Irony

I know this will surprise you, but there have been days in which a topic on which to write has eluded me.  But you probably figured that out if you are a consistent reader.  Tonight is not one of those nights.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Shall I write on the high cost of wellness?  I just received my bill for my yearly physical.  Shall I write on the practice of sending flowers to a funeral?  Two funerals this weekend had to significantly increase the florists' work load.  Or shall I respond to the request for recipes from yesterday's blog (Thanks Colleen for asking!!!!!)? 
From back to front, the recipes will be posted on my web page sometime this week (if the dam don't break and the creek don't rise!), so....  Flowers at a funeral.  Good topic, but hardly worthy of a dissertation.  Why on earth don't we send the ones we love flowers while they are alive?  Just makes more sense to me.  That leaves the high cost of wellness, and since my blood pressure was significantly altered by the bill I received today, it was a winner hands down!
Because I want to live a long and productive life (no snide comments about how long I've already been here!), every year I get a physical.  This year, my doc gave me an A+.  Healthy as an ox--a young ox at that.  Good news, right?  I had two things to discuss with him.  I had something on my nose.  He froze it off.  I had a pain in my knee.  He gave me a shot.  I said thank you.  I expected my insurance to cover the cost of the physical.  Fool that I am, that all men are.  The bill came today.  The office visit?  $287.00.  The nose job?  $420.00.  The shot?  $234.00 to administer.  (The medicine administered was an additional $40.00!)  Insurance payment?  $000.00!  Total cost (before discount by my insurance company [yet another thing I just don't understand!]) $981.00!!!!!  If I believed that my doc were going to get the majority of this money, I would be less incensed.  I think that is not the case.  So then, where does it go?  Being Billy Consumer, I immediately picked up the phone and spoke with the billing department at the clinic.  They informed me the cost of the office visit was to cover services performed.  Okay, I can live with that.  Then, when I asked why the services performed cost an additional $694.00, the answer I received made no sense to me.  Since I have learned my lesson (almost--See the Think Long entry) I somewhat calmly asked to whom I should address my concerns.  The answer?  The administrative personnel.  A letter.  In writing.  (Is there such a thing as a non-written letter?)  Fine, says I.  Give me a name to whom I should write.  The answer?  Administrative personnel.  I almost asked if that were Mr., Mrs., or Ms., but discretion won and I just said "thank you".  (Sometimes I just see no benefit in killing the messenger for a message I don't like!)  The letter is written.  The letter is sent.  I expect a quick reply, since the last thing I asked the messenger to do was note on the bill that it won't be paid until I get some answers that make sense!!!!!  Of course, that leaves the matter of the insurance company's non payment....  But that, my friends, is grist for yet another milling!  Right now, I have bread to make...and there's another topic...the number of students who survived my class because I bake bread!  Now don't you wish I had chosen recipes?  Thanks for the vent, and know you are loved!