So Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in Obamacare supporting the health care reform. This is a big deal because Roberts was nominated by the evil George Bush. This rocked. But many of us lay people still didn’t totally get what Obamacare was until I read the following, which is below.

Obamacare
Okay, explained like you’re a five year-old (well, okay, maybe a bit older), without too much oversimplification, and (hopefully) without sounding too biased:

What people call “Obamacare” is actually the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, people were calling it “Obamacare” before everyone even hammered out what it would be. It’s a term mostly used by people who don’t like the PPACA, and it’s become popularized in part because PPACA is a really long and awkward name, even when you turn it into an acronym like that.
Anyway, the PPACA made a bunch of new rules regarding health care, with the purpose of making health care more affordable for everyone. Opponents of the PPACA, on the other hand, feel that the rules it makes take away too many freedoms and force people (both individuals and businesses) to do things they shouldn’t have to.
So what does it do? Well, here is everything, in the order of when it goes into effect (because some of it happens later than other parts of it):
(Note: Page numbers listed in citations are the page numbers within the actual document, not the page numbers of the PDF file)
Already in effect:
It allows the Food and Drug Administration to approve more generic drugs (making for more competition in the market to drive down prices) ( Citation: An entire section of the bill, called Title VII, is devoted to this, starting on page 747 )
It increases the rebates on drugs people get through Medicare (so drugs cost less) ( Citation: Page 216, sec. 2501 )
It establishes a non-profit group, that the government doesn’t directly control, PCORI, to study different kinds of treatments to see what works better and is the best use of money. ( Citation: Page 665, sec. 1181 )
It makes chain restaurants like McDonalds display how many calories are in all of their foods, so people can have an easier time making choices to eat healthy. ( Citation: Page 499, sec. 4205 )
It makes a “high-risk pool” for people with pre-existing conditions. Basically, this is a way to slowly ease into getting rid of “pre-existing conditions” altogether. For now, people who already have health issues that would be considered “pre-existing conditions” can still get insurance, but at different rates than people without them. ( Citation: Page 30, sec. 1101, Page 45, sec. 2704, and Page 46, sec. 2702 )
It forbids insurance companies from discriminating based on a disability, or because they were the victim of domestic abuse in the past (yes, insurers really did deny coverage for that) ( Citation: Page 47, sec. 2705 )
It renews some old policies, and calls for the appointment of various positions.
It creates a new 10% tax on indoor tanning booths. ( Citation: Page 923, sec. 5000B )
It says that health insurance companies can no longer tell customers that they won’t get any more coverage because they have hit a “lifetime limit”. Basically, if someone has paid for health insurance, that company can’t tell that person that he’s used that insurance too much throughout his life so they won’t cover him any more. They can’t do this for lifetime spending, and they’re limited in how much they can do this for yearly spending. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2711 )
Kids can continue to be covered by their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26. ( Citation: Page 15, sec. 2714 )
No more “pre-existing conditions” for kids under the age of 19. ( Citation: Page 45, sec. 2704 and Page 57, sec. 1255 )
Insurers have less ability to change the amount customers have to pay for their plans. ( Citation: Page 47, sec. 2794 )
People in a “Medicare Gap” get a rebate to make up for the extra money they would otherwise have to spend. ( Citation: Page 379, sec. 3301 )
Insurers can’t just drop customers once they get sick. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2712 )
Insurers have to tell customers what they’re spending money on. (Instead of just “administrative fee”, they have to be more specific).
Insurers need to have an appeals process for when they turn down a claim, so customers have some manner of recourse other than a lawsuit when they’re turned down. ( Citation: Page 23, sec. 2719 )
Anti-fraud funding is increased and new ways to stop fraud are created. ( Citation: Page 699, sec. 6402 )
Medicare extends to smaller hospitals. ( Citation: Starting on page 344, the entire section “Part II” seems to deal with this )
Medicare patients with chronic illnesses must be monitored more thoroughly.
Reduces the costs for some companies that handle benefits for the elderly. ( Citation: Page 492, sec. 4202 )
A new website is made to give people insurance and health information. (I think this is it: http://www.healthcare.gov/ ). ( Citation: Page 36, sec. 1103 )
A credit program is made that will make it easier for business to invest in new ways to treat illness by paying half the cost of the investment. (Note – this program was temporary. It already ended) ( Citation: Page 830, sec. 9023 )
A limit is placed on just how much of a percentage of the money an insurer makes can be profit, to make sure they’re not price-gouging customers. ( Citation: Page 22, sec. 1101 )
A limit is placed on what type of insurance accounts can be used to pay for over-the-counter drugs without a prescription. Basically, your insurer isn’t paying for the Aspirin you bought for that hangover. ( Citation: Page 800, sec. 9003 )
Employers need to list the benefits they provided to employees on their tax forms. ( Citation: Page 800, sec. 9002 )
Any new health plans must provide preventive care (mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) without requiring any sort of co-pay or charge. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2713 )
1/1/2013
If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes go up a tiny bit (0.9%). Edit: To address those who take issue with the word “tiny”, a change of 0.9% is relatively tiny. Any look at how taxes have fluctuated over the years will reveal that a change of less than one percent is miniscule, especially when we’re talking about people in the top 5% of earners. ( Citation: Page 818, sec. 9015 )
1/1/2014
This is when a lot of the really big changes happen.
No more “pre-existing conditions”. At all. People will be charged the same regardless of their medical history. ( Citation: Page 45, sec. 2704, Page 46, sec. 2701, and Page 57, sec. 1255 )
If you can afford insurance but do not get it, you will be charged a fee. This is the “mandate” that people are talking about. Basically, it’s a trade-off for the “pre-existing conditions” bit, saying that since insurers now have to cover you regardless of what you have, you can’t just wait to buy insurance until you get sick. Otherwise no one would buy insurance until they needed it. You can opt not to get insurance, but you’ll have to pay the fee instead, unless of course you’re not buying insurance because you just can’t afford it. (Note: On 6/28/12, the Supreme Court ruled that this is Constitutional, as long as it’s considered a tax on the uninsured and not a penalty for not buying insurance… nitpicking about wording, mostly, but the long and short of it is, it looks like this is accepted by the courts) ( Citation: Page 145, sec. 5000A, and here is the actual court ruling for those who wish to read it. )
Question: What determines whether or not I can afford the mandate? Will I be forced to pay for insurance I can’t afford?
Answer: There are all kinds of checks in place to keep you from getting screwed. Kaiser actually has a webpage with a pretty good rundown on it, if you’re worried about it. You can see it here.
Okay, have we got that settled? Okay, moving on…
Medicaid can now be used by everyone up to 133% of the poverty line (basically, a lot more poor people can get insurance) ( Citation: Page 179, sec. 2001 )
Small businesses get some tax credits for two years. (It looks like this is specifically for businesses with 25 or fewer employees) ( Citation: Page 138, sec. 1421 )
Businesses with over 50 employees must offer health insurance to full-time employees, or pay a penalty.
Insurers now can’t do annual spending caps. Their customers can get as much health care in a given year as they need. ( Citation: Page 14, sec. 2711 )
Limits how high of an annual deductible insurers can charge customers. ( Citation: Page 62, sec. 1302 )
Cut some Medicare spending
Place a $2500 limit on tax-free spending on FSAs (accounts for medical spending). Basically, people using these accounts now have to pay taxes on any money over $2500 they put into them. ( Citation: Page 801, sec. 9005 )
Establish health insurance exchanges and rebates for the lower and middle-class, basically making it so they have an easier time getting affordable medical coverage. ( Citation: Page 88, sec. 1311 )
Congress and Congressional staff will only be offered the same insurance offered to people in the insurance exchanges, rather than Federal Insurance. Basically, we won’t be footing their health care bills any more than any other American citizen. ( Citation: Page 81, sec. 1312 )
A new tax on pharmaceutical companies.
A new tax on the purchase of medical devices.
A new tax on insurance companies based on their market share. Basically, the more of the market they control, the more they’ll get taxed.
The amount you can deduct from your taxes for medical expenses increases.
1/1/2015
Doctors’ pay will be determined by the quality of their care, not how many people they treat. Edit: a_real_MD addresses questions regarding this one in far more detail and with far more expertise than I can offer in this post. If you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation of this one (as many of you are), I highly recommend you give his post a read.
1/1/2017
If any state can come up with their own plan, one which gives citizens the same level of care at the same price as the PPACA, they can ask the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for permission to do their plan instead of the PPACA. So if they can get the same results without, say, the mandate, they can be allowed to do so. Vermont, for example, has expressed a desire to just go straight to single-payer (in simple terms, everyone is covered, and medical expenses are paid by taxpayers). ( Citation: Page 98, sec. 1332 )
2018
All health care plans must now cover preventive care (not just the new ones).
A new tax on “Cadillac” health care plans (more expensive plans for rich people who want fancier coverage).
2020
The elimination of the “Medicare gap”
.
Aaaaand that’s it right there.
The biggest thing opponents of the bill have against it is the mandate. They claim that it forces people to buy insurance, and forcing people to buy something is unconstitutional. Personally, I take the opposite view, as it’s not telling people to buy a specific thing, just to have a specific type of thing, just like a part of the money we pay in taxes pays for the police and firemen who protect us, this would have us paying to ensure doctors can treat us for illness and injury.
Plus, as previously mentioned, it’s necessary if you’re doing away with “pre-existing conditions” because otherwise no one would get insurance until they needed to use it, which defeats the purpose of insurance.
Of course, because so many people are arguing about it, and some of the people arguing about it don’t really care whether or not what they’re saying is true, there are a lot of things people think the bill does that just aren’t true. Here’s a few of them:
Obamacare has death panels!: That sounds so cartoonishly evil it must be true, right? Well, no. No part of the bill says anything about appointing people to decide whether or not someone dies. The decision over whether or not your claim is approved is still in the hands of your insurer. However, now there’s an appeals process so if your claim gets turned down, you can challenge that. And the government watches that appeals process to make sure it’s not being unfair to customers. So if anything the PPACA is trying to stop the death panels. ( Citation: Page 23, sec. 2719 )
Obamacare gives free insurance to illegal immigrants!: Actually, there are multiple parts of the bill that specifically state that the recipient of tax credits and other good stuff must be a legal resident of the United States. And while the bill doesn’t specifically forbid illegals from buying insurance or getting treated at hospitals, neither did the laws in the US before the PPACA. So even at worst, illegals still have just as much trouble getting medical care as they used to. ( Citations: Page 122, sec. 1402, Page 123, sec. 1411, Page 125, sec. 1411, Page 132, sec. 1412 )
Obamacare uses taxpayer money for abortions!: One part of the bill says, essentially, that the folks who wrote this bill aren’t touching that issue with a ten foot pole. It basically passes the buck on to the states, who can choose to allow insurance plans that cover abortions, or they can choose to not allow them. Obama may be pro-choice, but that is not reflected in the PPACA. ( Citation: Page 64, sec. 1303 )
Obamacare won’t let me keep the insurance I have!: The PPACA actually very specifically says you can keep the insurance you have if you want. ( Citation: Page 55, sec. 1251 )
Obamacare will make the government get between me and my doctor!: The PPACA very specifically says that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (who is in charge of much of the bill), is absolutely not to promote any regulation that hinders a patient’s ability to get health care, to speak with their doctor, or have access to a full range of treatment options. ( Citation: Page 165, sec. 1554 )
Obamacare has a public option! That makes it bad!: The public option (which would give people the option of getting insurance from a government-run insurer, thus the name), whether you like it or not, was taken out of the bill before it was passed. You can still see where it used to be, though. ( Citation: Page 92, sec. 1323 (the first one) )
Obamacare will cost trillions and put us in massive debt!: The PPACA will cost a lot of money… at first. $1.7 Trillion. Yikes, right? But that’s just to get the ball rolling. You see, amongst the things built into the bill are new taxes – on insurers, pharmaceutical companies, tanning salons, and a slight increase in taxes on people who make over $200K (an increase of less than 1%). Additionally, the bill cuts some stuff from Medicare that’s not really working, and generally tries to make everything work more efficiently. Also, the increased focus on preventative care (making sure people don’t get sick in the first place), should help to save money the government already spends on emergency care for these same people. Basically, by catching illnesses early, we’re not spending as much on emergency room visits. According to the Congressional Budget Office, who studies these things, the ultimate result is that this bill will reduce the yearly deficit by $210 billion. By the year 2021, the bill will actually have paid itself and started bringing in more money than it cost.
Obamacare is twice as long as War and Peace!: War and Peace is 587,287 words long. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, depending on which version you’re referring to, is between 300,000-400,000 words long. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very long, but it’s not as long as War and Peace. Also, it bears mention that bills are often long. In 2005, Republicans passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, 2005, which was almost as long as the PPACA, and no one raised a stink about it.
The people who passed Obamacare didn’t even read it!: Are you kidding? They had been reading it over and over for a half a year. This thing was being tossed around in debates for ages. And it went through numerous revisions, but every time it was revised, it was just adding, removing, or changing small parts of it, not rewriting the whole thing. And every time it was revised, the new version of the bill was published online for everyone to see. The final time it was edited, there may not have been time to re-read the entire thing before voting on it, but there wasn’t a need to, because everyone had already read it all. The only thing people needed to read was the revision, which there was plenty of time to do.
Pelosi said something like, “we’ll have to pass the bill before reading it”!: The actual quote is “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy”, and she’s talking about all the lies and false rumors that were spreading about it. Things had gotten so absurd that by this point many had given up on trying to have an honest dialogue about it, since people kept worrying about things that had no basis in reality. Pelosi was simply trying to say that once the bill is finalized and passed, then everyone can look at it and see, without question, what is actually in the thing (as opposed to some new amendment you heard on the radio that they were going to put in).

In the mid 1980s I remember starting to attend a “Christian” church in Brentwood, PA. I went with my siblings and parents. This continued more or less for several years. Sometimes it felt like Sunday morning, this was what it was to do. Other times, I was way more into it. I would go to Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and then youth group other times. From about 12-16years old church youth group was my socialization. I met my first real girlfriend and my first crush there (not the same girl). I met a man, Jon Waters, who will still have a special place in my heart for my life even if we don’t actually talk (except FB stalking now)… he was my youth leader and later pastor. A few summers in a row we took a huge van to a youth camp in Coburg, Ontario, and I learned a lot about god, myself, other people at this camp. I learned scripture. I saw real miracles. The camp and experiences hold special places in my heart. Still.

For me, religion is a spiritual and private journey. My brother recently moved back to Pennsylvania and he’s been attending a great church near my parent’s home. This past Sunday he wanted me to attend, and I wondered if he expected me to make excuses why I couldn’t. Just because I do not attend church in AZ does not mean that I am not religious. So we went. It was very familiar. When I was young, I attended a church called Faith Community and this church also had that same name but the people and place were not the same. The music was similar but not the same songs. The friendliness was familiar. There were people there like me. There were people there that were like him. I enjoyed sharing that with him. I will return with him next Sunday and go while I am here on vacation.

SO Mark Zuckerberg got married in late spring and I was reading how his dog, BEAST has his own damn facebook page. I don’t know if Facebooks TOS defines as FB user as human but I do know there’s an age limit. I know this because my now 7 year old had a Facebook at the age 5. The local news did a story on her (that I’m too lazy to look up and link to) and suddenly her account was terminate. Some reader obviously reported her account. Now I know people whose kids who are under 13 with Facebook accounts who still have them (for years), but my own daughter who, I might add, had an awesome Farmville farm— where she learned responsibility, economy, etc… has an account that was terminated twice for TOS issues. So why does my Claire get bounced the Zuckerberg’s dog (who I doubt actually posts!) gets to have one. We know Mark Zuckerberg thinks he’s god (more like the antichrist, I think), and his own TOS doesn’t apply, I suppose, so I am happy to head today that Education Week announces “Facebook Considers Expanding Access to 13 and Younger Crowd“.

The article recognizes that younger children do, in fact, have (illegal) accounts, and schools realize that if upper elementary and middle schoolers have FB, then maybe they can harness them for education. (Yes, I’ve heard all the arguments against this already, so you needn’t remind me below.) The article suggests that perhaps the accounts can be tied to a parent’s (which I’m cool with, since my own kid never even had her FB password.) This has potential … much like Beast, Mark’s dog, has the potential of herding sheep.

When I was younger I shared a room (and bed) with my brother Jaime, I always had a flashlight and book nearby. I’d read until I was done and then go down to the bathroom before falling asleep. If my parents were still up, I’d get yelled at for being up. I remember being dragged to the store and sitting in the book aisle reading while Mum shopped. (They use to sell books at a store called HILLS which is like Target today).

Earlier today Claire and I went through all of her books and got a large box for Bookman’s. Bookman’s is cool because they accept lots of books for a pretty good price We took two full boxes and my buddy Audrea was working. We dropped them off up front and headed to find the “Chapter books” (they’r e novels for under 6th graders). Claire has about 30 Magic Treehouse books so I wanted to fill in the gaps from when I bought them on Ebay. We also wanted to see what else they had.

She got eight Magic Treehouse books, a few fairy books, and the first Judy Moody book. She’d seen Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer in June with her Auntie M, my sister (Meghan) and her only aunt. After she picked the ones she wanted, it was my turn to look around. Claire climbed into the cart with Judy and started reading. I had to pull it from her hand to pay and then she read it all the way to REI. In REI she was reading and walking into things.I sat her down near where I planned to shoot; I told her to scream bloody order if anyone touched her. She sat in the corner on the floor while I shopped nearby and it reminded me of when I would do the same at Hills.

Later that evening after she had dinner and watched some tv, I tossed her and her book into bed about 7pm. I told her to make sure she didn’t come out since I was planning to watch American Horror Story and that was the last thing I wanted her to walk into. Around 9:45pm I heard her bedroom door click, and she came out as I hit pause. She sleepily climbed into my lap and told me that she just finished her book. I carried her back into her room where she showed me Judy Moody book #1. She talked to me about it for a few minutes and showed me her 105 page chapter book. I put it on her shelf, sat another new book near her bed, and turned off the light. Like father, like daughter.

Claire came over to my couch to say good night today as I was clicking on a link I saw from some Twitter feed. Suddenly the We Give Books website pops up with the book Goodnight, iPad, which is a tech parody of Goodnight, Moon. This original book is a staple in our house (Claire and I BOTH have it memorized); I own Goodnight, Bush and Claire has Goodnight, Goon (the scary version), so when Goodnight, iPad showed up, we both just stopped. The full color ebook was in my browser and she started reading it out loud to her mother and me. I “turned” the pages & we three enjoyed the entire book. I then clicked the button to send a book to a child in Asia. I logged in (for free) and made an account so Claire and I can enjoy more books online in the future, plus we’re going to rest it on her iTouch tomorrow so she can watch herself anytime.

Ok, let’s talk. REI isn’t always the cheapest outdoor store in the world, but there return policy rivals all of them. They have a 100% satisfaction rating & it’s a co-op. So this means that if we pay a one time lifetime membership (it’s like twenty bucks), then we “own” the place. If we buy something and for ANY REASON we don’t like it, we return it. It’s like sticking an ugly shirt back in your closet that you thought was cool that one dumb night. So you buy something at REI and in a day, month, year don’t like it, then take it back. Now HONEST people don’t take back stuff that they wear out but we are not all honest. I’ve taken back shoes after a year because the waterproofing didn’t work anymore. Another pair because they were too narrow. So 2-3 times a year they have what’s called a garage sale where owners go and buy the returned stuff. (None of which can be returned, and they mark it all with silver magic markers to make sure we don’t.) Two years ago we bought our first full sized family tent at a garage sale. The person returned it because it had a tear; the tear was an inch long on along an inside theme! We paid $50. It ran $350 brand new! Not bad. I’ve picked up $100 pants for $10 because the button fell off (did you ever hear of sewing?).

So today was the most recent garage sale at our local Tempe, AZ store. I arrived late and the hoards were out in full force. The October/November sale is always huge! Most of the time we’re looking for nothing particular and there are people who will camp out the night before. I arrive at 9:20 am and people walked around with huge hands of clothes, boots, and stuff. I always look for kid’s shoes because my child goes through sizes fast and warm clothes are always cool to grab in the fall. I found a pair of North Face pants for the wife that were missing a button but still had the tags attached. I paid $10.83. They had a pair of Vasque boots that inside the store brand new were $275.00 but the tag said they were returned because they were “dirty”. They were marked $40.83. I snagged them and another pair; the other pair of shoes were $14.83 and were just ok. They were newish and suede but obviously worn (some of the stuff were obviously worn well for over a year and looked it!). I figured I’d grab these shoes. I found a women’s watch in the bottom of a box. The tag said the owner replaced the battery but it didn’t work. There was no price. I shoved it into the boot to ask the price later. I found a $10 shirt that is usually $45 & several pairs of wool socks that were still brand new but marked down to $2.83 for my daughter.

The employees announced that today’s garage sale was buy one get one shoes, so when I made my way to check out the cashier asked which pair or shoes were the cheaper of the two. I pointed to the $15~ ones so he charged me for THOSE and gave me the $40~ for free! Way to go! Half way home I remembered the watch shoved down in the one boot. Damn. Nothing I was going to do then as I had a meeting but when I got home I tinkered with it. I figured I’d buy a battery and try to make it work. If it didn’t, I’d toss it. The thing had a nice solid band, large numbers (this is for my 6 year old so numbers are a must!) and a scratch free face. I pulled the pin out of the “lock position” and immediately the second hand started moving. Tick tock tick tock. Yep, someone was an idiot. The retail price? $175.00 for the watch. My price, free. But do remember I am owner and I really do spent a lot of money at this place. I appreciate the garage sales and always roll my eyes when people return things like $275 boots because they’re dirty or $100 Keen dress shoes because they “squeak”.

Shop at REI, pay a little more for the reassurance that if you’re gear truly does suck, you can take it back.

I enrolled in graduate school at Duquesne University in spring 1998 to begin work on my Master’s degree in English Education. I was excited to get into the classroom and work with students. My internship was at Baldwin High School where I was a student myself. It was surreal giving my sister a hall pass and teaching a friend of our family, who we would see socially on the weekends. While the internship was awesome, student teaching was the real deal.

I won’t forget the day I walked into the graduate offices and was given my student teaching placement. In script handwriting it said “Barbara Schomer, Mt Lebanon High School”. While I didn’t know the woman, I knew the school. Mt Lebanon is one of the top public high schools on the east coast, and I was excited to get into such a prestigious school. My grades were near perfect, my professors lauded me each week, and now I was going to Lebo.

In late Spring I went to meet Barb Schomer. She was a short, older woman who demanded respect and was a solidly important part of the English faculty. I remember the box of novels she handed me to read over the summer and her showing me “my desk” in the corner near hers. We talked for quite a bit and I was under the impression that she was one of the more rigorous cooperating teachers in our program, but I was use to working with these sorts of educators. Student teaching began day one with students and I stayed until late December. Barb started our relationship as the pedagogist and me as the clerical mind. I helped keep things organized, took attendance, kept us both sane. She said she loved that about me. She told me that at home Barb’s husband, Bru, took on that role and it was nice to have me around. Her former student teacher was a performer with a background in theatre. Barb would hand her the lesson plan and the woman would do it. That was just enough. Then I came along with a background in literature and a strong pedagogical presence. By the semester’s end, our relationship shifted. I continued my clerical organization but segued them smoothly into my relationship teaching the students and building a family in the classroom. I finished that semester winning Duquesne’s Student Teacher of the Year Award and that had everything to do with Barb.

I learned so much from this woman. I learned to always have things planned out “in case you get hit by a truck” as she would say. Have plans more than a week out. Always praise students before critiquing them, always help them genuinely get better in whatever you’re teaching, balance the line between teacher and friend.

I left Duquesne, Mt Lebanon and Pittsburgh in the summer of 1999 and for the first few years I reconnected with Barb and Bru over holidays. I remember when we took Claire to dinner and they were able to enjoy this new little girl throwing her cheerios across the table at them. They laughed and her and enjoyed her as their own grandchild. By now Barb retired and Bru still taught science nearby. Barb, always an outdoors women, spent more and more time volunteering around the world and living in their West Virginian cabin. She even made it out to AZ to visit friends where I was able to spend an evening with her.

In 2010, Barb was diagnosed with Cancer. Her and Bru quickly moved to Centreville, VA so Barb could be treated at Georgetown University Hospital’s cancer center. We continued our relationship via email She was able to visit her cabin and take short walks in nature. By spring she was able to make a trip to Las Vegas to visit family and I was happy to hear her traveling and getting by. By fall she’d been to Florida and was doing well. When she could not get out as much I printed and framed a photo she liked of mine that I shot in the Coconino National Forest this past March. In early fall Barb traveled to PA for a family reunion, and I wish I were there so I too could talk to her once more.

I was not there. I was teaching in Arizona where my own students tell me what I mean to them. They share their dreams, hopes, fears, and loves with me. They listen to my words of wisdom passed down from Barb. I had the honor of passing on Barb’s wisdom to both Joe Abbruscato and Lindsey Costley, my own two student teachers, and I live my teaching life in the shadowing grace of a giant of a woman who will always be missed by me and never forgotten, as today Barbara succumbed to her Cancer with Bru and her daughter’s at her side. She is peacefully walking the trails of nature, caving to the depths of infinity and watching over all of us. Thank you, Barb, I love you.

In college I appreciated Hunter S Thompson’s work immensely and also enjoyed his biographical proclivities. Later Donna and I viewed Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and it was a bit out there for even me. The gratification of the adaptation never took teeth with us, albeit we sure do love us some Johnny Depp. Tonight I attained a preview ticket for The Rum Diary, a film we’ve seen previews for often. It looked like the story of a young journalist obtaining a wacky job south of the border. The trailer made it look somewhat hilarious, comedic, and off the wall. That’s it. That trailer is not this film.

The narrative is Thompson’s second novel which wasn’t published for almost 40 years. Depp, tied to the project off and on for a decade, plays Paul Kemp, a disillusioned New York “novelist” looking for something a little more idealistic and exciting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Much of the film is “auto-biographical” of early Thompson. The addition of Richard Jenkins as his editor-in-chief and Michael Rispoli as staff photographer cum roommate and friend build a well-balanced characterization of subtle misfits early on. Giovanni Ribisi, as the “Religious affiliate” for the paper, all angles and wide-eyed adds an air of Gonzo goofiness to the cast of misfits. Under weight with his weasley ways and wild accent, he over played the role a bit.

Once Kemp arrives in Puerto Rico he is quickly recruited by Sanderson, an American businessman played by Aaron Eckhart, and introduced to Eckart’s fiancee Chenault, played by Amanda Heard. This preternatural beauty uncanningly harkens back to the traditional beauties on the silver screen in the mid-20th century. Kemp immediately falls for her as he utters “Oh God, why did she have to happen.” Eckhart wants Kemp to twist and write about a new business idea to build up a neighboring island for his investors. Over an evening of supposed debauchery in nearby Saint Thomas with said investors, Sanderson, and Eckhart, the movie gets a little wonky.

As the San Juan Star, the Peurto Rican newspaper, begins to falter and Jenkins runs off to Miami, Depp erratically tries to protect Heard from the locals while Eckhart gets too quickly jealous of Depp (albeit appropriately so), but by morning’s light, Heard’s missing, Depp barely seems worried, and Eckhart is pissed and calls off his business relationships with Depp. For the life of me, I can’t explain where the final nightly climax occurred that led to the beginning of the end for a relationship that enigmatically and way too quickly developed.

I enjoyed several comedic scenes (including one where a 1960′s Kemp & co. take LSD), but they are short and few between – something the mainstream audience would expect more of. Depp’s performance is subtle, less maniacal and cartoonish than typical Thompson, and balances well with Respell and Ribisi albeit the narrative ebbs and flows way to quickly across the islands to appease a mainstream audience.

While I argue for an appreciation of the film and immensely enjoyed Depp’s performance, loved watching Heard on screen, and respected Robinson’s vision as both screenplay writer and director, the film doesn’t deliver satisfying motivation, development, or resolution. Fans of Thompson’s work will applaud the film, but I doubt the vision of the trailer and how that same narrative plays out on the big screen and the audiences interpretation of the farce will unfortunately be anathemized.

Sorry but photo “borrowed” from http://rum-diary-movie-trailer.blogspot.com/.

Claire picked her outfit but it was playful and fun. We did not plan for her brand new Jansport to match her outfit but it did.

School begins again this next week. For me, it’s my 7th year in the same teaching gig and 12th year teaching. For Claire, it means first grade. Toward the end of last year, she kept yelling that she wanted to be taught by Frankenstein. I was really confused. We had no idea what she meant, but she pronounced it a little differently each time. Finally curiosity killed my cat and I googled this teacher. Turns out her name was similar to that but totally different (didn’t even have the same first letter). Serendipitously, a month later Claire is assigned to Mrs K. We’re stoked because Claire is.

Tonight was Meet the Teacher, and while I don’t even want to get started on who dropped the ball with communication about the meeting, we were pretty excited. Claire was curious to see who was in her class, and a few of her same friends are with her but several aren’t. Mrs K has a ton of experience, and I know that came into account when she was placed into that class.

Tonight she tried to steal the attention, she spoke loudly, she was very excited, she didn’t want to leave, and Mrs K took it all in stride. I watched closely how they interacted and think it’ll be a good year.