Colorado Inferno

Waldo Canyon Fire, Denver Post Photo

It rivals the Chicago fire lore, reputed to be started by Mrs. O'Leary and her cow.  It probably started just as innocently, although how the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs did start remains a mystery .Waldo Canyon Fire Crews Making Progress

This fire, along with scores of other fires throughout Colorado just adds salt to a wound.  The temperatures here have been in the three digits for almost two weeks.  The nice thing about this state was that when it got this hot, we got a reprieve with a cold front that would cool things down for a few days.

No such luck.

Colorado has its' annual fires every year, but I can't remember one as devastating.  It is surreal to look at the pictures of neighborhoods smoldering from a fire that tore through Colorado Springs. Rampant winds accelerated it to 20 miles an hour yesterday.  This gave residents' little time to evacuate their homes.

Looking at the faces of people that lost everything just breaks my heart.  Special memories; the births, deaths, graduations, marriages- all things we associate with home-  taken away so ruthlessly by mother nature.

I am  fortunate, as I live north of the closest fire to my residence, which has now been contained in Boulder.  It gives me pause to think about what is really most important in life.  For me, it would be family, pets, pictures.  

Everything else can be replaced.

However, in Colorado Springs, there is one documented death, and 10 people remain unaccounted.

Colorado weather for the coming week is going to be in 90's.  We aren't going to get much of a break.  It's  like fighting a fire within a fire.  Not enough credit can be given to the fire fighters from all over the country trying to contain its' fury.

Soon, regretfully, this state will have lost all it's wooded areas; the evergreen's and other foliage that make it so marvelous and beautiful.

There is no doubt this is part of global warming.  A women remarked that "the world was coming to an end."

After all the bible does say it will end in fire.

I hope not.

Will Obamacare Deliver?

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I am at a cross-road.  I think like a republican, but I can't afford to be one.  Part of me is delighted about the Supreme Court ruling on health care.  After all, it is the "right" thing to do.   Not because it will benefit me, (I have coverage through military) but for the hundreds of thousands of people without insurance.


I was speaking with a good friend just recently, who explained she cannot get to the dentist to treat a gum disease, as she does not have $7000 and is without coverage.  I asked her couldn't she find a dentist that would accept payments?  She gave me a vague answer, and said she was pursuing a holistic approach to treating her gums.  I cringed. 


How can you ignore a gum disease?  Yikes.  The answer is, very easily if you don't have the money to pay.


Obamacare promises an end to all this.  The  needy, poor, indigent will now get insurance.  The government cannot deny you coverage for pre-existing conditions.  That's a big one.


There seems to be everything right with Obamacare.  Any decent human being would be for this new insurance plan.


The flip side:  Is this all it is cracked up to be?


What about choice of doctors?  According to SmartMoney, Who the Health Ruling Impacts Most:

“Consolidation within the industry means that people will have less choice,” says Alex Morozov, a senior health care analyst at Morningstar. In fact, the two largest insurance companies have a 70% market share in nearly half the 50 states, according to the American Medical Association". 

I am not sure this is a good thing.  One of the drawbacks, in my opinion, of social medicine is when the government expands care, there is diminishing quality of care.  This is frightening to me.  I want to be able to choose my practitioners.  Maybe I am making to much of this issue, but it is a concern.


I am also concerned how the new plan will affect businesses.  If 70 percent of health care will be facilitated by two companies, what happens to the rest of the health care industry.  It will be a trickle down effect, placing more of a burden on an already struggling economy.


The fact remains, however, that according to SmartMoney, nearly three in 5 Americans remain uninsured, that amounts to 43 million people.


Time will tell if we are in love with Obamacare, or if the costs hit Americans in other ways.  As I have said in a previous blog on Obamacare, someone has got to pay.


I will continue to evaluate the impacts of the new plan.  For me, it is too early to tell if this is a complete blessing or complete disaster.


It sounds great, but will it deliver?

The Sun Is Not My Friend

WebMD.com

I just got into the office, after spending an hour-and-a half in the doctor's office.  It wasn't more than 6 months' ago that I last visited my dermatologist.  Here I go again.  I am waiting for the results of three biopsies.

I was in my early thirties when I first had surgery for a basal cell carcinoma.  Not at all as serious as melanoma, but hey, cancer is cancer.

My mother was very cavalier about the sun.  If I would break out, the sun was the answer! " Bake yourself in the sun tomorrow" would become her favorite mantra when I complained about my zits.  I was desperate, and would have done anything to rid myself of this malady!

Fast forward twenty years, I was sitting in the dermatologist office - not discussing acne- but cancer.  I'm paying a steep price for all that baking.

How would we know in 1960 what we know today about the sun?  Generations ago,debutantes' were never allowed to go out into the sun without an umbrella, covered up.  Women used to believe that the sun would destroy their fair complexions.  Turns out, they were so right.

My mother was of Lithuanian background.  She received no such instructions from her mother.  What did she know about the dangers of the sun?  She would share with me the odd story or two about my father roasting himself at the beach.

Dad got sun poisoning and apparently locked himself in a room, to hide his blistering skin from her.  I took after Dad, the palest skin, with dark hair.  Dad was Austrian-polish decent.  Mother had olive skin, and while she also baked in the sun -and was blond-  the damage wasn't as evident.

Today, I cautiously watch my skin in fear.  I am saddled with hyper-pigmentation due to my  love affair with the sun.  I look at myself with disdain, and marvel and women who have no traces skin sun damage.

I had these ugly spots since I was 30.  Not exactly an age related issue at that time.

I  blame the UV rays and cooking myself to a lobster red in my teens. Strangers would approach me on the beach, pleading with me to get out of the sun.

What did I know.

However, I am grateful I know now.  My daughter, 29, will not listen.  She has a weekly date with a tanning bed that is sure to do her in.   I have tried unsuccessfully to get her to listen, but my advise falls on deaf ears

 My son, on the other hand, is as white and pale as me.  He never goes outside with out ample sun screen.  At thirty-one, doctors marvel at his healthy skin.
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According to Today Health, MSNBC.com :Everything Causes Cancer': Teens Justify Tanning Bed Use, Study Finds.  


When will American teens realize the harm they are doing to themselves? 


It is sad to think they will some day have to deal with this unpleasant issue. The not-so-lucky may have to contend with live threatening skin cancers.

Please folks, do your research.  If you don't believe me, look it up for yourselves.  Protect your skin, and no matter where you live, don't venture out without your ammunition:

Your sunscreen recommended for your skin type.

Good luck!  Please don't worship the sun.

 It is not your friend.

Rodney King: A Gentle Voice Silenced

Joe Klamar, AFP / Getty Images

I am saddened by Rodney Kings's death.  The first thing I thought of is "only the good die young."  This man had a tortured existence.  He wasn't exactly angel.  We all knew that.
But rather, an old sould that learned more than his share of life's lessons.
Rodney King's Sudden Death Ends Long Struggle With Demons


The beating he endured in 1991 left him with memory loss, aches and pains, and still he found strength to go on.  He prayed for his accosters'.  He had only forgiveness for the pain he suffered, and endured for his 47 short years' of life.  I marveled at how spiritually evolved king was.  I don't think I could have forgiven quite as easily.


Not for all the money in the world.


Rodney King did forgive.  He spent the rest of his life trying to right the wrong's in society. He wasn't perfect, like all adolescents he had his share of trouble.  What he did with the rest of his life is awe inspiring.


He was totally translucent, and willingly shared his sentiments.  According to the Daily Beast,  he was displeased with the progress with racism.  He was encouraged that we were moving forward, but discouraged by the Trayvon Martin incident.


Still, he did not hold himself out as flawless:

“I tell people I am not perfect. and I haven't always made good decisions, and sometimes I make the same mistakes, again and again.

How sad he had so many demons to conquer.  Rodney King added something to my life.  To hear him speak, was inspiring.  It is hard to hear about the loss of a good guy.  Because we only hear about the bad guys.


King struggled with drug addiction for most of his life.  A troubled, yet gentle soul. 


The world is going to miss Rodney King.  We will miss how he handled life's problems with class and dignity.  We will miss his voice to remind us we were wrong.


We have to take the reins and follow through were Rodney left off.  We have to make sure that we don't resort to brutality to right societal wrongs.


I believe, this is what Rodney King was fighting to change.


A friend once told me " A heart recognizes a heart."


Tonight when before I lay my head on the pillow, I will say a little prayer for the 6'2" man, with the heart of a giant.