Hard to Believe--Spring Training is Near

Here in the valley of the Great Salt Lake it is a rather balmy morning. The sun is out, the temperature is sort of mild. I wonder if I shouldn't go hit some golf balls or something. But, I also know that March is near and the catchers and pitchers will be getting together soon, Spring Training is around the corner. Baseball is a nostalgic game for me. It has never been the same since 1980 though. My card of the day is Yogi. When I think back to my early youth the nostalgia of baseball always included the fact that there was a Yogi. He was born in 1925 and played through the great days of the Yanks. I always thought his character was apparent when he stuck to his convictions and not be involved with the team anymore because of the actions of the owner. Right or wrong they were his convictions. He played with that same conviction and exuberance. Joe Gariagiola was his friend, and in my view, one of my favorite color commentators for baseball. So here's to Hall of Famer Lawrence "Yogi" Berra.

I MIiiiiiiis Johnny

With all the turmoil and uncertainty in the world it is easy to try and lose one's self back in the safe and comfortable time of life as a child and youth. I was thinking about this the other day. And I suddenly realized how much I missed Johnny Carson. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was a show I watched as a kid almost every Friday night. Never did I understand how much I took it for granted. There is nothing like it on TV now and I doubt there ever can be. Thank goodness for YouTube. For fun watch this, this or this.

I know there are not the special effects that are on TV now, but they did not need them then. Johnny was the special effect. Go ahead, go to YouTube, search on Johnny Carson and watch some of the stuff there. I bet you have a hard time quitting in less than an hour.

55

55 revolutions around the sun. I had a birthday today. This picture proves it. 5 big candles and 5 little candles were on the cake. My grandson Weston is observing making sure the ceremony is performed properly. The little one Elijah just behind Joyce's arm gets a little ticked because he wanted to blow one out. Thanks to all who have wished me a great day. There were a lot. The best part was having all my loved ones there with us. This ranks as one of the all-time best birthdays. 55 is not a prime number but 5 is a prime number and so is 11. Rooster Cogburn would probably say I am 11 lustrum old.

What is "Quality and Affordable" Anything?

I hear this all the time from people griping and complaining about health care. They demand as a right "quality and affordable" health care. I wonder what that means. What is in the average persons mind when they think of quality? And what is affordable? In my profession of dentistry, which must be admitted is a form a health care there is a HUGE spectrum in Quality and probably a more NARROW spectrum of Affordability.

First, if you are going to a dentist what kind of equipment do you want used on you? Do you look back with fondness to the robotic, belt driven Ritter units with the belt driven handpieces? Or would you prefer to have some more modern dental tools? How about having a laser available for you to decrease discomfort and pain on some procedures? Do you want to go back to the cuspidor and spit into a little toilet bowl next to the chair?

What if you are in need of more complicated treatment? What about implants? Would you like to have equipment there that will facilitate proper placement of the device in the proper spot? Or do you want the dentist to take his best guess?

Everybody loves root canals. Would you like more modern techniques and materials used to prolong the life of the tooth, or do you want to go back thirty years when it took a lot of time and post operative pain was much more pronounced? And how about not having any auxiliary staff in the office? Wouldn't it be fun to have a lower molar extracted by the dentist without an assistant? That would be a barrel of laughs. Well all this stuff costs money. The real question that everyone, and I mean everyone who has talked about health care has left out is this:

WHAT VALUE WILL I RECEIVE FROM THE CARE I EITHER NEED OR WOULD LIKE?

What value in lifestyle, in feeling good, in comfort, in energy and in confidence will your health care provide you? This may relate more to dentistry than medicine, but there is a value to have the best and then taking care of yourself, whether it is your general health or your oral health. The real gorilla in the corner of the room is also How much does the doctor and his staff deserve to make? Would you like a happy provider who is making a good and decent living with all the responsibility and medico-legal challenges before him or her, or do you want someone who looks at the profession and the patient base as an absolute drudgery and tries to do the minimum possible?

I for one would like a happy doctor, receiving good and generous compensation with a desire to do the very best for the client. I submit that cannot and will not be achieved within the parameters of what I am hearing from the Health Care Reform Thing from D.C.

It's Hard to Remember What One Says

We know that politicians all say things that relate to the moment. I wonder if very many of them have a fundamental core value of being honest, particularly on the National level. This is a good example of what I am talking about. Does everything that comes out of the mouth of a politician have to be shaded, jaded or downright dishonest? I wonder if some years from now we will look at this Congress and this Administration and look at them as traitors? Can they honestly think that what they are doing on the course they are now on is good for our country? The mettle of the American people is going to be tested like never before.

Card(s) of the week

Man, what can a couple of years do for a hairstyle. Here George Brunet was playing for the Houston Colt 45's and then he goes out to LA and WOW things really change. The old flattop is gone and the California cool surfer-dude look takes hold. I am sure the sun there didn't hurt him and he probably looked pretty hot to the So. Cal babes while he was in the bull pen.

Spend a Little, Talk a Little

I guess after the "outrageous" deficits from the previous administration all that can be done is triple those deficits for at least a decade and carry on knowing everything will be fixed. I think when a male dog or cat hears that "they need to be fixed" we know what that means.

I get the feeling nobody cares in Washington about the country, the economy nor the people, they just seem to care about their image for the next election. Makes you wonder who is qualified to serve and what "qualified" means.