Our "Modern" Health Care System and Health

I have written this before and I will probably write it again after this time. 

 

I am watching this week's episode of a weekly New York Times show called The Weekly. During these shows, various reporters highlight some story. This week, the show is about the staggeringly high cost of what are called "orphan drugs." These are drugs specifically designed by Big Pharma to combat a specific, highly rare disease. There are about 7,000 of these "orphan diseases" in the country now, affecting about 30,000 patients, sometimes only a hundred or so at a time. Many of them are hereditary.

The cost can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, per patient, per disease, per year. So if a Mom has it, her kids probably will, too, as will theirs. Do the math and try to imagine what you would do if you did not have an employer-sponsored health plan that had the right approach.

I am so glad my health is generally great for a 70-year old male. I take no prescription meds (save those my dentist gave me, which have a limited life), I have no infirmities that prevent me from doing normal, age-related activities, I have no need for joint replacement, and I pretty much enjoy my life as it is.

Even with the excellent Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan I carry, I cannot imagine taking a drug that would cost as much as an orphan drug might. And Big Pharma charges whatever they want; the law allows them to do it. Someone pays the billions of dollars in executive bonuses...you and I do.

Our health care system is totally broken. Totally.

Now I Know Frustration, aka, Where Are The Tradespeople?

Trying to arrange to get my 3-sheet drywall repair done has turned into the most frustrating, irritating task I have had in a very long time. It is not a whole-house job, but one might think it would be worth doing. Apparently, it is not.

First, it started with two "professionals" on Home Depot's list of referred workers. Neither of them wanted the job because it was "too small." Then contact with a handyman organization I have used for years resulted in a waffling response from the customer service agent to whom I spoke. It became clear that she did not want the job, either, even if I combined it with other small repairs I had to meet the 4-hour minimum. Getting no response from them, I contacted the fellow who arranged to build my new deck in April; his company mainly does roofing and decking, but he also has many other contacts in the trades and has done well for me in the past, so I figured he would come through again.

He did not contact me for a month, so I kind of gave up; after all, summer is the busy season for roof repairs and replacement, their main job.

Thinking I had entered some kind of alternative universe where up is down and good is bad or if my breath smelled over the Internet, I wearily contacted a fourth provider of handyman services I found using an online search. I was pleasantly surprised! I was immediately put in touch with an installer, with whom I made arrangements to begin the job today at 8:00 a.m. I was confident my worries were over, so I cleaned the area and moved some objects around to give the worker plenty of room.

Then, at 7:30 a.m., he called.

First, he asked to verify that "all the supplies" were on-site...even though when I originally contacted the company, I told them I had NO products for the drywall repair - no drywall, no tape, no mud, no drywall screws, nothing - and that I had originally agreed to pay $35 to have the worker pick them up. I told him I was home all day, so even if he was late, that was okay with me.

He then asked if I could call Home Depot and get them delivered because his SUV was not big enough to carry 3 sheets of drywall. 

Seriously? You are a drywall installer and do not have a VEHICLE that can carry drywall sheets? So I declined the appointment and put that company on hold...meaning cancelled...and out of my mind.

Finally, the fellow that built my deck - remember him from earlier in the story? The one who did not respond to my initial inquiry more than a month ago? - well, he called to say he has a guy who can come look at the job later this afternoon. While I am happy to hear that, considering my luck in this fix-your-drywall business, I am not going to hold my breath or bet the farm on him showing up or being able to do the repair any time soon.

I might just have to learn to do drywall repair myself. At least I know I will show up on schedule.

How Two Small Bees Made One Man Happy

Readers know that I have a fairly large potful of green cilantro plants that are flowering on their way to seeding. I have enjoyed growing, watching, cutting, and eating them this summer and now I get enjoyment from another observation.

For the past few days, I have watched one bee working the flowers, flitting from this petal to that one. I wondered if it was the same discoverer-bee or if there was some kind of bee hierarchy that only permits one bee at a time on a plant. I still do not have an answer to that wonderment - and quite frankly, I have no real need to know; merely observing is enough.

Today, for the first time, I have two bees on the same bushy, flowering, cilantro blossoms at the same time. And I noticed something else, also for the first time: these two bees have a pink pollen sack on both sides of their abdomens! I am pleased that my large cilantro is now giving two bees happiness. 

Who knows? Maybe in a few days, there will be more; the plants are not even close to being dead and we certainly need to have these intrepid creatures moving pollen hither and yon, don't we?

These two bees have made me very, very happy.

Tofu? To-fooey.

I have eaten tofu twice in my life; once, so many decades ago I cannot even remember which one and I cannot recall the taste or consistency.

The second time was just now.

For dinner, on a lark - one of those "it seemed like a good idea at the time" larks we all have enjoyed and regretted - I made cashew tofu. A delightful sounding recipe with cashews, broccoli, sweet/sour sauce, and lots of olive oil, jasmine rice, salt, and pepper. Yum! I hoped my more-mature palate and possible improvements over time would accept this thing called tofu; after all, there were lots of my faves included in the recipe. What's not to love?

Answer: the tofu, that is what.

To prepare the dish, I had to cut the tofu chunk into 1-inch cubes and fry them in olive oil for a while, then mix in the other ingredients. The end result was a tasteless mass of...well, something resembling nothing.

Except tofu.

Now I remember why it took decades for me to try it again. I only hope my senses do not leave me an allow me to try it ever again in my lifetime.