternoon—is a good example of why I worried about becoming a father. As anyone who is a parent […]
Medicare
Dental Updates and Movies
Tooth 18 Extracted Family, friends, loved ones, and casual acquaintances have been asking about my tooth extraction on Tuesday. My left rear bottom molar—tooth 18—is extracted. My father Isadore’s birthday was yesterday—from whom I inherited many of my stubborn genes [not to mention the stubborn genes on my mother’s side]—and Isadore (who would have been […]
I write in praise of Paul Ryan
My political perspective is different from Paul Ryan‘s. I will be voting for Obama despite disappointment ObamaCare did not seek to cover ALL Americans for fear that non-documented workers might get health treatment. Universal coverage critics appear unable to understand that communicable diseases can be stopped at the source saving lots of things–remember the Bubonic […]
Saving Medicare billions: Trying too hard can get in the way
Today is Sunday, February 26, 2012. I took the photograph above last week. My apartment is within an eight-story building housing 90 low-income elderly and disabled individuals, an ambulance parks outside my window at least once a week. Sometimes my neighbors and I return. Sometimes, not. The cost for Medicare, Medicaid, and other services to […]
My first scooter: Originally published as a Valentine to the Durable Medical Equipment Industry
[The following was originally published in the February, 2011 edition of HME News as a Valentine to the Durable Medical Equipment industry. The love continues.] I was so angry, wild with fatigue, that I lifted my ugly drug store cane intending to destroy my employer’s computer printer. This was in California’s Silicon Valley. The printer was […]
Marilyn Tavenner Confirmation Watch June 19th Update: Who cares if anyone runs Medicare?
June 19, 2012 update on Marilyn Tavenner’s confirmation (don’t hold your breath) hearings: “So what did Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) say when HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asked him to hold a confirmation hearing for Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of CMS? “’It’s going to be difficult to proceed with the Republican opposition,’ said Baucus, chairman of […]
Rep. Glenn (GT) Thompson representing Penn State plus
Rep. Glenn Thompson discusses his nearly 30-year long career as a manager of rehabilitation therapists, as a rehabilitation therapist, and as a health worker, which included changing bed pans at Centre Crest, an assistive living facility near State College, PA. You can listen to this interview below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6JAIMWh-_zIeFMyVUtXbjZWUkU/view?pref=2&pli=1 I interviewed the Congressman on February 6, […]
Lady Gaga: When you became disabled in “Paparazzi,” you needed cooler equipment
What I want you, oh dear Lady Gaga, as a disability and elderly rights advocate here in State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania to do is:
Sing for us at noon at the bingo parlor at Addison Court, 120 East Beaver Avenue, State College. Addison Court is an independent residence for the elderly and disabled. There are 90 of us. Several of us could use cheering up. We do not get to hear a lot of live music. Dazzle us.
Advocate for us. After Florida, Pennsylvania has more elderly residents than any other state in the union. Centre County is attracting large numbers of elderly residents who retire here. Yet the music venues in Downtown State College are closed to us because Downtown businessmen do not think it is worth their while to provide access so people using canes, wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, and power chairs can listen to live music.
Meanwhile, you could do a lot to increase opportunities for elderly and disabled residents of my town.
Come on by. Use your wealth to buy a front-wheel drive
or an Amigo real wheel drive