Appointment Made

Good news today. The Wilmington VA called to arrange an appointment for me to see their dermatology department. My appointment will be in August, much earlier than the dates available to me from the two local dermatology offices that would make appointments for me. The other two local dermatology offices told me there weren't accepting new patients. The woman who talked to me today from the VA cared and listened to me. That's why I like using the VA. Once you get past the Bush Administration imposed roadblocks and hurdles to using the VA, I actually have gotten the best medical care in my life from the VA system. The people who work for the VA are not motivated by money as is most of the private medical sector. With the VA I receive preventive medical care. I feel relieved that my problem will be looked at by caring people. I felt myself slipping into depression. The phone call from the VA today reversed that slide. Today turned out to be a good day.

Dermatologist?

Yesterday I discovered one of the few downsides living in the southern most county in Delaware. I needed to see a dermatologist to check a skin condition on the side of my neck. I have a history of actinic keratosis. While this is not cancerous, it could become cancerous. I have a history of skin cancer in my family. My next scheduled appointment with the VA in Wilmington is in November (I'm checked annually.) Now that I have Medicare Part B and AARP supplemental insurance I can choose any doctor that I want. At least that is the myth perpetuated by those who opposed government health care. Yesterday, I called the first of four dermatologists listed in the local phone book. The first dermatologist was not accepting new patients until October! The next two aren't accepting patients at all. The fourth office of the dermatologist told me that they weren't accepting new patients until September. Now remember, I live on the eastern coast of Delaware, in a beach resort area. NO DERMATOLOGISTS! Such is the state of health care in this country. So much for choosing your own doctor. Now I have a call into the VA. The VA provides excellent health care for me but I do have to jump through a lot of hoops and appointments take some time to keep because of the shortage of doctors at the VA. In a way, I'm glad I'm at the end of my life instead of starting out. I can remember back to the days of my childhood when doctors made house calls and medical expenses were affordable. While this country has made great advances in medical care it is not available to many of us, even people like me who have what amounts to double medical care.

Then There Were Four

This morning I checked the bluebird house and now there are four!

Naked and defenseless now, they will soon sprout feathers and open those big beaks for their daily feedings by Mom and Pop bluebird. All my other accomplishments in life pale to what I'm able to do for this pair of bluebird parents, give them a helping hand in raising their young. Sometimes the best things in life are truly free.

New Baby Bluebirds

We have new baby bluebirds! I checked this morning first thing (as I always do). What I saw was four blue eggs. After returning from my Friday morning visit to the super WalMart in Milford, I checked again. Two new bluebirds! I'm hesitant to keep interfering with Mama and Papa bluebird in raising their young, but I have to check. The Purple Martins are gone. The sparrows have taken over their house. An occasional grackle swoops over by the bluebird house but they are quickly chased away by Mama and Papa bluebird. The other two bluebird houses remain empty. There are no other predator threats to the bluebirds on my property. This is the second year the bluebirds have raised their young in this particular bluebird box. Success!

Gay Life in Southern Delaware

The dog days of summer are here already. Still, life is good here in the southern most county of Delaware, Sussex County. The August issue of Delaware today has an excellent article on the New Delawarean. That's me, a retiree from seeking refuge from the tax happy state of Pennsylvania. My school taxes were so high in Pennsylvania that I could no longer afford to live in that verdant state. In addition to the ever increasing school taxes, there were the other taxes like the state sales tax, country tax, and township tax. The tax burden left me no choice but to move to a tax friendlier state like Delaware. It was either Delaware or South Carolina (where my younger brother lives.) Another factor in my decision to move to Delaware, specifically the Rehoboth Beach area, is that it is a more inclusive community. What does "inclusive community" mean you ask? Gay friendly. I don't have to live in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" environment down here. In Pennsylvania, my partner and I were accepted as long as we kept a low profile. We don't want to be "accepted." We just want to live like other people. We can do that here in southern Delaware. Ironically, we're not involved in the local gay community at all. We live in a neighborhood which is basically straight. There are three other gay couple in this neighborhood, one male and two females. The organized gay community in the Rehoboth Beach area is generally conceded to be Camp Rehoboth. Unfortunately, they operate more like a private exclusive club than an open "all inclusive" organization. Their main function seems to be fund raising to further perpetuate their survival, much the same as TV evangelical ministers are always raising funds to keep them on TV in order to raise more funds. This isn't knocking Camp Rehoboth or their purported function of "creating a more inclusive environment", but stating the reality of their primary function - raising funds. My partner and I are enjoying a comfortable retirement in Delaware without the benefit of Camp Rehoboth and their "sensistivity training" of local police officers. We're retirees just like any other retirees in our neighborhood, gay and straight. We buy groceries, pay our bills, mow our lawn, and have family issues just like any other family. Now that the dog days of summer are here, we're just trying to stay cool like the straight folks.

Judy Checks The Bluebird Box

Yesterday, a friend of mine and her son stopped by to see the bluebird box in person. Four, perfect oval blue bird eggs were in the neat bluebird nest. Mom and Pop bluebird were nearby somewhere. They surely must know by now that I pose no harm to their nest. The Purple Martins have departed to where, I know not. I assume they will being to make their annual trek to Brazil where they will spend the winter. I have removed the tape from the entrances to the Purple Martin apartments. The sparrow immediately took up a position outside on of the entrances and started to chirp, advertising his availablity to make a family. So far no takers. Maybe it's too late in the season to start a new brood. I notice that my neighbor's Purple Martin house is also empty of Purple Martins. However, I do see the straw other junk sticking out of one of the doors, thus indicating a sparrow has already made a nest in one of the PM apartments. Grackles have been visiting most of the day today, dirtying up my birdbaths. For some reason, they like to go to the bathroom in the birdbaths. Later on, while I was out changing the water in the birdbaths, I heard a rustle at the base of one of the white pine trees that border my backyard behind the planters and birdbaths. A big, majestic Cooper's Hawk takes flight. I was wondering why there was so much commotion in the sky from the other grackles. As the hawk flew away, the much smaller birds harassed and dive bombed it. A few seconds later other grackles emerged from the base of the other white pines and flew away. Apparently the Law of Nature was taking its course until I interrupted it with my birdbath changing routine. Maybe that hawk will return and make that pesky sparrow his dinner.

Cool Cat

This morning I took a ride to visit my longtime friend, Bob. He lives in the woods, near Georgetown, Delaware. Bob wasn't there but his faithful cat Stormy, was there perched on the banister, waiting for his master. I love cats. Unfortunately I don't have one because my life partner, Bill, doesn't like cats. Ironically, the only pet cat I ever had was a cat named "Bobby." My friend's name (the owner of Stormy) is Bob. Bobby (the cat) was a gray tabby cat that took up with me when I was about 10 years old. My family lived in a second floor apartment, above the offices of Gindy Manufacturing Company. The Gindy trailer manufacturing plant was located next to the building where we had an apartment. Bobby the cat just showed up one day. Apparently he was surviving my mousing in the plant. We hit it off right away. I don't remember how many years I had Bobby, but one day when I came home from school, Bobby wasn't there to greet me. I asked my Mother if she had seen him. She told me that my Father had taken him to the SPCA because Bobby was spraying the front door. Thus ended my one and only pet cat. Someday I will rescue a cat from the local animal shelter to make up for that injustice that happened so many years ago. The cat featured in this video is named "Stormy." He showed up one stormy night at my friend Bob's home. He was soaked to the skin. Bob took him in out of the storm and gave him sheltr in his home. The next morning Stormy's little sister showed up. She looks just like Stormy with more delicate features. Unfortunately, Stormy is a Top Cat. He is a little rough with his little sister so she isn't around too much. Bob suspects she has another home nearby. Bob used to have a mouse problem. He no longer has that problem. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any little birds around either. Maybe I can borrow Stormy to solve my sparrow problem. The Purple Martins have left their birdhouse. I covered all the entrances with masking tape so the sparrow couldn't get in. Would you know that those sparrows tried all day to get in? Their determination is amazing. I notice that they did make a nest in my neighbor's PM birdhouse. His Purple Martins have also taken off. I'll leave the tape on for a few more days. I don't know how long it takes for the message to get through their little pea brain. I do notice they haven't built any more nests in the bluebird boxes I cleaned out. They really seem intent on building their nest in the Purple Martin house. I wonder what the fascination is with that house since they gave up so easily on the other houses. Maybe they feel safer at that height. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to figure out they're not going to get in that bird house. The bluebird nest continues to do fine. The bluebird parents are very low key and don't seem to spend much time at their birdhouse but they do. I see them flitting back and forth in the backyard, reducing my insect population. Occasionally, one of the sparrows flies over towards their birdbox, but both bluebirds chase them away. I guess they've had enough of the bullying by the sparrows. Good for them. Other residents of my backyard are robins and catbirds. If I did have a cat, I probably wouldn't have many birds in my backyard. Unless if I had an inside cat. This last batch of baby bluebirds were out of their nest before they were ready to be on their own. Their parents had to feed them in the surround bushes for about a week. I sure would hate to see my puddy tat bringing home a baby bluebird in its mouth as a token of appreciation to me.