It has been so hot lately I have not even wanted to go outside but sometimes one does not have a choice. Have been getting up early and doing my chores while it is still
tolerable outside. Friday, I stopped to
fill up and glad to see that gasoline has been
stable at $
2.459 per gallon.
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| I apologize for the poor picture quality |
On
December 2017 I went to Val Verde Regional Medical Center to get a quote on a mammogram. That year they purchased a new state of the art machine. The price I was given was $
549.04 but the hospital offers
50 percent off for people without insurance so my cost would have been $
274.52. Decided to pass.
The other day I had other business at the hospital and stopped for another
quote. I just knew it was going to be higher but to my surprise, it dropped to $
125.00 for an
uninsured individual such as myself. The lady that gave me the quote told me about a program for women out of
Eagle Pass, Texas that offers free to low cost mammograms and pap smears for women without insurance.
Back in
2017 as well my doctor gave me a quote of a little over
six hundred dollars for a pap smear with
no discount. Who would have thought a
pap smear would cost more than a mammogram? Way too high for
my budget so passed as well.
Del Rio
lost their
Social Security Office due to
budget cuts a couple of years back. If you had business with them you had to drive to Eagle Pass, Texas
an hour south of Del Rio. The commissioner of my district worked out an agreement and offered them
free office space so Del Rioans would not have to make that trip. However, their hours are from
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
Got there at
8:15 a.m. before they opened and I was
28th in line! Once inside it was nice and cool. We
lost power
twice and it was so funny when everyone
moaned in
unison. In the waiting room, there is an
armed police officer who takes your name and gives you a number. He is also in charge of the television remote. On both occasions, I noticed the signal came back right away while my television at home takes
8 to 9 minutes to
reboot.
So I asked him who was their cable provider and he just
smiled and said they did
not have
cable they get their television for
free from Ciudad Acuña who gets theirs from the channels beamed to the border from
Mexico City. Glad my taxes are not going to waste on cable.
If you are planning to drive down to Del Rio this week please do not use the
Amistad Dam Port of Entry as it will be closed until
Sunday as they are making
repairs on the bridge. Use the
Main International Bridge to come and go to
Mexico.
OK, think I went a little long on this post.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
