Arkansas Blog

Merry Christmas! Back in a harder period of life I used to sit at 4 way stop signs on hot summer days in my old beater pickup and see other drivers sweating their butts off in cars without air-conditioning. I'd think...gee....poor guy. Then I'd realize I had no air-conditioning and was sitting in a pool of my own sweat.

So it was this morning when I gasp and shook my sleepy head while reading about 1/2 of Kentucky's population doing without dental insurance. Ohmagod....those poor people! WAIT....what decade did I last have dental insurance? Or my wife? Or my 2 kids? How many people do I know with dental insurance? Well....at one time my friends who worked at Arkansas Best had it....but do they now? Are you telling me that over 1/2 the citizens of Arkansas have dental insurance? That....I seriously doubt!

Ma has Medicare and now, Medicaid, and the few broken teeth she has left aren't covered. Unless her doctor can prove that without a dental procedure, her health will decline, I'll have to dig them out with a paring knife. And if her doctor could prove such a thing, the next hard step is to find a dentist willing to pull the teeth of an old person in very delicate health. Actually the first step is to find a dentist who will work for the smaller fee Medicaid pays. Those odds are about the same as finding a 20 dollar hooker in Siloam Springs. So, Ma's Christmas turkey will have to be run thru the blender as usual.

I love Kentucky, I lived there as a child in a log cabin on Kentucky Lake (insert political ad here). I want Kentucky to do alright. But I'd bet my thawed-out Butterball turkey that Arkansas has less people with dental insurance than the Bluegrass State. Can we see a show of hands of those people on this blog with dental insurance today? We've got 5 here without. Whoever thought the song, All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth was a plea for universal health care?

DBI,,,,I lived in Benton, Ky. when I was 14-15 yrs. old.....spent lovely days on the
beautiful Ky. lake,,,,shopped in Paducah.....more memories you guys evoke.
Benton was a lovely little town, back then.....ever hear of "Potato Day?"

Sorry jazzy, I don't remember Benton. I was only 5 when we lived in Kentucky. It was the year of the unusually deep snow. I remember shopping in Paducah and I remember wonderful days on beautiful Kentucky Lake, just thru the woods from our cabin.

We lived in Grand Rivers, KY. I understand the part where we lived is now under Kentucky Lake....there goes my rabbit traps! We lived down the road from Nigger Mary's, yes, that was the name. My parents said it was the best cooking in the whole world. I'm pleased to say that after Mary had to move because of the lake expansion, she got a larger place (no doubt with a more appropriate name) and died a millionaire. That's the kind of civil rights we all need.

The other nice thing about Kentucky is, while I was running thru the woods chasing rabbits a little girl was born 15 miles away at Fort Campbell. 22 years later she'd walk into a bar in Fort Baptist and stop my beer drinking in mid-sip. I can't say that at the moment I said to myself, I'm gonna marry that girl. But I do remember her large American breasts came thru the door for what seemed like ages before the rest of her followed. I'm delighted to announce that the 3 of us are still in love and looking forward to our 25th Christmas together.

So toothless or not, I'm still grateful to the state of Kentucky and like the waves of Kentucky Lake I hope someday to see universal health care splash over us all. Merry Christmas Bill O'Reilly!

DBI...Benton is only a hitchhike ride away from the lake. Yeah, back then other cheerleaders
and I would skip school, in spring, and hitch a ride to the lake for a day in the sun. Couldn't
do that today but way back then we had no fear. Our school always had the #1 highschool
basketball team and all the players were in love with us little freshmen & soph gals, the senior
girls hated us. The winter between my 14th and 15th year was one of deep snow, had a ball
sledding on a big hill by the high school, boys push girls off down the hill then run like hell and
jump on top of us.....I was so innocent then....haha
Trying to think of year....I have a yearbook,,,,,,1947, 48
You were too young,,,,,no one as old as Durango and me!! haha

With people like Mitch looking out for them Kentucky will continue to rot, not just the po folks teeth.
bluename

I have beautiful, perfect teeth, upper & lower.........
in bathroom, well watered and clean, in closed container.........
WILL RENT FOR RIGHT PRICE.....
Believe me DURANGO????????????????????????????

There is a special place in hell reserved for those that take advantage of the elderly. I pay my Mother's bills and I am constantly worrying whether the money will hold out to pay for her nursing home care. It will and intellectually I know that. But I worry because I am responsible for her care.

Doesn't make me a great guy. But it does make me want to punch out folks that scam the helpless.

So DBI, for you Mom MCD isn't a ticket to dental care, it is a barrier.

No insurance should ever say, "You can't have XYZ, even if you pay for it." Your Mom should always have the right to walk up to her dentist (or MD) and say, "I know MCD only pays $43 to have a tooth pulled and you charge $85, but here is my cash and I want it out."