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It's Just Around The Corner

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By Norm Cukras | Highlands Today

Published: April 4, 2009

There's a quincentennial in our future.
It was recently written that about 500 years ago on Easter Sunday, March 27, 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon first sighted Florida. I wonder if, when he left the old country, he told Queen Isabella that he wanted to go to Disney World.
Actually de Leon came to the new world at what is now called Puerto Rico in 1493 when he was 19 years old and where he later served as governor. In 1513 he went exploring and discovered la Florida - the flowery place, although another report says he first saw Florida on April 2 and that on Easter he was first sighting the islands in the Bahamas.
And of course it is doubtful that the explorer saw anything resembling mouse ears during his voyages since the amusement park didn't open until October 1971. Wow, that was 38 years ago.
This past weekend I met a man who has worked at the park for 29 years. He's a welder on the maintenance crew. Working the night shift he frequently wanders through the various parks alone. With subdued night lighting and sounds echoing off empty streets and buildings an almost surreal atmosphere is created. "It's eerie," he told me.
Oh No, Not Again
Anything that can be done to improve our health care system by the new administration will be a welcome relief. Although one of the proposals put forth by Obama is a bit frightening, the one calling for the computerization of all medical records. What happens when the computers go down?
I recently mentioned in this column that I couldn't get an appointment at the doctor's office because, "the computers are down." And last week Ruth had to make small talk with a bank teller for 15 minutes before making a transaction because, "the computers are down."
What happens to our health care system when the computers are down? Or the power is off? Computer screens cannot be read by flashlight. I'm not opposed to a computerized record keeping system. It certainly would facilitate the sharing of medical information between all of the doctors we end up being poked and prodded by. But there are risks: like somebody being able to hack into the records or being faced with the dreaded pronouncement - "sorry but our computers are down."
Ask your doctor what he thinks. I always wonder if the government checks with the people in the trenches before deciding how our lives are to be led.
In The Age Of Pencils
There was a time when we didn't have computers, although those days are rapidly fading from memory. When I was is the service of our country one of our forms of entertainment was reading pocket books, as paperbacks were called back then. On the inside cover somewhere where there was writing space a list of names usually appeared. If you saw someone reading a book that you wanted to read you'd simple add your name to the list and wait your turn. When you finished the book you lined out your name and gave it to the next name on the list. The system went down only when the next guy on the list was in the middle of another book and he didn't want to relinquish his place in line. Logic, or was it strength, usually prevailed.
Government Sponsorship
With the economy in shatters as it is now, I wonder how companies are going to be able to continue sponsoring costly events like golf tournaments? Maybe the government will take them over. We could have bailout tournaments like the Pelosi Players Tournament, the Obama Open or the Hillary Hills Invitational.
This position will not make me very popular around the 19th hole, but Tiger did not win the Bay Hill Invitational as all the sports writers aver. Sean O'Hare lost it. There's a difference.
Overheard
Overheard at the checkout counter: The problem a lot of us have is that our eating has little to do with hunger.

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