Things That Wake Me Up

I awoke at 2:00 am with my hip hurting. It happens occasionally, and I know why. Falling asleep on my left side can cause my right hip to hurt, which usually just requires adjusting, and sleeping on my back...but not tonight. I couldn't get comfortable, so I got out of bed and fixed a cup of coffee.  

I went out on the porch to see the stars, but there were no stars to be seen. The fog is thick at the ground, and the only thing to see is the waning crescent of the moon. Looking at it made me smile. The best description is the Cheshire Cat. Nothing to be seen, except the grin. 

So, I'll walk around awhile, wait for the pain to subside, maybe watch some television, or surf the internet. Eventually, I'll get more comfortable, and hopefully, go back to bed to sleep some more. If not, I'll wait a few hours, make breakfast, check the mouse traps in the well house, and piddle. I have some projects, with none being critical. That allows a tremendous amount of procrastination. 

Things you Forget

Yesterday, while minding my own business, and without any warning, a bee stung me on the forehead. I was wearing a cap, and something felt strange on my forehead, so I reached to feel what it was, felt something, and was instantly stung. I never saw what stung me. 

How did I know it was a bee? The stinger was still there, when I looked in the mirror. A tug with some tweezers released the barbs, and the last action of a bee was revealed. 

I've been stung many times. When I was young, the result was some alarming swelling, and a trip to the doctor when a sting on my leg left red streaks. Of all the stings, I've luckily never been stung by a hornet. From what I know, the pain is much worse, and the after-effects more severe.

This one was a little different, since I've never been stung on the forehead. After the initial burning sting, the pain was more than I've ever felt, and I can only describe as the same as being hit with a heavy object. For a few minutes, I wondered if I needed to go to an emergency room, but the pain lessened enough to ease my alarm.

I took an antihistamine, let it go to work, and took about a three hour nap. When I awoke, the ache was mostly gone, but still there enough to know I'd been stung. 

This morning, the site is still a little red, and swollen. The ache is gone, and it will probably start itching before it finally heals. I'll have to be more wary. Bees are hungry this time of the year, and can be bothersome.

Saturday Morning Irritation

I know little about Rwanda, but do know giving an African nation 228 million of tax dollars is like giving hundred dollar bills to drug dealers. To make things worse, the drone technology to deliver medical supplies will soon be dropping explosives on those that disagree with the corruption,

Tired of the Commercials

Medicare enrollment is about to end for this year. In two days, this should alleviate the constant pounding to buy insurance plans. Some might be confused by the constant barrage of supposedly sweet deals, and the commercials reflect the attempt to win you over with "free" stuff. Regardless, there are few things some don't know. 

Those commercials promising special deals come with some spare baggage. First, the less you have to pay, the more you're restricted from choosing your health professionals. The policies that actually give you money through health credit cards demand you either go to the doctors they can coerce into signing a contract with the insurance carrier, or they don't pay anything. In larger population areas, this allows you to see the better doctors, but that usually means long waiting times for visits. In rural areas, long drives might be necessary to just go for a checkup, and in some situations, a large part of your state the insurance companies might not even include your area. 

The most important thing to remember is that some of the commercials are not actually by the insurance companies. They are commercials where insurance agents pay a fee to a company, which transfers the caller to them for a possible new client. Insurance agents receive a fee for every person they get to sign on a policy, and regardless of your state, are licensed and must follow insurance laws. The laws of that state dictate what they can offer, and the slick commercials are basically throwing you into a pool, which is filled with those agents willing to take a chance on getting enough policies to pay for their fee to be included. You meet your agent by a phone call, and probably have absolutely no information on their reliability, or whether they will be honest about the policy you're about to buy,

If I had to recommend what people should do when they have to deal with Medicare, I would say read everything you can about the system, find a good insurance agent to represent you, and if you can afford it, go with a supplemental policy called a Medigap policy. Those pay whatever Medicare doesn't pay, and allow you to see any doctor you want. 

Meanwhile, From The Nose Bleed Section

They caught the person responsible for planting the fake pipe bombs (or were they fake?) on January 6 when the supposed insurrection was in full swing. Bondi said the last group of supposed administrator of the alphabet agencies were sitting on their hands, and whistling to the wind. Who knows? We haven't been given much to warm our hearts on justice being served. 

Speaking of justice. Regardless of what is reported, placed in investigation, or tossed around Congress, I don't have a fuzzy feeling about the state of justice in the United States. Too many obvious criminals are allowed to continue their stints in Congress, or allowed to sell books, when they should have been flogged, tarred and feathered, tied to a rail, and tossed into a pit of raw sewage.

I don't know how everyone feels, but the economy sucks. Inflation has stolen at least 25% of my income in the last four years, and nobody is reporting how they performed the procedure outlined above in solving this problem. 

Illegals have shown the worst of people in other countries only become problems in other countries. The best solution is to deport any found, close down all immigration, and give at least twenty years for those that legally immigrated to become accustomed to the American way of life.

Regardless of what's being reported, the desperate adds on television indicate the Christmas sales will be abysmal. The deals are too good, and in my opinion, it looks like the major outlets will do just about anything to break even. 

Trump has suggested giving newborn families $1000 for each baby. That's fair, but I won't my share to be retroactive to the year I was born and the money gathering 6% interest. 

I'm helping my wife to make some homemade vegetable beef soup. We have different opinions, but manage to work together on the production. It tastes really good, and the slow simmer will bring out all the flavors.