Cashman, Cabo35 and BBQMAN, I would like to sincerely thank you for your thoughtful and helpful advice. I am going to look into each and every avenue you mentioned... right now she just seems frozen in fear.

As I said, this is a very emotional issue for me. The matter of health care reform is overwhelming. And my friend is in that murky area of having a full time job, earning a salary (which has been frozen for the last two years) so she doesn't qualify for some of the programs out there, being 55, not old enough for Medicare, but not young enough to be desirable in the job market to even look for a job with benefits.... a woman alone and I'll tell you, it's scary and dark out there.

Now, of course, health care is not just a woman's issue, it is a human issue. A year ago January my beloved brother-in-law passed away from a particularly vicious form of cancer. He had worked for United Airlines for over 30 years. In that time, his salary had been so down-graded and cut, he was making just a little more than when he had started. Pension and 401K, gone. Everything he had worked his whole life for. The one shining light is this tragedy was that his health care from United Airlines, covered all of his bills, which were tremendous. Three surgeries, chemo, radiation, experimental programs. Just beyond belief.

I remember the last time we saw him alive, he told my husband (his brother) the life insurance from United was such that if he died before Janurary, his wife would get $200,000. But if he lived until after Janurary 1st, she would only get $20,000. Such was the way the company had set things up. He died January 8th. Honestly, I don't know how she's going to make it, 3 children, the youngest only 12. Of course, we helped and will help.

I know I'm rambling, but my point is that all my brother-in-law had was his health care. The only thing that put a twinkle in his eye was when he would say "Well, at least my medical bills are covered."

I feel with every fiber of my being, that this should be provided to every American. I can't give you numbers and Lord knows I'm not smart enough to know how it will be paid for, but I know this country was built by people with backbone. People that did not just sit and call each other names. People of foresight and ingenuity. People that did not just say "let's kill this bill to make the President look bad." People that cared about the good of all. People that used their knowledge and creativity to get the job done. I know this can be done... and it is not a dream I will give up on. It is not an issue that can be tossed aside any longer.

Well, call it Socialized Medicine, call it Universal Health Care, call it whatever you like. But, let's get the job done. And if "transfer of wealth" means "transfer of health" again, let's get the job done. As I stated before, I think this is fundamental right of all Americans. No, it's not in the Bill of Rights. But, in my opinion, it should have been.

Again, as I count my blessings, I thank you for your kind advice and allowing me to vent. I'll leave you with one of my favorite sayings... "No man is as tall as when he stoops to help another." Sincerely, chels