Voice for the Uninsured

I am still on the fence about who I want to vote for in the election in November but there is one topic that is near to my heart.This isn't a polictical blog post but I just want to express my opinions for what they are worth about a topic of great importance to me. Again ,it is only my opinion and as with any discussion of this magnitude lively debate and compromise by all parties is what sparks change in the end.So I thank you for sharing your opinions and thoughts on the matter. I find that I learn much more in this life from those I meet on a day to day basis than from politicians and the like.

I have been a nurse for 24 years this May which is over half my life. I have an intimate knowledge of the health care system from the inside and outside and it is broken.
On Sunday night 60 Minutes did a story on an organization doing exceptional work for the nations working poor for a budget of $250,000 a year. The founder takes no salary and lives in an apt with no shower so that all the money can be funneled back into the orgazination to help the people they serve. The organization is called RAM(Remote Area Medical) and it started its work with the indigenous people of the Amazon but is now doing most of its work with the working poor of the USA.In the story that they did on RAM the organization held a two day clinic in Knoxville, TN of which the services , MD's,Optometrists,Dentists and other health care workers donated their time. The people started showing up 24 hours ahead of time and at the end of the weekend they had to turn 400+ people away.These people are not homeless they are the working poor or underinsured of which there are 47,000,000 or 1-7 Americans -which is also the number of women who will diagnosed with breast cancer each year .They work jobs but aren't paid enough or because of family obligations just don't have the money to meet the deductibles on their insurance.

I have been in this place as has my husband before. It is partly the reason my mother and father are no longer living. In their lives they never made over $30,000/yr combined but both worked one or two jobs to pay the bills and not easy jobs but hard back breaking work (factory worker,maid,lumbermen and farming) so it very often meant that either we ate that week and had a roof over our head or we went to the doctor. This is a choice so many Americans face everyday and it shouldn't be like that here. THERE SHOULD BE AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FOR ALL AMERICANS.

I wish those in the running for the president in November could answer these questions instead of always skating around the topic.

I also encourage each of you to go to the 60 minutes website and read the article and visit Voice for the Uninsured.If you go to this site go to the side bar and read the stories about the uninsured this could be any of us or those we love.

“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.” – Flora Edwards

Thanks for taking to the time to listen and stop by.I started not to post this topic but sometimes you just have to stand true to what you believe and always keep an open mind.

Peanut's Philosphy of LIfe and Mine Too!

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with. Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials... the most money... or the most awards. They are simply the ones that care the most. Like Each of You who visit here.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."

I loved this when I recieved it from my nephew and thought I would share it here.

I added the comment moderation feature because I had started to get a lot of spam comments about various unsavory subjects.I also added a music player if you want to listen to it just click it to start. I didn't set it to do it automatically because I didn't know whether you liked it or not.

Again my deepest heartfelt thanks to each of you.

I also would like to do this and encourage each of you who feel inclined to do this on your blog.

Pay It Forward Challenge.

Here's a chance to get a surprise from me, on a surprise date, in the next 365 days. (I'm responding to this via The Urban Chic)


Here are the rules:
1.~Leave a comment on my blog that says you want to play. First three folks to comment will get a gift from ME. (If I don't know it already, let me know how I can contact you, an e-mail is fine.)


2.~Do the same thing on your blog!The first three folks who leave a comment and commit to doing this on their blog, too, will get a surprise from YOU at a surprise time in the next 365 days!

This should prove to be fun.....and interesting.This is a great way to make new friends too.....let's see what happens.

Seeking the Divine

I love this print found at Art.com by Jessie Wilcox Smith. She has been one of my favorite illustrators my whole life. I remember the Little Golden Books she illustrated growing up were always my favorite.This print is called Sea Blossom.She is doing something that I have been doing a lot of lately and that is seeking.

It seems that during this season of Advent I am seeking a closeness to God.I did not grow up in church my mom didn't like the local Churches and my dad didn't believe. I remember the day I was baptized that he made fun of me and would not allow my mom to come to the church that day.The churches of my youth were the Primitive Baptist Church of my maternal grandmother,the mixed up faith of my paternal grandmother which was a bit of Pentacostal,Catholic and Methodist and my vacation bible school church of the Church of Christ and Southern Baptist Church.As an adult I joined a friends Holiness church for a while which wasn't for me and eventually joined the Baptist church. The intervening years have seen me wax and wane in my faith and church attendance.

Now at 43 I feel a calling to some sort of church attendance but I am not sure where or what. I oddly have always felt comfort in the routine and ritual of the Catholic church. I know that each time I have been in one I feel like I am home but there are some tenants of this church which I don't hold as my core beliefs.I find that at my age and point in life I seek a closeness to god.Sometimes while surfing through the channels I land on EWTN and will watch it and a lot of the core beliefs I totally agree with.So what am I to do? I don't quite know.I know that in 2008 one of my goals is to seek the divine in my everyday life.

I know that right now I see the Divine in nature the most. I know that in the early morning or late at night when we take the dogs togo for their walk I feel the closest to God. I see the stars overhead and hear the gurgling stream and see the pictures on the fencepost painted by Jack Frost and I feel that the divine is near.I also see in it in the voice of my loved ones and even in my animals. I know that when we are up in the Cascades or near the Pacific I can't not believe.

So I guess that 2008 for me will be a year of seeking within to find the belief system that is closest to my soul and also a year to reach outward to help my fellow humanity and to become more creative.

I have always loved new calendars that you get at the end of the old year because all those blank days of the new year gives all of us a chance to start over, afresh and anew , and maybe become the person we were meant to be. I hope to cherish each day of the new year good or bad for in a blink of the eye it seems life passes us by.

Mary Lee Bonasera Matthews : Worry is not necessary. Spend an equal amount of time counting blessings. Start with your childhood. Take the time to remember to really appreciate each blessing, absorb it and think of all the good effects it has had on you and others. Don't overlook the ordinary. There are a thousand blessings in every moment, if you look. Each breath and heartbeat, every color, texture, taste, smell. A lifetime of blessings, beauty, love. Thankfulness is like water. Allow yourself the release, the cleansing, the quenching that gratefulness brings.