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4 MAY 04: A HEALTHY IGNORANCE
"Today is the first day Alabamians can enroll for the Medicare prescription drug benefit...." said the Troy Public Radio newscaster Monday afternoon. Hmmmm - Troy Public Radio. TPR for short. Tipper! Yup, they're as liberal as Mrs. Gore.
But anyway: I turned up the car radio at the mention of the Medicare story, because my next-door neighbor was riding with me. She's well above age 70, so she'd certainly want to hear this. After all, our last stop was the Kmart pharmacy - where they don't tend to have "Blue-light specials" on blood pressure medicine.
"I wonder where folks in Georgia can apply for that thing," my next-door neighbor asked.
"The phone number he mentioned should work nationwide: 1-800-MEDICARE."
"How do you spell Medicare?" she asked. I was so stumped by this question that she had to repeat it for me. But come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing "Medicare" in my English and spelling textbooks.
By this time, we'd parked the car outside the Piggly Wiggly store on Buena Vista Road. So I used that moment to clarify what my neighbor was saying. "You don't know about Medicare....?!"
"No, sir. I've never had that."
My jaw dropped at the woman's statement, as yours may be dropping now. It was all I could do to keep it from becoming a second parking brake.
"I'd like to have it," my neighbor said about Medicare as she climbed out of the car. "It sounds nice, and I could use all the help I can get." Considering she had walked the wrong direction from my car leaving her last stop, I understood this statement in several ways.
As I write this, I'm still stunned by what my neighbor said. All these years, she's gone WITHOUT any sort of Medicare?! Was she at jobs with health care plans THAT generous?
This is a woman who relies on Social Security checks and occasional lottery wins to pay her monthly bills, and uses a PeachCare card to buy some groceries. How could she know nothing about Medicare benefits? I thought the only people in that position were billionaires like Warren Buffett and Leona Helmsley.
My neighbor apparently never noticed all the TV commercials in recent weeks, promoting the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has run ads about it - which makes you wonder how many drug companies REALLY paid for the time.
It simply shocks me that someone up in years and low in income never has used Medicare, and seemingly never has heard of it. My neighbor has the TV news on almost every morning - but apparently for decades, she's only done that for the time
in the corner of the screen.
BLOG UPDATE: Both candidates for Superior Court Judge held campaign kickoff events Monday. It was all Bobby Peters could do NOT to propose charging criminals an extra one-cent sales tax.
Roxann Daniel is the incumbent Superior Court Judge, with more than a year of experience. Bobby Peters is the former Mayor, who says he has three decades of law practice experience. But Mr. Peters has a secret argument up his sleeve. He lives so close to the Government Center that he'll save the state gas money.
Ms. Daniel noted Monday she's the only female court judge in the Chattahoochee Circuit, which includes Columbus and five surrounding counties. Of course, this means she'll be endorsed by Judge Marilyn Milian, Judge Hatchett and Amy
Brennaman of "Judging Amy."
In 2004, there are all sorts of ways to determine who's the most worthy candidate for Superior Court Judge:
+ Give each candidate a show on public access television -- with 30 minutes to settle a case.
+ Offer each one a giant Ten Commandments monument, to display in the Government Center lobby.
+ Track down former Governor Roy Barnes, and ask why he selected Ms. Daniel over Mr. Peters in the first place.
Now other clippings from a cool, comfortable Monday:
+ Phenix City Police announced jail inmate John Rimes was caught stealing items from city employees' desks, while doing floor-cleaning at the Public Safety Center. Maybe it's time to change this policy -- and have dusting done by women in rescue shelters who can't find jobs.
+ A manager of the Hilton Mobile Home Park told WXTX "News at Ten" a security guard patrols the park every day. That's comforting to know - but couldn't that guard be on patrol every NIGHT, when the shootings happen?
+ The Columbus Catfish split a doubleheader with Greensboro, playing two seven-inning games. This prompted the Catfish radio announcer to say, "It gets late early today." Ohhhhhhhhh. So I guess it's like what shoppers face on December 24th.
© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.