The Cab Driver
Edit Post ‹ vincetracy.com Blog — WordPress
...There´s a new blog and a new podcast. I hope you find them interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For many years I have said to family and friends that many doctors write prescriptions far too readily. I know far too many people who reach for the pills too quickly. Moreover, they don't admit dependency. Obviously, there are genuine people who have their needs but medicine is big business and I'm not the only one to think this way. Where America goes Europe follows. You might find the following point of view most interesting.
Meet your new drug dealer
Forget coke, crack and smack -- because legal meds are giving street drugs a run for the money.
We've become a nation of dopers, and you don't need a shady dealer on a street corner to get high anymore.
Your doctor will do just fine.
The latest numbers reveal a sad and shocking milestone: Legal meds like painkillers and sedatives now send as many Americans to emergency rooms each year as hardcore street drugs: 1 million people.
Move over, Mary Jane!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ER trips due to the "nonmedical" use of painkillers alone shot up 111 percent over five years, to 305,885 in 2008 from 144,644 in 2004.
Oxycodone led the way with 105,214 ER visits, while hydrocodone accounted for 89,051 and methadone claimed 63,629, according to the numbers in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In case you're wondering, the numbers are up across the board. Men? Up! Women? Up! Under 21? Up! Older than 21? Up, up -- and away!
There's just one area that's not up -- street drugs. But that shouldn't be a big surprise -- who needs street drugs anymore when a completely legal high is just a copay away?
The CDC says it's concerned by the increase -- which would almost be funny if so many lives weren't at stake. The feds also claim that urgent action is needed, but don't hold your breath waiting for that.
You and I both know that the last thing the Pharma-funded U.S. government will ever do is take "urgent" action against the drug companies to save your puny little life.
Save yourself instead -- treat all drugs like the dangerous meds they are... and never, ever take them unless you really, truly need them.
Keeping off the streets,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTORS bought all €3bn of 15-year bonds offered by Spain, with demand strong enough to ease concern that the country would struggle to cover debt payments after Greece´s bailout.
“The Spanish auction went well,” said Chiara Cremonesi, a strategist at UniCredit Research in London. “Appetite for Spanish paper is alive.”
Spain, which has to repay €24.7bn of debt this month, has the third-largest deficit in the euro region and its banks are dependent on the European Central Bank for funds.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero risks losing power as he pushes through austerity measures, including cutting wages, freezing pensions and cutting severance pay.
Yesterday's auction raised the maximum offered at an average yield of 5.116pc, compared with 4.434pc at a sale of the same securities on April 22, the Bank of Spain said. Demand was 2.57 times the amount sold, compared with the bid-to-cover ratio of 1.79 in April. Spanish bonds rose and the euro strengthened.
The government is hoping the publication of stress tests next week will allow its financial institutions to access capital markets.
Record borrowing
Spanish lenders borrowed a record €126.3bn from the ECB in June, up 48pc from the previous month, according to data compiled by the Bank of Spain. That compares with a drop of 4pc to €496.6bn for eurozone lenders as a whole.
The yield premium investors demand to hold Spain's 10-year debt over comparable German bonds fell to 199.6 basis points after the auction, from 211 basis points earlier. The euro gained 0.4pc to 1.2792 against the dollar. “People who expected the end of the world in July because of the redemptions have been proved wrong,” said Gianluca Salford, a fixed-income strategist at JPMorgan Chase in London.
Spain´s auction follows Greece´s sale of Treasury bills on Tuesday, its first since the country accepted a three-year bailout plan from the European Union in May after its borrowing costs surged. Greece secured an interest rate at that sale below the 5pc charged on the emergency European loans.
Portugal sold more debt than targeted in an auction yesterday, a day after Moody´s Investors Service cut the country´s credit rating. Italy also sold €6.8bn of bonds.
Fitch Ratings cut Spain´s credit rating to AA+ on May 28, citing concerns about the economy's ability to grow.
via €3bn auction helps ease fears over Spanish debt – European, Business – Independent.ie.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cab Ride
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was
covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the
woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
'Oh, I don't mind,' she
said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft
voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as anelevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were Ssolicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door. The woman was already seated in a
wheelchair.
'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.
'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 17th: On this day
1946, Petula Clark made her UK television debut appearing on the Cabaret TV series at the age of 13. ‘The Little Shoemaker’ became her first U.K. hit in 1954.
1959, Billie Holiday died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43. (While under arrest for heroin possession, with Police officers stationed at the door to her room.).
1965, during a UK tour The Rolling Stones appeared at The Guildhall, Portsmouth supported by The Walker Brothers and Steam Packet.
1967, American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York, aged 40. Worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie.
1968, the animated film 'Yellow Submarine' premiered at The London Pavilion.
1972, a bomb exploded under The Rolling Stones equipment van in Montreal
1974, The Moody Blues opened what they claimed was the first 'Quadraphonic' recording studio in the world.
1975, Bob Marley and the Wailers played the first of two nights at The Lyceum, London
1976, Demis Roussos-No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Roussos Phenomenon EP'. It was the Greek singers only UK chart topper and the only No.1 EP to top the charts in the 1970's.
1979, Gary Moore left Thin Lizzy during a US tour and was replaced by guitarist Midge Ure.
1982, Irene Cara was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Fame'
1987, The Ozzy Osbourne Band started a 16-week tour of US prisons.
1993, Take That had their first UK No.1 single with 'Pray'.
1995, Robbie Williams left Take That.
1996, Chas Chandler died aged 57 at Newcastle General Hospital, England, where he was undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm. He had been the bass player with The Animals and manager of Slade, Nick Drake and Jimi Hendrix.
1999, Kevin Wilkinson, drummer with Howard Jones hung himself at home aged 41. Also worked with China Crisis, Holly and the Italians, Squeeze and The Waterboys.
2004, Half of the 4,500 people in the audience walked out of Linda Ronstadt's show at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas after the singer dedicated an encore of ‘Desperado’ to filmmaker Michael Moore and urged the crowd to see his film Fahrenheit 9/11.
2005, Jamaican musician Laurel Aitken died. Dubbed as 'the Godfather of Ska
2008, Ageing rock stars and session musicians would keep receiving royalties for their old recordings for the rest of their lives under a European Union plan. Performers currently lost the rights to their recordings after 50 years. Veteran artists like Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey were among those who campaigned for it to be extended.
Birthday Boys and Girls July 17th
1941, Spencer Davis, guitarm,
1947 Wolfgang Flur, electronic drums, Kraftwerk
1949, Geezer Butler, bass, Black Sabbath
1949, Mick Tucker, drums, Sweet
1949, Mike Vale, bass, Tommy James and the Shondells
1952,Chet McCracKen, drums, The Doobie Brothers
1952, Phoebe Snow, US singer, songwriter
1970, Mandy Smith, in 1983 at age 13 she started dating the then 47 year old Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The couple married in 1989, divorced 1992.
Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4
...There´s a new blog and a new podcast. I hope you find them interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For many years I have said to family and friends that many doctors write prescriptions far too readily. I know far too many people who reach for the pills too quickly. Moreover, they don't admit dependency. Obviously, there are genuine people who have their needs but medicine is big business and I'm not the only one to think this way. Where America goes Europe follows. You might find the following point of view most interesting.
Meet your new drug dealerForget coke, crack and smack -- because legal meds are giving street drugs a run for the money.
We've become a nation of dopers, and you don't need a shady dealer on a street corner to get high anymore.
Your doctor will do just fine.
The latest numbers reveal a sad and shocking milestone: Legal meds like painkillers and sedatives now send as many Americans to emergency rooms each year as hardcore street drugs: 1 million people.
Move over, Mary Jane!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ER trips due to the "nonmedical" use of painkillers alone shot up 111 percent over five years, to 305,885 in 2008 from 144,644 in 2004.
Oxycodone led the way with 105,214 ER visits, while hydrocodone accounted for 89,051 and methadone claimed 63,629, according to the numbers in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In case you're wondering, the numbers are up across the board. Men? Up! Women? Up! Under 21? Up! Older than 21? Up, up -- and away!
There's just one area that's not up -- street drugs. But that shouldn't be a big surprise -- who needs street drugs anymore when a completely legal high is just a copay away?
The CDC says it's concerned by the increase -- which would almost be funny if so many lives weren't at stake. The feds also claim that urgent action is needed, but don't hold your breath waiting for that.
You and I both know that the last thing the Pharma-funded U.S. government will ever do is take "urgent" action against the drug companies to save your puny little life.
Save yourself instead -- treat all drugs like the dangerous meds they are... and never, ever take them unless you really, truly need them.
Keeping off the streets,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTORS bought all €3bn of 15-year bonds offered by Spain, with demand strong enough to ease concern that the country would struggle to cover debt payments after Greece´s bailout.
“The Spanish auction went well,” said Chiara Cremonesi, a strategist at UniCredit Research in London. “Appetite for Spanish paper is alive.”
Spain, which has to repay €24.7bn of debt this month, has the third-largest deficit in the euro region and its banks are dependent on the European Central Bank for funds.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero risks losing power as he pushes through austerity measures, including cutting wages, freezing pensions and cutting severance pay.
Yesterday's auction raised the maximum offered at an average yield of 5.116pc, compared with 4.434pc at a sale of the same securities on April 22, the Bank of Spain said. Demand was 2.57 times the amount sold, compared with the bid-to-cover ratio of 1.79 in April. Spanish bonds rose and the euro strengthened.
The government is hoping the publication of stress tests next week will allow its financial institutions to access capital markets.
Record borrowing
Spanish lenders borrowed a record €126.3bn from the ECB in June, up 48pc from the previous month, according to data compiled by the Bank of Spain. That compares with a drop of 4pc to €496.6bn for eurozone lenders as a whole.
The yield premium investors demand to hold Spain's 10-year debt over comparable German bonds fell to 199.6 basis points after the auction, from 211 basis points earlier. The euro gained 0.4pc to 1.2792 against the dollar. “People who expected the end of the world in July because of the redemptions have been proved wrong,” said Gianluca Salford, a fixed-income strategist at JPMorgan Chase in London.
Spain´s auction follows Greece´s sale of Treasury bills on Tuesday, its first since the country accepted a three-year bailout plan from the European Union in May after its borrowing costs surged. Greece secured an interest rate at that sale below the 5pc charged on the emergency European loans.
Portugal sold more debt than targeted in an auction yesterday, a day after Moody´s Investors Service cut the country´s credit rating. Italy also sold €6.8bn of bonds.
Fitch Ratings cut Spain´s credit rating to AA+ on May 28, citing concerns about the economy's ability to grow.
via €3bn auction helps ease fears over Spanish debt – European, Business – Independent.ie.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cab RideI arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was
covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the
woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
'Oh, I don't mind,' she
said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft
voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as anelevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were Ssolicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door. The woman was already seated in a
wheelchair.
'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.
'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 17th: On this day1946, Petula Clark made her UK television debut appearing on the Cabaret TV series at the age of 13. ‘The Little Shoemaker’ became her first U.K. hit in 1954.
1959, Billie Holiday died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43. (While under arrest for heroin possession, with Police officers stationed at the door to her room.).
1965, during a UK tour The Rolling Stones appeared at The Guildhall, Portsmouth supported by The Walker Brothers and Steam Packet.
1967, American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York, aged 40. Worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie.
1968, the animated film 'Yellow Submarine' premiered at The London Pavilion.
1972, a bomb exploded under The Rolling Stones equipment van in Montreal
1974, The Moody Blues opened what they claimed was the first 'Quadraphonic' recording studio in the world.
1975, Bob Marley and the Wailers played the first of two nights at The Lyceum, London
1976, Demis Roussos-No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'The Roussos Phenomenon EP'. It was the Greek singers only UK chart topper and the only No.1 EP to top the charts in the 1970's.
1979, Gary Moore left Thin Lizzy during a US tour and was replaced by guitarist Midge Ure.
1982, Irene Cara was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Fame'
1987, The Ozzy Osbourne Band started a 16-week tour of US prisons.
1993, Take That had their first UK No.1 single with 'Pray'.
1995, Robbie Williams left Take That.
1996, Chas Chandler died aged 57 at Newcastle General Hospital, England, where he was undergoing tests related to an aortic aneurysm. He had been the bass player with The Animals and manager of Slade, Nick Drake and Jimi Hendrix.
1999, Kevin Wilkinson, drummer with Howard Jones hung himself at home aged 41. Also worked with China Crisis, Holly and the Italians, Squeeze and The Waterboys.
2004, Half of the 4,500 people in the audience walked out of Linda Ronstadt's show at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas after the singer dedicated an encore of ‘Desperado’ to filmmaker Michael Moore and urged the crowd to see his film Fahrenheit 9/11.
2005, Jamaican musician Laurel Aitken died. Dubbed as 'the Godfather of Ska
2008, Ageing rock stars and session musicians would keep receiving royalties for their old recordings for the rest of their lives under a European Union plan. Performers currently lost the rights to their recordings after 50 years. Veteran artists like Sir Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey were among those who campaigned for it to be extended.
Birthday Boys and Girls July 17th1941, Spencer Davis, guitarm,
1947 Wolfgang Flur, electronic drums, Kraftwerk
1949, Geezer Butler, bass, Black Sabbath
1949, Mick Tucker, drums, Sweet
1949, Mike Vale, bass, Tommy James and the Shondells
1952,Chet McCracKen, drums, The Doobie Brothers
1952, Phoebe Snow, US singer, songwriter
1970, Mandy Smith, in 1983 at age 13 she started dating the then 47 year old Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The couple married in 1989, divorced 1992.
Music Source 1 music source 2 music source 3 music source 4
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario