Egypt Buff

Just came back from COSTCO and once again amazed by the cupidity & stupidity of congress.  Ten years ago Quinine Sulfate  cost $.40 , then congress decided that a drug in use for 500 years was not properly tested. The result? ONE company was made the only one to make quinine sulfate for sale in the USA. The price went from $40 per 100 to over $550.72 per 90.  This drug is the only proven, consistently effective treatment for severe muscle cramps.  Hope you don’t get Malaria or you will be in a financial mess.

Visited another M.D. today. we waited for an hour and were ready to leave when we were called. Dr, Berlin, or Mark as he prefers to be called was very through and proceeded to clearly explain everything. He answered every question fully and pointed out things that should have been told to us 2 years ago. That’s why he was an hour late. This is the way he is with all patients. M.D.s should  treat all patients that way. He hates that the staff crowds the schedule but a group practice always does this. This is a problem with group practices. I really like Dr. Mark he sets the bar.

Pool was opened today, shock went in to clear the water. The pool company will be power vacuuming it  and salt will be added as needed. If the weather holds up we should have a B-B-Q on Memorial day weekend. Hope the weather is warm enough to get in the pool.

My Aunt Luisa passed away yesterday. One more loved one gone.

Today is sunny but the forecast is for more clouds. We need 3 days of soaking rain, not cold, dark. & damp days.

Saw “Avenue Q” yesterday, good fun. Today nasty, cold and damp. Don’t mind rain but can’t stand damp!

 

Merry Christmas to all. Get what you want and spend what you want. The birth of Christ and sharing love and good feelings is just old-fashioned nonsense. Go ye and procreate.

Last computer I had died in a really weird way. Literally, the lights went on but nobody was home. Just would start and then stop working. None of my computer boffins could figure it out. Well with the computer went access to my blog.  Finally my “geeks” have me back on track.

Now  the Christmas music has me remembering, dear friends I have lost touch with and really miss. the school I taught at held a Christmas concert for the student band.  Kids in 4th, through 8th grade. You could not believe how good they were. People would come as a favor to their friends and return year after year. The music teacher, Barry Weaver, was the band leader and he got those kids to play like pros. Really folks that had nothing to do with the school or parish would come to the Christmas and spring concerts for the sheer pleasure of the experience.  I miss Barry, I miss my friends, I miss the kids, and I miss the concerts.

I grew up in the 50’s in Manhattan. Upper East Side,also known as Spanish Harlem. Nobody had much money but our parents saw that we had the things we needed. Not to romanticize it but for a kid it was great fun. Once the homework was done we all spilled out on to the street to play. Ring-a-levio, stoop ball, stick ball, carpet guns , pea shooters, hand ball, and roller skating. Not all at once but each in its  ‘season’. You didn’t fight with carpet guns (a stick with a rubber band stretchered around it and a clothes pin trigger to shoot little pieces of linoleum) when it was roller skating time.

Good clean violent fun. Cops and robbers with stuff that actually shot.  We played with each other every day, out doors. All sorts of games.  Our block was especially safe as the 20th precinct and 52 fire engine company were there. A block with both a police station and a fire house was safe as could be.

The point is we had friends that we saw all the time! No play dates, no calling to see if they could come over, just go outside and they would be there. Children today don’t have this kind of freedom. Everything has to be planned, organized, driven to, and scheduled. We played traditional games that went back to the turn of the century. Watch an Our Gang comedy and see the games we played. Not so elaborately but in essence.

Even when my boys were growing up they would see their friends on a daily basis. Bike a few blocks, join up with your pals and have fun. This  is missing in the suburban life my grand children know. It is beautiful  here, but they see their friends only in school in an organized sport carefully scheduled play dates. Free imaginative play is rare, I wish it wasn’t.

At 4:19 AM today we increased the grand-kids by one. Kaelen made her appearance and filled our world with joy. I won’t get to see her until this afternoon but I already know that she is one of the 3 most beautiful, smartest, and perfect children in the world.  Katherine is bummed out that she is no longer the baby of the family. She and Tommy are not too pleased that Grandma will be away for a few weeks. Well, we all must learn to live with disappointments.  Better to  learn while they are young.