Updates

I'm still wading through my latest "big book," The Complete Ivory, as Theodora mulls over becoming married to her love interest, Ran Cormelleon. The world of Ivory is well thought out, the plot moves, but there is not enough suspense to make me stay up at night; however, I am enjoying the trilogy. Unfortunately, I have not had a lot of time to read of late.

This afternoon, I spent about three hours wading through another morass— figuring out medical claims for hubby's flexible spending account. After the folks at SHPS insisted that they had to have certain documentation for the IRS, I printed out sixty plus pages of EOB's, xeroxed eight charge receipts, three pages of medical center statements, and wrote them a check for three cents. Yep, there was a three cent error made by a medical provider, and they by gosh wanted to be reimbursed for it. The envelope is ready to go, and it is not quite as thick as the manuscript for a novel. I also wrote a letter for hubby to send to a local hospital, which had overcharged him. (And no, I don't feel punished by God, and anyone in America who likes the IRS needs a shrink.) Actually, I didn't say a cross word, which hubby thought was quite remarkable, as he signed three forms and the letter. No doubt reading over all this will keep a couple of folks employed for several hours, and it will take a couple of dollars to mail it, so I feel pretty good about stimulating the economy.

While reading the news this afternoon, I saw an editorial in the Wall Street Journal about a previous topic, the removal of child friendly motorcycles from dealerships across our nanny-state. There is quite a bit of unsold inventory, and customers sitting on their cash, due to this government boondoggle.

And lastly, I'll share another timely quote:

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

—Ayn Rand