Health Care

The only way to solve

the health care dilemma

is to remove all federal

funding of same.

The only exception shall be

Armed Forces hospitals

treating their wounded

or injured members.

What, you say!

Chaos will reign;

people will die!

Not gonna happen.

Health care will improve,

costs will be reduced,

when states and communities

set standards for providers.

Gone are Medicare,

Medicaid, CHIPS, and

the avatar of inefficiency:

Veterans hospitals.

In their place will be

competition at all levels,

from doctors, clinics,

hospitals, and insurers.

No one will be entitled

to health care, as a

benefit to be paid

from federal taxes.

Even those who are

disabled, on welfare, or

social security, must pay

an appropriate amount.

Most important will be

enhanced recruitment

of doctors, nurses, and

other medical personnel.

Doors will open again

for philanthropy to be

the principal financier

of health care facilities.

Silver Eagles

Silver eagles once perched upon

the shoulders of silver-haired

officers in the Army and Air Force

from the West Point class of 1949.

All of them, of course, are

now retired or gone to another life.

They are remembered now only by

families and a few friends.

As everyone in the services knows,

the silver eagle is the insignia

of a full colonel in the Army,

Air Force, and Marine Corps.

The title, “colonel," is a derivation

of what we would call a column,

meaning a person who leads a

column of troops into battle.

Today, “colonel,” still designates

the highest grade of field command,

leading combat forces and sharing

their blood, mud, sweat, and danger.

These opportunities are unfortunately

limited to a small number of colonels,

so many pursued careers that enhanced

the performance of their service.

They found roles that could be

characterized as managerial, technical,

pioneering, of just doing what was

needed wherever they were posted.

Then the axe fell on each.

after years of faithful service,

they were cast off when the calendar

read thirty years of active duty.

Probably their separation ceremonies

were brief, and seen by few.

Still in their fifties, they faced

years of so-called retirement.

Undaunted, our colonels sought

opportunities for service in fields,

that they had never seen before,

and brought their experience with them.

They found that the principles of

duty, honor, and country that

West Point taught were applicable

to universal needs and problems.

Still serving, and never really retired,

let us sing our reminiscences of

the backbone of our class, those who

ran the full course of active duty.

Slow Train Wreck

St. David's is headed for a slow train wreck.  The pledge drive for
2016 is stalled at 87 units for 164K.  50 units who pledged for 
2015 have not shown up.  A few have departed to other churches,
and a few have departed to a better life.  The rest are unknown and
presumably will be followed up, at least by telephone.

That leaves the 2016 pledges 60K + short of the 225K considered
necessary to operate the organization and compensate a full-time
rector.  The church could tap the unrestricted investments to meet
the shortfall, thus spending dead peoples' money to stay alive.

In accounting parlance, that means the church is no longer a "going
concern."  The leadership of the church has been upfront about the
situation, apparently to scare the present membership into coughing
up more dough.  That is a fatal mistake, making them feel guilty
about the present level of their support.

The church has been without a rector for a year and a half.  The 
interim rector is a pleasant, cheerful, ineffective leader.  Her 
sermons are brief and forgettable.  She has changed the service
to omit confession, creed, and eucharistic prayers prescribed in
The Book of Common Prayer.  It is a combination of New Age
and Unitarianism.  She says the newer members like it.

Meanwhile, the search committee soldiers on, contacting 
candidates for full-time rector.  Apparently, they do not share
the dire financial situation with prospects.  They had someone
in agreement last summer, who bailed out at the last minute,
for reasons unknown or unstated.

From the safety of the end pew, we watch this train wreck as
it materializes.  To add insult to injury, we were not issued 
pledge envelopes for 2016.  Maybe our pledge got lost or 
they are trying to tell us something.  I believe, as always,
that the hand of God is at work, even though we do not yet
know the outcome.

Words at A Wedding

Three of my grandchildren
were married recently,
but I was not asked
to speak at the reception.

If I had been asked, 
I would have passed on
words of wisdom to each
of the happy couples.

First, to the groom:
Two simple words 
will keep the relationship
alive for the rest of your life.

They are simply, "Yes, dear."
Even if you do not agree
or wish to acquiesce,
let it play out her way.

To both the bride and groom,
never say the words
"You never" or "You always"
even if they are true.

You married someone 
whose ways attracted you.
You cannot now say,
"You're perfect, now change!"

Most of all, wherever you are,
never let a night pass
without saying "I love you"
before going to sleep.

Then He will keep watch over you,
give his angels charge of you,
as He shields the joyous, and
blesses your union forever.

St. David's Update

At each of the services conducted at St. David's 
the senior warden made a solemn announcement:
The candidate for rector withdrew her
agreement to serve at our church.

There was something peculiar anyway 
in her not being able to join us until Advent.
One would think that by now she had made
her intentions known in her present situation.

One has to suspect that money is the consideration.
There has been no assurance from the vestry
that a full-time rector could be paid entirely
from ongoing sources of income.

Given the budget presented at the annual meeting,
a shortfall would have to be made up by raiding
the Diocesan Investment Trust for this year
and very possibly for years to come.

Then there is the very real problem of 
the high cost of living on Cape Cod,
particularly in the purchase or rental
of housing in a very tight market.

What happens next is up in the air.
There is talk of reconstituting the search 
committee with new members, assuming 
the present members are dispirited.

The congregation reacted calmly to the news.
It is as if they were already suspicious.
We may see a gradual departure of 
members who want permanence in their church.

The interim rector has served almost a year;
the former rector left in June of last year.
The situation calls for a diocesan appointment 
of a priest in charge as soon as possible.

Return of the Little Red Bag

The little red bag has been on many trips.
Carry-on size, easy to stow overhead,
it can be pulled through airplane aisles
and crowded airports without difficulty.

The little red bag made the tour 
to visit the National Parks last year,
and was the carry-on during the cruise
on the Rhine and Danube rivers.

We had three bad days on that expedition, 
the last being the trip home to Boston.
Woke up at 2:30 a.m. to be bussed to the 
Budapest airport for a flight to Amsterdam.

Time for a leisurely lunch in Amsterdam,
then off on the seven hour flight to Boston
First we had to stand in line for a grilling
by Delta reps before boarding.

The little red bag with us, we were treated
to a nonstop conversation by two loud
Eastern Europeans sitting in front of us,
thus ruining any chance for sleep.

Down in Logan Airport in Boston to be
herded in long lines through three 
separate machinations by customs officials,
the little red bag trailing behind.

Finally we were able to get to the baggage area
and retrieve our two large suitcases.
When we tried to exit, we were herded to 
another room for baggage inspection.

With about two hundred passengers lined up,
it looked like we would be another hour.
Suddenly the customs crew decided to wave
everyone out the door without inspection.

Now at this point, we were brain dead.
We had the two large suitcases in a cart.
Barbara was going to pull the little red bag.
I took off like a shot, pushing the cart.

We had been back and forth on the phone
with Ray, our limo driver, who had already
been waiting an hour for us, then called 
him again to say we were on our way out.

At this point, memory is clouded.
All we can say is that when we arrived home,
there was no little red bag in the car.
Ray said he never loaded such an item.

Despair.  Is it gone forever?
Not so;  nine days later, a latino voice
informed us that they (who?) had found
the bag (where?) with no tag (somewhere?).

He said he would send it on to Delta, 
then abruptly hung up, without further explanation.
Meanwhile, we had filed a lost item report 
with Delta, and were awarded a case number. 

A week later, Delta emailed to say they
could not find our little red bag.
A day or so after that, a lady called to 
say they had it in Delta lost and found.

So we asked Ray to pick it up on one of his 
runs to the airport, which he did, delivering 
this precious item right to our front door.
Inside a pocket was Barbara's card, written on.

This is another reason why we have taken an 
oath never to travel outside the country again.
Now we understand why we saw no other 
old people on either of the transatlantic flights.

Viking River Cruise

On our stay in Amsterdam before the cruise
we fulfilled a lifetime objective of 
visiting the restored Rijkes Museum, 
a splendid all-day experience.

The works of the Dutch masters
were displayed in the great hall
in separate enclaves for the most famous,
leaving room for photos of their paintings.

But we have taken an oath
never to travel out of the country again.
The outgoing day was difficult;
the return passage was nearly impossible.

In between were highlights and disappointments.
The promotional literature summoned up seeing
beautiful vistas while slowly gliding down the rivers
with occasional stops at interesting venues.

The reality was an unbroke regimen of 
herding large groups of passengers into buses,
then dropping them off for two hour walks
on cobblestone streets through medieval villages.

The guides spoke nonstop into walking radios
on the local history of governance and disasters
through the centuries, and on the lives and
scandals of the royals and clergy therein.

Naturally, we ignored the lectures and
took pictures constantly inside and out.
Fortunately, the dates of each shot will
help us to remember where we were.

We focussed on the churches,
ranging from lofty cathedrals and
brilliantly decorated rococo chapels
to somber reconstructions of WWII ruins.

Highlights included climbing up to a genuine castle,
walking through a walled town in a modern city,
and a slow tour through Buda and Pest, with
lights ablaze on the major buildings.

At one point, we were so exhausted
that we had to take a day off to remain
on the ship while the hardy tourists 
walked around Bratislava in the rain.

A low point was our transfer from one ship
to another, because the low water level
prevented our first boat from transiting
the locks on the Main River canal.

Although the food was somewhat bizarre, 
we enjoyed sitting with different people
who came from all over the U.S.A. and
as far as Australia and New Zealand.

The ship itself was super clean, with
service provided by bright youngsters
of many nationalities, who smiled constantly
and were anxious to respond to our requests.

Our conclusion is that the Viking River Cruise,
as it is currently operated, is beyond the
capabilities of most elderly people like us,
and should be marketed as such.