vel, yeah. if'n it weren't for the sick and afflicted who walk amongst us, the insurance suppliers could reduce rates, or at least i hope they could. if they refused to do so, i might choose to buy some shares of stock in their money-making enterprise.

but, reality is always staring us in the face, or so it seems.

natural life-spans are pretty much fixed in clay, more or less.

so, it comes down to how best to deal with end of life scenarios, plus disease, accidents, and other risks to life.

and pain medication. pain medication is an important part of the solution, or should be, right?

it would be good to see some definitive numbers on how the US death rates are lower than countries who have socialized medicine. in other words, what are the numbers that indicate we're on the correct or best path?

and longevity overall, by country? nowadays statistics can share insights into the real world. so, how is Canada, US, Mexico holding up in terms of global longevity of "average" citizens? lot's to talk about as we dance around the rosebush.