Fumbling for Words

Have you ever simultaneously had the breath knocked out of you and the pain of the world knocked into you? That somewhat explains what happened to me last November. Despite the leaps of progress for women after centuries of denial of opportunities, and after getting to a breaking point with many tragic humanitarian issues in the country, a huge portion of the U.S. decided they didn't care about other people. One person really hurt me by saying, "It's not like someone died," but to me, it felt like an expansive death sentence or at the very least a huge, selfish, "We utterly don't care about you" directed at millions of people that would result in harmful policy and ongoing discrimination and tragedy. I didn't just feel my own pain; I felt the weight of widespread devastation. And what can one say when they can't breathe and they've been told their voice doesn't matter?

I'm amazed that despite the heavy burden of constant terrible news over the last year, many people have been able to process quickly and get enough breath to raise strong voices in opposition. I'm just now starting to feel like I can feel around in the dark for my voice, but only because I've been guiltily using my privilege to mute a lot of the constant influx of bad news. All I've been able to do for the last year is focus my energy on building a program that empowers people who have even fewer privileges under the current administration. It's so, so hard, but I care so, so much about this important cause.

Kinmen, Taiwan 2014

Kinmen is an island of Taiwan that is close to mainland China. I don't understand why the English version (the pinyin) is "Kinmen," when it is clearly pronounced "Jinmen." I'd rather pronounce it that way.

Anyway, we flew there from Kaohsiung, and one of Michael's dad's friends arranged a driver to take us around to the sites. Our driver, Robby, was really agreeable and Jinmen/Kinmen was great.

Kinmen is famous for its pottery, so the factory was our first stop.






This dragon made me think of my lovely friend Charla Barton, who has sculpted many a dragon.



Second stop: a lake of potable water and a lovely island in the middle.







Next, the August 23rd Artillery Batlle Museum. I wasn't sure that an artillery museum would be interesting to me, but I was surprised and impressed!


Six minutes to gather after the first attack? It takes me that long to put on my shoes. Not bad at all. America backed up Kinmen, so we also saw some American tanks. Apparently the people of Kinmen became so good at making knives out of leftover bomb shells that the knives became famous.




China and Kinmen bombed each other for twenty years. Kinmen sent political messages over to mainland China via radio and shells. The maps show how far the messages reached.




They had an artillery game as part of the display. Hmm.




The Yu Da Wei Xian Sheng Museum is dedicated to a short-and-famous Taiwanese battle strategist who reminded me a bit of Tom Hanks.




For lunch, we ordered a bowl of beef noodles to share. This monstrous-sized bowl appeared.





I really liked the beef jerky, the vegetables, and this eggy tofu stuff.




Michael's dad's friend (on the far right) treated us to lunch is a teacher. And when he saw how much I liked the beef jerky, he went and bought three flavors in a big box for me.




We quite enjoyed talking to Robby, and when he mentioned that he has a small farm as a hobby, I mentioned that I like to garden and asked if we could stop by there. Turns out gardening isn't involved, but I still enjoyed seeing the goats. It was right between some apartment buildings and a bank.




Juguanglou (莒光樓). The people sitting around inside followed me with wide eyes and then told Michael that I was beautiful girlfriend. When he answered, "Wife," they had quite the happy reaction. Anyway, the top of this building had an exhibit explaining the traditional parades that occur each year.




Details of Juguanglou (莒光樓).




View from Juguanglou (莒光樓).




Nice side view of Juguanglou (莒光樓).




Behind the pretty flowers was a tunnel built for the war, Zhaishan Tunnel (翟山坑道).




I walked deeper and deeper into the this tunnel, thinking of soldiers living and working down here during the ongoing battle.




And then, to my surprise, there was water! The one light reflecting on the water made it look like I could see the bottom until I realized it was just a reflection and that I had no idea how deep the water actually was. That was an eery feeling.




Apparently boats came in and out of Zhaishan Tunnel (翟山坑道) with supplies. Awesome.




The beach was lovely. Michael must have a zillion photos of me running on different beaches. I know for a fact there are ones from Half Moon Bay, Oregon, San Diego, and now Taiwan . . . I guess it never gets old?











On to the last stop.


That island behind Robby and me has a statue of Zheng Chenggong (郑成功), also known as Koxinga, a hero from the Qing Dynasty.




Koxinga Shrine




I wonder what kind of succulent this is?




A nice little outhouse.




Koxinga Shrine details.

Then Robby took us to the ferry, where we tried to offer him a present. That made him kind of mad. He started going back to his car in a huff, so I had to chase him to get a goodbye handshake. He told me to come back with my parents and to give him at least two weeks' notice and he'd slaughter a goat for us. Awesome.




The wait for the ferry to China wasn't long. Did you know they have Safeway in Kinmen? Oh, just kidding, that's a different Safeway.

I really enjoyed the lovely day in a peaceful place not teeming with people and with fresh(-ish) air, and I didn't really want to go back to everyday life.

End of WWII: 20 July 1944?

A while ago, I read a book about the wives of the men who made an attempt on Hitler's life on the 20th of July, 1944. And recently I watched Valkyrie, a Tom Cruise movie about the attempt. I can't help wondering how different history would be if the attempt had been successful.

What would it be like if we could teach our children, "And that's when Germany ended the war and solved its own problems"? Would Germany's reputation after the war have been completely different? Would Germany have been able to more quickly pull itself back together economically? So many questions . . .

Modern Health Care for America!

I gladly give up "the right" to suffer over and over as I have because of pre-existing conditions and costs I couldn't pay and I feel like anyone who has been in that place could understand. I feel like if we truly care about our fellow humans, we won't feel bad about everyone pitching in to make sure someone can get help when they need it. It's time for us to care about everyone and to be a modern country.

Some day, I will be healthy and I will be able to pitch in to that fund more to help people in my current situation. It's like the Mormon system of fast offerings, but for everyone in the whole country. Maybe that's why a lot of Mormons have a problem with it--they already have a system in place. But not everyone has the Church to rely on as we do.

Every system will have problems. No matter the system, there will be long-term mooches and there will be people who don't need it and thus don't see the point. I think we've taken a step in the right direction.

Read my previous health care rant here. And my pleas for support here.

Also, I like basil ice cream.

Wearing Red for Autumn and Pleas

RIP Aunt Flo Party

Remember all the red I was wearing in this post? There was a reason for it. Friday, you see, was the day that many friends got together to show support for my friend Autumn, the co-founder of Blabbergasted. Autumn, you see, was recently diagnosed with stage 3 uterine cancer and will be having a hysterectomy today.

I'm not sure whose brilliant idea it was, but about twenty of us celebrated the one thing to celebrate in the whole healing process--the end of the annoyances of menstruation (ignoring the wonderful things it stands for), and thus the red theme.

I'm glad that surgery should start Autumn on her way to health, and that she has a sense of humor about trying out different hairstyles as her hair falls out with chemotherapy, but I couldn't help thinking yesterday how tragic it is that the hysterectomy comes the day after Mothers Day. (Kudos to Autumn for having a wonderful theory about how her maternal lamp can spread its light on anyone--kind of an "it takes a village to raise a child" approach.)

To make things more tragic, I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: American health care needs help. I don't know how to solve the problems, but I hope someone out there does.

There is something wrong when a dear friend of mine (or anyone, really) has symptoms of cancer for a year but doesn't get them checked out because of insurance costs. 

There is something wrong when pain after hurting my foot is almost the lesser reason to cry because I'm thinking of money. 

The programs set in place to help people who can't afford health care are so difficult to finagle. (Believe me, when I was desperate for ingrown toenail help, I tried.)

Thus, I have several pleas:

• Pray for Autumn.
• Support health care progress.
•  If someone you care about tells you that they are having health issues, I don't care what it takes, work together with others to get help for that person early on.
• Take care of yourself.

Get well soon, Autumn!

John Alvon Glauser: An Elder in Nazi Germany

Cross-posted at Keepapitchinin:

My great Uncle Al, the one I interviewed about seeing Hitler and Mussolini, showed me a book of mostly typed notes he kept during his German-speaking mission from 1934-1937. Included are talks and outlines, tables, scriptures, poems (a lot of the poems were about mothers, do you think he was homesick?), and other observations. It was a delight to see his German, which wasn't too bad. He even wrote out jokes in his talks, but the main focus was on religion.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I came upon a page entitled "Prayers?" Why the question mark? I wondered. Then, as I read the entry, my surprise turned to shock.

I'm certainly no Hitler or German history expert, but a curious missionary had copied down prayers that most certainly were aimed at Hitler! I had never thought that Hitler had ascended to some sort of religious figure status, especially because he had seemed to be rather intolerant of religion anyway, but see for yourself (my English translations are in parentheses):






Führer, mein Führer, von Gott mir gegeben,
(Fuhrer, my Fuhrer, given to me by God,)
Beschütz und erhalte noch lange mein Leben.
(Protect and preserve my life for a while still.)
Hast Deutschland gerettet aus tiefer Not.
(You saved Germany from deep distress.)
Dir danke ich Heute mein taegliches Brot.
(I thank you today for my daily bread.)
Bleib' lange noch bei mir, verlass mich nicht.
(Abide a while with me, don't leave me.)
Führer, mein Führer, mein Glaube mein Heil mein Führer.
(Fuhrer, my Fuhrer, my religion my salvation my Fuhrer/leader.)

-Gebet vor dem Essen (prayer before eating)

Dank sei dir für diese Speise,
(Thanks be to you for this food,)
Beschüetzer der Jugend, Beschützer der Greise!
(Protector of the youth, protector of the old!)
Hast Sorgen, ich weiss es, doch kümmert's dich nicht.
(You have worries, I know it, but it doesn't bother you.)
Ich bin bei dir, bei Nacht und bei Licht.
(I am with you, both night and by light.)
Leg' ruhig dein Haupt in meine Schoss.
(You can really lay your head in my lap.)
Bist sicher mein Führer, denn du bist groß.
(You are surely my Fuhrer, because you are great.)
Heil mein Führer!
(Hail my Fuhrer!)

-Gebet nach dem Essen (prayer after eating)

I asked Uncle Al about these prayers to Hitler, but he doesn't remember where he got them. Has anyone else heard about things like this?

Recently, Uncle Al sent some more items of intrigue.

German Mission district conference, 1936:




Deutsches Reich stamps:




Marching he witnessed:




And finally, if you've ever asked yourself if Mormon missionaries really did "heil Hitlers," here's proof (that's Al with the dark hat):




Aren't missionaries' experiences in cultures strange to them both scary and fascinating at times?

Heroes of the Holocaust

While reading about Czech author Tom Stoppard, I learned that the owner of the shoe company his parents worked for, Tomáš Baťa, helped get his Jewish employees (mostly doctors) out of Czechoslovakia and to places where they could continue to work for branches of his company. What a commendable act.

When I visited Sofia, Bulgaria, I briefly wrote about their commendable actions in regard to the Jews of their city. Can you believe that they were able to get 49,000 people to safety? Can you believe that people got together to help instead of fearing what could happen to them personally? I wish there was somewhere to read more about it (there probably is, I just don't know about it).

Here's to 66 years since the end of World War II.

Call Me Evil

I have no intention of voting. Whatsoever. Though Mormons are encouraged to "be involved" and "do their research," I

1. find that most of the info to be found is biased.
2. think no one can predict how politicians will react in different situations.
3. hate the drama of politics.

I heard a dude say recently that he votes for the most evil candidates so that they will bring the Second Coming faster. Maybe he was joking. Maybe not. Weird.

Anyway, maybe next year.

MHA Presidential Seerstone

Here is my contribution to the Mormon History Association's traveling Presidential Seerstone:














That's the Presidential Seerstone (and moi) in front of the church where Bach worked for 37 years.

20 Years

Happy 20 year anniversary of the fall (or should we say "enthusiastic tear-down"?) of the Berlin Wall! Yay! It's scary to think what would have happened if, after all these people started celebrating, the government went into some kind of frenzy. So much could have gone wrong.

Every time I see the movies of people helping each other climb onto the wall and how they're all cheering, I get teary-eyed. Can you imagine what it would be like to be separated from friends and family by a wall? Can you imagine what it would be like just to finally know you can go?

Es ist Deutschland hier

This German politician refused to answer a question in English and is getting a lot of criticism for it. I don't think it's so much that he didn't answer in English as the way he reacted--he turns exasperatedly to the side when the man asking the question didn't understand and even answers the question rudely. If you're a politician, don't you want to win over the public instead of driving them away? Interestingly enough, we criticize politicians for just being crowd-pleasers, but when they don't please, they get criticized as well. Poor guys. But anyway, he is the foreign minister, and seeing as how English is now the international language and has been for quite a while now, he needs to jump on the bandwagon . . . or does he? Is English an expectation of America or of the world?



Here's the English translation for those who don't speak German (I don't think it's the best translation, and you miss out on his rude exasperated sigh, but oh well). And here's proof that he speaks and understands English okay.

Leipzig's Peaceful Revolution (Peaceful in Hindsight)

I think one of the coolest things about Leipzig is that in the ten years preceding the fall of the wall, there were weekly peace prayers held in a 900-year-old church in the center of town. These prayers became more and more famous and well-attended until the biggest gathering was held on the 9th of October, 1989, with around 100,000 people showing up to peacefully walk through the streets of Leipzig. The International Spiegel wrote about it recently here (they can explain it much better than I).

Last Friday, I was planning on going on a trip (yes, right after Poland), but I decided I had to be in Leipzig for the twenty-year celebration. Jenny, Seppl (who had been at the original protest as a child with his mom), Holger, Steffi, and I went together. It was cool to see so many people there. The streets were closed off, people carried candles, old pictures and film clips were displayed on buildings, loud speakers played announcements from twenty years ago . . . all very interesting. We happened upon an orchestra and a choir that were practicing some pretty hefty pieces together, as well as some men painting some of that famous Leipzig art on the side of a building (see the picture). When Steffi and Holger arrived, we walked around the ring. There were papers with names of Stasi spies on them spurted out into the streets that also showed what normal job they had or pretended to have. My paper said "IMS Lothar Alexander, Fertigungskontrolleur"--"IMS" stood for "Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter Sicherheit."

I was especially touched by a family I saw. A grandmother stood on the right side of her grandson while her husband leaned down, pointing upwards, and explained some piece of history to him. The look on the child's face wasn't boredom or lack of understanding, but interest and fascination.

That's how I feel about what happened in Germany twenty years ago. The fact that Leipzig and surrounding areas got together despite the danger found in opposing the government and despite differing points of view shows that it is possible to be of one heart and one mind and to accomplish things that seem impossible. I'm assured that there are many more miracles to be witnessed in this world.

You can see the rest of my photos here.

Uncle Al Interview (Missionaries and Hitler)

Keepapitchinin, a fabulous Mormon history blog, has kindly agreed to post these videos of an interview I did of my Uncle Al at her site so they would get some more viewers. As an introduction:

My great uncle, John Alvon Glauser, was born in 1913. He is the oldest of the seven children of John and Lena Glauser, both Swiss immigrants who met and married in Logan, Utah. Lena's maiden name was von Niederhausern, resulting in the "von" in "Alvon" (as a fun side story, Lena gave my Grandpa the letter N without a period or anything for his middle name since "Niederhausern" was so long--when people asked what it stood for, he always said "nothing" with a serious face). Uncle Al served a mission in Switzerland and Germany from 1934 to 1937. Because his stories of his mission have fascinated me for years, I felt like someone needed to record the story. As a result, last time I was in Salt Lake, I drove up to his house and recorded this video (the person asking questions and responding now and then is yours truly).

Al's love for his mission led him to meet up with many old mission companions for years in a group they called "The Forty-Niners" (after the address of their mission home). After his mission, Uncle Al found and married the lovely pianist and organist Beverly Brown, who had thought he would never call her again after their first date. They had two daughters, Shirley and Mitzi. With his brother, Reed, my grandpa, he continued the business his dad had started, Egg Products. After retirement, he was invited into the Dirty Shirts Club (see the July 12, 2006 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune--at that time, the average age was 84.8 in this club that golfs and bowls together on Wednesdays). In the last several years, Al has volunteered at LDS Hospital, where he drives cancer patients to their appointments in a golf cart. Having turned 96 on September 19th, he has now outlived all six of his younger siblings and keeps people around him laughing with the jokes he memorizes.

And now the videos:

Part 1 (Passion Play)


Part 2 (Hitler and Mussolini)


As I talked to Al when I last visited him, I asked him about his life in general and heard a lot of good stories. For example, he told me how he'd met Beverly at Pine Crest Inn at a Friday night dance. She'd been on a date with Reed Shepherd. He called her the next day, and after their date, she told her mother he'd never call again. At the time, she was 22 years old and teaching elementary school. She had graduated from the University of Utah and the Alumni president. She had already played the organ for years and continued the calling, even helping to pick out the pipe organ in his current ward. (As a side story, I remember at her funeral, it was said that she never owned a pair of jeans and that she would slip bits of Beatles and other music into prelude music to see if the bishopric noticed. If they did, she'd wink at them.)

“I feel guilty. I could have been nicer. I learned to be more compassionate and caring when she was sick and when she passed away. My daughters used to tell me that. They said, ‘Oh Daddy, don’t say that, then you say you feel guilty.’ Everybody isn’t the same. All couples have differences. You’ve got to let the wife do what she wants to do and the husband has to have his way too.” “I like people. I’ve learned to like people you know. Just recently, after Gloria passed away, and Reed passed away. I was pretty lonely for quite a few days, but time heals all. And I just sort of thought of every one of my siblings. And I learned from all of them. I learned from Ruby, Floyd, Lucille, and Ruby . . . I learned from all of them. We had fun. We had good times . . . When Ruby passed away, they recruited me [to play cards]. Then Reed filled in, then Mike Kendall.”

He also included that all of his sisters made it into their 80s and he had been at his sibling Floyd's and Lucille's homes when they passed away. Apparently his sister Ruby knew she was going to go soon, because after years of doing certain things for her husband Collins (the one Al had baptized), she showed him how to do some household duties—she had a premonition she was gonna go and just didn’t wake up the next morning. Al continued a good friendship with Collins and quoted him as saying, “The best thing that ever happened to me was when I married Ruby, married into the Glauser family.”

Al also told me that Hitler had the people stop smoking and fast for a day to contribute to the country’s cause, something I had never heard before. Al's descendants are spread out in California, Florida, and the Midwest U.S.

Wherein I Say Some Things About Health Care

As Jane at Seagull Fountain knows, I've been meaning to write a post on health insurance for a long time. It's not a secret that I despise politics. But I see something brewing that gives me so much hope. Every news source that I actually look at has brought up the subject constantly in the last few years. And though we like to cling to our ways and say that things are working how they are, it seems like a lot of America has finally gotten to the breaking point, to the point where people are realizing that America's health insurance system can't go on like this. For those who don't want to change a thing, I invite you to open your mind for a little while. It's hard to see how good things can be until we try them.

Let's start by taking a look at this map:



(Image found at www.nocaptionneeded.com.)

The orange is Iraq and Afghanistan's universal health coverage provided by the U.S.'s war funding.
Gray indicates countries with no universal health care system.
Blue shows countries with some type of universal health care system.
Green is the countries attempting to implement some kind of universal health care system.

This map seems unbelievably tragic to me. The U.S. is grouped with countries largely considered to be underdeveloped. If you are a modern, powerful (despite the negative sound to this word, let's face the facts), example-setting country, you don't go around with uninsured citizens. Even if you do not fund health care through the government, you make way for your citizens to be healthy. I think this reason to have insurance (as a matter of pride) is probably the weakest reason, which is why I had to get it out of the way. Now on to the real stuff.

The following things sadden me more than any map where countries try to impress each other. American nurses have told me that patients needing emergency care aren't getting it because the emergency rooms are full of the uninsured who go there in order to get some kind of care. That's sad for both sides.

Also, my own parents have spent hundreds of hours, often yearly, filling out paperwork to apply to change insurance companies because of increased costs that they can't afford. There were days of panic when I had appendix and Crohn's Disease problems as a twelve-year-old. My parents have also been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions--conditions they couldn't take care of because of the money they'd have to pay out-of-pocket. These are problems that really get to me. Why should you be paying for a service that doesn't serve you? Doesn't everyone deserve to be healthy and happy? Doesn't everyone deserve coverage they can afford?

My whole life, I've heard about socialized medicine and its evils--how the doctors have no motivation to be the best, how expensive it is, how it limits insurance companies' competition, etc., etc. But then I moved to Germany and I've found the story to be different than I imagined.

In order to get my student visa, I had to be signed up for health insurance. I walked into DAK, and ten minutes later, I walked out with a piece of paper saying I was covered. No one asked me if I'd had Crohn's Disease when I was 12. No one asked me if heart disease ran in my family. No one even looked to see if I walked like I was healthy. I went in, signed a paper with my bank account info on it (for automatic monthly payments), and left knowing if some crazy health issue were to come along, I'd be taken care of.

It took me a while to understand the ins and outs of the system--how I have to pay 10 Euros each quarter of the year that I want to visit a doctor, how doctors have hours when you can just show up and see them, how I must have a transfer form from the last doctor I went to. But guess what happened? I did have a crazy health issue. In the form of a ridiculous toenail that wouldn't let me sleep or walk normally. But I was covered and could go to any doctor I wanted (meaning I went to the doctor suggested to me). When I wanted to go to the U.S. in the middle of this problem, I only had to pay an extra 8 Euros to have travel insurance, and I was able to visit a doctor while I was in the U.S., who gave me an enormous amount of relief and told me how to deal with the problem probably for the rest of my life.

And then came a whole plethora of crazy health issues. First the never-ending throat pain. Then the sledding accident that did a number on my knee. Then back pain that crippled me. And my chronic neck and shoulder pain reappeared. And I had two cases of carpal tunnel. And hayfever. And skin problems. I needed nose surgery. And my tonsils out.

Having grown up where insurance was something you had but that couldn't really help you anyway, I tried to survive through everything, but I learned that wasn't the brave thing to do, that was the stupid thing to do. And then I started being informed about all the options available to me through my insurance. I started physical therapy and voice therapy. I received a wrist brace. I learned about prevention classes for motion and relaxation and back health. And though I'm still fighting through these issues, there is hope. Instead of feeling discouraged because I don't know how to help myself, I am lifted to know that there are people who can teach me how to live a healthier and pain-free lifestyle, and my insurance, which I'm paying for, will guide me to those people and cover most of the cost of their services.

The contrasts between what I grew up with and see my parents dealing with and my experience in Germany has allowed me to do a lot of thinking about the health care issue. A lot of people automatically criticize Obama's plan without even listening to what he's saying. It seems to me that people are very biased when it comes to presidents. They either hate or worship every little move of the president for four years, when in reality, there have to be some things that you like and some that you don't. Regardless if you like Obama or not, please be open-minded. And besides, some of what he is suggesting is coming from candidates you supported. These changes could be fabulous for you and for my peace of mind. I found this video very informative. It outlines the basics of Obama's health care plan in four minutes; I would suggest it to everyone.

In short, here's the plan:

• If you have insurance you like, you are welcome to keep it!
• There will be no denial because of pre-existing conditions (tears of relief)!
• There will be no dropped/lowered coverage when you're sick and need it the most.
• There will be no yearly/lifetime caps on coverage.
• There will be caps on how much you will be expected to pay out-of-pocket.
• There will be required coverage for preventive care. (Instead of waiting for you to become miserably sick, let's help you stay healthy! What an idea!)
• There will be competitive prices in an insurance marketplace.
• There will be low-cost coverage for individuals and small businesses.
• For individuals or small businesses who can't afford even the most inexpensive health insurance, there will be tax credits.
• No one will be forced to take the public health insurance option--there will also be a private option.
• No dime will be added to the national deficit; it will be paid upfront.
• Medical experts will work together to identify waste.
• Waste will be eliminated.
• The prescription medicine "Drug Hole" will die a horrible death. (Okay, so I added that last dramatic part. The original phrase was "be eliminated.")
• Medical malpractice doohickeys will be reformed.

And though I'm not sure how everything will work, I trust that because of the benefits being aimed for and because other countries have accomplished these things, it will work. I suppose most people's argument with me would be that putting the plan in action won't work as smoothly as is thought. But was a big change ever easy?

One person I talked to said that it's not fair to tell health insurance companies who to cover, because that's telling them how to run their business. Letting something so trivial get in the way of people being able to be healthy and more able to enjoy their lives seems wrong to me. He said that he didn't want to pay more so that other people could be covered, but that's what's happening now. People with insurance are paying more and more because they have to cover those who show up at emergency rooms. I asked him, if people were to suddenly be diagnosed with a horrible disease and unable to pay for medical bills, if they should be left to suffer and even die without help. He hemmed and hawed, but in end effect (something my friend Bryan loves to say), he said yes. Then I made it personal and asked if I were the one in that situation, what would he do? More hemming and hawing. Where is the charity?

The concern about competition for insurance companies is ungrounded. With the option of private insurance, insurance companies can still lure richer people to wait in special waiting rooms, have their own hospital rooms, have their own hours, etc. And I don't really care about this difference as long as I'm covered.

I want to know, that if I were to be suddenly sick and unable to pay for care, that there would be hope for me. I want to know that someone would be able and willing to help me. Being on the other side of the world, I worry about my parents. I worry about my siblings and cousins and aunts and uncles and friends. And though the German system isn't perfect, it's comforting. I want to know that the same hope would be available to my loved ones. Being suddenly sick is stressful enough without having to worry about how to pay for care.

Some more items I'd like to add:

Yes, things may be more bureaucratic. But I think a bit of paper-pushing is much better than the fear that the day may come where I'm desperately ill and unable to find relief because of money.

Doctors aren't less motivated. They still get more money if they have a good reputation, because more patients go to them.

Of course, we all know that even when things improve, we still find things to complain about. Please just weigh all the benefits of such a change--America will measure up to the times, you won't be denied care or expected to pay amounts you can't afford, every suffering father, mother, and child in the country will be covered, and you won't have to fear going without care if you were to suddenly become sick.

And now the statement that frees me from attacks and never-ending arguments in my comments: I'm not here to debate; I'm just giving light to my personal observations. Please don't take your frustrations out on me.

Relief Society Old City Hall Tour

Many of the Relief Society women recently got a tour of the old city hall in Leipzig.

The tour included the dungeon, which seemed pretty tortuous to me:






I thought this guy looked like Susan Boyle. If you don't know who that is, youtube her.




Here we are in the room dedicated to Bach:



Did you know that Bach wasn't their first choice out of the applicants for the church music writer guy?

Wittenberg

Guess who finally got to see where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses? Yours truly!

As a tradeoff for showing my friend David around Leipzig, we drove to Wittenberg, which is only an hour and maybe fifteen minutes away. Some day when I have some time, I'd like to read all of the theses and see how many I agree with. We learned from overhearing a tour guide that Martin Luther wasn't really the first to translate the Bible into German, he did the best job and he was also good at getting people riled up. I'm glad he did what he did.

Here are the bronzified theses:




I paid one Euro to take pictures inside the church (I've still got that unorganized and unofficial collection of pictures of church organs). If any of you ever want to visit and go there with me, the man at the desk let me know that my receipt enabled me to take pictures for a whole year. Sweet.




As you all know, I get excited by libraries, especially old ones. Too bad it was closed. I did peek through the keyhole, though.




And, back in Leipzig that afternoon, here is the classic picture from the top of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal:




Get your very own, personalized version when you come visit!

Have you ever seen the movie "Luther" or read the book by the same name? The movie made me so glad to be born into a generation that enjoys many of the results of people like Martin Luther.