A Maine Man in Texas

I wept today, twice.

I watched a film called "Swing Vote" with Kevin Kostner. The plot was contrived and the content was predictable. Due to a malfunction in an election booth Bud needed to cast the final vote in a presidental election. I had seen the movie a couple of times before and watch it over again, hoping for an alternative ending. The plot line, or punch line, if you will, is that the President and his opponent come to court Bud for his vote. The rational charictor is his pre teen daughter, Molly. She serves as the conscience and is the smart one. Well, why did this make me weep, you may ask? Just this. The final scene in the film is Bud hosting a presidental debate in his home town with the President and his opponent ready to field questions. I weep every time at this point because the first question Bud asks is "if America is the richest country in the world, why is it that so many of us can't afford to live here"? I can't afford to live in America. After my wife had her stroke, I was put in a situation where I could'nt afford to continue to work. Her day care was expensive and neither my HMO or any public funded plan covered it. She didn't qualify for a nursing home, which may have been covered and I earned too much for public assistance for her care. I had to quit my job, allow our home to be foreclosed, left everythng we owned and we fled, literaly, to Mexico, where we could afford to live on SSI and my small VA compensation. Why is it that a disabled veteran and his physically challenged wife can't afford to live in their counrty?

I wept again this evening when the House of Representatives approved the Health Care Bill. Maybe, just maybe, we will be able to return home. That would be nice.