Susanna J. Sturgis   Martha's Vineyard writer and editor
writer editor born-again horse girl

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Missing Details

January 03, 2006

Synchronicity: After blogging last week about the health non-care feeble-excuse-for-a-system in the U.S. of A., I heard a reprise of a segment on the subject on Commonwealth Journal, one of my favorite radio shows. It airs Sunday nights at 7 and Sunday mornings at 7:30 on WUMB-FM (91.9 if you're in the listening area; www.wumb.org if you've got high-speed Internet access). Featured was Susan Starr Sered, co-author with Rushika Fernandopulle of Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity (University of California Press, 2005; you'll find the URL at the end of this blog).

Also over the weekend I caught up with last week's Martha's Vineyard Times, especially an article about island bluesman Maynard Silva. Maynard grew up here, went away for a while, came back, and has been gigging around the island for as long as I've been here. Last August he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. After five weeks of radiation and chemo, followed by surgery in November, he was pronounced cancer-free; he even performed in Vineyard Haven on New Year's Eve. The prognosis is good, for which I'm especially grateful because (he doesn't know it yet) Maynard's going to play at the launch party when Mud of the Place finally hits the shelves, and that's likely a couple of years down the road yet.

I read to the end of the story, first wondering why neither the writer nor the paper's proofreader realizes that even musicians have vocal cords, not chords; and then How did he pay for it? Was he insured? The writer didn't ask and Maynard didn't tell, so I don't know. Musicians and self-employed sign painters, both of which Maynard is, tend not to have much, or any, insurance; they're sort of like freelance editor-writers that way. The story talked instead about the generosity of friends, relatives, and neighbors -- praiseworthy indeed, and he's been lucky to have all that support, but weeks and months of donated meals, rides, and help with the housework don't pay the medical bills. Even for a well-insured person, the downtime must have been costly.

Around here we love those neighbor-helping-neighbor stories, but nitty-gritty economic realities aren't so heartwarming so they generally don't get mentioned. Don't ask, don't tell; maybe they'll all go away.

Learn more about Sered and Fernandopulle's book Uninsured in America at http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10379.html.

 

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