Morning all! Been gone a week, mainly because I was having major vascular surgery on my right leg. A stint and a bypass. It appears that you can’t eat new york steak, prime rib, and various other delicious foods for fifty-odd years without plugging up some tubing.

I went into our local hospital on Wednesday at noon, and six hours later found myself in the ICU. I stayed there one night, and had a second in a private room. I had a number of meals during my stay.

Here’s the thing:

My surgeon, an old golfing pal, is one terrific doctor. Probably the best vascular surgeon in the state. To the administration: Will he have a practice after the health care legislation is passed? Sure hope so; he saved my life, and says he’d like to save a helluva lot more before he’s done.

The hospital folks - from RN’s to CNA’s - were wonderful. The hospital itself is only a year old, and every room is a private room. The food service is contracted, and each patient gets a menu and can order any time during the day or night. And, they call up if you don’t order, to make sure you don’t miss out. Oh yeah, the public comes to the hospital to eat in the dining room, because the food is absolutely terrific. To the administration: Will my hospital still be here after the health care legislation is passed? Sure hope so, because it’s not only a major employer here, but is a real model for how a hospital should be run.

Finally, to the administration: If the proposed health care legislation had been passed before I had this procedure, would I have been able to have it? I’m 59, have private health insurance. Would my health insurance have been one of those policies you define as “gold plated”? Would I have lost it as you taxed it out of existence? And the big question: Would I still have the ability to have this procedure under the “public option” that will have replaced my insurance?

If your answer to any of the questions above is “no”, please take your proposed health care legislation and shove it up your…