When I refilled a prescription order today for one of my asthma inhalers, I discovered that my health insurance company had increased my copay from the $77 that it was this time last year to $116, an increase of nearly 50%. Why did my insurance company do it? Because they could!
A person I know once showed me a hospital bill for her grandfather from 1957. For eight days of hospitalization, the total bill was $56.10. The cost per day for the hospital was $7 and the ten cents was for an aspirin. Now I can see that in 2009, an individual who scrutinized a hospital bill discovered that while in the hospital, her grandfather had been charged more than $140 for a single Tylenol.
When insurance companies act irresponsibly in paying your hospital bills, it ends up costing all of us more money for our insurance premiums. We are told that it cost almost $17,000 to insure a family of four in 2009. Check out these statistics on what has happened to insurance premiums for a family of four over a five-year period.
The other night when my wife suggested that we go with another couple to attend a high school production of the musical called “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” I thought to myself, “Please! Am I going to have to sit through over two hours of boring time watching teenagers sing off key, blow their lines, and stagger around the stage in what some might consider dancing?”
Was I, along with most others in the audience, in for a surprise! The teacher in charge of the production said that the students had spent over 150 hours of their own time outside of class polishing their roles in the production. And their diligent efforts came through in the performance. Not only did they sing on key, but most of the kids obviously had spent considerable time in vocal training; not only could these teenagers recite their lines without mishap, they could actually act; not only could these kids dance, they could dance around the stage with fluid movements, whether they were tap dancing or doing the Charleston; and not only had these teens learned their lines, but they could give credibility to the characters they portrayed. The sets, the choreography, the costumes, and the ambiance given to the 1920s made for a perfect, polished production.
When the musical was over, the audience gave those teenagers a standing ovation with several curtain calls. My wife said she thought the production quality rivaled that of some of the musicals we had seen featuring professional actors. And even more pleasing was our proximity to the stage, which was only about 30 feet away from where we were sitting.
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” relates the story of a girl named Millie who went to New York City in 1922 from a small town in Kansas with the intent of getting a job and marrying a wealthy boss. When she first arrived in New York City, she was dressed like a young woman from a small midwestern town of that period, very modestly, with a long skirt and laced up boots.
After quickly adopting the flapper lifestyle, which included buying new flapper outfits and bobbing her hair, Millie got a job as a stenographer. Her adventure was only beginning as she checked into a hotel owned by the leader of a white slavery ring in China looking for naive young women like Millie.
She met a young man who was a paper-clip salesman. The only problem was that he was poor, and she was looking for a rich man to marry. I will stop the story at this point, but following the show for the next two hours was a delight.
The musical production, which opened on Broadway in 2002, was based on the 1968 movie of the same name. If you would like to view the movie, featuring Julie Andrews as Millie, you will find it divided into 14 Parts on YouTube, or you might wish to rent or purchase the DVD. My wife and I have plans to watch the movie, and we hope that you can enjoy it, too. Get the popcorn and beverages ready.
Video. Thoroughly Modern Millie from the 1968 Movie.
QUESTIONS: What is your favorite Broadway musical and why does it hold such appeal for you?
Today I started compiling all the information I need to file my federal and state income taxes. This task has inspired me to write the following mournful lyrics to be sung to the tune of “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”
A Taxpayer's Lament
--- by Whit’s Whittlings
My lamp burns bright and late at night Deep in the heart of taxes With tax forms (sigh) two inches high Deep in the heart of taxes
The air in the room is filled with gloom Deep in the heart of taxes Reminds me so of what I owe Deep in the heart of taxes
Hear me wail as I tell this tale Deep in the heart of taxes I‘ve got to rush to beat the crush Deep in the heart of taxes
Can you hear me cry, “Aïe, aïe, aïe!” Deep in the heart of taxes Can you hear me bawl when they take it all Deep in the heart of taxes
Video: Willie Nelson sings "Audits On My Mind."
"In 1990, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) handed Nelson a bill for $16.7 million in back taxes and seized most of his assets to help pay the charges. He released 'The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?' as a double album, with all profits going straight to the IRS. Many of his assets were auctioned and purchased by friends, who gave his possessions back to him or rented them at a nominal fee. He sued accounting firm Price Waterhouse, contending that they put him into tax shelters that were later disallowed. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount. His debts were paid by 1993." (Wikipedia. "Willie Nelson.")
Some Things I Think About When I Have Nothing Better To Do
Some Things I Think About When I Have Nothing Better To Do
1. Did Adam ever tell Eve that he loved her more than any other woman on earth?
2. Did Adam and Eve ever sing this song to each other?
If You Were the Only Girl in the World
If you were the only girl in the world And I were the only boy Nothing else would matter in the world today We could go on loving in the same old way
A Garden of Eden just made for two With nothing to mar our joy I would say such wonderful things to you There would be such wonderful things to do If you were the only girl in the world And I were the only boy.
3. When I said that I would give you “a penny for your thoughts,” why didn't you put your two cents in?
4. When you said you slept like a baby last night, does that mean that you woke up every two hours crying for a feeding and diaper change?
5. If the ham is cured, what disease did it have?
QUESTION: Do you sometimes have similar thoughts?
Video. Watson Tidball, known to his family as Grumps, sings an old favorite "If You were the Only Girl in the World." Grumps and BonBon (his wife at the piano) often included this song in their Saturday night shows throughout southern and central Illinois.
The well-known proverb asserting that “a stitch in time saves nine” probably originated from the observation that sewing up a small hole in a fabric with one stitch eliminates the need to use more stitching later to sew up an even larger hole in the material. Another proverb that encourages early action to meet a problem instead of delaying the solution is in the expression “one year’s seeds, seven year’s weeds.”
Perhaps you have heard recent news reports that due to budget cuts some school districts throughout our nation are increasing class sizes, forcing teachers to take several days of unpaid furlough time while cutting their salaries, and now, recommending that the school week be reduced to four days. At the same time, budget cuts have forced some institutions of higher learning to increase tuition and fees to the point that some students have had to drop out of school.
Mark Twain once said, “Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other.” Considering that California spends under $8000 per year educating students in our public schools while spending nearly $50,000 per year incarcerating inmates in our prison institutions, it would seem that more attention should be given to the wisdom provided in those proverbs.
One might ask how our nation could find the funds to solve the massive problems that today face our public institutions of learning. One place to start might be the bloated $708 billion that President Obama and the military-industrial complex have requested for this year. According to the National Priorities Project (http:// national priorities.org), up until this time, over a trillion dollars has been spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The TOTAL cost of the two wars to date has been estimated at over $3 trillion, including the care of wounded veterans for the rest of their lives, pensions, and other associated costs.
It makes one wonder how and why our nation can so wantonly drain our nation’s resources to improve the lives of people in other countries instead of using our borrowed treasure to improve the lives of our own citizens. I fear we are going to have to sew up an even larger hole in the future.
Meanwhile, the weed seeds keep spreading throughout the land.
