Great Grandma Marilyn originally started this post at the end of 2009. We thought a step had been taken toward reforming health care. But here it is several weeks later and the debate rages on.

It's a big issue health care is incredibly expensive and sometimes not very good. It's a big issue that needs reform because the high costs are having a negative impact on the economy at a time when there is 10% unemployment and more than 40 million people in America have no health insurance at all. Business are not hiring because of health care costs and in some cases they have to fire people because health care is such a large portion of their operating expenses.

Underlying all are issues that really haven't surfaced. There are just too many people. The over population is straining environmental, political and economic resources everywhere in the world not just here in America. People are just starting to talk about the size and growth of the world's population. In some circles this is not a popular topic.

One reason health care is so expensive is that people don't take responsibility for their own well being. People think that taking their pills is all they need to do. The drugs companies are so out of the control that they now invent diseases so they can sell you more pills. Your great grand parents think of these people as drug addicts. Yes the drugs are legal but it is like an addiction to think that medicine alone can keep you healthy.

In reality it takes discipline to take care of yourself. Great grandma Marilyn and Great grandpa Tony are very aware of this. I am 67 and he is 70 as I write this. We are in good health and try to exercise and eat healthy food. We take no medicine only supplements. Our philosophy is that we are responsible for our own well being. We’ve found that if you listen to your body it can help tell you the things you should and shouldn't be doing in much the same way that it tells when something is wrong.

It's true that in some cases taking medicine is necessary but in all cases people have to do things to help themselves. You would think that everyone would do this but it is amazing, they don't. My own brother is a prime example. He's very smart, a very talented artist but something stops him from helping himself.

But as the population continues to grow there won't be enough medical treatment to help everyone. Not if we continue to think we don't have to actively participate in taking care of ourselves.

Perhaps it is just the ebb and flow of the life and people have never been able to see that they have to change the way they are living until it is too late. There is a huge push to try and save life on earth as we know it but we may be too late.

I just wanted you to know that people really did care and people really did try. But human nature is a strange and complex thing. I hope we have made wise choices and that the world in which you live allows you to prosper and that man has accomplished many great things.