Language Revisited---One more thing 7/3/26

 I still read a newspaper, well, most days anyway, and like to assume I am familiar with words and their meanings. I realize there are new vocabulary words used by the younger generation(s) that I am unfamiliar  with and I accept that as a shortcoming, with no problem.

   But I find there are news reports or articles where the use of  even a single word seems to threaten my ability to read smoothy and achieve comprehension

  On June 18, such a blockage occurred with the use of the word "harms."  I have a longstanding relationship with the word harm in singular form as a noun, and with harms as verb form. So the flow of  my morning newspaper routine was disrupted when I read "both teens suffered harms related to their social media use" and "Other  children died because of online harms."  Why not, I asked myself, just use the word harm; why the added on s. 

 I suppose, since the article was written  by 2 women who are described as Technical Writers, that the use of harms sounds more technical, professional and more likely to be considered newsworthy. OK., I realize (now) that Shakespeare used such word form. Forsooth, let it be.

Apro pro of nothing, I recall an instance when I was in first grade. My father wanted me to pose this math  question to Mrs. Flynn, my teacher. If a farmer has twenty sick sheep, and 2 of them die, how many does he now have. And no, the answer is not 24.

AND, the word "before" has been totally replaced by "ahead of."  Why is the question.

 

Poems by Snookie

 

Sorry, Theo,

 ...for the haggling. But look upon it as a matter of principle. All of life's transactions are negotiable.

Today I went to the Pharmacy to pick up what needed to be picked up, and I passed the display prominently featured on the side aisle:  Four 32-ounce bottles of Tide for $10.00. I don't need to buy many things anymore, but I do wash clothes, and this seemed like  a good price, so I purchased the 4 jugs along with one other item. I don't usually bother checking my receipts, but as I walked away from the register, the price paid, $32.87, seemed high for what I'd bought. Still in the store, I returned to the register for a price check. The cashier asked if I could take a picture of the sale price on my phone to show her, but I said she could see the posted price from where she was. 

  She instantly agreed that I'd been overcharged. The steps she had to take to correct the error were involved, but I finally received a refund of $15.08.  (Maybe it was worth it.)

In All HONESTY,

 ...it's not over yet. I left no message during my attempts to call. Today Carrie called me again. I don't know if she knew she'd called me before. She repeated the purpose of Honest Health and how a nurse  could provide additional services associated with my primary doctor, as part of Albany Med. I asked what the services might be, provided as they would be, by telephone calls.  Oh, checking in on me, maybe helping with appointments, communicating with my doctor, etc. It has been my recent experience , that when a doctor orders a test, that the test is sometimes scheduled months in the future. So, with nothing to lose, I said I'd agree to Honest Health's offerings, at least temporarily. Nurse Sue will be calling me, or so I understand.

Honestly, Honest Health Update 6/18/ 26

 I'd already received the letter from Medicare, which  my  primary doctor's office had apprised me of. Everyone on Medicare would receive that letter, at least in New York State. So I was not surprised when I received a call 3 days ago from  a pleasant sounding woman named Carrie, but unfortunately, I was away from the phone and  missed the call. 

She left a message explaining the  Nurse Care Management Team, associated with  Honest Health, in partnership with Albany Med,  to which my primary doctor's service belonged, would be available to offer additional services  to me if I so chose. She left a telephone number for me to call for more information if I was interested. 

  With nothing to lose, understanding that Medicare pays for the services, I called the number. I want to verify what type of help would actually be available---what  a member of the Care Management Team could actually do to help. I called, was connected, was told to wait to speak to the Nurse Care Person, but in a few seconds was told "that all of our nurses are busy helping other callers." That is a familiar situation, but again, instantly, the voice said not to wait for a person, but to leave my name and number to be called back.

     I did not do so, as I dislike waiting around to receive callbacks. Who knows how long that might be. So I called later in the day, and the next day, and met with the exact same scenario. 

Maybe just coincidence, but my somewhat cynical mind suspects otherwise---that this Care Management Team is structured so that it is one-sided and  all the communication is generated by the Nurse Care Management Team, and not the patient. I'll try again hoping to rid myself of my suspicions. But I can't see how this organization can be helpful to me. HONESTLY, I don't. 

So I called the next day, again, and received the same recorded message, after only a very short wait time;  "We are currently unavailable, assisting other patients. Leave your name and phone # and we'll get back to you."  Seems like the ball is always in their court. 

Dream Endings

 The voice that awoke me from last night's dreaming, not once, but twice, was my own. 

 The first time, I am advising those setting a quite fancy dinner table, for a formal event to which I was not invited.  The  family members were  evidently not including napkins because there were none they considered suitable. I told them  to go ahead and use the economy pack of paper napkins: put 2 of them at each place setting. They're better than nothing.

  The second time I woke to my own voice, my words were, "Well, because it's my dream."  I assume I must have encountered some opposition to the advice I'd given earlier.

I didn't know that I ever talked in my sleep, but I woke to my own spoken words.

Honest Health (Revisited)

 I'd received  telephone call wanting to confirm my relationship with my primary care doctor, quickly mentioning her name 3 times. I tried to ask about the service he was representing, but he said he'd transfer me to another line, which went dead. Caller ID supplied the name Prospero Crespo. 

I suspected the call was a scam, and emailed my primary's office. I received  a response saying it was not a scam, that all on  Medicare would receive a letter confirming a new pilot program,  Medicare's ACO Reach Program---"to improve health care  and better meet individual health needs." 

I received such letter from Medicare a few days later. The letter contained a number to call for any questions. I called it, asked about the call I'd received, supplied the name on Caller ID. The rep said he had not heard of Prospero Crespo.

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