First the Monterey Pop v Woodstock debate. I wasn’t at either but did see every showing of Monterey Pop the day it came out. I recorded Woodstock the other day after i realized I have only seen snippets, but only seem to watch HGTV or health care reform centered shows.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWVOSSmPpc&hl=en&fs=1&]
Hi you old faithful friend. I gave you a little party the other day as keeping you up for five years marked a milestone in my life. It was the longest I have been ever able to do anything. Now that you’re five there’s no telling what we’ll be able to achieve together.

Blog let me be honest. There are a few rivals for your affection. First is Facebook. FB is usually fun. If only I could be pithy clever…sort of like Bill Maher who I spent last night watching, with a group of friends, while eating Southern food. We kept rewinding and I still couldn’t remember all his one great one liners on the subject that seems to have overtaken my thoughts–health care reform.

He did ask, and blog you and I have wondered the same, what plans the Republicans have if they hate our plans so much. The only one I can remember is McCain’s “you can take your insurance with you.” As I was paying $1300 a month because I lived on the UWS and had a faux-Rolls life style, that wouldn’t be doable on a greatly reduced income.

OK blog you’re asking as any sane blog would, what does this have to do with FB? Many people seem to plan their days around putting in pithy clever or pithy zany remarks. If I could remember all the awesome amazing incredible interesting thoughts I come up when there’s absolutely no way to write them down–in the shower, on a walk in the beach usually in the water, or when I half wake up at night, the world would know how truly clever I am. I know, I know, everybody says that, but….

Big Question blog: how are you going to help me? We, you and I, lurk in blogs where bloggers who call themselves writers use “your” when they mean “you’re” over and over again. We’re never sure if that’s done on purpose as some kind of weird affectation that seems to work. People just love these blogs that, well, aren’t very well written. Or, we think, interesting as the bloggers uh excuse me writers don’t know how to tell a story or stand away from the pack and let their quirks show. They are super-friendly, often with alcohol inspired blogging names, attend blogging fairs and often write about subjects that were tired three years ago. Yes there is no such thing as a new subject but there should always be a new way to say it.

Blog we have traveled some roads less taken together and some roads most people wouldn’t brave at all. Let’s find a straighter road, not the most traveled, but not apart from the crowd and finally achieve something that will bring in some dinero.

The link takes me to my first post. However it can also be found by going into August 04 in the archives
Today, August 13th is my five year blogiversary

If you read my first post and I don’t suggest you do you will see that I never expected this to be “public,” and I have always been writing variations on the same themes.

I miss the posts on my parents. I hope that I’m not moving too far from them in my life and my memories. Also miss the posts on friends and lovers. I hope the posts come together in book form. I promise new stories. Yes Doug there are things I have never written here. More than you can imagine….

My blog has given me much. Not in the financial sense but to have met so many incredible people in so many different arenas, that is joyous.

Many people, my age, can’t understand how something that hasn’t given me monetary gain can be so enriching. I’m not going to attempt to explain. As I’m not going to attempt to explain to these people that writing for the sake of writing and having an audience can be empowering and spill over to all different facets of life.

Five years ago I would have laughed had you told me where I would be living now or that I would own a house with unexpansive grounds I just made much larger by moving the gate to fill half the concrete driveway so that I can have a winter garden–the sun hits it constantly. I’m going to take a table, buy some chairs and some more chaises for it. The older part will have the grill, table and chairs and outdoor living room furniture because really I do most of my living outdoors.

I have a flower garden in front and a vegetable garden, on the downstairs deck or unexpansive grounds, though nobody in my court has been able to grow more than seven tomatoes this year. I don’t know, nor does anybody who knows more than me, what’s wrong with the cucumbers, but I’m big on peppers–three kinds–which is good as they’re one of the pricier foods here. I will have new pictures soon.

There is the slow food movement and there is my slow life movement especially in August.

This is the first time in my life I feel totally assured of what I’m doing–except for the investment in the next biggest thing that seems to be tanking but might just come back and roar.

It has taken me a long time to reach this place and I thank everybody who has been taking this journey with me. I do mean “journey” in every sense.

To the person who told me he secretly misses my responses to my tormenters. I hated them when they were happening. But they did make me feel wanted or needed in a very strange sense. I would rather be needed for expertise in subjects I don’t even know yet as I refuse to stop learning. I always believed you’re only as old as you think. Blogging has reinforced that.
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Just to keep that last paragraph real. Here’s something from moveon. I won’t debate health care. It’s too necessary and the arguments against a health care bill too sick. I will stop with one thought.

The first for profit health insurance companies in America began in 1974. It was done through the establishment of ERISA and is too complicated or too simplistic for my rain soaked brain to explain. Yes ERISA is a pension plan act but….

The point is that the American medical system the way it is now is under 40 years old. Medicare is older. So by changing health care systems we’re not changing something so thoroughly entrenched it’s all many generations of Americans have known.

I remember going to the doctor and paying a fair price for the visit. Insurance was for major medical bills. The reality is that just as ERISA was enacted advances were made in medical equipment and we, or our insurance companies, paid for every new great invention and many that weren’t needed or weren’t needed for that particular patient at that time. Maybe every doctor doesn’t need the newest best equipment.

I am grateful for the medical advances. It is said that more advances in medicine have been made since 1950 than in all history before that. That’s incredible.

I do have to end with something personal. In the 70′s my father saw that health costs were spiraling out of control for the many people in the arts he knew. He was the CPA for the Theater Development Fund (mostly known for the TKTS booths but has done much more for people in the arts)and began the first group insurance program for self-employed people in the arts. I have always considered that one of his greatest accomplishments and am very proud.

I can’t begin to state how ironic it would be if I’m denied coverage for a medical condition because I forgot to state something on my application. Here, in South Carolina, if you join through a group, not an employer, all the individual rules apply to you so I don’t understand the advantage of joining through a group. I want to enjoy the years before Medicare not live in fear of becoming sick

This was just going to be a little blogiversary post. Carried away has always been my blogging middle name.