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VA medical care perseveres despite a few challenges. Some timely and others … ?

More often than not the Department of Veterans Affairs manages to deliver adequate to exceptional health care for former service members. This is done despite many challenges. Just a few examples:

  • A history of inadequate funding. In addition to the incredible numbers of jackasses and fools the American public has elected to Congress, the type of funding for the VA itself does not encourage planning for a steady stream of dollars. That is because the VA does not have full mandatory funding. Much of the veterans healthcare program comes from discretionary funding over which congressional members can wheel and deal to get pork barrel dollars for their districts. Full mandatory spending does not seem likely in the near future. And the Continuing Resolution that was passed to keep the government running expires on Dec. 11. That is something I don’t want to think about.
  • The clusterf**k that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney et. al. got us into will likely send more veterans to war and return them home — with various health and mental problems — which strains the budget even more.
  • The dead weight from the high-dollar VA executives who, while relatively small in number, will continually find reward for their greed. Meanwhile, what does that do for the rank and file?
  • Timeliness. The wait for appointments have improved though not uniformly. Medicines that are shipped in the mail get lost. Why can’t you just get more medicine to replace what hasn’t arrived? Sometimes you can. Lost in the mail is still a problem and not just with meds.

So, I give the VA give a pass for many of the screw-ups I have seen during my time as a VA patient and as a journalist who covered the Department for nearly a decade. That isn’t easy though.

My patience is tested on a number of occasions when I have to drive around for 45 minutes to an hour at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston to find a parking place in just one parking lot. The Houston VA has signs that announce something to the effect of: Good news. We are building a new parking structure. But in the meanwhile take advantage of our valet service.

I don’t want wait another hour for a valet to take my auto. I don’t like other people to drive my 17-year-old Toyota Tacoma. It has to last me for some time and I would not at all like someone screwing up my pickup.

The VA phone system in Houston has long been a contentious issue with me. It does seem to have slightly improved. I am afraid to say that, though, because I am afraid something will screw it up. I think a lot of myself, huh? Well, a VA counselor playing psychiatrist gave me a diagnosis as having a “narcissistic personality disorder.” I guess that makes me a narcissist then. Yep.

Finally, today in the mail I received one of the “new” cards from the VA reminding me of my appointments. These two cards are printed on all four sides and are held together by a perforated strip. They replace the old letters notifying veterans of appointments.

On the side with my address it says: “Dated Material — Open Immediately.” This makes me think: “Are they going to send the VA Police to arrest me because I didn’t open the card immediately?”

So I opened it within 30 minutes or so, only to find:

“ALERT! Unfortunately, your upcoming appointment has been cancelled. This appointment is cancelled: Date :Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 … “

Oops.

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Programming my remote raises more questions than answers

Really. Should I use such a serious headline to introduce my internal psychobabble?

Here it is Black Friday. I am sitting at my computer, having just programmed my remote control. Now, if we put those two statements together one might surmise I have bought a new TV set or something else which operates with a remote control. But one might be wrong in their supposition.

The truth is that the TV remote controls works fine. That is, it works fine unless I press a wrong button. Whatever the button I pushed may have made my remote temporarily inoperable. When I say “temporarily inoperable,” I mean that I hope that that is the case. This has happened on more than one instance.

I have to always refer to the manual for the type of remote that I  have in order to reprogram it. It was hard enough to find the manual so I have the URL stored in my bookmarks. I suppose it might seem to others that if I had to do these type of technical gymnastics very often — which it seems I do — then reprogramming the control should be a snap. Yeah, it does seem like that.

Some may say: “Big deal! Go out and buy another remote.”

Right. Why not just buy another television? Why not buy one of those big honking suckers that is half as wide as your double wide and enables you to see a football game in such detail that you can see the bugs in the grass having sex?

Well, until this remote, or this TV, or both, decide to give up the ghost then I believe there is no reason to spend money on something that only causes a modicum of irritation. So does that mean peace of mind has a price tag affixed to it?

Uh, why are you, I mean, me, asking me all these questions?

I don’t know. I have better things to do. And yes peace of mind sometimes come with a price. I  likewise don’t know whether it is better to watch the television. I am watching the news after all. But since some of my time today was spent reprogramming my damned television remote, then does it not seem that I should at least spend some time using that instrument?

Questions, questions. I have no answers. If I watch more TV I may not find any answers. I probably won’t find answers. So what is the result of this exercise?

Well, it’s making my head hurt. Maybe I should go out and buy a new TV and remote. No, I don’t think so. Maybe I should have my head examined. But I did that earlier this week. I think I will watch some TV after all. Another couple of hours shot to hell!

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Thanksgiving. My thoughts.

 

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow. I plan on getting together with some of the family for lunch — where I come from we call lunch “dinner” and the evening meal “supper.” Our meal will happen in my old hometown and in the house where I was raised.

Although Thanksgiving is rooted in religion, as in “giving thanks to God,” it has become a secular or even capitalist occasion.

I am thankful for a number of things, not really in a religious sense, but thankful nonetheless. One particular hope I have is that people can pray — or not if they wish — for all people living in peace. It’s always amazed me how some people who claim they are religious are in reality bloodthirsty, two-faced, liars. There are also others who are likewise pious yet they mock or become inflamed when it comes to people of certain religions. Case in point: Muslims today are the new pariahs. At the same time, certain people who claim Allah as their God pretend their Islamic religiosity is so deep that they believe it gives them the right to kill by the thousands men, women and children of their own faith. Oh they especially feel they have some special dispensation from Allah to kill all of those who are not Muslim.

I have several things to be thankful for, in whatever way I choose. My selection isn’t at all heady especially considering what I have just written on capitalism, religion and war. There are some things I will not share here. But, for instance, I still have my sense of humor.

Increasingly, I find that times when I “laugh my ass off,” a.k.a. in our Facebook world as LMAO. Maybe I don’t read the comics enough although what was the “funny papers” aren’t as funny as they used to be. But I am certainly thankful for Stephan Pastis, who produces the “Pearls Before Swine,” comic. His strip isn’t always funny as sometimes he makes some profound thoughts about life in this world. Maybe it isn’t funny but it is important.

Despite its shortcomings and its delivery of stupidity throughout the world I am thankful for the Internet. Facebook is surprisingly high in my book because one can communicate with people, or vice versa, that you might not otherwise contact. Google and other search engines, can lead me to various sites where I can find people, places and things. Google=Good noun.

I am also happy that I took a week of leave and made a trip for several days to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Perhaps it is a “redneck Riveria,” but I didn’t really go to Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs (and Long Beach and Bay St. Louis) to gamble or frolic in the Gulf.

My journey there was a trip back in time. Those were my days as a young Navy man when I was 19-turned-21 was spent there. It was a laid back time 1974-77. I went to sea in ’77 and was able to get out of the Navy back in Gulfport in 1978. This visit I went to the base and saw my barracks was still standing since the 70s. Some of the places I knew were gone or new places were standing. Some signs of Hurricane Katrina – it was a killer storm for the Mississippi Coast too – were there. And even though about a dozen casinos were open, the area wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Back when I was stationed at the Naval Construction Training Center, on the Gulfport Seabee base, was the time of transition from teenage kid to young man. It was, despite whatever shortcomings I felt about life back then, a fantastic part of my life. It was the 70s. I saw ZZ Top and the Rolling Stones, man! My uniform didn’t prohibit my having fun. Well, maybe sometime it did. My year at sea is another chapter.

I turned 60 last month. I don’t see 30 or even 40 years ago as a lifetime, although for some it really is a lifetime. Whether you are religious or not, whether you pray or not, you can be thankful for something, just be happy. I’m not going to say “don’t worry.” LMAO

 

 

 

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No more dollar menu from McGreedy. But maybe Santa will bring the Texans a Super Bowl and the world some peace.

 

So much sadness seems to surround our world these days. And I am not just talking about the Paris terrorist attack. For instance, fast food giant McDonald’s has announced it is parting ways with its dollar value menu. It is instead offering a choice of two items from a choice of the McDouble, McChicken, small fry and Mozzarella sticks. This comes after McDonald’s belittled the tamale in Mexico. Really, have you no shame ¿damas y señores?

Well while we are speaking of such a sad state of affairs, there was one brightened light last evening. I speak of the Houston Texans keeping their shirts together long enough to upset the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were one of an unprecedented three NFL teams that were undefeated. Those 9-0 teams are the New England (Cheating Scum) Patriots and the Carolina (Where the hell is that?) Panthers. Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer left the Monday evening game with a possible concussion shortly before the fourth quarter began. The Bengals led by two field goals in those waning seconds of the third period. But then as the fourth quarter began, in the sky, no on the field it’s … not Superman. But close enough for the Texans. Out of seemingly nowhere, came T.J. Yates — who is that? — lobbing a 22-yard touchdown pass at the end of his first drive. The catch by Houston WR DeAndre Hopkins sealed the deal.

Actually, anyone who even remotely has followed Houston Texans games should know who is this Yates — not Shelly, not Keats, nor Dickens — person. It was this T.J. Yates who substituted for first string QB Matt Schaub, and second-stringer Matt Leinart, during the 2011 Texans season. Yates chunked a short pass in the last two seconds of a match with — you guessed it — the Bengals. That resulted in the first round of playoffs, ever, in the Texans’ history during that 2011 season.

So now the Texans share an AFL South lead with Indianapolis. Both sport a very unspectacular 4-5 standing. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Just wait for the jolly old fat man with white hair and beard. I believe he will make it from the South Pole in December, or is it from the North Pole in January? Maybe St. Nicky will deliver the long-suffering Texans’ fans a playoff berth. And perhaps even a Super Bowl. If you are going to wish, you might as well go big.

While he is at it Santa might as well bring some comfort to our Parisian brethren, and serve it with some world peace on the side.