Well, today I'm feeling kinda grumpy about being "fifty plus".

The very nice young lady who often waits on me at McDonalds rang up my Coke today and said "That will be fifty cents". I said "Isn't it supposed to be a dollar?" She replied, Well, you get the "Senior Citizen" drink price".

Gosh...who wants to be referred to as a "Senior Citizen" by an attractive young lady?


And, one other "blow" to my plans for aging gracefully. I thought that the ONE good thing that might come out of spending 1969 in Viet-Nam with the 1st Air Cav, and 1970 with the 9th Infantry MIGHT be that I could rely on the Army's promise of "free medical care" in my old age.

The guys who were well-informed on the "benefits" of being in Viet-Nam would say "Well, it ain't fun getting shot at for $370 a month, but when you are old, you are guaranteed great medical care...don't cost a thing".

To fund its "tax cut plan" the Bush administration is changing the rules for WHICH vets get "free" medical care, which vets get SOME medical care, and which vets get NO medical care through the VA system.

Someone once said that "Old age is a shipwreck". I'm beginning to see a leak in the boat already.