CSANews Issue 76

What a response! You have outdone yourselves, again, and sent in almost 1,500 responses to our Spring CSANews Survey. With the price of postage and the importance of time as we get older, I would like to thank each of you for your gift which will help us to help other snowbirds everywhere. We are still compiling our many written results and will print an overview of them for you in our next issue.

And, some more good news – the Gulf of Mexico oil spill appears to be over; not the damage, of course, but even that seems to have turned out much better than the inflammatory media coverage indicated it would. I was incredibly surprised to learn that as much as 75% of the oil may have just evaporated. I certainly did not learn that in science class, but I did know about “gasoline evaporating from my car” experiences. The beaches of Florida appear to be their normal beautiful selves and I am breathing a sigh of great relief, as we live (and work) on the Gulf Coast for part of each winter.

I would like to make particular note of the book that Willa MacLean reviews called “Overtreated.” This book made my hair stand on end (a Jack Parry phrase) with all of the statistics and variances in the U.S. health-care system. This book is an incredible piece of research bringing together many studies and government statistics to paint a clear picture of the issues we face in health care, and some solutions, too. I recommend it to you and I also really liked “Super Freakonomics” and “What the Dog Saw” for their different viewpoints on common things.

Jack and Jenny Parry, the founding president and first lady of the CSA, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in early September, probably on the day you receive this. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for their many years of service to the CSA and for leading us through the difficult early years of our association. We look forward to seeing you both, soon.

Travel safely, everyone!