Thursday, July 14, 2011

Hello on Thursday

Dear Friends,

Our Thursday went as planned. Therapy went semi well. I had to use the word "semi" because the Therapist is President of the Pittsfield Little League.
He was reliving the Little League playoff game which took place on Tuesday to me and all the people in therapy. The Pittsfield team was one out away from winning the game, and a bunch of misplays let the other team score four runs and tie the game up. The Pittsfield team lost in the first extra inning. As he was rubbing down the portion of my leg where the Achilles is strained, he was taking the loss out on my leg. I should have told him that he was actually hurting me instead of loosening up the whole Achilles area, but I did not. Because the baseball story was along one, he worked on my leg for what seemed to be an eternity. I actually enjoyed it when he hooked up some electrodes to my leg, turned on the electricity until I could feel the electrical impulses, set the timer and starting taking care of another client.

After the strange therapy session, I went home and both Linda and I packed for the weekend wedding. Linda always starts helping me first because she has to pick the tie to match what I selected to wear. This is another case where being color blind makes Linda feel that she is taking care of a child, and not an adult. We also had to take in consideration whether I will be wearing the boot or not. My leg right now feels pretty good even though it is not 100 percent back to normal. My laying low for several days has really helped with the healing process.

Linda did have fun with her Knitting Group at Panera Bread last evening. She always comes home happy from that Wednesday night gathering!

Minnesota News -- The Miller / Coors brewing company has to take out all the Miller beer products in all bars and restaurants, and Liquor stores because of a license issue. During the government shut down because of money issues, the Beer Company filed paperwork for the permit to dispense their line of products. With the government being shut down, the application was "lost in translation". So the fight is taking place right now whether the paper work was filed before or after the government shut down. This means that the shut down not only affected 22,000 State workers, but the average citizen can't by Miller products. This sound like a no big deal issue, but Miller has a
38 % share of the market in Minnesota. I do remember trying to get a Budweiser product while at a wedding in Minnesota, and the bar tender said that they don't sell Budweiser beer in that particular restaurant which we were at. Why is it that the little guy always seems to get beaten up during a financial crisis?

California -- A woman in California decided to take her husband's unfaithfulness into her own hands. She drugs her husband; ties him up in bed, cuts off his penis, and throws it down the garbage disposal. I would imagine all of us males can feel his pain. Whatever happened to just filing for a divorce in matters of infidelity like this?

Politics -- The Republicans want to increase the eligible age for Medicare recipients from 65 to 67 years old. This is the year for me where I am eligible to get off of the City of Pittsfield's Health Insurance on my December birthday which is when I turn 65 years old. If this Federal cost cutting measure does pass, I will have to wait for a couple more years to get into the Medicare system. I guess that I can live with the change, but I am wondering if I will be grandfathered because I am so close to the current eligibility age. Our City has made a rule as their cost saving measure that if either spouse is eligible for Medicare, we have to go on the federal form of health insurance. Linda and I will have to wait until a decision is made by Congress, and when it takes effect.

Local Politics -- We have two public high schools in Pittsfield. My radio show host friend, and email recipient got all of his listeners fired up on his program yesterday. One high school was built in 1936, and the other in 1969. The big debate was whether to build one super high school, and shut down the other two, or to renovate the two aging schools. I say shut down the old ones and build a new one since our high school population has been dwindling over the past several years. Of course, the people who called up on the program want to renovate, no new taxes, etc. The State of Massachusetts is in a financial crisis, but they usually pay for 67 % of the cost of building a new school. This means the City will have to float a bond for the remaining cost. The cost of renovations of the two high schools might end up being more that building a new high school. Often it is cheaper to build a new place then renovating the old one. The callers all used fixing their own homes as a case for not building a new school. The inside of a school is much different than ones' home. Take for example a science lab. Does the average perso, who has seldom been in a school, know how much it costs to renovate a High School Science Lab and get it up to code? Most high schools have an auditorium to hold plays and musical concerts. Does the taxpayer know how much money it would take to get the stage, lighting etc., up to code? A few years ago, the stage at the high school which I taught at was deemed unsafe, and plays for that year were either canceled or performed at another venue. Does the average person realize what it costs to refurbish a school cafeteria to get that up to code? I was involved with the renovation with the two kitchens at the ITAM. Just the fire suppressant systems cost a fortune to install after new kitchen appliances (at a cost of
$35,000) were installed. The examples are endless with respect to renovation costs. All this discussion on the radio program was brought about because a city councilor wanted a non binding referendum put on the ballot whether the taxpayers in Pittsfield wanted a new school or not. Well, a School Building Needs Commission (meetings open to the Public) has been working on the issue for several years, and they determined that building a new school was the best way to. This Commission made a mistake by not putting out a fact sheet showing what it would cost to renovate, or what it would cost to build one new school.

Social Calendar -- The weekend wedding in Vermont is the only thing on our minds right now. No meetings, no therapy sessions, no appointments of any kind is such a wonderful feeling. We are planning on having just a great time for the whole weekend, and we are not thinking about our busy schedule until next Monday.

Weather -- We will be having a couple days of cool nights and temperatures in the 70's. The heat and humidity returns toward the end of the weekend.

Sports -- The USA women's soccer team made it to the finals. They will be playing Japan in the Championship round. The British Open starts today.
The Red Sox and the rest of the Major League teams start the second half of the baseball season today.
The All Star Baseball Game had the least number of people in years watching the game on Tuesday night. I was one of the non viewers.

Well, I have to do some quiet chores, and pack some things likes beverages, snack food, etc., for our trip. The car needs a drink too!

Have a great Thursday, and weekend in general.
Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad

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