Before we get too far in this article, I want to make it very clear that what I am saying in this column is of my own opinion and not that of any group. Everyone has the right to live as they choose and so they can do what they think is best for them. I would never try to change anyone's thinking on how to believe and how to vote.
We start with those who want to smoke and they do so even though they cough when they inhale. I would think that if it makes you cough, then your body is telling you to stop smoking. But we have those same people continue to smoke and soon they acquire a bad set of lungs and then they want to sue the companies that make that product. Hey, they didn't force you to smoke , did they? If all of those people would of stop smoking a long time ago, there wouldn't of been those tobacco factories making a great deal of money and so they would of stopped making those smoking products. The people brought that on themselves, and they have to pay with a lot of grief and lives.
Take the problem of drinking amoug the teens today. Did this happen overnight or was this a by product of those who have been pouring that alcohol down thier throats all this many years. Wouldn't you think that if something makes you dizzy or sick to your stomach, you would quit drinking or at least cut part of it out. Those kids out there get most of thier desire to drink from the older folks, and they think it makes them cool.
And then we go to the drug problem that is slowly but surely taking our young folk so far out on a limb, that they might never be able to recover. The furthur you go out on a limb, you have a greater chance of it breaking, and sending you to the ground. We in recent years have let the outsiders in to contaminate our youth and we have taken away the authority of the parents and the schools to do anything about it. As long as the present system continues, we will still have the problems. The DARE program is a great program and there are a lot of great kids out there that have joined it, but it needs to come to the point of all the kids needing to be part of it. If we make it rough on the people who are poisoning our youth with drugs, then maybe they will find some other community to contaminate. All you kids out there , just say NO.
Our medical system is a great one here in our country, but most of the time they are held back by the insurance companies that want to dictate what medicine can be used according to how much it is going to cost them. Hey, if they would cut down on some of that big overhead such as outrageous salaries given to those who do nothing to warrant it, then they might be able to lower thier costs and the doctors could get the people well. In my case alone, they would have me change to a generic medicine even though they have never met me and know nothing about my condition. The medicine that they want to change is the only one that works for me after testing with several others. I am not the only one who worries about whether the cost is more important than my life. What would you do if someone told you that your medicine was going to be changed just to lower the cost to the HMOs?
Take the cost of gas these days, where if you wanted to fill up your tank, you just about have to go get a loan. I heard a joke the other day where a lady had to sell her car so that she could buy gas for it. Well folks, this gas situation is no joking matter. I buy just enough gas to get me by and will continue to do so until someone out there has the guts to do something about it. Now I know that these service stations have to make a living and they have to go with what it costs them, but sometimes I wonder how the gas that was thirty cents cheaper yesterday can be thirty cents more the next day and it came out of the same tank in the ground and there has not been any refilling of that tank during that time. In other words you are buying the product at tomorrow's prices today. Does that make any sense to you.? In my way of thinking , I would be looking for a sale instead of a raise in the price. What we as Americans shoud do is to slow down our trips and stop jumping in the car to go somewhere, when we can walk to it. Exercise to good for you and it doesn't cost a penny.
Now getting to exercising, I have to commend my little woman Ramona for what she has accomplished in the last five months. She decided that she needed to lose some weight and she set out to do so. With the help of fellow walkers she has lost over forty pounds and she looks great. She tells me she feels better and she is really proud of herself too. Well I too, am very proud of what she has done and I hope that she continues to be proud. It takes a lot of guts to sit back and watch someone else gorge themselves and still stay on on her diet and walking. Great job Ramona.
And so what this old man is trying to say in this column is that we can change things around so that this is a better place to live. And although I have never smoked or drank of the spirits, I really would like to see our young folk stop with the smokes , the booze and the drugs, and begin to build on thier lives so that when it comes thier time to be the leaders of our great country, they will have a good base to work on. Hey, all you kids out there, just think how many babies have been born that have serious complications, because thier mothers have been subjected to drugs ,smoking, and booze. Think about what you are going to do with your lives , and then work on it to become productive to society and to your families.
And as we end our little visit with each other, I ask for any suggestions on how my thoughts to you can be better, and I ask for your prayers in helping me to continue on in my quest to help the younger generation make it in this world. We all only have a short time here on earth to do what we were sent here to do. Think about this; remember the day that a loved one came into your life, and and how long ago it was , and you, my friend will see that it was only a blink in your eye. We remember the past, we live for today, and we hope for the future. Keep reading my column and use what I say in your life as you see fit. e-mail me at [email protected] or uncleray@writeme .com .See all of you later;
Ray "Uncle Ray" Day