A Skibum Looks at Life?

[Skibum]

As I stand on the brink of "guruhood" (I just made that up) I realize that I have never said anything that qualifies me to be a guru. This thread is an attempt to change that. I will be posting a series of observations, remark, thoughts, etc., over the next few weeks. If you agree with me feel free to say so. If you disagree, say so. If you think I'm fucking stupid and want to tear my heart out, say so.

I will choose a series of topics and post my thoughts about that topic. Please understand that I am not making arguements to try and change anyone's opinion on any subject, just making observations about MY opinions on the subject. I will probably step on some toes. Well, good. We need our toes stepped on sometimes. I fully expect to piss some of you off. So be it.

For one to be called a guru, one must have a philosophy. Well, this is as close as I get. And, I do so want to fit in with all the other gurus, Wierd Harold's signature not withstanding.

So, that is my goal. You may flame me at your liesure.

 

[Bonnie Wee Lassie]

Well congrat's even though you need one more to go. Can't wait for you new guru remarks and comments

Bonnie

 

[Skibum]

Health Care

For my first topic, I have chosen health care. I feel this is appropriate, as the Democrats are holding their convention in Los Angeles this week, and health care is one of their issues.

Take socialized medicine, for example. I do not want the same kind of bureacracy that spent $400 for an ashtray on an airplane to control who and how I pay for medical services. The government procurment system is so overblown and difficult to manage that it is a wonder they ever buy anything. I shudder at the thought of that kind of control over how my doctor treats me.

The Democrats are always complaining about the government being controled by big business and big money. If they are right, why should I give them even greater control over my life. There is no place in the Constitution that says all Americans are entitled to free or cheap medical care. The closest reference to that is in the Preamble to the Constitution, where the wording is "promote the general welfare". Free or government provided medical care is not "general welfare". It is specific and individual, and should be the responsibility of the individual. The role of government should be to make sure that no one is taken unfair advantage of in their individual search for medical services.

As I stated, please feel free to agree of disagree. I will not provide counter arguements if you do disagree. I am not trying to convince you, just stating my opinion.

 

[CreamyLady]

Congratulations! I always knew you had the soul of a guru.

I don't know what I feel about health care. I've been without insurance so long that I stay healthy in self defense. I don't know if this horrible cold would have gone away any faster with a doctor's care; as I recall, ten years ago, they told me bed rest and fluids. I did that, and saved $85 at the same time.

It would be nice to have inexpensive access to yearly pap smears and mammograms, but I don't. Rather, I can get an inexpensive pap through school, in conjunction with unwanted birth control pills. Mammograms aren't covered; most college students don't need them.

I remember when there was a health care initiative on the ballot in California a few years ago. It was defeated by the insurance industry; lots of ads stating that people would no longer be able to choose their own doctors.

At the time, I remember looking at the booklet of "authorized physicians" on my mother's plan; she was one of those who voted against it. She hadn't realized that her choices were already limited.

I'd love to see some kind of access, but since it seems to be regarded as the leading edge of socialism, I can't see it happening here. It is no surprise to me to see people embracing alternative methods of healing.

 

[Bonnie Wee Lassie]

Wow I guess I am lucky I live in Canada. We have pretty good health care here. Not the best but pretty good.

Bonnie

 

[Svedish_Chef]

Oh skibum please just save the crap and I'll say congratulations fellow guru

 

[Skibum]

Skiing

For tonight's topic, I want to discuss something near and dear to my heart, skiing.

I have been a skiier for 36 years. I taught myself on the hill behind the house when I was eight. My first skiis were wooden, and my boots were leather with laces. The whole outfit cost less than $20.00, in stark contrast to the hundreds of dollars that even the most basic equipment costs today. One of the nice things about working at a ski area is the access to some deals on equipment, to say nothing of the $6000 worth of free passes I get each season.

I am not an expert skiier, in spite of the name I use on this forum. I am fairly competent, and can negotiate the "Double Diamonds", but I have trouble with moguls. I really like skiing fast on well groomed packed powder, or effortlessly floating through the deep stuff after a big snowfall. It is the closest you can get to the feeling a bird must have as it swoops and soars through the air.

A popular bumper sticker says "Ski to live, Live to Ski". I don't tahe it to that extreme, but it is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

 

[CreamyLady]

I'm sure skiing is a wonderful activity, and a great way to enjoy the outdoors in vile weather, but for those of us who are unable to walk and chew gum simultaneously it poses health hazards.

I should probably try it sometime, though. The orthopedic surgeon who rebuilt my wrist told me that I had the kind of bones that knit fast. Maybe I'd be good at it.

 

[teresafannin]

I learned to ski years ago, but since breaking my ankle & my wrist, I am limited to watching. Loved it, but never got very good at it. My first husband was a really good skier, he taught me the basics. Coming from the midwest originally, I miss having a real winter. We usually get a little bit of snow & ice here in DFW, but it doesn't last too long. Thanks for bringing back some good memories for me.

 

[KillerMuffin]

SKI SKI HE'S OUR MAN IF HE CAN'T DO IT WH CAN!

United States Socialized Health Care System - Tricare, nuff said. IT STINKS!!!!! (didn't know we had one didja? is military, imagine the nationwide horror. Ack.)

Skiing - did it on Playstation once FF7! (I'm not done so don't tell me!) Real life skiing is bye bye fer me. I have little or no depth perception.

Guruhood - Kewlness and congrats and may your powder always be perfect and the lift always be empty and the slopes be forever uncrowded for our newest lit guru. Oh yeah, and may the trees always jump out of your way

 

[Bare]

When I was 10y/o I sprained my ankle downhill skiing. I was trying to impress my dad and wiped out really bad in the process. It was a bad sprain and it was awhile before I was able to get back on the slopes. Well by that time the fear had set in and I would hyperventilate just thinking about going down the mountain, so I switched to x-skiing.

Yet to this day I miss the adrenaline rush and when driving by ski hills I'm filled with a sense of longing. Once a year about ten of my friends rent a chalet for the weekend and while a third of the group do ski, the rest of us practice our apres ski. Now that I do very well.

 

[Dreamer1]

Skiing is near and dear to my heart. I spend at least one week every year skiing but this year was the exception.
I agree with you Skibum, it is such a rush! There is nothing quite like it.

BTW Bare, it is never too late to give it another try!
I agree though, the apres ski can be a rush as well, depending upon the company!

Also Skibum I would like to here your impressions of the best skiing resorts. I have skiied the hell out of Colorado except for Aspen. I love Winter Park and Vail. I have skiied Summit County a great deal as well. My buddies went to Tahoe last year and said it was fun but Colorado was still their choice. Give me some good ideas for new challenges. If it helps, my abilities and preferences regarding mountain selction are similar to yours. Moguls can be fun (Mary Jane side of Winter Park) but the pain after is just not worth it most of the time.

[Edited by Dreamer1 on 08-17-2000 at 08:51 PM]

 

[Bare]

When there are more interesting things to do in the jacuzzi why go outside in the cold...plus at this stage of the game I would feel silly on the bunny hill with all the 5y/olds.

Unless I hired myself a private instructor...hmmm..that holds a wealth of possibilities.

 

[Oliver Clozoff]

Skibum, just wanted to say congrats on your guruhood and that I'm enjoying your nightly essays. Keep 'em comin'!

(P.S. I'm a terrible skier, but I'm with ya on the health care issue).

 

[Skibum]

Skibum I would like to here your impressions of the best skiing resorts. I have skiied the hell out of Colorado except for Aspen. I love Winter Park and Vail. I have skiied Summit County a great deal as well. My buddies went to Tahoe last year and said it was fun but Colorado was still their choice

For a question of such import, I will violate my rule of not responding to your responses on this thread.

I am strictly an Eastren skiier to this point. Sugarbush is my home resort, and favorite place to ski. I also like Killington, Jay Peak, Okemo, Pico, Bolton Valley, and Stowe, in that order. My fondest wish is to ski the Champaigne Powder in Utah someday.

 

[Skibum]

Death Wish

Tonight's topic is the old Charles Bronson movie. For some reason it has been on my mind all day.

"Death Wish" was based on a novel of the same title. Charles Bronson was a New York architec whose wife and daughter were raped and murdered by a gang, driving him to viglianteism. I think they got up to "Death Wish IV" before they stopped making the films.

In the movie the gang was a typical 1970's movie gang. In order to avoid any charges ofracial bias, the gang of murderous rapists was of mixed race. They must have been "equal opportunity criminals". Ther was an African-American, a Hispanic, and a guy who looked like the poster boy for the Aryan Nations. IRL, these guys would have never banded together to rape and kill. They would be too busy trying to kill each other. Aren't most gangs pretty homogenious? That's what usually keeps them together.

Of course Bronson eliminates all of them. It was Hollywood, after all. At the end of the mopvie he moves to Chicago, where it is hinted that he will do it all over again. This is where the movies depart from the novel. "Death Sentence", a sequel to the novel tells the story of the same character "cleaning up" Chicago. it is really an excellent read.

But the movie people apparently didn't like it. They set "Death Wish II" in Los Angeles, and the daughter had miraculously survived been resurrected. So when she and the new girlfriend were attacked by another racially diverse band of criminals, our hero "cleans up" L.A.

The "Death Wish" movies made a lot of us feel good in that they showed a normal, rational man fighting back at the crime that was rampant in the late 1970,s and early 80's. I enjoyed watching them. But they were also a bunch of tripe. The bad guys were so homogenized due to the fear of offending anyone that they were totally unbelievable. The abject failure of the police toapprehend the criminals in spite of a crime scene loaded with evidence was equally laughable. The fact is that spectacular, violent crimes like the ones depicted in the movies, are almost always solved very quickly.

And the idea of a normal, middle aged guy being able to take out so many armed criminals with such ease, and without himself being caught, is ludicrous.

Does any one else have any favorite movies that, in retrospect, are not as good as you originally thought?

 

[CreamyLady]

Not really. I don't like violent movies, and made a point of avoiding the Death Wish series. I have serious problems with the idea of a tap dance all over the Constitution.

Pretty much all my favorites are still okay, maybe a few points of stressed belief, but okay. I like escapist fare more than Real Life.

 

[RonG]

Everybody's talking at me

I actually have a movie that I used to think was brilliant but now don't like: Midnight Cowboy. I thought this movie was brilliant 20 years ago but saw it about a year ago and wondered why I thought it was so good. It seems awfully dated now. I think the language was so different for its day that it seemed creative but now it seems less shocking so I find the rest less interesting.

Regarding the Health Care debate: My problem with the health care "solutions" proposed is that there is little done to force the patient to actively attempt to control costs. As long as insurance payments and plans are one size fits all, the costs will continue to skyrocket. I would love to have catastrophic care only and be responsible for the doctor visit fees, maintenance, etc., but that option is not available so I pay a ridiculous fee each month to cover the other folks who run their health into the ground with drugs, hypochondria, and bad habits. But you can't get elected by saying that people are part of the problem.

 

[Carl East]

It's funny you should mention films that don't impress anymore, because yesterday I saw what I thought was a bargain. An old classic, going by the name goodbye MR Chips, which starred Robert donat. It was being sold for just £5 so I snapped it up, after remembering that the first time I saw this film I thought it was brilliant. Now though it just didn't seem to hold the same magic, still a good film, but it's lost something over the years.

On the other side of the coin however, I also purchased the Exorcist, and after twenty years it still sends shivers down my spine.

Carl.

 

[Skitten]

Skibum;
Congrats on your guru status and am glad that you are talking about things that mean something to you.

About the skiing issue I used to ski downhill of course but ripped all my ligaments in my right ankle so I had to give it up because my ankle still cracks when I move it. But the feeling I will never forget it is one of the most enjoyable sports out there the feeling of being totally free with no worries while you are on the mountain. And going down feeling totally at ease. I just loved it and would like to try again this winter.

Healthcare is an issue I wish could be resolved but probally never will be. Americans don't have a choice of who they go to or where it is more who will pay. And who coverage you are under what hospital you get to go to. I wish we had more freedom about our own health. The govenment has been saying for years what they are going to do and still no change. And I really feel bad for the people who don't have any insurance it can get scary as hell.

The movie death wish I don't remember might have to rent it again, but usually love all Charles Bronson movies. Good topics keep em comin they are great.

 

[Bliss]

Skitten,

If your ankle still bothers you, you should check out http://www.msm.com
Years ago I was in a bad car accident and both of my knees were basically eaten by the all the broken plastic, metal and glass and my hips were knocked almost out of socket. After six months of intense rehabilatation, I could walk all by myself but even today I can snap, crackle and pop almost every joint. Long story short, MSM is the only product I've found that actually makes the pain go away.

Best Wishes,
Paynie

 

[Skibum]

I've been bad!

Tonight's topic is something of a confession. I have done a bad thing, and, though I feel I was justified, there is a need to get it off my chest.

I met a man the other day. A man who instantly pissed me off with his superior attitude, flaunting of material possessions, and a lack of respect for others.

I was working when I met this guy. I have a summer job mowing lawns. The two women I work with and myself had just mowed this guy's lawn. He is a regular customer, and we mow at his home, and at his business (a used car lot).

The first words I heard from this moron were a complaint that the camp next door (his home is on a lake, and most of the houses around it are camps) was occupied by a black family. The next thing I heard from him was an ethnic joke about a "nigger" and a "chink". It was obvious that he did not know that my wife is Asian, and my kids are half-Asian.

To my deep regret I did not tell this guy off immediately. Instead I lowered myself to his level by telling a stupid joke about an Irishman (this guy is Irish). It was a stupid thing to do, and there is no way that such an action would have any influence on this asshole at all. In retrospect, I should have confronted him directly, or simply ignored him. Either course of action would have been better than the one I foolishly followed.

And, just as if to make my humiliation complete, the guy's 17 year old son drives up in a brandy-new Dodge Viper, with the same smug attitude and arrogant air as his father. It was all I could do to keep my lunch down.

So, I owe the Irish an apology for my own stupidity. I should not have stooped so low in a vain attempt to cause pain to a guy who probably wouldn't recognize the intended insult anyway. To all the Irish (myself included!), I'm sorry. To the asshole in question, a hearty "FUCK YOU"!

 

[CreamyLady]

Well, the Irish half will forgive you Skibum.

My mother used to make remarks like that when she was drunk, in a very charming voice, too. People couldn't believe this very ladylike woman would say anything like that.

My sister and I got so sick of it, though, we started challenging her every time she started in, and finally she learned to shut up. I don't think we changed her mind, but she knew better than to say anything.

 

[Isabella Thorne]

I'm not Irish, Skibum .. but I forgive you too ... that guy is a jerk ... don't let his stupidity cause any kind of situation that makes you regret anything .. seriously ..

and i have been hoping you would touch on an important issue that has been brewing ... i know you will be able to shed some light on it .. guru to guru ..

why do most of Canada's hottie male movie stars have outrageous names that start with the letter "K", i.e. Keanu and Keifer. LMAO ..

 

[Skibum]

why do most of Canada's hottie male movie stars have outrageous names that start with the letter "K", i.e. Keanu and Keifer. LMAO ..

It comes from living in Kanada, and drinking Kanadian beer (there's nothing better than a Molsen!).