"We can cover your funeral expenses up to $10,000..."

Only 105 yesterday.

I'm grateful Gracie gets me up and out early, in the best of the day weatherwise.
It is after 8 now, and the most pleasant part of the day is sliding away. I think part of my discomfort in Texas heat is the sweat rolling down my face, my back.
When I came to the Dallas-FortWorth area my freshman year, I thought that first bead of sweat rolling down my back was a bug. In New Mexico, sweat evaporates as you go. I had never had sweat roll down my body before. I didn't like it. Fifty years later, I still don't.

I have to laugh at my mail. So much of it is aimed at infirmities and dying. One day recently, there were three different offers to pay for "my final costs". Isn't that delicate?

The letter that bemused me, though, is from--I don't know. I presume a branch of the pharmacy I use. Or maybe the manufacturer of my pills.

I am no longer taking blood pressure medication. My doctor okayed this.

The letter I got presumed a) I felt good so just stopped, b) was having trouble paying and here are some agencies to help and c) I don't remember what c was.

Imagine a world where we all ate better, exercised more and dropped a few vices.
The pharmaceutical industry would be horrified. They have college expenses for the kids.

I mentioned this letter to a friend who recently stopped another medication after her doctor observed she was developing some bad side effects. She got a similar letter.

This seems so much more intrusive than life used to be--and it is.

Back in the 1980s, I remember interviewing some computer researchers at the University of North Texas, and they said then that we were beginning to lose our concept of privacy. They said people who would never dream of rummaging through your wallet would get online and get the same information. This was 30 years ago.

Now? sigh. I grew up with a lot of privacy. I've watched slivers get carved away every year, and I wonder what effect this has on my freedom.

Probably not a lot. But some.

And that's a shame.