I’ve been on Medicare for six years now and have gone through the annual enrollment period many times. If you have listened to the commercials that are aimed at, we Baby Boomers, as we reach sixty-five, you know that everyone gets parts A and B automatically. You’d have to live without broadcast television not to have heard this.
My first couple of years were good with a company that seemed perfect for my Cox Hospital care and their doctors. Then Cox was able to formulate their own Medicare insurance plans, and my insurer no longer covered my established providers. Thanks Cox.
I had considered another insurance, but they did not have my doctors in their network, and I did not want to start over again. Aetna looked to be the best for my needs, and I kept them this year. Since January one procedure after another has been listed out of network even though my established clinics were accepted.
I’ve tried all year to have tests and procedures performed at approved facilities by in network providers only to be billed out of network charges. Aetna owns CVS Pharmacies, and they constantly want me to use them even though they refuse to give us the service that they should.
My wife and I are using a local Medicare approved representative to help us determine the best insurer for our specific needs. These include the medications we take, and doctors we want to be treated by. I’ll let you know how this works out.
By the way, you might want to check out all the current legal actions against any insurers you may be considering because some of the major companies are being sued by current or former clients for refusing to cover services for some that they cover for others. I won’t mention those names to you because there may be some more, I have not heard about. We will be checking the ones recommended to us for these problems. I’ve looked up the current actions now and know my present company is having problems.
Good luck to all of you on Medicare or approaching that age and use all the resources provided by Medicare.gov and watch out for those that have other websites listed. They may be legitimate or not. There are reports of Medicare scams.
When you have three or four decades under your belt, you start to notice what history is for your children and later your grandchildren are things that you remember firsthand. Mom and Dad knew about World War II as actual events that they experienced both here in the Springfield, Missouri area and for Dad also in the South Pacific with the Navy. As Christians, our lives are lived by what we learn from history in the Bible, but also from life as it is experienced.
In 1972, on September 17th, a freshman at Southwest Missouri State University experienced a historical event that did not seem like such at the time. The CBS TV series MASH premiered. This program portrayed events that were historical in a dramatic and comedic way for those, like Mom and Dad, who had lived through the period, and their children who had not.
An interesting thing about MASH is that it lasted eight years longer than the war it portrayed. Since it was only once a week, that fact was never noticed. In the reruns today it is much more noticeable. At the time, the MASH series finale was an epic event. In 1972 when the first episode aired, nobody knew what to expect. The original movie was alright, but the series surpassed it.
In July of 1969, we watched the moon landing and the walk. I was six when the first astronaut took his ride and followed the other five on the Mercury ships. Then the Gemini crafts were launched. Apollo was next, and the catastrophe of Apollo One catching fire and killing Roger Chafee, Ed White, and Gus Grissom seemed to delay or stop that.
It delayed the launches, but it did not end them. In 1967, the first manned Apollo mission was called Apollo 7. Eight took three men around the moon and nine stayed in Earth orbit to test the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). Ten went back to orbit the moon and tested the docking of the lander in moon orbit. The first landing possibility was Eleven.
This is not mentioned by most commentators, but Neal Armstrong could have aborted the LEM setting down. During those last few moments before setting down on the surface as the commander, he had to make the decision whether he should attempt to risk the mission with a failed landing. The fuel in the LEM was at the point he had to abort or land. That is what makes a legendary pilot.
You may be asking, “How does he know these things?” I was a space nut through the sixties and the seventies. If it was published about NASA or the Astronauts, I read it. I was in front of the TV for every launch and live broadcast with Uncle Walter. You do not know Uncle Walter? Walter Cronkite was the CBS news anchor for most of my life. We only received NBC and CBS until the early 1970s.
Despite not having the internet, cell phones, satellite TV, or all the miracles of this age, we lived history. We witnessed all these things unfold before our eyes through the miracle of television, and we had real cats and dogs, without having to watch YouTube videos to see what was happening in our world.
We also watched in horror as the twin towers in New York City crashed to the ground, and our president had the guts to send troops to find the mastermind of that attack. In spite of all of that tragedy, he never once invaded American cities to make himself look good. He actually did something constructive without shutting down our government..
Everywhere I look everything seems to be adding a plus. Me-TV+, Hallmark+, and savings plus are just a few of them. This is supposed to show you that something has been added that was not there before. It is better than what has previously been available.
Our society is always wanting the next big thing. New, better, best is what we are always craving. Faster, easier, and quicker are all things that we look for. It occurs to me that what we really need is what we once had. My 1966 Chevy was the best car I ever drove.
Why? It wasn’t just what it had; it was what it did not have. It did not have all the gizmos and gadgets that we need today. All it had was power and the ability to take me where I needed to go fast. It was also the first car I drove that had seat belts. That was the epitome’ of safety for the time.
Maybe what we need most is not more but less. Take away what is not good for us and continue to be what we knew was good. Missouri passed a law that allows sports gambling. We also approved abortion and labor changes that our state officials want to overturn. They think we need more of what they want and less of what we want.
Walk back with me to the things that our grandparents believed in. Mine knew there was a God and that Jesus was His son and that the Holy Spirit could take up residence in our lives. About fifty years ago, I decided to accept that this was true. I’ve lived my life the way the spirit has instructed me as well as I have been able to.
I have had setbacks, but most of my life has been better than I ever imagined. I am not one of those that goes overboard and eliminates modern conveniences from my life. My wife and I have smart phones that link to our car that we drive so that we do not violate current Missouri law.
I like our two air-fryers, microwave oven, and laptop computers. Our house also has a fireplace, skylight, and a landline. We have security on our Wi-Fi, phones, computers, and tablets to prevent hacking. There are so many new things that we do not have. We do not have the systems that we can just talk to and play music or make phone calls.
I enjoy my smart phone because it allows me to read a book anytime I have a few minutes to spare. I also have an audiobook app that I use to increase my ability to read more. Reading is one thing that I do not want less of. Adding people to your life is a plus. Adding things is a minus.
When was the last time you added a new friend? I like to talk to people. Some people don’t do that as easily as I do. Take a chance and talk to someone new. You may find out that you are the kind of person who people want to talk to.
“I’m impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.” “I’m afraid my people haven’t. I am very sorry. I wish it were otherwise.” This is a conversation from the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” released in 1951.
These lines were given by Klaatu, the visitor from outer space, and a representative of the U.S. President who was trying to determine the reason for his arrival on Earth. An otherworldly organization wants to warn all earthlings of their emanate destruction.
The producers of this movie were trying to demonstrate some points about our society at the time. This quotation is indicative of what many thought of the Cold War at that time. If you have not seen this version of this classic, find it on any of the streaming services and view it.
I know you may not remember this movie because it came out before we were born. A few of you may have seen it in the theaters in the early fifties. Most of us only know of it from DVDs, videos, or even VHS tapes.
My first recollection of it was in the early 60s, on NBC Movie of the Week aired on Saturday nights. Mom and Dad were out that night, and my brothers and I watched it after our oldest brother put our younger sister to bed. It began at 8:00 pm at her bedtime.
Another interesting clip from this movie has the visitor from space, who is calling himself Carpenter, being interviewed by a radio reporter. The newscaster asks him, “I suppose you’re just as scared as the rest of us?” “In a different way, perhaps. I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.”
It is here that the reporter decides to move on to someone else. Start a conversation that others do not wish to have, and they always walk or run away. It is a human reaction. We are either afraid to learn new things or worried that we are being talked down to.
How do you feel when a friend tries to point out a flaw in your personality or actions? My reaction is usually a defensive strike or fleeing. We always want to be correct and often refuse to hear that we are not. Especially if you are a politician.
The story of this film is about the lives of humans, and especially Americans. We react with violence at the least provocation, and it is shown on the news every day, even today. Society is not better than it was in the 1950s. We have more toys and time to waste on them, but no more patience and understanding for each other.
The newest version of this film alters the story to make it work with the 2008 view of what it might mean if Earth reaches a technological ability that would endanger other lives in our universe. I hope you realize that this is fiction.
The real worry for all of us is each other. You never know who might be out to destroy you. Keep reading my columns, and I will explain more about how to protect yourself in this dangerous world full of stupidity.
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples and teach those converts everything they have been taught by Him. Someone led you to Jesus. It may have been your parents, grandparents, pastor, friends, or others. A pastor friend of mine accepted Christ after watching a Billy Graham sermon on TV.
After this salvation experience, he was discipled by friends and family. When I met him, we were both in college as ministerial students. Others encouraged both of us to accept our calls to the ministry. After graduation, we went our separate ways. I cannot remember his name, but I know he has discipled many others as I have.
Consider your story. Identify the important people who have led your walk. My father was a licensed minister before I was born. We were raised in church and encouraged to accept Christ at an early age. My brothers and I remained at our home church after our parents and sisters began going to another.
This body was instrumental in my accepting my call to full-time gospel ministry. Sunday School teachers, pastors, friends, and family all discipled me for the next ten years until I graduated from college.
I worked with the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board as a summer missionary while still in college and learned a great deal from that experience and the people I worked with for ten weeks. I have used many of the things I picked up that summer throughout my life.
The point I want to make in this column is that we all need help learning how to follow our Lord. Your job as a believer is to assist your brothers and sisters in Christ. Others are there for you. That is the idea of service that Jesus taught His disciples.
We all should think of the folks that we are familiar with and how we can guide them into a deeper relationship with our savior. Prayer, Bible study, and fellowship are all methods that can be utilized.
Jesus said, “As you go, make disciples, teaching them everything you know, immersing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Educate them in what Holy Spirit teaches you. I hope this column is a small help to you as you grow.
On November 23rd, 2014, President Barach Obama stated that voters will want a Presidential candidate in 2016 that has “a new car smell”. This leads many of those in Springfield, Missouri to comment on the current “odor” in the White House. Being a staunch Republican part of the state, Ozarkers usually have little positive to say about any Democrat.
Looking from a Christian perspective, how should this comment be viewed from a non-partisan point of view? When you purchase a brand-new car, you expect not to notice the stench of previous owners. Can this concept be translated into the political arena?
The only way a car has that “new car smell”, is if it has never been owned before. Those who always buy pre-owned vehicles are not familiar with this fragrance. Neither are voters. No presidential candidate in the recent past has not had the contamination of a previous owner.
The “one owner” vehicle still does not have the same aura as the “no owner.” What the voter wants is a candidate for governor, congress, senate or president that has not been “purchased” before. The stench of another who has control of them should not be there.
Used car dealers have many methods to try to fake the “new car smell”. Anyone who believes that people who have been in politics previously can be brought back to a pre-politics state is either gullible or deceiving themselves. An honest politician can be as useful as a pre-owned vehicle. Or it can be a lemon.
They may both have high miles. If well maintained, taken care of properly, and allowed to work the way they are meant to, they can do and be better than they were before. The problem remains that those who are committed to being our representatives must put our country or state above their political jobs.
For the most part, I did anything I was asked to do for every company I worked for. I wanted to move ahead. I needed to earn as much as I could for my family. There were jobs that I left because the promises that were made were not followed through on.
At another job, I stood up for myself, and they fired me and reported that I had tried to get fired. I was able to refute this with the unemployment people. It surprised me that I had trouble finding a new job after this until I followed advice and dropped them from my resume’. The next position I applied for, I was offered and accepted. I had to cut all ties with that organization and refuse to acknowledge I was ever associated with them.
I understand why Republicrats and Demicans do not want to rock the boat. I believe 2026 is the year to replace the stench that is in our government. This smell gets worse every time our President or anyone else tries to violate our Constitution, force his or her opinion upon our laws, take credit for what others have done, or use their positions to attack those that disagree with him.
State legislatures changing congressional lines to strengthen their parties make me decide never to vote for another member of a political party. What about you? From the time I first registered to vote I have been non-partisan. A Republicrat in Greene County Missouri tried to force this eighteen-year-old to declare as one of two parties. That is still against Federal law.
George Washington and others opposed political parties. The Federalists under Thomas Jefferson changed that and now we can’t get our elected officials to do the jobs we pay them for because political bosses threaten them.
In 2026 I am asking everyone who agrees with me to revolt against the party system in our government. We need state assembly and senate personnel who will change our laws to no longer force us to choose on a party basis to vote. In Missouri a non-Partisan ballot in our primary election has no candidates.
You can change this. When your state allows you to register to run for an office you think you are qualified for, declare that you are not a part of any party. There are elected officials in Greene County that were Republicans or Democrats when elected. If they want my vote in 2026 they should be on my non-Partisan ballot in the primary election. This goes for state and national offices as well.
There is only one way to keep America great and that is by dumping all party affiliations. They will not go quietly. Some have jumped from one group to another to use the party power to get what they want. They lie, cheat, steal, and kill to eliminate the competition.
That is why our federal government is shut down today because these infants don’t want to work together. Our republican democracy will not survive if we allow this fighting go on any longer. Join me in this revolt. Run as a non-partisan candidate. Vote for non-Partisan candidates only. Let’s get back that new candidate smell.
All my life, the first Monday of September has been celebrated as Labor Day. 1894 was the first year that this national holiday was officially celebrated here. Other countries celebrate workers as well. May 1st is recognized by many nations as the day to honor those who make their countries great.
I’m not into the whole Make America Great Again movement. Firstly, America is great. It began great. It has had its share of both good and bad times. When the original Europeans came here, they worked with the natives to settle the land. It was later generations that came into conflict with those who were here first.
We’ve treated some of the emigrants badly. We enslaved individuals of other races. During World War II, we incarcerated many Japanese Americans and discriminated against German Americans because they came from countries with which we were at war. We have discriminated against Jews and Arabs. That is not right.
Many of these hard-working folks came to the United States because they needed a chance. Then, after they had put in time, money, and labor, all that was taken from them, and they no longer thought that this country was great. Some of them still love this nation.
Donald Trump has decided that our constitutional guarantee of citizenship, just because you are born here, is not a good idea. Yes, this was put into place after slaves were set free. Children should not be penalized because they had no choice in being born here. Fortunately for us, what he thinks is not necessarily the law. That is what happens in a monarchy. We have no kings.
Labor can be manual or mental. Most of my career, I worked with my hands. Using a pencil or pen on paper, then typing on a computer keyboard. I went home brain weary and had physical strength to work around the house, provided I did not have to think. Much like politicians.
For years, we attended the Labor Day Parade. Neither of us ever worked for a union shop. Our daughters marched with groups that were performing at the parades. The fascinating thing about this celebration was the picnic in the park. The parade was a lot of vehicles from companies.
Everything from eighteen-wheelers to trash trucks, the Highland Dairy antique milk truck, and just about any type of wheeled device with a logo on it. The labor unions are in force, and during election years, a lot of Democrats are campaigning. I don’t think I ever saw a Republican there.
It doesn’t matter what your job is or whether you are labor or management. If you work for a living, then Labor Day is to honor you. I worked for about fifty years and still consider myself a worker, even though I now do not get paid for what I do. Volunteers also need to be recognized. They accomplish a lot in our country as well. Happy Labor Day.
Those with Jewish heritage are fighting those who hate Jews to keep the history of the holocaust in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Some say that the historical fact of the execution of thousands of Jews and others cannot be proven. Holocaust survivors say that they remember these events. In one hundred years, will this be removed from history books?
Black Lives Matter protesters want Confederate flags and statues removed. They do not want to be reminded of the fact that their ancestors were owned by other Americans. This is viewed as a black against white issue. The fact is that some Caucasian Americans are among the activists you see in the news clips.
Another fact that some want to be removed from history is the stories of slave owners like William and Henry Ellison. They are slave owners who were of African American heritage. That’s no big deal. You are talking about only two blacks who owned slaves. Check out the book “Black Slaveowners” by Larry Koger. He uses historical records that still exist to show the number of former slaves and freemen who purchased and used their own slaves to establish businesses that were profitable to them.
This does not make slavery or racial prejudice acceptable. It does separate those of us who have never owned slaves or accepted racial disparities from anyone of any race who currently has racial prejudices. Oh, by the way, crimes are committed inside racially identical groups. That means whites kill whites, blacks kill blacks, and Asians kill Asians. Therefore, I believe all lives matter. That includes blacks. I believe it is an act of racial prejudice to use this BLM slogan. Does that offend you? I am sorry. It is my opinion. In this country, I am allowed to express it.
Let’s step away from race and look at other forms of bigotry. A person who kills or injures someone else because they are in some way like another person who did injury to one who is like them in any way is acting on prejudice. Was that confusing? I’ll give you two examples. A white person who attacks a black person they do not know just because they are black. A person who attacks a police officer because of the uniform they are wearing. I know you have many examples you can share of this type of bigotry.
What is the solution? Treat everyone the way you want to be treated. Do not accept or reject anyone because of pre-conceived ideas that you have been taught or created for yourself. If I want a society free of bigotry and prejudice, I must work every day to dispel it from my own mind.
Research has shown that November 5, 2024, was the last election where any of those elected were members of the Republican Party. Historians for the last few years have tried to find the reasons for this over one-hundred-year-old organization simply falling away like the Whigs, Torreys, and others.
The electorate seems to have been disillusioned by almost all the federal, state, and local candidates. No Republican could gain any office in the next election. The democratic, libertarian, green, and constitutional parties and non-partisan candidates defeated every incumbent. Two years later, no candidate was declared a member of this party.
That could never happen? Ask those who have researched these other parties that died off in the last two hundred years. Did they think that it could happen to them? I do not think so.
Think about why you do not vote for a particular person. If they are not a Republican, they do not receive your vote. Maybe it is the Democrats that you vote for. Or do you decide against anyone in these groups? My Dad said he would never choose a Catholic in 1960. John F. Kennedy was nominated, and he said he would write in Old Yeller Dog. He refused to vote for a Republican.
Kennedy won. He never admitted he voted for him until after the assassination. I heard him tell my mother that he could not believe anyone would kill the man he had voted for.
I am not like my parents. I refuse to vote for anyone for one reason only. I cannot vote for anyone that supports national candidates that should not even be on the ballot. I did not vote for either major candidate in 2016. I believe the republicans nominated Hillary Clinton and the Democrats chose Donald Trump. In 2024, Missouri republicans chose their candidate by a caucus. They are responsible for Trump being on the ballot.
From the first day he was inaugurated, Trump has been violating his oath of office. He declared he would uphold the Constitution of the United States. He has had executive orders overturned or questioned on constitutional grounds.
He has now taken over the District of Columbia police department, even though statistics show that crime is down this year. These are steps to be prepared for Martial Law being declared in 2029 when he is required to vacate the office. His attempt to ignore the Twenty-Second Amendment had failed.
I have never been a partisan voter. I am hard core non-partisan and believe that the only way to solve most of the problems in our election process is to change our nomination process for every elected position. During a national primary, the top three candidates should be placed on the general election ballot. Parties would not even be listed.
My Republican and Democratic friends said they had to give their backing to their candidate. I hope they do not do this again. My votes for all candidates will be based on who is the best qualified for the position. I will vote for very few on the two major party tickets. I hope you will join me.
Kissing in different cultures means varied things. There are also different types of kisses. On the cheek, the hand, the lips, or even the ear or back of the neck. Kissing in our culture is considered romantic. European, Middle Eastern, and other cultures greet friends and acquaintances with a kiss or two on the cheek.
Handshaking is the American method of greeting in most of our communities. As a Christian and a Baptist, I am very familiar with this process. We often modify the standard handshake. You and your friends or family may have a secret or non-secret way to greet each other. Organizations can have variations on the common greeting.
I want to talk about the romantic type of kiss. One of my favorite subjects for situation comedies. You take a prepubescent girl and a boy of a similar age, and a story of the desire for a first kiss and a distaste for the opposite sex. The variations are innumerable. Almost every TV show has had an episode based on this situation.
We all know that movies often feature storylines about kisses. Romantic comedies almost always require kissing between the two leads. Often, there is this kind of action between those who do not believe they are in love. I can think of many films where young people and sometimes older characters find kissing many others a fun thing to do.
Jewelry companies want us to think that their products will get us kissed. That has not been my experience. I can’t talk a lot about the subject of kissing multiple partners. I kissed two or three other girls before I started dating Cindy. When I began kissing her, I enjoyed it very much.
I think she also enjoyed it. She didn’t like it when I tried to kiss her with other people around. When I kissed her goodnight after a date, she never refused or acted like she did not enjoy it. As our relationship continued, so did my desire to hold her and kiss her even more.
As with most couples, we no longer spend time just holding each other and kissing as we did early in our marriage. Hugging and kissing are still part of our life together. It isn’t as large a part as it was in the early years. Three children, twelve grandchildren, and all of life’s time constraints take a toll.
Intimacy is still important. It is necessary for a strong relationship. It is a form of communication for us. We sleep in the same bed. Share a house and many other things. Our fiftieth anniversary is a year away, and I still enjoy being with her as much as I ever have.
I hope that your marriage is going well, also. A kiss is not the best way to tell if you are loved. Paul gives us a list of things that we should use to indicate if someone loves us. Patience and kindness are two of them. Work on kissing, hugging, kindness, and patience, and I think you will go a long way.
Charles (Chuck) Kensinger 