Voicemail Hell: Hating Medicare

"We are experiencing
heavier than normal call volume......"

OK, so I called Medicare to get some information on the prescription plan. First I got lost in voicemail, then I was put on hold for an hour. Finally, a live person came on the line. I (mistakenly) thought I would get my questions answered. Instead, I was informed that if I left my phone number I would be called back. I'm a fairly trusting soul, so I gave them the number. I'm still waiting for the call. The next day I decided to try again, this time to find out what kinds of assistance is available for Daddy, and (most importantly) how to go about getting that assistance. Again, an hour on hold. Again, the live person told me that if I left my number they would return my call when they weren't quite so busy. Yeah, right. I said "no, thank you, I'll continue to hold" and was told that I couldn't continue to hold, since I'd been "taken out of queue". Can you imagine? Is this any way to run a country?

OK, I admit I flipped out a bit. Well, maybe more than a bit. When it was suggested that I go to the Medicare website, I think I told a little white lie and said I had no access to the Internet. ( I know that was a whopper! What can I say?) At least I did manage to get the information I needed. I think the poor man who was "helping" me may have thought I was completely insane. Maybe I scared him. Maybe he felt sorry for me. Whatever the case, I got the information I needed.

The point is this: how are people who may not be as persistent as me, or as obnoxious, or as WHATEVER, supposed to find their way through this maze of bureaucracy? How about the people who actually NEED the services Medicare provides -- the infirm elderly -- what do they do without someone to advocate for them?

Your tax dollars at work. Makes you real proud, doesn't it?

At the Movies

A film should be more like music than like fiction.
It should be a progression of moods and feelings.
Stanley Kubrick

Last week I met my brother in the city, and we saw the new movie, "Across the Universe". The movie is difficult to explain. I suppose the best description would be to say that it is an anti-war hallucination set around the Beatle's music. It was magnificent, and seeing it with my brother made it even better. We had dinner afterwards at a great Italian place, and then I took the train back to the 'burbs. I loved being able to just spend time with him, doing something we both enjoy.

I'm pretty sure that the last movie mom saw in a theater was "The Sound of Music", and that was at the drive-in, with all of us in the back seat. She swears she falls asleep the minute the lights go out. Daddy, however, always enjoyed a good flick. He also enjoyed reading Tom Clancy books. Most of Clancy's work is too ponderous for me, but "The Hunt for Red October" and a few others I honestly enjoyed. It was something Daddy & I shared between us. When they began to be made into movies, Daddy & I would make a date to see them together. We would pick a theater halfway between their house and mine, and we would have lunch together, and then go to the movie together. We did this about once a year for quite a few years. It was always fun for both of us, and now it's a warm and special memory for me. I am so glad we spent that time together, particularly now that this is something else we will not ever be able to do again.

Seeing "Across the Universe" with my brother reminded me so much of the lunch-and-movie "dates" I went on with Daddy. It's another memory I will cherish. Thanks, brother. I love you.

The Glass Half Full

Joy and sorrow are inseparable.

Together they come and when one sits alone with you ,
remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Kahlil Gibran

So I went to visit again. Mom wanted to shop, and I stayed with Dad. I made baked ziti with veggies, and baked Daddy cookies. Mom was thrilled to have a few hours to herself, and I know Dad enjoyed spending time with me.

There are so many times that he just seems lost, but that day there were many flashes of the real him shining through. He actually teased me! Funnier yet, was when we were eating dinner, which he obviously was enjoying, he looked at me and said, "this is really delicious, but where's the meat?" with a big smile on his face. Mom & I both cracked up. Here I was, thinking I was being slick and sneaking a vegetarian meal past him! I never could sneak ANYTHING past him! A few quips, and a couple of joking comments, and it was like spending time with the Daddy I remember.

It was a day that the glass was definitely half-full. It was a beautiful thing.

Warrior

You can only protect your liberties in this world
by protecting the other man's freedom.
Clarence Darrow

We were looking at old pictures again, much older ones than the ones of our childhood. These were pictures of our parents when they were young.

Daddy was a lieutenant in the Naval Air Corps during World War II. He was stationed in the Philippines. Much more than that, I don't know, because he virtually never spoke of the war or his experiences there. An occasional amusing anecdote, perhaps, but nothing more.

There were several pictures that stood out to me. One was of Dad, on a beach somewhere in the South Pacific, standing with one hand on his hip, and a great big smile on his face. He was young, and strong, and vibrant -- a man in his early 20s, confident in himself, his country, and the cause they were fighting for. The cocky smile in the picture is so engaging, that you can almost see this pilot breathe, you can almost hear him laugh.

The other picture is of Dad seated inside the Hellcat that he flew. It is a completely different sort of picture. Here, Dad is strapped into the pilot's seat, wearing flying gloves and his helmet with the goggles pushed up. There is no innocent boyish grin here; this is a soldier ready for war. You can easily read the determination and courage in his face. He fought for the country that he loved, and to preserve and protect freedom for others.

Two very different images of Daddy, both foreign to me in many ways. A young man enjoying a day on a beach, and a warrior ready for battle. The youth, the strength, and the vitality radiate from the images taken well over 60 years ago. This is Daddy as I never knew him, but it also is Daddy as I love and respect him.