Jan. 13, 2026
Yesterday was my 83rd birthday, and I celebrated that day with both joy and some degree of trepidation about what might lie ahead. I’m sure we all have those thoughts as we turn another page on the calendar of life, and as we see peers passing away causing us to think, “Will I be next?”
And then, while I’m thinking those thoughts the telephone rings.
“Hi! This is Alecia. You told me to call you back, remember?” the cheerful voice says.
“No, I didn’t,” I reply.
“Well, I’m with Final Expense Insurance, and…”
Click.
What? Now that I’m in my 80s the word’s out that I’m gonna croak soon and the Final Expense Insurance people are lining up to get their piece of the action before it’s too late? WTF?
Over and over again, they call. If it’s not Alecia, it’s some guy. But it’s always the same message. “You’re gonna die; give us a piece of the action.”
It’s easy to just hang up on those ghouls, but not so easy to ignore the stories about peers my age or even much younger passing away.
And Dick Van Dyke is still kicking at age 100, having reached the century mark on December 13. (More hope!) Wonder if the Final Expense Insurance people are calling him.
So, on my 83rd birthday yesterday there was joy. As I do every day, I spent it with my beautiful wife, Jackie, who is suffering from a serious illness that only worsens over time and for which there is no known cure. But it was a good day and we were thrilled to have dinner with our dear friends, Donna and Chris Waldron. Chris picked up the tab, which was made a bit lighter because we went to Daman’s Grill and took advantage of their offer of a free dinner for customers on their actual birthday. And, they didn’t even card me when I ordered my wine. That was a relief.
And, another friend, Carole Bellacera, who operates “Carabella’s Decadent Desserts,” brought this beautiful chocolate cake that she made just for me. She showed up at our door today with it. Jackie and I just dove into it, and it was to die for. (Not sure that’s the right expression, given the tone of this blog!)
There was another reason for joy when my Uncle Ron, who is five years older than me, called from his home in Butler, PA, and we spent a half hour reminiscing about growing up — how I used to keep score for his horseshoe tournaments with his dad, my grandfather, and their neighbors. I loved doing that. There was this wooden board with holes and pegs to move as each player scored, whether it was a ringer, a leaner, or just a plain point. We talked about fishing together and hunting for groundhogs, which I really didn’t enjoy. We didn’t talk much about politics, as he’s not a “lean to the lefter” as I am, but he did say he knows for certain that Trump actually was shot in the ear because his son was 20 feet away and witnessed it.
See, you can actually have an intelligent and worthwhile conversation with someone with whom you might disagree politically. Just find common ground outside the political arena. Had the conversation taken place after last night’s Steelers debacle, that would have been a major topic as well.
Speaking of Trump, another reason I was happy yesterday was because I’d posted on social media this message on Sunday:
I received hundreds of likes and comments, and only two negative ones. That was certainly encouraging because many of those responders live here in ruby red South Carolina, so if that’s any indication at all, Trump is in deep doodoo.
But trepidation?
I’m worried about what the future holds for both Jackie and myself. She’s a fighter and we’re both trying to get through this horrible challenge. We’re doing the best we can and are grateful for organizations like Senior Helpers that provide in-home caregivers, and Sunrise Hospice, which provides Nursing care, supplies, and other helpful services. My plan is to significantly increase the hours for in-home care because I’m trying to avoid, or at least delay for as long as possible, placing her in a memory care facility. Sadly, there is no support from Medicare for such services, so it’s all self-pay and those facilities are unbelievably expensive. Fortunately, we’ve saved enough to get us through if we use our resources wisely.
Another good friend, John Gregory Vincent, who is running for Congress from the Eighth Congressional District in South Carolina, has promised to push for government help as part of his campaign, and to take action if he’s elected. So, that’s good news. As I recall, that was one of Kamala Harris’ campaign promises, but…
I started this blog site after moving to Myrtle Beach in 2016 because I was fed up with Trump calling the media “the enemy of the people,” and everything published by the mainstream media about him as “fake news.” As you may recall, the site was first called Not Fake News, but I changed it to “Lean to the Left” so people would know what it’s all about. Then, I launched the podcast, which now has more than 800 episodes published on YouTube (8K subscribers)  and the audio podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple.
That blog site and podcast is a big help for me as I deal with these other challenges, but it is time-consuming — and time is something that’s in short supply for us. I’ve considered closing the podcast, but I simply enjoy it too much. So, I intend to continue it for the foreseeable future. In addition, I’ve added a Substack page and widened our social media presence to include BlueSky.
I’ve also got a novel in the works — been it’s been in the works for a while now — and I don’t know if I’ll ever get it done. But if I do, I can promise you the Trumpers and gun nuts will not be pleased.
As for the Health concerns I mentioned above, we’ll just deal with them a day at a time and try to make the right decisions. Cliches, I know, but that’s really all I can do.
Meanwhile, when those Final Expense Insurance people call, I simply hang up. No future in talking with those ghouls at all.
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