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Patronizing Indulgence Is Out Of Order

Did you read the Oct. 11 Associated Press story about the new leader of a religious denomination in the United States? Never mind which denomination. That’s not the point. The focus of the story is that the denomination’s membership is almost entirely white, while the new leader is black. ♦♦♦ What really matters is the new leader’s ideas, character, and ability, not his melanin level. Nevertheless, the denomination should be proud in this sense: It’s not all that many decades ago that no almost entirely white denomination would have elected as any leader, much ...

How To Pay For Medication Not Covered By Medicare Part D

Question: My part D plan doesn’t cover one of my medications. Can I just pay for it with cash? Answer: I often have individuals tell me this time of year that next year one of their medications are not covered by their plan. Is it possible to keep their coverage and get this medication another way. Sometimes medications that are covered can be cheaper for cash than their insurance coverage price even when it is covered by their plan. Remember than your insurance company is negotiating that cost with the pharmacy and the pharmaceutical company. Sometimes those prices seem to be ...

They Asked If It Was A Success

Our garage sale was almost two weeks ago. For days after, everyone wanted to know how we did. “Was it a success?” Well, that depends on your perspective. Are they asking about how much money we made? How much stuff we sold? How many people showed up? Truthfully, if the goal was to create more and better organized space in the garage – yes, it was a roaring success. But if the goal was to create a net addition to our savings account, it was a spectacular failure. Despite the raw, miserable days, a respectable amount of people showed up. The regulars. I didn’t know many of the ...

Here’s To The ‘Trad Wives’

Well, it’s official! I’m a “trad wife.” Not because I took a pledge or joined a secret apron society — it’s just that I cook, clean, and make lists for people who will never read them. Apparently, that’s enough these days to earn a label. Our modern culture tends to label and categorize almost everything, often with catchy shorthand terms. It helps label people to show what tribe, identity, or worldview they belong to. It’s also efficient in dividing people. And since humanity seems to be so easy to divide, why not label women who devote their lives to their family and ...

The Power Of Prayer As I Learned It

In my, and my siblings’, days of growing up, we practiced (still do) Roman Catholicism, which our parents practiced as well, and we participated in many of the traditional beliefs and rituals that we were taught as students of our parents, and the teachers at the Parochial Schools we attended. Some of those practices/rituals are as simple as making the Sign of the Cross entering and exiting church (after dipping our hand in Holy Water), genuflecting before entering the pews in which we choose to sit, and again cross signing before and after saying any, and many of the prayers we prayed ...

Zohran Mamdani vs. Elon Musk

A member of my family suggested that it might be timely to write an article about these two polar opposites whose names have recently been in the news. “Diversity” has become a bad name for some, but the juxtaposition of these two men between what is called “democratic socialism” and “capitalism” would seem to meet that definition. To be honest, by way of full disclosure, in discussing a comparison of Mamdani and Musk—I must acknowledge that I own no Tesla Stock, but I do have two grandchildren living in New York who supported the newly elected Mayor of New York. The ...