Subj : Another Day In The ER To : Daryl Stout From : Barry Martin Date : Tue Nov 10 2020 08:13:00 Hi Daryl! DS> Never mind Fred Sanford..."It's the big one, Mabel!!" BM> 'Elizabeth', but yes. ...Being on Medicare now I've noticed the front BM> desk staff or whoever goes over charges before submitting to the BM> government does prep with "this is generally covered, this is generally BM> not and so you'll probably be billed ". At least it doens't BM> come as a total shock when get the statement, plus gives time to BM> scrounge up money to pay. DS> I can never remember that name. :P Or you get something stating DS> "This Is Not A Bill...but we're not paying for it". :P Wonder what would happen if called it a 'William'?! BM> Amtrack's nearest station is Galesburg, IL, about an hour's drive south BM> of here. They've been talking of creating/recreating a spur (?) to BM> Moline or maybe it's Rock Island -- either one is across the BM> Mississippi River from me and would take about ten or fifteen minutes BM> from the house. DS> The one thing I liked about Biden is that he was pro-Amtrak. DS> With COVID-19, I can NOT fly or take a bus. I'm looking forward DS> to that train trip next June, which will be my last big trip DS> outside of Arkansas. While the final Dance-A-Rama for Single DS> Square Dancers USA will be in Des Moines next September, I just DS> can't bring myself to flying. Plus, Amtrak goes across southern DS> Iowa. (So are the square dancers single or they all dancing in a single square or... When's the coffee kicking in?!) Yes, going someplace to enjoy something different would be nice. The poor transportation industry! Used to be able to squish us together to get a little extra revenue, now either have to keep us apart or figure some sort of barrier to isolate. BM> As far as local bus transportion, the good points include there are BM> easy connections between the two states and five cities, so that in BM> itself is quite an accomplishment! Bad news is I think the individual BM> routes run only once an hour, so getting anywhere by bus doens't seem BM> all that convenient. To me seems like small vans running more often BM> would make more sense. DS> Unless you're in the northeast corridor, or in places with DS> frequent commuter service, you're out of luck. Pretty much. BM> Wouldn't hurt. Put together a quick list of medical expenses you paid BM> outside of Medicare and compare to the monthly fee of the supplement BM> (less that initial deductible). For me it makes financial sense; BM> dental insurance I break even over the years; vision insurance would BM> have cost me more than paying out of pocket. (Part/most of vision is BM> now under Medicare I guess.) DS> I'm likely going to have to get another ultrasound next DS> week...I'm still having moderate discomfort. And, with the DS> arthritis, I didn't rest well overnight. I have to head out later DS> this morning to the podiatrist to get a monthly foot check and DS> toenail trim...as the arthritis is so bad that I can't squeeze DS> the clippers. And last thing we want to see is your talons poking out! As for the ultrasound, probably a good idea as it's been a while and seems to not be getting better. As one gets older one tends to heal slower, but this seems a little too slow. BM> The various malls here are doing from 'reasonably well considering' to BM> 'iffy'. Will just ramble on the Iowa-side ones. The largest one now BM> generally looks like a ghost town -- from the outside anyway, though BM> has had problems for years as its anchor stores generally are having BM> problems: Sears closed, JC Penney is tettering, Younkers closed -- all BM> well before COVID-19. Von Maur and Dillards are doing well. DS> And so many of the big ones have filed for bankruptcy. DS> Dillard's is based in Little Rock. I didn't know where Dillard's was based; Von Maur is from next door in Davenport (IA) -- expanded from a single store in downtown originally know as Petersen Harned von Maur. DS> I think of the joke where the woman is shopping at Macy's, and DS> looking in the jewelery department. Well, she bends over, and DS> farts. Hoping that no one nearby noticed her "oops" moment, she's DS> horrified when she sees a young man asking her how he can help DS> her. She describes the item she was looking at, and he replies DS> "Ma'am...if you just [pooted] while looking at it, you're going DS> to [crap] when I tell you the price!!". I guess I'm shopping at DS> Dollar General!! Yup! BM> The two smaller malls don't have the big anchor stores, though do have BM> some sort of mid-sized anchor as draw. The 'mall replacement' is strip BM> malls, though some are pretty big. For whatever reason the strip malls BM> are doing well. Maybe just the new thing: shopping went from Downtown BM> to The Mall and now to strip malls. DS> Strip malls is the word...they've stripped the business from DS> the bigger ones, to where the buildings are naked without stores. Just because they're the latest and greatest. Everyone moved from Downtown to the Mall where all the stores were clustered together and one could do their shopping in one place. ...Oops: lug the purchases along with you as the car's parke don the other end! DS> That was for the meatheads out there. :P BM> Gloria! DS> Or as Archie said once to his wife "Edith!! Where do you get DS> all this crapola??!!" (From you, dear!) DS> I saw a cartoon, with a cat at work at a desk. The IN Box is DS> full of mice...the OUT box is full of kitty litter. :P BM> And in-between was the Working On It box. DS> I missed that one somehow. Crumpled up on the floor. ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... 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