Guys, when was the last time that you rode a bicycle?
Yeah. I thought so. Many of us stopped riding bicycles once we got our driver’s license. And, yes, that was my story too.
But, out of necessity, when I was living in Erie, I started riding a bicycle again. Not a motorcycle. A bicycle.
Now, of course I had motorcycles, but bicycles are on another level. It’s like riding in a canoe on a smooth easy waterway down stream. Quiet and calm. Peaceful. Nice. Smooth. Life.
A bicycle slows your life down. It rids your head from the vibration and noise and other nasty stuff that is associated with motorized vehicles.
If you all have the opportunity, take a bicycle ride.
Trust me. It’s nice.
Today…
How do Americans moving abroad cope with the dreaded universal healthcare?
Broke my foot in Italy. Treatment at the ER, xrays, cast, crutches and med cost less than $100. It would have be free if we had been EU). I came back to the US, went to an orthopedist. He spent literally 30 seconds with me, had his nurse cut off the cast, and wrapped my foot with an ace bandage.
The bill was $2000. Including something he coded as “surgery”. When I let the insurance company know I had not had surgery, they said, what do you care? It’s covered. They did not care that they were paying for a treatment I did not have. It is the most ridiculous healthcare system in the world.
Why is the US so overconfident in its trade war with China when its entire economy runs on cheap Chinese goods and Beijing could dump the dollar tomorrow?
The United States is not confident about the trade war with China, but Trump is confident.
Do you think Trump has lost? No!
On the contrary, at this moment, Trump and his friends have won a lot of money.
Everything is for making money for himself. This is Trump’s job. As long as he can make money for himself, he can “make America collapse again.”
President Donald Trump gleefully recounted how much money his billionaire pals made on the stock market after he suddenly suspended most of his worldwide tariffs.
Stocks zoomed Wednesday after Trump pulled the plug on the tariffs.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!!” he urged on Truth Social shortly after the market opened and before he suspended the levies for 90 days just four hours later.
Stocks jumped more than 7 percent Wednesday within minutes of his announcement suspending the tariff for 90 days. The market ultimately closed more than 9 percent higher.
At the White House Oval Office that day, Trump pointed to a pair of billionaire visitors.
“He made $2.5 million, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad!” Trump said, pointing to financial investor Charles Schwab and then NASCAR team owner Roger Penske. The men were part of a visiting guest contingent of mostly racing notables.
Schwab is estimated to be worth $12.9 billion and Penske $5.6 billion.
Trump doesn’t need inside information; he can create it himself.
This is a naked message to all Americans:
if you want to make money by speculating in stocks, you must always keep an eye on Trump’s Truth Social.
Trump tells you to buy stocks, you buy stocks, Trump tells you to sell stocks, you sell stocks.
America is just a money-making tool for Trump.
The United States is a capitalist country, and capitalism is supposed to serve billionaires, not you.
Believe it or not, if Trump plays this game repeatedly, he only needs half a year to become the world’s richest man.
Women LEARN That FEMINISM Is Not About EQUALITY
What made you think, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” when someone sat next to you on an airplane?
Coming back to America from a trip to Southeast Asia, I had the good fortune to get seated next to a woman who was incensed.
What was she so upset about?
She’d accompanied a friend who was visiting her family there.
She couldn’t BELIEVE how often her friend and her friend’s family spoke their language only right in front of her.
After all, she didn’t speak Thai.
She couldn’t believe how rude some people were to leave her, the apparent new queen of Asia, on her own.
Didn’t they know that was impolite?
On and on she went.
Complaint after complaint.
Didn’t like the country’s food, too hard to find a western style meal.
My gosh it was hot!
I finally got it out of her that nobody in her friend’s family spoke English but she apparently thought they, knowing their daughter was bringing an English speaking guest, should’ve at least learned some basics.
I asked her if she, knowing she was visiting a foreign country, had considered learning some basics of their language.
She looked like I’d both presented her with an outrageously new idea and slapped her at the same time.
She says of course she hadn’t and seemed to wonder why I would even ask.
My gosh, lady. You visited a foreign country where English is not the standard language and was shocked when you realized the culture and climate was different from America.
And you want me to sympathize?
Headphones on.
Thank goodness for the invention.
I kept them on just to avoid having to hear any more of her whining.
Coconut Lime Fillets
Coconut Lime Fillets are served with a delicious Mustard Lime Sauce.
Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients
Fillets
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 4 1/2 cups fine breadcrumbs
- 3 cups flaked unsweetened coconut
- 2 tablespoons lime zest, minced
- 24 red snapper fillets*
- Salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 1/2 cups Mustard Lime Sauce
Mustard Lime Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups reduced calorie mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cups lime juice
Instructions
Fillets
- Combine egg and milk in a shallow dish. Set aside.
- Combine breadcrumbs, coconut and lime in a separate shallow dish and set aside.
- Lightly season fillets with salt and pepper, dip into egg mixture, then dredge in coconut mixture. Arrange fillets on a lightly greased parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes until fish flakes easily.
- Serve each fillet with approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of Mustard Lime Sauce.
Mustard Lime Sauce
- Whisk together ingredients until smooth.
Notes
* Flounder, cod, haddock, catfish, or orange roughy can be substituted.
What’s it like to get cancer treatment in a country with universal healthcare versus one without it?
We are Canadian. My wife had breast cancer. Within 24 hours of being diagnosed the phone would not stop wringing with a multitude of different hospital support staff setting up a multitude of activities and events. We were allocated a “nurse navigator” who was our point person to manage all these appointments and be our single point of contact. Within days, surgery, oncology, chemotherapy, radiation consultations were all booked. The interventions all started within in the following one to two weeks.
Every cost was covered by our province healthcare. There was not a single invoice, not a single conversation about payments. Everything was billed directly to the province. All she had to do was show up and be brave. Today, thirteen years later, she is well and cancer free. She still has annual mammograms and ultrasounds, and still all taken care of by the province.
Fresh Grass and Hospitality
Written in response to: “Write a story in which someone time-travels 25 years or more into the past.“
Lauren LeCocq
I hadn’t tried, but I could move my body so I figured I could. It took me a few aches and groans but I got to my feet and looked around the field, trying not to make eye contact with the landscaper. I realized he did indeed have to stop before running me over since half the field was already mowed.
“I thought this land wasn’t being maintained.” I thought.
“Well I’m here maintainin’ it. I think they’re talkin’ about selling to the fancy school in the big city though, dunno what they need it for, but I’ll probably keep comin’ to mow it till they tell me not to.”
“I said that out loud?”
“Are you sure you’re alright, miss? You seem very disoriented.”
“Did I appear out of nowhere to you?”
“Looked like you fell outta the sky to me, wasn’t lookin’ much higher than the grass though.”
“That explains the whiplash and back pain.”
“You from that fancy school? You got their logo on.”
“Uh… yeah? We’re working on- I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
“That’s ok. You need help back there?”
“Do I… huh?”
“You need help back? Maybe you’ll get your bearings there?”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“You seem like you need help. So I offer to help, I’d like to finish this field first though if you don’t mind.”
I had no idea what to make of this man. I remember my grandma telling me stories of hospitality and selflessness and how it got lost somewhere between the internet and the pursuit of personal pleasure above all else. I didn’t understand that until this exact moment, and I had to ask.
“What year is it?”
“1985.” The man got on his mower like it wasn’t an odd question.
“Would you be ok with that, I mean, driving me back?” It felt weird to ask.
“Of course. I just need to finish the field first.”
I sat on the grass, and finally registered his answer to my stereotypical time-traveller question. 50 years, double the amount of time I was supposed to be going back. I pulled my knees to my chest thinking of all the people I might never see again. Before I knew it I was crying. There was no way that equation could account for another 25 years, I could see maybe 5.
The landscaper finished his mowing and waved at me to follow as he drove his mower to a truck parked on the road. All in all it took longer than I had ever waited for something while having nothing else to do. We got in his truck, a model I hadn’t seen since I was a little girl.
“Y’know I met my wife in that field, was mowin’ and she plopped down just like you did, same getup too. That was about 30 years ago, right after I got assigned to this area.”
“Weird.”
“She told me I’d probably meet other people in that field, that the school was usin’ it for something but she wanted no part of it anymore. Didn’t care if they brought her back, I didn’ know what that meant but she told me, so I understand your situation. I can’t imagine growin’ up not havin’ things like common courtesy, and people goin’ out of their way for others. She slapped me silly the first time I called her pretty.” The man laughed.
“Well that’s fair, that’s objectification.”
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with give’n a genuine compliment in my eyes miss. Not that I go complimenting other women, not since I got married.”
“What’s your wife’s name?”
“Jean Miller, her maiden name is Baker though.”
“That’s my grandma’s name…”
“We’re here.”
“Oh…uh…”
“It’s thank you. If you’re lookin’ for what to say.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome miss.”
The man smiled, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man smile, at least not a genuine smile.
Then I blacked out, and woke up on the floor of the lab.
Question to people living in China for a long time: How did your attitude towards the U.S. change from 2018 to 2023?
My attitude towards the United States has not changed at all, because before 2018 I knew that the United States is a monopoly capitalist and imperialist country based on private ownership.
Of course, China has gradually begun to break the monopoly of this monopoly capitalist country, which is the main reason why the United States started a developed trade war against China in 2019.
This is actually expected.
US Vice President Vance expressed it very clearly:
The US used to believe that other countries would always lag behind the US in the value chain, and the US only needed to be responsible for the high-end part, leaving the low-end part to the low-end countries. We thought that after the US lost many manufacturing jobs, its workers could learn design and programming and continue to develop in the higher-end value chain. But now we are wrong. It turns out that the regions that manufacture products are also good at design and innovation.
His logic is that the United States only participates in the high-end areas of the supply chain, and can concentrate on making the high-end more high-end and always at the top of the value chain, while those countries engaged in the low-end part have been doing the most basic work, so they will always be at the low end of the value chain.
Then the United States can always enjoy such “benefits”, let the whole world work for the United States, the United States can buy cheap goods, but because the United States is at the top of the value chain, with high added value and high profits, it also makes the most money in the entire supply chain, and finally makes money easily, and there is still a lot of surplus to consolidate the position of the United States.
What Vance meant was that the United States originally just wanted China to do OEM and low-end processing and work honestly for the United States. As a result, China has become proficient in everything, covering everything from high-end to low-end, and has become an all-round top player. The United States has been “attacked from both sides” in this process. Therefore, the United States must launch a trade war against China.
In my opinion, the United States is a typical failed country.
The strength of the United States has nothing to do with most ordinary Americans.
People usually assume that the United States is a strong and successful country because of its false reputation as a “developed country”, the highest economic output, and its powerful military and technology.
In fact, as long as we observe carefully, we will find that the bright appearances shown by the United States to the outside world are just trying to cover up the truth.
First of all, the economy.
The United States is a country with a rich country and poor people.
Many people’s most intuitive impression of the United States is that the economy is developed, but there is one thing that is extremely contradictory:
The US GDP is clearly the highest in the world, but the living conditions of most Americans are far worse than those of people in some developing countries, and are not at all like those in developed countries.
In other words, the strong economy of the United States is really meaningless to ordinary American people. The United States is not developing for their welfare at all.
There are many vicious incidents in the United States, such as shootings and child trafficking. In fact, if the US government takes out the money for building aircraft carriers and military aircraft to install more cameras for the American people, at least 90% of the vicious incidents can be eliminated, and at least the lives of most Americans can be protected.
But the US government does not do that. They would rather give American taxes to the military and fight wars all over the world than help the people install more cameras and build a few high-speed railways and roads.
In contrast, let’s look at China. Although we are still a developing country, we Chinese are safe walking on the streets no matter how late it is. Even the most backward cities have high-speed rail. In China, traveling is simply a convenient enjoyment.
The second is technology and military.
The United States has the strongest military and technological power in the world, and we admit this.
But I don’t know if you have noticed that the United States has never used these high technologies to benefit American civilians.
The United States has Silicon Valley, an electronic industrial base that represents the world’s top level, and the US military has also shocked the world with information warfare.
But even so, many American people are still worried about mobile phone signal problems from time to time today. They live in the country with the most developed information technology, but their mobile phones often can’t make calls. It’s really ironic.
In just a few years, China has entered the 5G era, and everyone who uses a mobile phone can enjoy China’s development achievements in a timely manner.
As for the US military, it is even more shameful. The world’s best equipment has never won a victory against foreign countries.
In comparison, China is really too powerful. We defeated the best-equipped US military on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
The third is education, I think American education is simply a shame in human history.
It stands to reason that the more developed a place is, the higher the level of education is, but the United States is an exception.
I know that there are many good universities in the United States, and any of them are well-known. People from many countries are also happy to study in the United States, which gives people a good impression of American education.
In fact, most ordinary people in the United States are unable to afford higher education because they cannot afford the high tuition fees. No matter how high the level of American universities is, they only train children of rich people, and most ordinary Americans can only complete basic education.
Not only that, the level of basic education in the United States is extremely poor.
The so-called “happy education” makes many high school students in the United States not believe that the earth is a ball. Most high school students in China have the ability to directly infer the climate change of the places in the map just by relying on an incomplete map.
The United States has the highest level of education in the world, but it does everything possible to prevent American children from going to school well, causing them to fall into a sad cycle of poverty, drugs and various crimes when they grow up.
The United States gives the best education to the rich and then abandons all the poor.
In China, whether ordinary children or rich children, all have to take the college entrance examination, and the opportunities are equal. Our country’s education gives the poor a lot of opportunities to turn over.
Finally, the administrative and medical level of the United States.
I think these two points should be put together because they are both related to one word: efficiency.
The United States is good at self-promotion, always saying that it has the most advanced political and legal system, but the inefficiency of the US government is simply world-famous. Americans can fight a small lawsuit for five or six years, and the cost is huge, and ordinary people can’t afford it at all.
The United States also claims to have the most advanced medical care, but the United States’ anti-epidemic work is the worst. Those advanced equipment, professional doctors and magical drugs prepared for the rich have nothing to do with those Americans who died or lost their families in COVID-19.
This is how the United States disguised the gap between the rich and the poor as an economic advantage; the militarism as a military advantage; the resource monopoly as a technological advantage; the anti-intellectual education as an educational advantage, and finally successfully dressed itself up from a backward failed country to a powerful developed country, which is the funniest joke in human history.
BlackRock’s $19B Port Grab: China’s Shipping Nightmare Unleashed!
This is one of the best updates on what is going on right now.
Have you ever received healthcare outside the United States? What was your experience?
My daughter (then 15) and I were in Barcelona, Spain with a school group when she got very ill.
She spent several days throwing up and soon was kind of lethargic and couldn’t keep anything down.
We weren’t sure what to do, so the front desk clerk contacted a doctor for us. The doctor made a House called to the hotel, assessed my daughter, and then called an ambulance as he determined she needed fluids.
At the ER, they gave her fluids, IV meds, an abdominal ultrasound, a whole series of blood and urine tests… The works.
I was very concerned about how much it would all cost, but had already decided to simply put the whole thing on a credit card and worry about it later.
When she was finally ready to be discharged the front desk clerk, speaking through a translator, told me it would be $100.
Then she apologized and said she had forgotten to add on the doctors house call and the ambulance service.
The new total was $150.
I was completely gob smacked.
The same treatment back home in the United States would’ve been thousands, and I doubt seriously we would’ve found a doctor to make a house call to a Hotel.
Sir Whiskerton and the Parallel Universe Piñata: A Tale of Cosmic Confetti and Questionable Tax Laws
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale so bizarre, so metaphysically unhinged, that even the scarecrow would question his life choices (if he had a brain). Today’s story is one of interdimensional chaos, bureaucratic corgis, and the eternal truth that whacking things with sticks often leads to existential dread.
So grab your favorite bat (or a rolled-up newspaper—desperate times), and let us dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Parallel Universe Piñata: A Tale of Cosmic Confetti and Questionable Tax Laws.
Act 1: The Piñata Who Knew Too Much
It began, as all terrible ideas do, with Bartholomew the Piñata saying something deeply concerning.
- “The fabric of reality is but a frayed tortilla,” Bartholomew intoned, swaying ominously in the barnyard breeze.
- “Tortilla!” Ditto echoed, already licking his lips.
- “That’s not… that’s not how physics works,” Sir Whiskerton said, squinting.
But Bartholomew wasn’t done.
- “Beyond me lies a world where cats reign supreme, dogs file quarterly expense reports, and squirrels… are middle managers.”
- “Managers!” Ditto gasped, horrified.
Now, most of the farm animals had long accepted that Bartholomew was either:
- Wise beyond comprehension, or
- A glorified party decoration with delusions of grandeur.
But when a single whack from Porkchop’s tail sent a cascade of candy and a shimmering interdimensional rift spilling from Bartholomew’s seams, even Sir Whiskerton had to admit:
This was new.
Act 2: Welcome to Felinetopia (Where Naps Are Mandatory)
One misstep through the glowing portal later, Sir Whiskerton and Ditto found themselves in a world that was almost theirs—but infinitely weirder.
Observations from a Baffled Cat:
- The farm was now “The Feline Dominion of Sir Whiskerton the Magnificent (No Dogs Allowed).”
- Rufus the Dog was wearing a tiny suit and sobbing over a pile of tax forms. “Why does fetching count as a taxable benefit?!”
- A corgi in a waistcoat was auditing him. “You underreported your belly rub income by 15 treats, sir.”
- Sir Whiskerton’s doppelgänger—a fluffy, lazy version of himself—lounged on a golden pillow. “Ah, you’re the productive one. How quaint.”
- “What… is happening?” Sir Whiskerton whispered.
- “Happening!” Ditto cheered, already trying to eat the dimensional rift.
Meanwhile, back in the original universe:
- Bartholomew was now spewing mathematical equations along with candy.
- Doris had started a cult. “The Piñata speaks, ladies! We must listen!”
- Porkchop, sensing opportunity, set up a concession stand selling “Interdimensional Snacks.” (Mostly just corn chips he found in the dirt.)
Act 3: The Great Escape (Before the CIRS Gets Involved)
Sir Whiskerton, realizing that a world where cats were in charge was terrifying (mostly because his double kept delegating naps to underlings), devised a plan:
- Distract the tax corgi with a “mystery deduction” (a squeaky toy).
- Convince Lazy Whiskerton to help (“If you don’t, I’ll tell them you buried the red dot laser under your pillow.”)
- Re-whack Bartholomew to reverse the portal.
But there was one tiny problem:
Bartholomew was enjoying the attention.
- “Perhaps this universe is the real one,” Bartholomew mused. “Have you considered that, detective?”
- “No,” Sir Whiskerton said, “because I have standards.”
With a well-aimed leap, Sir Whiskerton batted Bartholomew with precision, sending the portal sucking them back into their own dimension—along with:
- One very confused tax corgi.
- Lazy Whiskerton’s favorite pillow.
- Three squirrels who immediately unionized.
The rift sealed with a pop, leaving only a single gumdrop and an IRS notice as proof it ever happened.
Moral of the Story
Be careful what you whack—especially if it’s a sentient piñata.
Also, never let dogs do taxes. It’s cruel.
Best Lines
- “The fabric of reality is but a frayed tortilla.” — Bartholomew, either a genius or very hungry.
- “You underreported your belly rub income!” — Corgi Auditor, ruining Rufus’s life.
- “I nap for the kingdom.” — Lazy Whiskerton, a hero.
Post-Credit Scene
The farmer picks up the IRS notice, squints, and files it under “Things To Ignore Forever.” Meanwhile, the corgi starts auditing the scarecrow.
Starring
- Sir Whiskerton as The Cat Who Almost Became a Tyrant
- Bartholomew as The Universe’s Worst Doorway
- Rufus as “I Just Wanted to Fetch in Peace”
- Tax Corgi as The Real Villain
P.S. If life gives you an interdimensional piñata, make sure it’s gluten-free.
The End.
If Canadian healthcare isn’t free and has a lower quality, how exactly is it better?
Hey everyone, found the strawman argument
The myth of “Free” healthcare
Canadians are clever enough to know that our healthcare isn’t “free”. That’s just shorthand for “the hospital checks your pulse, not your bank account”.
Canadian healthcare is an insurance just like any other, paid out of our taxes. What I pay in income tax (healthcare included) is much less than what my American friends and relatives pay separately in taxes and healthcare.
Here’s how it works:
Yes, Canadian healthcare is insurance that really works. No copays. No “pre-existing conditions”. No death committees to say, “sorry, you’re not covered”. That’s exclusively American.
I’m over 60. Over the last few years, my family doctor(s) have sent me to a bunch of specialists for various issues.
On one occasion, the referral was labelled “Urgent”. I saw the specialist the next day. On every other occasion, the referrals were marked “Non-urgent”. It took at most one month to see the specialist.
Good enough for me.
Case in point: Just before Christmas I had a recurrence of an old back problem. I saw my doctor the next day. X-rays right after the doctor’s appointment Referral to an orthopaedic surgeon. OK, that appointment took just over a month, for two reasons:
- My case was considered to be non-urgent.
- The Christmas and New Year’s holidays got in the way.
Conclusion: I see the specialist again in a year. Repeat X-rays in two years. Continue physiotherapy (that’s physical therapy to Americans) and my physiotherapist’s daily exercise. Perhaps a hip replacement at some time in the distant future. Perhaps not.
But here’s the kicker: I’ve had back trouble for more than 30 years. At no time did that uniquely American term come up: pre-existing condition
So-called “lower quality”
Here’s the problem: The US has the lousiest healthcare indicators in the world: lowest life expectancy, highest child mortality, and highest maternal mortality.
WTF was the OP saying about “lower quality”, again?
You know what else Canadians don’t have:
- A massively bloated, self-perpetuating private insurance bureaucracy, draining hundreds of billions of $$ per year out of the system to feed itself.
- Medical bankruptcies.
- Gofundme to pay for chemotherapy or other catastrophic expense.
- People dying because some pharmaceutical company has a 1000% margin on, say, insulin – long out of patent protection.
Shall I continue?
Dutch Chip Giant Defies U.S. to Open China Plant as Nvidia Panics Over DeepSeek Breakthrough
What is the most bogus charge you’ve seen on a bill?
When I settled my father’s estate, the attorney sent me a bill, which of course I reviewed carefully. I found a mistake — they had double charged me for one thing. It wasn’t a huge amount, but given the hourly rate for estate attorneys, I asked them to correct the mistake and send me a new bill, which they promptly did. A couple of weeks later, I got a bill for over $200 for the time it took them to review their mistake, correct that mistake, and send me a corrected (lower) billing statement.
It’s been 25 years, and it still amazes me that they had the gall to bill me to correct overcharging me in the first place. And no, I didn’t pay the second bill.
His name was Jonathan?
Written in response to: “Write a story in which someone time-travels 25 years or more into the past.“
David Cantwell
“Good morning,” a man says from the driver’s seat.
“Morning,” I reply while admiring his car.
“Not a great road to be walking down. It’s gonna be a hot one today. Jump in, let me get you out of the heat.”
“Thanks,” I reply while circling around to the other side. “You certainly keep this old—” I almost say old car when I realize he’s wearing clothes from the same timeframe. I’m somehow back in the fifties. That’s nearly seventy-five years from my origin time, the furthest point I’ve ever travelled back.
“What’s that?” he asks in my long pause.
“Oh, nothing, I thought at first this was an Oldsmobile, now I see it’s a Chevy,” I cover quickly after being inspired by the emblem on the steering wheel.
“Just picked her up today. She’s a joy to drive. A new 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air they call it. Straight out of Detroit. Figured I deserved it after all I’ve done,” he says.
I take a moment and look over his new car as it glides down the road, seemingly on a pillow of air. I’m not sure if I should ask what he’s done, it seems too personal. Looking in the back seat I see a drab green duffle bag stuffed full. “Military?”
“Yes. I got home from Korea almost a year ago. The bag was still in the trunk of the car I traded in. I haven’t really unpacked my bag yet,” he says.
“My grandfather served in K—” again I pause, after all this time I’m still bad at keeping my thoughts of the past I know out of conversations. “My grandfather was in World War I. Thank you for your service,” I say, recovering from my near slip.
“Thank you for my service? Never heard that before. I guess you’re welcome would be in order. World War I, I’m no expert in history by any means, but that would have been a terrible time. He was a lucky man to come out alive,” he says. As I look more closely at him, he seems to be my own age, mid-twenties. And though he’s been home for nearly a year he still has the clean-cut hair, fresh shave, and fairly fit looks of a soldier.
“Yeah, time. It has many gifts in store for us,” I say.
“I’m sure it does. Hey, I never introduced myself. I’m David Woods,” he says, reaching his hand toward me.
David Woods? How can that be? A connection, I’ve found my connection. My father’s father, my grandfather, is sitting next to me. Why here? Why now? “Good to meet you David, I’m John,” I say, using my father’s name. It’s a lie, but it would seem odd to tell him I have the same name as him.
“What brings you to Las Cruces?”
New Mexico, that’s where they lived when they were first married. If I remember correctly, they got married just before he shipped out in 1950. They haven’t even started a family yet; my father wasn’t born until a year after he returned. “Just seemed like a good place to visit at the time.”
“So far, it’s not bad. My wife moved here after I shipped out. Her parents helped her buy a little place so when I returned we would have a home. In all honesty, I thought it was a fat chance that I’d ever return. War isn’t kind or forgiving no matter what awaits you at home, or what dreams you may have on the other side.” He’s young but he talks like an old soul. “Sorry, war will do that to a person. Make you talk and think like that. Even after a year away from it.”
“I can’t imagine,” I say. And I really can’t. I never served; I never even gave it a second thought. My dad did, he followed in his father’s footsteps. The only war I’m involved in is a war to try and regain my life, return to my time, shut this loop that has me—
“And you really don’t want to. I say avoid it if you can, there’s no value in it, especially not for the soldier,” he says. A different view than what he supposedly had as my dad was growing up. Enlisting will do you good… was purportedly one of his mottos.
He pulls the dusty car into a gas station about a mile out of town. Before getting out he asks, “Do you have a place to stay in town?”
“No, not at all.”
“Huh,” he says, climbing out of the car. He then walks from one side of the car to the other and back again. “I’ll be damned.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Can’t for the life of me find the gas cap. Shoot, the dealer said something about it too.”
I get out of the car; a vague memory returns to me. Dad talked about Grandpa’s old car. I walk to the right taillight and wiggle it, nothing. Then I do the same at the left taillight and it flips open. “Voila,” I say, as if it were magic.
“Well, that settles it. You should come to our house for dinner. After all, without you I’d likely be stranded on the road forever,” he says stretching his arms wide. “We will have to tell my wife that we served together. She wouldn’t be too hip to the idea of a stranger coming for dinner.”
“I’ll accept, though I don’t like the idea of deceiving her. Maybe we can come up with a better idea,” I say, realizing as I do that looking at him is almost like looking into a mirror.
“Agreed. Let me go pay for the fuel,” he says while hanging the hose back up on its receiver.
After getting back into the car, and waiting for him to return, I’m mulling over the uniqueness of this day I’ve been handed. Are more of my trips holding similar connections? Have I missed something?
Suddenly I’m startled with a thud and gasp at the back of the car. I jerk my head back and see David sliding down the hood of the trunk. “David? You okay?” There’s no response.
I jump out of the car to check on him a man, running out from the service station, yells to me, “Is he Okay?”
We both arrive at the rear of the car and find him slumped on the cement.
“He tripped over the curb there, hit his chest on the taillight. Went down in a heap after that,” the attendant tells me.
Quickly I roll him over and place two fingers at his neck, no pulse. “Call 911,” I tell the attendant. He just stares at me with a baffled look on his face. “Call for an ambulance,” and still he looks confused. Asking him to help with CPR is probably a lost cause too. I bring two hands into the center of his chest and start a fast-paced rhythm of compressions.
After a full minute, I decide to give him a couple puffs of air. The attendant has disappeared, hopefully he’s calling for some help. Good thing too I’m pretty sure he would wonder why I’m kissing this man. After two full breaths I recenter my hands on his chest. After only a dozen more compressions Davids eyes pop open.
“Stop—stop. What are you doing?” he asks confused.
“You fell and hit your chest. It stopped your heart,” I state as a matter of fact. “I was trying to start your heart back up.” Not thinking the moniker CPR would mean anything to him.
“That would explain why my chest hurts. But it looks like it worked,” he says propping himself up on an elbow. “Thank you. Well, I guess we have a much better reason to invite you to dinner now. She can’t possibly frown at the idea of eating dinner with the man that just saved my life.”
“Probably not,” I reply.
“Oh my god, he’s alive?” the attendant says arriving back at the pump. “I called the hospital; they said to get him there as soon as possible.”
“Well thank you. I don’t think we need to go that direction now,” David says, rising from the ground and rubbing his chest, “I’m feeling pretty good. This curb here nearly took me out.” He gives the curb a little kick.
Once back in the car it’s only a few more miles until we’re at his home. When the new car rolls up the driveway a very pregnant woman, my grandmother, comes out to see the new vehicle.
“I was starting to worry about you?” she says at first. Then, upon seeing me, she moves directly to her new question. “David? Who’s this?”
“Cynthia, this is John. He was out on the highway this morning and I gave him a ride into town.”
“That’s nice,” she responds still looking like she needs an answer.
“Well, we were at Bills service station, and he saved my life. Thought we could at least offer him dinner tonight.”
“Saved your life? Really?”
After recanting the entire story to his lovely wife, my grandmother, she had no qualms about my presence in their home. In fact, she insists. “I already have a big roast and some vegetables in the oven. More than enough.”
The inside of the house is charming and fitting of the two people I have just met and have always known. “What a wonderful house,” I say, “And the food smells delicious.”
“You know David, if I didn’t know better, I would say John could be your twin brother,” she adds over dinner.
“Huh, I didn’t notice. Now that you mention it though, he could,” my grandfather says. “I mean he is a good-looking man,” he adds with a smile.
They offered me a place to wash up and we sat and made some small talk for the next couple hours. Cynthia even offered me a cold beer and a bite after my constantly rumbling stomach alerted her to my needs.
“Cynthia, when are you due?” I ask near the end of the meal.
“Actually, any day now, and I can’t wait. I’m so excited, I mean we are so excited to welcome a baby into our lives.”
“Is it a boy or girl?” I ask next. And with that they both look at me perplexed. “I mean, are you hoping for a boy or girl?”
“Oh,” Cynthia starts, “I would love a boy. And David wants a girl.”
“I’ll take either, I’m just eager to start that new chapter. Cynthia’s going to be a great Mom,” David adds.
“Have you decided on any names?” I continue with more obvious questions, after all what do you discuss with two people that will one day be your grandparents. You certainly can’t lead with any of that.
“We were thinking if it’s a girl, Lola after my mother,” Cynthia says. “And if it’s a boy we were planning on David, it’s a good name.”
“It is a good name, but in light of today, after my near-death experience, I think John is a good name as well.”
“Johnathan David Woods, I like it,” Cynthia says.
My dad’s name is actually Jonathan? Huh, I never knew.
It’s my grandmother that invites me to stay the night, “Unless you have some other place to be,” she adds.
I would love nothing more than to stay with these two. To wake up and spend another day with them and the day after too. I would like nothing more than to meet my father after he’s born. However, at nine eleven each morning, the same time as my first trip, I’m moved to somewhere else. “I can stay the night, but I do have to head out early. I hope that doesn’t bother you?” I answer.
“No, not at all, I’ll have breakfast ready at seven. Will that work?” she asks.
“That will be perfect,” I say. And for the first time in years, I’ll be spending it in a house with family. Even though they don’t know it.
I may be a version of Dr. Frankenstein or Captain Ahab but tonight I’ll be with family. Hopefully I have future journeys that bring me back here.
What’s the personality and character of Chinese people, especially guys, from the southern part of China near the sea? Is it different from northern Chinese guys?
I know many from Southern China, but I’m thinking of one man in particular, from Hong Kong (which is part of China). His personality is most pleasant. He has a great sense of humor; it is top tier. And he tells stories about his life that captivate me. I could quite literally listen to him for hours. There’s so much more I want to know. I hope he will honor me with sharing the rest. I want to know everything.
Athletic in his youth, playing lacrosse and sailing. One who enjoyed the speed of a fast car. He is warm, enjoys life, and is pleasant to spend time with. He’s creative; a lover of music and a student of photography in his spare time, with a desire to one day learn Chinese calligraphy.
He is intelligent. Curious and intellectual, searching out topics of interest and researching them in depth in his free time. He is able to carry on insightful and thoughtful conversation about these subjects that I find invigorating. He has fascinating and unique insights that make conversation with him absolutely delightful.
Talking with him is like communing with his soul. I have never known anyone whom I could experience such a phenomenon with. It feels as though I have known him for a lifetime—several lifetimes. His warmth and authenticity are genuine. He’s passionate about what is important to him.
He is pleasant, always kind to me, gracious and forgiving towards me. He promised he would always try to assume the best intentions in what I say. Considering I can be somewhat awkward, this is not something I take for granted about his personality but something I truly treasure in him. He is kind and considerate to others as well. He is gentle, tender in how he has spoken to me, but that does not in any way detract from his strength.
His character is impeccable. Truly it is as close to flawless as a man can get, that I have ever witnessed. He champions truth and honesty. He lives it and seeks it and I am so thankful that I can rest assured that I never have to question whether he will keep his word. If he tells me something I know it is so.
He has an incredible work ethic, going above and beyond what is expected of him. He has delivered results over and over and is extremely talented in his field. He has earned his position. He is the embodiment of strength and ability. He exudes authority. He’s responsible and dependable. He is wise and an excellent problem-solver and strategist.
When I think of him, the word integrity comes to mind. He’s a man of integrity and deep principles. He’s someone I can respect and someone who’s leadership I can trust. His wisdom and calm levelheaded demeanor make him perfect for such leadership.
He is devoted and committed to those important to him. He has honored his family, particularly his mother, performing filial piety toward her, treating her with love and respect. This touches my heart. And when I am with him, he takes excellent care of me. He is so generous and thoughtful and he put great much effort into making our time together special. No one has ever treated me in such a way before.
This man from Hong Kong, he has set the bar so high with his character and his personality that I feel there’s no comparison. Not between the men of Northern China, and not even in Southern China. There is no man I respect or admire more.
Shorpy
Do doctors in emergency rooms or departments ever tell patients they shouldn’t have come to the emergency room with something so minor?
Yes, I had a sudden (1 day) terrible inflammation break out on both feet and went to the ER where the doctor ridiculed me, said I was obviously not washing my feet, and diagnosed Athlete’s Foot and told me to go to the drug store and get some powder.
The following evening, I went home from work with liquid oozing through the leather on both dress shoes and in extreme pain.
I got home and forgot to even close my front door, walked into my bedroom, removed one shoe and when I pulled the sock off the flesh came off with it leaving bones exposed across my instep and toes.
I was fortunate. I was to meet a friend that night for dinner and when I didn’t show up which was very unusual, she came over to my house — possibly angry about being ditched???—and saw my truck there but my front door standing open. She’d been in my house many times so came right on in, calling out and came through and found me unconscious on my bedroom floor with the one horrible looking foot exposed, bleeding and dripping pus.
She called 911 then her brother. The ambulance came and took me to the ER at the same hospital. My friend went in with me and starting ripping people, telling them I’d been there the night before when this was just starting and had been ridiculed and sent away by the doctor.
Bottom line, I had a flesh eating bacteria, deep red and purple lines up my calves, both feet looking terrible. I was isolated and still unconscious. My friend took my cell and started locating and dialing family members. I spent two weeks in the hospital; the first 10 days they feared I would lose my legs to the knees as they went from one antibiotic to another.
The CDC was there asking millions of questions as there was an outbreak (8–10 cases) of cases in the Phoenix area right then. Ended up we’d all played the same golf course in the previous week and the “gray water” they’d used for irrigation hadn’t been properly treated.
Had I not had a friend come looking for me, I likely would have lost my legs.
Interestingly, after almost 2 weeks in ICU, I never saw a medical bill, not one, not for anything.
The problem with “The Future Made In Australia”: everything ends up in China anyway
What happens to global trade when G7 countries disagree on China policy?
G7 is anti-China because US fears China. US is the supremo. Other G7 countries follow its diktat on everything, not just China’s policy. On the trade side, its trade with China has been declining, except for Japan.
This is still the situation. But it may change.
America First is not just a slogan, but Trump’s drive to America’s greatness. The other G6 are dispensable, and are being dispensed with, such as Ukraine and tariffs. Trump thinks they have ripped off the US over the years and will have to pay.
Canada has the means to escape his wrath if it accepts his offer to become the 51st state of the Union.
We shall see what happen when Trump’s tariffs are in full flower come April, and the retaliations.
China is opening up its market, and more and more sectors in the economy are opened for foreign investments.
Global trade would see an orientation away from the US due to the tariffs, and towards China. Already the stories of economic and trade growths are written in the global south countries. The other G6 countries should decide if they want to be part of the stories.
Easy Lemon Pepper Scampi
Keep frozen peeled shrimp on hand in your freezer so you can prepare this quick and Easy Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi anytime.
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 5 min | Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Lemon & Pepper Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon McCormick® Parsley Flakes
Instructions
- Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. (Do not brown.)
- Add shrimp and Seasoning; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.
- Sprinkle with parsley.
- Serve over cooked pasta or rice, if desired.
If you are for universal healthcare for all, why?
I had never thought a lot about this topic until my wife got sick.
I am fortunate enough to have very good health insurance through my employer, and even with it we still face significant expenditures for her care. There’s the premiums themselves, of course, plus the deductible, plus out-of-pocket costs for things that insurance doesn’t cover – all in all around $1k per month, or $12,000 per year. We can afford that, pretty much. My insurance is a High Deductible with Health Savings Account plan and I use every penny that goes into it for these things.
But what we could never afford is the medical costs themselves. Out of curiosity I built a spreadsheet listing every insurance claim since she was stricken, back in 2015. It’s over 1.5 MILLION dollars worth of doctor visits, hospital stays and prescriptions – a completely impossible number, one that would have driven us quickly into bankruptcy, losing our house, my retirement funds and anything else we own – and it still would not have been enough.
When I see or hear people in authority decry universal health care because ‘it’s too expensive’ I grit my teeth, and wonder how much they got in ‘campaign contributions’ (read: bribes) from the healthcare industry. When I hear people who are allegedly Christian say ‘they don’t deserve it’ I think of the parable of the Good Samaritan – these people are no better than the Pharisee who crossed the road to avoid the man who had been beaten.
People don’t get sick because they’re bad, or evil – stuff just happens. And Jesus didn’t say, ‘Feed some of the hungry, clothe the naked we like and ignore the rest, and care for the sick but only if they agree with us.’ He was very straightforward and included EVERYONE – and so should we.
It’s not about politics, or religion, or thinly-disguised racism. It’s the right thing to do. Other countries do it, better and cheaper than we do. We need to do the same.
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