WHAT, EXACTLY, DOES "CRITICAL" MEAN?

An article in yesterday's local paper said that one of the main bridges into the city "is actually in critical condition." This is according to the director of the Michigan Department of Transportation.   There are plans to replace it - in 2018.  Some repairs will be done next summer in order to keep it going until 2018.  He says, "At some point you need to recognize there is an end to its useful life ... It will not stand forever."

I will try hard not to think of his remarks whenever I drive over that bridge.

This is my eye surgeon's signature on the prescription she gave me for eyedrops:

I won't tell you what her name is because I know you're all bright people and can figure it out.

It reminds me of this:

TODAY'S RANT

On a visit to the eye doctor last week I had to wait an hour and a half to see her, which is unusual because she's usually only a few minutes behind schedule.  When I finally got in, she apologized and said that was the first day they were implementing the new program mandated by the federal government as part of Obamacare.  They now have to upload all patient information to the feds, and it was taking so much time that they were running late.  She said she will have to hire more staff to handle all the paperwork.  At the same time the feds are cutting back on what Medicare will pay doctors and hospitals.    She said she's young enough to deal with it and she loves her work, but many of her older colleagues are thinking of retiring because they just don't want to cope with it all.  I said, "This is a disaster in the making, isn't it?" and she said, "Yes."

All of us on Medicare will continue to get benefits as usual, but what good will that do us if our doctor(s) retire and no other doctor(s) will take us?  If it costs doctors more to treat us than they can get in fees, more will refuse to treat Medicare patients, at which point the feds would probably demand that they treat us.  That would drive more doctors out of practice.

Perhaps the scariest part of all this is that the federal government will have access to all our medical records, and that's how they will determine what treatments we will be allowed to have.  If you're old and have myriads of health problems, you will not get expensive treatments because your "quality years of life remaining" is low. 

Why do the people who rail against having to show photo ID at the polling place seem to have no problem with the federal government having all our health records?  Where is the AMA, which is supposed to be looking after doctors' interests?  Where is AARP, which is supposed to be looking after seniors' interests?  Where  are the libertarians who hate any government intrusion into our lives?  WHERE IS EVERYBODY? 

No matter what your age, you need to be concerned about where this is going.  If you think you'll get all the medical care you need when you need it and all for free, you're naive.

Here is a good article, and here is another (by the New York Times, not exactly a bastion of conservatism).

Use your heads, people.

LETTER FROM ISRAEL (Part 1 of 4)

This year in Jerusalem

Dear Lois,

Last week our group held our long-awaited study vacation in Jerusalem. Because the traffic situation is horrendous, it was decided to stay in a centrally-located hotel and do most of our sightseeing on foot. Our regulars who use walkers and others who can't walk for hours opted out, so we were only 32.

I'm going to divide the vacation into four "chapters" because we did so much and because Fridel took hundreds of photos.

The first day we drove to Jerusalem (2 hours from Haifa), checked into the hotel, had some lunch, and met everyone as planned at 3:30pm.

We headed for a series of neighborhoods which were among the first to be built (in the 1880's ) outside the Old City walls. Before that Jerusalemites, including Jews, lived within the safety of the city walls. The walls were locked after dark and provided protection from the wild animals and Beduin robbers outside. The conditions for all were unsanitary and crowded. The Jews lived on contributions from Jews abroad who thus helped maintain a Jewish presence in Jerusalem.

That afternoon we visited Nachlaot and Mahane Yehuda. The various Nachlaot neighborhoods were established by groups of Sephardic Jews. (Sephardic Jews are the descendants of the Spanish Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492. 　They dispersed in every direction: to Holland, making their way to the Americas with the Dutch; to the Levant and Asia Minor to Turkey, Syria, Greece, Bulgaria, etc; to North Africa, and of course to the Holy Land.) The model for each neighborhood was a rectangle of attached houses with a common courtyard and only one entrance from the street for easier defense. The buildings are old but charming; many are being lovingly restored.

Mahane Yehuda is especially interesting because of the main Jerusalem Suk. A Suk is an indoor-outdoor market place. Fridel goes to Haifa's Suk twice a week for fruits and vegetables, but many people buy fish, meat, candies and baked goods, even hardware and paper products. I am not a suk person, but it is handy that Fridel is. Prices and quality are better than at the "super."

From Mahane Yehuda we walked back to the hotel via Jaffa Road (literally the beginning of the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa) and saw the Light Rail. I have not met anyone who has a good word to say about the Light Rail. This project, which was supposed to eliminate congestion, took double the projected building time and tied up center city for years, ruining many businesses. 　Several bus lines were cancelled and people in the outlying neighborhoods who used to reach any place by bus now have to walk or take cabs. Tickets can only be bought by machines that don't always work. There is a stiff fine for boarding without a ticket, a nasty surprise for out-of-towners and tourists.

Our evening program was, as usual, social.

Love, Marsha

(Marsha and Fridel are coming to the U.S. this week, but unfortunately we won't be seeing them this time.  Last time they were here, we happened to be on a trip East and we are able to meet with them for a lovely visit.  Look for more on this series on Jerusalem when they get back to Israel.)

 

Our hotel was on a very short pedestrian street.

Nachlaot street.

Courtyard.

The Suk, outside portion.

Suk, one of the covered "streets."

Suk, more.

Jaffa Road with the hated Light Rail.

Sephardic synagogue with lovely wrought iron and ceramic tiles.  On the left is "Eshet Hile," a tribute to the ideal wife and mother. The door features the 12 tribes.  On the right is a charity box and a board with times of worship.

Jerusalem street scene.

An example of how poor eyesight can skew things:  I read the phrase "really attempts to be fair" as "rarely attempts to be fair."  A bit of difference in meaning, right?

I have a Letter from Israel waiting in the wings to be put up here - a really interesting one (and notice I didn't say "a rarely interesting one").  I'm sorry it's been so long, Marsha, but it'll happen soon.