Thursday, May 18, 2023

May 18

 We should have a nice sunny day with moderate temperatures. I think I will work on getting the remaining containers in the garden filled. Also need to water the plants since we aren't expecting any rain for the next couple of days.

Another story about drug shortages. For a moment I thought how odd it is how often these stories are coming in. But then I thought about a time about ten years ago when Mom and I were in the local CVS because Mom needed to see the Nurse Practitioner. While I waited I looked at the shelves and was struck by the number of shelves empty or almost empty. The only shelves that were full were the ones with toys, seasonal items (I think it was just before Halloween) and makeup/grooming products. It struck me as odd because I worked as an inventory counter for a few years in two states and I remember shelves so stuffed it was hard to actually get a count. Stores never left shelves empty or even partially filled. But that trip to the CVS was just after the "Great Recession" when the pundits were trying to convince us that we were rapidly recovering. We weren't. Since then we have had a pandemic and several supply chain shocks.

Charles Hugh Smith posted a nice piece which describes how precarious our situation is in this country. We haven't used the terminology but the concept is at the base of many of our discussions here. We are both over 70 and Mom is over 90. We still both drive but we often brainstorm our options if the car dies or if neither one of us can drive. Living in a medium sized city we do have options. We still have a choice of grocery stores. And Mom has a long relationship with her medical specialist. We still haven't found a good GP but do have the alternative of several "urgent" care centers and two hospitals. But we are always considering what happens if...

Well, I guess Disney has really shown Mr. Anti-Woke DeSantis who is boss in Florida. I wonder how much of the remaining $17billion he is willing to lose for his state.

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