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THE LAND, OCTOBER 14, 2011
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Your choice: Bumpy ambulance or smooth hearse? MINDS, from pg. 2A was nearby. I stopped and the price for this drug was about $75.” I’m sharing this for the simple fact that if your life has moved into the prescription drug era it might be worthwhile to check with more than one provider when it comes to filling your particular prescription. Just maybe the “big name” providers aren’t your low cost providers. For my friend, needless to say, his local drug store is now his No. 1 provider. Unfortunately doctors aren’t aware of these remarkable disparities in prescription medicine costs. Even if they were, professional ethics and potential litigation issues make it difficult for doctors to suggest providers of prescription medicine. So my advice is simply don’t assume the big-name stores are the best buy when it comes to filling a medical prescription. Our “socialized medicine” transition that seems to be sweeping across America may have some initial financial appeal but huge scams within the American drug industry also seem to be occurring. We know all too well who ultimately pays the bill. A humorous note This particular anecdote originated with my other brother-in-law, long retired from farming and now enjoying “fairway privileges” at his local golf course. Which means he and his cronies can show up just about any time (except Ladies Day) with almost immediate access to their tee box. That is, when Check Glyphosate Price Delivered Direct To Your Farm! Direct From The Manufacturer (formulator) To Your Farm! Manufactured In Minnesota Delivered To Your Farm! This is a fully loaded 4# glyphosate sold with a proprietary adjuvant! Call now to book your glyphosate and adjuvant delivered to the farm. Huge savings on glyphosate and other farm chemicals. These are proven products with 1000’s of successful acres treated!
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health permits. He recently gave his dear bride a bit of a challenge when he mentioned at bedtime some significant discomfort in his upper chest. Four years ago he had major surgery replacing a faulty heart valve so little wonder his wife was immediately alarmed. They quickly huddled. It would take 15 to 20 minutes for the ambulance to get to their farm. She could drive him to the local hospital quicker, so she did. At the hospital the immediate diagnosis was ambulance delivery to a Sioux Falls hospital for a possible heart stent procedure. I’ve always had some regard (and suspicion) about this particular brother-in-law’s weird sense of humor. For example, in describing his ambulance trip on Highway 23 from Marshall, Minn., to Sioux Falls, S.D., he wondered if, when the local ambulance crew purchased their ambulance, they first measured the wheelbase to match it up against the highway joints. He ventured, “I think they must have because as the ambulance sped to Sioux Falls with me strapped tightly onto a gurney, which I’m certain had less than one inch of padding, I felt every Highway 23 joint that entire 100-mile jaunt. And Highway 23 won’t win any blue ribbons for being smooth and shock-free, especially in an ambulance speeding 75 mph and faster.” During his unexpected ambulance journey, his
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mind apparently got restless. “As the ambulance sped down the highway,” he said, “I thought, how strange — here I am potentially facing some serious heart challenges and my body is feeling every whack of this highway. But if I were dead and being transported by a hearse, I’d be in a velvety, cushion-lined container inside an $80,000 Cadillac with zero highway noise and a suspension system so perfect the highway would be a virtual pillow.” Well, nice to have a brother-in-law with a sense of humor, weird as it may be. Yep, he had a stent inserted and was back home the next day. In fact, a day later he was assisting the Belview Legion grilling hamburgers during September Sod Days. As you might suspect, he doesn’t always listen to advice from his doctor either. King of crops On a different note, my hometown of Olivia, Minn., recently reinforced its claim as the Corn Capital of Minnesota. The Bird Island-Olivia-Lake LillianDanube FFA chapter cut corn stalks (courtesy of Mycogen Seed) and set up corn shocks in front of 18 downtown business establishments. One of Minnesota’s state FFA officers was visiting the BOLD chapter so he, too, got involved in making Olivia look just a bit more corny. My real home town of Northwood, Iowa, started the same “fall dress-up” campaign a few years back and merchants really get into it with pumpkins, ribbons, strings of beads, even miniature Christmas lights decorating each corn shock. Indeed, it’s quite a sight and what better way to show why corn is indeed the King of Crops. A closing thought suggests we once again be thankful to our Lord for a decent and amazingly rapid harvest. Fall tillage, too, has suddenly ramped up. Unfortunately community fire trucks have been chasing combine fires far too often. ••• Dick Hagen is staff writer of The Land. He may be reached at dickhagen@mvtvwireless.com.
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