Veteran's Care

A short time ago, I returned from the Veterans Medical Center in Wilmington, Delaware. My appointment today was with the urologist. This was a followup to my kidney stone problem. Again, I was very impressed with the quality of care that I receive from the Veterans Administration. About ten years ago, I applied for my Veterans Administration card as insurance in case I was left without medical insurance. At that time I didn't that it was likely that I would ever find the need to use the Veterans Administration for my medical care. Little did I know. In 2001 I changed my job where I was covered with full medical care to a consultant job with no medical care insurance. Fortunately for me I had medical care with the VA which enabled me to work as a consultant. Also, lucky for me that I applied to the VA for medical care, because when the Bush administration took office, one of their first actions was instruct the VA to stop advertising medical benefits that was available for veterans. Subsequent actions by the Bush administration was to erect a series of roadblocks and hurdles to discourage veterans from applying for benefits. However, the Bush administration overplayed its hand when they proposed an annual $2,000 "membership" fee to apply for medical care. Of course this was patently unfair because one of the promises made to me when I joined the Army in January 27, 1960 was that I would have "lifetime medical care if necessary." The Bush administration was putting into practice the "starve the beast" theory. Basically the "starve the beast" theory is to cut taxes so much that then the government would have the excuse that their isn't enough money to support government programs like VA medical care. The political outcry was so great, that the Bush administration had to retreat from this proposal. However, they did lower the income eligibility of veterans applying for benefits. Thus, even less veterans could apply for benefits. My two brothers and several friends of mine who are veterans could not apply for benefits. Since I had already applied for benefits before the the Bush administration came into office, I was grandfathered into the system. I've had my share of bad breaks in my life but this is one of my good breaks. Not only do I have medical care but I have received the best medical care in my life. Ironically, all the years I had great medical coverage when I worked at my various banks, I only used it once. However, once I had my VA coverage, I had several medical issues. I had to have two operations. Various tests. I was worried about the quality of medical care. My worries were in vain. I have always received the absolute best medical care. Today was another example. As a followup to my kidney stone emergency this past January, the VA scheduled me for several tests. They have put me on medication to help avoid future kidney stones. They have tested me for my current condition. One of the things I really like about VA medical care is their preventive measures. Rather than waiting for something to happen, they take preventive measures. Also, their record keeping is excellent. My appointment this morning was at 9 A.M. The doctor saw me at 9 A.M. I didn't have to wait in a cubicle for an hour or more before the doctor quickly came in, looked at papers and mumbled something and leaving without even looking at me in the face or even talking to me. The doctor who saw me this morning sat down with me, looked at me and talked to me without being rushed. He carefully went over my records and shared this information with me. He gave me his sound and reasoned advice. I think the difference in doctors (VA versus private practice) is that the doctors in the VA don't operate on how many people they get in and out. In other words, they don't operate on volume. Of course the downside is that the VA is short of doctors. Many times I have been treated my nurse practitioners. Their care was also good but lacked the experience of a doctor. Another thing I enjoy about using the VA medical facilities is that I share a ride in the American Legion (Post 28) van with other veterans like myself. That makes a big difference. Instead of being shuttled off to a side office (like I was in private medical practice), which the doctor attended Mom and the Kids, I'm with a bunch of old geezers like myself. That means something to me. In fact, it means a lot to me. As a result of my tests this morning, the VA has scheduled me for a CT SCAN-RAD next month. I just hope I don't have to have my prostrate check again.

A Letter To A Friend

Below is a letter (e-mail) I sent to a long time friend this morning in reference to our disagreement on which presidential candidate to vote for this year. Most of all my friends and all of my family disagree with my choice to vote for Barack Obama for president. Most of them have one thing in common: they are from my previous life (before I retired to Delaware.) Most of my friends in Delaware have the same political view that I have - liberal. Much of my view has to do with me being a gay man. Since my former political party has made me unwelcome in their party by word and action, I had to join the Democratic party by default. This action on my part has put me into disagreement with all of my family and most of my friends from Pennsylvania and my workplaces. This morning I received an e-mail from a good friend (and former boss) which states simply: "We'll have to agree to disagree who we vote for president." However, that doesn't mean that we can't remain friends. I guess I fall into the old Tip O'Neill/Ronald Reagan mode. They disagreed almost always on politics but remained good friends. That's the way it will be with me and my friends.

Hi Ron,

Re the upcoming election, we'll have to agree to disagree on our voting for president.

Bill,

Yes, we disagree. Obama represents change that this country needs. McCain is the past. He is too old. He has run a very negative campaign which turned off a lot of independent voters. However, he did solidify The Conservative Base of the Republican Party by picking Sarah Palin. By choosing Sarah Palin he forfeited his experience argument against Obama. He also displayed a shocking display of cynicism by choosing Palin, assuming all the former Hillary voters would now vote for Palin just because she is a woman. McCain doesn't have the temperament to be president. It seems to me he is always on the verge of exploding in a temper tantrum. Obama is the inclusive candidate. McCain is the divisive candidate. I will vote for the candidate who considers all of America "American." I will not vote for candidates who view only some parts of the country as "pro-American." The one good thing that will come out of this election is that the Republican Party in it's present form will disappear. Hopefully, a new Republican Party, the one I used to belong to, will be reborn. Remember, back in 1968, I wrote my college thesis on "The Emerging Republican Majority." At the time I wrote that thesis I never believed in my lifetime that I would see a Republican majority in Congress. I was wrong. In the year 2000 a Republican was elected president and Republicans were elected to the majority of both houses of Congress. Unfortunately, they squandered their opportunity to lead this country in a new direction. To paraphrase one of my all time heroes, Ronald Reagan, "The Republican Party left me, I didn't leave them." I am confident that the election of Barack Obama will set this country on a new course that is beneficial to us all. To all my Republican friends I say, have no fear. In my heart I knew this country was going on the wrong track with the elections of 2000. I was proven right. In my heart I know that the election of Barack Obama is right for this country as we go forward. If we are fortunate enough to still be around eight years from now, you will see that I am right again. I am puzzled as to how many of the well paid political pundits and personalities in the media today get it wrong. I'm just a struggling 66 year old former bank trust operations manager who now works part time as a hotel front desk clerk to make ends met. I "get it." Most of my friends from my former life (before I moved to Delaware) and some of my new friends here in Delaware are voting for McCain/Palin. It will always be a puzzlement to me why you don't see what I see but I still love and respect all of you. We may disagree but we are closer than you think. We're all in this together. Peace be with you and don't forget to vote next Tuesday!
Ron

Find A Grave.com

My distant cousin (our great-great-great-fathers were brothers) TimTipton has a passion. He searches for Tipton graves to take pictures for his book he hopes to publish in the future. For many years I have also trolled through cemeteries in search of my Tipton ancestors. I have also search for my maternal ancestors, the Hadfields and Hickmans. Over the years I have accumulated a many pictures. I have also discovered facts that surprised me. For instance, I found my maternal great-great grandfather and grandmother's graves less than a mile from my Pennsylvania home. If I hadn't began my grave search, I would never have known this Find A Grave.com. Finding this web site is like finding a chest of treasure at the end of the rainbow. Yes, I admit it. I am weird. Hey, another good friend, Larry Meredith also like to troll through cemeteries. Larry and I have made several such expeditions in the past. Now here is the best part. This morning I was reading the background information on Find a Grave.com. Much to my surprise I read that a fellow Tipton founded this website. His name is Jim Tipton. Now my question is to my friends Tim and Larry, why didn't we think of this?

Find a Grave

Recently, while enmeshed in my Tipton genealogy research, my cousin Tim Tipton from Tennessee told me about the web site Find A Grave.com. I checked it out and now I have a new passion. I've always loved roaming through graveyards, searching for family member headstones. I envy Tim, because he lives in Tennessee where there are literally thousands of Tiptons buried in that area of the country. Here in Pennsylvania, I have a much more limited number of Tiptons. However, I also have many members of my Mother's side of my family, the Hadfields, Hickmans, and Weavers. Now that I'm living in Delaware, my search for family members is severely limited. I doubt if I can find any of my family in the area where I live, Sussex County, Delaware. I've checked the phone book and I see where there are some Tiptons. I'll have to give them a call and find out if any of them know of their ancestors. That is another field of genealogy research that I have to plow. I get not a small amount of pleasure knowing that I have that task that I can look forward to doing in the future. After my father's death in 2000, I purchased my grave plot at the Northwood Cemetery in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. At one time in my life I had decided to be cremated. However, since discovering the richness of history in researching my family history through grave yard searches, I decided that I didn't want to disappear from history when I died. I selected a plot on the side of a hill overlooking the valley that the town of Downingtown, Pennsylvania is located. As my Mother has said, you always want a grave site with a good view.

The Harvest Is In

Last August, while shopping at my local Ace Hardware, I spotted a forlorn six pack of plum tomato plants on a rack in their garden department. I don't have a vegetable garden but I do have several raised flower beds. Looking at that dried out six pack of young tomato plants, I thought "why don't I rescue these orphan plants?" I think the pack cost me .75 cents. A minimal amount. In fact, they might have even given them to me for free. I planted those six plants behind my zinnias, marigolds and herb plants. It wasn't too long until these six orphan plants grew into large, vigorous healthy tomato plants, covered with yellow blossoms. Now I'm reaping the harvest, at least 100 plum tomatoes. I'm here to tell you nothing tastes as good as one's own home grown tomatoes. If there is any problem, it is that they all are ripening at the same time. I'm inundated with bright red, plump plum tomatoes. Already I've made several batches of homemade tomato sauce. Again, does anything taste as good as your own tomato sauce? Nothing! For lunch I had some over rotini. For dinner, I browned cut up boneless chicken breast in olive oil and garlic. After browning, I put in half a cup of sauterne wine and cooked it down, incorporating the browned bits of deliciousness from the saute pan. I put some of that tomato sauce in the pan with the browned chicken and reduced pan bit and viola! A sumptuous Chicken Ron!

Go Phillies!

Go Phillies! I know, I know. I'm being very provincial here. But hey, I've been a Phillies fan since the Fifties! And as a long suffering Phillies fan I've been through the ups and downs (many) of the Phillies baseball team. The worst time was back in 1964 when the Phillies only needed one game to win the pennant and they lost every game at the end of the season. That's when I lost interest in the Phillies. I regained that interest again when they won the World Series in 1980. That was Nirvana for me. My life was complete. The Phillies won the World Series! I remember exactly where I was when Tug McGraw struck out the last Toronto Blue Jay. I was in my fourth floor apartment on 2200 block of Spruce Street in center city Philadelphia. After Tug whiffed out that last Blue Jay, a tremendous cheeer erupted from all those apartments along Spruce Street. I looked out my window and I saw Phillies fans streaming out of their apartments into the streets. It was wonderful! I had never experienced this feeling before and I was sure I never would again. However, I wouldn't mind experiencing another Phillies World Series win.

Only 17 Days To Go

Only 17 days to go to the presidential election. Obama is in the lead. However, he cautions his followers not to get complacent. Get out and vote. It is well known that the young and minorities vote in lesser percentages than older voters. Even though the Democratic registrations are way up, that doesn't necessarily mean they they will actually go to the polls and vote. The McCain/Palin campaign are pulling out all the stops now. The robocalls have begun which, non to subtly, accuse Obama of being a terrorist. McCain and Palin are continuing the Big Lie that if Obama if election, the middle class will have their taxes increased. McCain has trotted out Joe The Plumber (who in reality turns out to be Sam the Contractor - he doesn't actually have a plumbing license, his name is "Samuel J.", and he has a tax lien on his house - obviously Joe the Plumber doesn't like to pay taxes, something he has in common with the McCain Republicans.) How anybody could vote for four more years of Bush like economics is beyond me. One important factor is the Right to Life issue. Many will vote for McCain solely for this reason and that is understandable. However, if anyone seriously thinks that Sarah Palin, the shrill, moose hunting Alaskan governor, is suited to be vice president is surely drinking the Repug Kool-Aid. But then, they probably realize she is just a blank slate like George W. Bush. The powers behind the throne then could push their own agendas which is more tax cuts for the rich and the decimation of the middle class. Every evening I'm glued to the TV set watching MSNBC and their coverage of the presidential race. I have been fascinated by politics ever since the Fifties when I watched my first political convention on that old Philco TV set we had in our living room on Washington Avenue in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. For many years I was a die hard Republican. However, that all changed when I was watching the Republican Convention in 1992 which was held in Houston, Texas. Patrick J. Buchanan gave a hate filled speech in which he stated that the Republican Party had no place for people of a different sexual orientation. What really gave me a chill down my spine was the reaction shots of the well dressed, white cheering Republican convention delegates. They reminded me of the "Good Germans" who saluted "Heil Hitler!" to Adolph Hitler as he paraded through the streets of German cities during the Thirties. At that time I realized that no matter what my conservative views, the modern Republican Party drummed me and my gay brethren out of the Republican party as non persons. Then, a few years later, when I had to apply at the Veterans Administration for health benefits, my opinion of the Republican Party was permanently changed. The Bush administration began a series of moves to discourage veterans like me from applying for benefits. Fortunately for me, there was such a political outcry that my benefits were not affected. I was grandfathered in the system. However, other veterans like me, who delayed their application for VA benefits were denied. The coldness and brutality demonstrated by the Republican party left me with no other choice but to join the Democratic party. To me, the Republicans believe "you're on your own." The Democratic party believes "we're all in this together." Many of my family and friends are Republicans and continue to be True Believers. I respect their views but disagree with them. I am convinced that when Barack Obama is elected president they will see that this is the best thing that could happen to this country. By the way, in the picture of the soldiers I am the second from the left on the bottom row. Basic training, Fort Dix, New Jersey, February 1960. A long, long time ago. I wonder what ever happened to my friend Mike Tine, the young soldier from Massachusetts to my left. Like ships passing in the night. So many lost friendships. So long ago.