Lynch Pen : Effects for unity are conflicting for Democratic Party

LEO LYNCH

How can one help but be confused with the current efforts of the Democratic Party to bring about “unity?” This is not intended to criticize the party, and I am definitely in favor of unity everywhere as long as principle is not comprised. However, during the extended primary campaign, some of the remarks aimed at the winner, by the loser, indicate to a bystander that there are ideological differences that are going to be difficult to overcome. The two Democratic candidates can campaign together in Unity, N.H., all they want, my desire is for something meaningful to come out about promises and how they will be paid for out of recession/inflation affected taxes since Obama might be our next president. Many of the things that probable Democratic candidate Barack Obama has proposed sound true to his pledge “Change we (or you) can believe in.” Certainly our nation can use some changes at the highest levels of political/business leadership. The current administration has failed us in national and international leve - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A Mother’s Musing : Sometimes people are just born lucky

LYNN ATKINS

My son was born lucky. He’s always losing things and sometimes his things find their way back. In grade school he had a denim jacket that he loved. He loved it so much that you would think he would be able to keep track of it. He wasn’t. He left that jacket all over town. Luckily I had put his name and phone number in it and were able to retrieve it from the pizza place and the school and once from the auditorium where we had watched a professional hockey game. When he left it on top of his dad’s car, we had little hope of getting it back. But it reappeared. Someone saw it slip off and actually stopped to pick it up. It was the mother of one of his friends, so she knew where to return it when she saw the name. We were amazed. He’s working on the world record for the number of lost glasses. I’ve worn glasses my whole life and have only lost one pair in the water. He’s up to five pairs. But one was miraculously returned. He dropped those off a friend’s dock and I insisted we return to the scene and try to retri - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Life in the Ozarks : Cancer is a personal thing; you never know

MARIE PUTMAN

One out of eight women will get breast cancer. So, it shouldn’t surprise me that one of us seven sisters will get it. I’m the one. I’m the statistic. They found the lumps during a routine mammogram. I always thought I’d dread the big C, but I didn’t. As a child I learned not to feel, that way you won’t get hurt. Though I’d spent years trying to rid myself of that trait, I guess it kicked in when my doctor said, “You have a slow-growing cancer.” My family seemed to feel it the worse. Sisters called, all three of my kids were concerned, but I had no fear. I kept reassuring them I was ok. The waiting time in between tests was the hardest part. It took five days to get the results after a biopsy, another month of tests/doctor appointments before the surgery. I kept thinking, I’m glad it is slow-growing. (The doctor called it an Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma.) From the time I took my mammogram until I’ll finish radiation will be over five months. That doesn’t seem like a long time, unless it’s happening to you — s - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

LETTERS

The losing end of the stick In June my physician wrote me a prescription for Niaspan (500 mg.) with a note “Generic if available.” I called Humana; their representative informed me there was no generic for Niaspan. I called Humana’s prescription supplier (Right Source) and was told there was no generic for Niaspan, and my co-payment for a 90-day supply (90 pills) would be $75. Included in the package with the Niaspan from Right Source was a prescription data sheet which clearly stated the generic for Niaspan is niacin — an over the counter drug. I checked on the product at Wal-Mart’s Pharmacy in Rogers and found I could indeed purchase Niacin 500 mg., coated, flush free, 120 tablets — for $8.95. I consulted my doctor’s office and advised them what I had discovered. I was told it would be acceptable to switch from Niaspan, at $343.26 for 90 tablets, to niacin, at $8.95 for 120 tablets. Nearing 80 years of age, I — like untold millions of elderly who depend on their Social Security checks for their primary inco - Wednesday, July 23, 2008