Showing posts with label health care insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care insurance. Show all posts

Thursday

Smorgasboard

We went to Atlantic City a week ago where we stayed at the Tropicana Hotel, which is really rather lovely. It's basically a casino with an Old Quarter replete with cobbled stones, overhead fans reminiscent of an Havana restaurant blowing gentle breezes in one's face and lots of interesting restaurants.

We dined at Cuba Libre, an excellent Cuban restaurant where we tried a special meal they prepared for people not used to Cuban food. Of course, the de rigeour black beans were there, as were the plantains--but so too was a variety of chicken dishes including pork and chicken awash in refreshing fruit marinades one associates with the tropics. Their thinly sliced toast and mango butter was delicious.

Larry and I now plan to go to the original Cuba Libre in Old City Philadelphia as a result.

As it was Larry's birthday, a couple of shows were in order. We saw Fame--rather good--and Cirque's Pandemonia--not so good; boring, in fact.

The board walk's apparently the best in the US--I found it long and tawdry. We walked it up to Taj Mahal, which was as I expected: Gaudy and tasteless interior, as gaudy as his tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the only difference being there were wasn't any busy Italian granite on the walls. A warren, really. And, naturally, the Donald's book about getting rich was prominent in almost every window of the bazaar. I think it was called Ali's Bazaar or something.

And yes, fluttered a wee bit on the one-armed bandits and didn't win but did break even.
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What a magnificent speech president Obama delivered last night. He is truly a leader, a man of decent intent, a man who represents all Americans. I cannot understand why sane people regardless of their political ideology would not want to improve the existing bloated heath care system we have currently with a just system that covers all Americans at a fair cost and without prejudice to income level or pre-existing condition. He is right to say we must move forward and that he will disregard the intentions and opinions of those who seek to maintain the staus quo.

Right wingers need to realize change is coming and get over the fact Obama won the election. Yes, a black man is leading the United States of America and he's doing a brilliant job. Get over yourself. Contain your hatred. Examine your consciences and be true and decent Americans.


Left wingers need to realize there will be National Health Care system in America. This country loves private enterprise and decent, honest profits--not GREED--and the public option is a good way to move forward.

Friday

Nike! Nike!

Off I went to the dentist--a new one--for a deep cleaning to the first two quadrants of my mouth. Next week will be the next two and final quadrants.

Five injections of novocaine and, though I felt nothing, the water pick sounded like a water canon inside my mouth. The file didn't sound any better.

Knowing I needed a filling, I gamely suggested she do it while that part of my mouth was numb. Also at the back of my mind was the thought there might be a bit of a saving.

"Okay, Damian."

The dreadful whine of the drill and then it stopped dead.
I was glad because I was beginning to feel a little pain.

"The decay's quite deep," she said. "It's also very close to the nerve."
"Meaning what, exactly?" I managed to say, though my mouth was so frozen I thought the words were palpable as I said them.
"You need a root canal in my opinion."
I thought of my old dentist and wondered if I had swapped him out for one that thought she could vacuum the money from my pockets.

"Damian, would you like to know the cost of a root canal?" said the receptionist cum billing clerk.
I felt suddenly vulnerable, exposed. I couldn't just walk out if it was too expensive. In short, I was screwed.

"Tell me?"
"$640 and 15% discount for cash."
"Nike," I said.
"What do you mean?" said the dentist.
"Just do it."
"It's going to be a longer procedure so I'm plugging this and come back Tuesday?" she said.
"So I wait."
A damned good reason to include dental in any health care reform, huh?
It's time. No listening to the greedy insurance industry, Republicans and other industry insiders who are trying to fear-monger and say standards will fall and wait-times rise. That's bullshit.

Nike.