Mean Women

Women working at the airports are getting meaner! The lady working at the gate I left from at St. Louis was ripping people up and turning them away. She turned away a couple of dozen from standby and then starting calling stand by passengers up to the gate. It was a bit confusing.
Before I ever got to the gate, I was summoned back to security to retrieve my ID, which fell out of my pocket during the strip search. My entire team probably heard me summoned back to security in the airport - I will find out Monday.
Then, on the airplane, the stewardess tried to make me put my Bible under my seat. I refused, it was not a bag, it was a book - the GOOD BOOK. I was willing to get kicked off the flight over this and I think she sensed that because she backed off. The very tall and big boned German lady beside cheered when this happened. I just smiled. I was glad the German lady liked me - her hands were much bigger than mine.
Things only got better when I got home and discovered one of these energy supplement companies had double billed me - violating the terms of agreement I had read. And guess what, the webpage I ordered from had been taken down. I know - it was stupid of me to order from the Internet - but it was on a reputable webpage! It used to be - I guess they took it down. When I called to explain that I would honor the agreement I had read, the guy would have none of it. I had to demand a supervisor and then she (the dreaded Melissa) hung up on me. Now, what do you think happened next?
I called back and demanded to speak with Melissa. She had conveniently stepped out to lunch. Charles "the other supervisor" helped me and was nice enough to work for such a bunch of criminals. After we agreed that I was getting all my money back, Charles asked if there was anything else he could do for me. I said, "YES! Put Melissa back on so I can hang up on her!" He told me she couldn't talk because she was at lunch and I asked what time I could call back and talk to her so I could hang up on her and he did not know. I also asked him to call me back if she got a tummy ache at lunch because that would make me happy. I also advised Charles to find a new employer because he worked for criminals. I like Charles - he laughed at Melissa with me and laughed when I called his company a bunch of criminals. He was much nicer than all the women who were mean to me today:-)

The Road to Chuck E. Cheese

The road to Chuck E. Cheese runs through the potty at our house. Our three year old has been a free urinator for the past few weeks and it has driven us nuts. He has peed in DVD cases, corners, Barbie cars, shoes, and anywhere he pleased, “just because I want to” according to him. Spankings were not slowing down the stream of free fire urine, possibly because his backside is already tough as leather due to the number of spankings he has required already. So, from the desperate dad playbook, I went to the wallet.
I had a conference with James and told him that I would take him to Chuck E. Cheese with his brother and sister if he could pee nowhere but the potty for one week. I briefed the siblings, so they could encourage him and I briefed Momma, so she could monitor the agreement. Well, Saturday, I am carrying the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and it has been almost two full weeks since the last free urination. I am declaring victory in this battle, but I am curious as to what the next one will be.

Rainbow Blog

I guess you could say the boys have been pooting around lately. Not long ago, Jay Allen busted out laughing at a commercial that advertised, "Your own private tutor!" Then, we realized, he thought that was somebody who would deliver personal flatulence.
Last week, James looked at me and said, "if you get diarrhea, you will die." I am not sure if he read the Health Care Bill or had heard of the toilet paper shortage in Cuba. I later learned that in 1909, that indeed, diarrhea was a leading killer.
Carlie and I had a World Vision Event at Sterling First Baptist Church Saturday! It was a community day and I really didn't know what that meant, but it was a good time for the kids. There were not many people who showed up looking for World Vision information, but there were a few who did stop and talk with me and take some brochures. I gave a passionate pitch about what World Vision means to our family, so the rest is between them and God. Carlie was fully prepared to share her (pretty impressive) knowledge of World Vision, but since there was almost no traffic at our World Vision display, she carried the message to the cotton candy machine, the super bounce, and the caricature artist. None of them came back by to get a brochure, but I am sure Carlie planted a seed.
Carlie and the boys played and ate cotton candy and had a big time until it rained and then we called it quits so we could take a family bowling trip. Last week, the Benefields and Roseberrys were all impressed with how well Jay Allen could bowl on the WI. This week, Jay Allen bowled a 124 with real pins and was mad that he didn't beat his dad. His dad had to bowl his best game in years to win, but Jay Allen did not care if I bowled a once in a lifetime 299, he wanted to win! James, too, was angry at each pin that didn't fall for him. It was a good family outing!
When we got home, I washed our nasty cars quickly as soon as the rain stopped. While washing, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I have seen in a while. The rainbow was double barreled and very bold and impossible to fully appreciate from a photo. God's creation is beautiful and our greatest human creations always pale in comparison. We did get a photo, but it did not do justice.

A recollection of health care

I thought I would record some of my experiences with "socialized medicine." I am going from memory and could have the exact chronology a little off, but the main point of each story is accurate even if its a little out of order.
Despite being blessed with a healthy family and good health myself, I was just thinking about some of my experiences with military medicine and insurance. From the top of my head:
Doctor refused to treat my ruptured acl in 1993 and almost ended my career before iit started - ended up with a world class surgeon and a good as new knee because I wouldn't accept their answer. The second surgeon didn't have to see me.
Had to pay for own x-rays because they were not pre-approved - I had pneumonia and bruised ribs from a training accident at a military school - I got so sick as I returned home I had to go in to be seen and tri-care's answer was to wait four days until everybody returned to work and be seen. I ended up getting most if not all of this expense refunded, but I am not sure if my gov't insurance paid or if the doctor who saw me paid it off.
Cammie was denied a referral (that she already had in hand) to an ophthalmologist when my son injured his eye despite the life, limb, or eyesight pre-approval claim. My son's eye was filled with blood and we were terrified my three year old was going to lose his eye or vision. They fought with my wife to get her to make an appointment weeks in the future with a military doctor - the military care provider agreed to see her earlier, but that was not the "board's" decision or the normal process. This happened while I was deployed.
We have to fight with the dental insurance every time the kids go - some unidentified person finds a reason not to pay for every filling and every visit despite the fact that we pay for that insurance and have full coverage. We have had to may about half of our bills out of pocket since we moved - we recovered one or two from the gov't run insurance company, but they owe us over $400 right now for fillings.
All of our success stories involve somebody going outside of the system to help us. Having close personal friends as doctors and physician's assistants is how we have received most of our care. So, I get a little fired up when people tell me how great this nationalized care is going to be. My wife and I have been looking forward to the day we can have ONE doctor and get out from under this inefficient and complex system and now its disappearing. The military system is imperfect, yet the population in the system is younger and healthier than the average population. Now, we are going to expand it to include a less healthy general population and expect it to work better. That's bull.
My wife and I decided our best health care plan is to not get sick.