Do people realize that those of us on Medicare do pay a monthly premium deducted automatically from our social security? It often sounds as though folks think it’s free.

I am absolutely delighted with the coverage, and when combined with a supplemental policy is better than the private (mis)managed healthcare plans "covering" most of my patients. Furthermore, I see the best doctors available here in the NY area.

However, the pharma plan is ridiculous and needs some serious revamping. 

I agree with Bonnie S. above. I am also opposed to the what I see as overuse of medications when alternatives such as exercise, better sleep, improved diet and even psychotherapy would achieve superior results. For that, perhaps the medical profession needs additional education and patience (not patients)!

ditto, ditto and ditto again.

We old folks need to keep moving our brains & our bodies, not sitting about getting too fat to move then looking for medications for every resulting ill. It’s unpleasant to watch our faces wrinkle, our breasts drop and our hair grey & thin, but it’s life.   

Does the remarkable black woman president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf count? She received her Masters Degree from Harvard.

 Without knowing how the sales of slaves came about, I do know they were treated abominably, abysmally, with unspeakable horror, so let us not blame the victims here.

I became a US citizen so I could vote, and have never missed an opportunity, including voting for Dick Gregory in a primary - still smile when I look at that button!

the power of often extreme social pressures - religious, family, & others, (we are surrounded) can be confusing, guilt-inducing, even terrifying, and thus we have people who are desperate to be other than who they are and fall prey to anyone who offers what may seem like relief. The costs can be enormous.

 BTW, licensed clinicians who are available to provide therapy, if that is what is sought, include Licensed Clinical Social Workers, (MSWs).

Add my vote for the slow cooker - it’s a best friend! And what about all the wonderful casseroles we knew about in the 60’s & 70’s., especially those that were made mostly in one pot, without lots of fussy bits to combine? I always made double or triple amounts to freeze. 

My advice to families with children is to teach them the fun of cooking as early as possible. Not only can they then help out, but will develop independence for later. I taught my sons to cook, sew, clean with the admonition to marry for love, not for a maid. It worked!

When I was 12 my dad took me (from small town Cornwall) to London on a business trip. He designed elegant women’s knitwear - suits, dresses, sweaters -sold at Harrods & Liberty’s. During our stay there he took me to some of the great museums. Possibly at the Tate I recall him holding my hand as we stood in front of a large female nude and saying "Mary darling, I want you to enjoy the beauty of the human body, and never be ashamed of your own." Of course I was mortified at the  moment, however, those words stayed with me. 

While a midlife university student in need of money, I posed nude for artists on several occasions. It was interesting for me to be able to listen to instructors comments about their drawings, especially when I was taking art history courses. I never felt uncomfortable but I did feel like a partner as I attempted to provide positions that were interesting and challenging to draw and I learned a little more about art.

In my family "collections" I own dozens of male & female nude drawings by an uncle who was an illustrator in the UK. They are too lovely to throw away so I just enbjoy looking at them now & then. The human figure is a basic form in art  and beautiful in all its permutations.