Where's a tontine when you need it?

After posting an entry about a bout of illness incurred in Mexico I read an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Tom Baker and Peter Siegelman (March 9, 2009) concerning youth's allergy to health insurance and it struck a chord.

"Many young Americans don't have health insurance," opens the article. "...Some just don't want to invest good money in health care that they may never need." The first paragraph concludes with the statistic thtat 19-29 year olds comprise a third of all un-insured adults below retirement age in America.

Pluck, pluck, twang went the chord!

Referring to us as "young invincibles" for our "exaggerated optimism" about our health, the authors propose insurance companies reintroduce the tontine plan to attract young people. Under a tontine program the insured would receive a cash bonus for ultimately being right about not having needed insurance; and with bonuses framed within a five year span there is not that far off range---20, 30, 50 years---that convinces people to wait until they are old or settled down...like their parents. Now that's coverage on par with saying prayers just in case Hell and its lake of fire does exist!

Under a tontine program the insured would receive a cash bonus for ultimately being right about not having needed insurance

I don't go along with the belief that everyone should buy insurance anymore than everyone should safeguard their monies in a bank. I think the insurance business is a scam, like the engagement ring, which did not always exist, cooked up among money changers. Insurance companies loathe to pay out when *#$*%! hits the fan, leaving you to play the part of the chump arguing and wrangling for your own money. Tontine insurance, however, is something I would buy into as it suits my needs, "exaggerated optimism," and sounds like it would be more easily affordable (and less cumbersome) than regular old people's insurance.

If I don't get injured or seriously ill, then I gain bonus money; and if I am brought to confront mortality, then I am covered. It's a win-win situation.

Too bad insurance companies don't provide a tontine program.

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Affordable medicine in Mexico

Canada isn't the only country in North America with cheap drugs. In fact, all those old people who are now suffering from years of neglecting their health may reconsider a trip south of the border.

Getting sick in a developing country like Mexico is a scary thought but the silver lining to the cloud is that medical attention and medicine is pretty cheap if you can afford it. And I didn't even have to bribe. Unfortunately, though, if one is poor or homeless then he is (goddamn expletive) out of luck. Mexico has yet to get hip to free clinics, free condom distribution and free STD rapid testing sites. Consequently, tourists are awed by the large number of freaks of nature and accident casualties limping, crawling, hoppling, begging in Mexican streets.

I came down with an infection and was scared paranoid. After researching online and trips to a few doctors---everyone with a white coat claims to be a doctor---I received a proper diagnosis and was prescribed two types of medicines for a week. The first night I bought a dosage from the hospital's pharmacy for $225 pesos. I could tell this was going to be expensive. The following morning, being the frugal traveller I am, I checked out the two generic pharmacies a block from my apartment and bought the same medicine (minus the brand name) for just $40 pesos. Holy santos! What a difference in price!

young people don't bother with investing in long-term insurance because of lack of money and an abundance of youthful optimism

Whilst America has some medicines cheaper than others, one has to have some form of coverage in order to get them and, as conventional wisdom shows, young people simply don't bother with investing in long-term maybe-I'll-get-terminally-ill insurance because of lack of money and an abundance of youthful optimism.

My point being this: were I home in America I wouldn't have been able to buy my own medicine or have paid for the doctor's visit out of pocket; which means, in the absence of a free clinic yours truly would have been (goddamn expletive) out of luck and, due to lack of medical attention, fatally ill. And on this count I raise my cerveza and cry, ¡¡Viva Mexico!!

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Sexy bookworm am I

Yesterday was my first venture back to the beach after some two weeks. As I exited the waves and sat down to resume Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea a stranger approached and called me by name. Turns out the Canadian tourist recognized my photo and spoke of modeling for his underwear catalog. What an eventful return to the beach, I thought! The company's stuff looks nice but, hey, as Madonna sings, I've heard it all before, I've heard it all before, I've heard it all before....

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Hacienda Alemana (Pto Vallarta)

the spread is worlds apart from the gluttonous overcrowding of dishes standard of American and Chinese buffets

Hacienda Alemana is a bonafide German restaurant in the thick of Puerto Vallarta. I've been to the restaurant a few times for specially prepared dishes---it pays to be friends with friends of the ownder!---or just drinks and each visit was a good one, but I click my jackboots at the unbelievable fete, Buffet Alemán (that's 'German Buffet' for those too slow to parse a translation) held twice weekly from Nov to April. I've never had a buffet this good in my life: various succulent meats, soups, salad vegetables as well as cooked veggies, thick bread, grilled foods, coffee and cakes, and free flowing tap beer. Am unaware if the layout of the food is typical of Duechtland but the spread is "healthy looking" and worlds apart from the gluttonous overcrowding of dishes standard of American and Chinese buffets. At just $225 pesos it makes for an amazingly delicious and cheap date.

Operated by an authentic German man whose name I can't recall, Hacienda Alemana features lots of wood paneling and furniture, a biergarten, German beers (duh!) as well as domestic ones, and a hearty and equally tranquil ambience. When the restaurant is full it, oddly, keeps from being noisy or crowded and, yet, when nearly empty is free of the awkward silence that screams "slow business!"

I click my jackboots at the unbelievable fete, Buffet Alemán

One queer feature, though, is hearing Julio Iglesias in the background. The Spaniard does not quite compliment the decor and menu. Maybe he's the owner's favorite crooner but it still makes more sense to engage the airwaves with, say, Beethoven, Dietrich, Mozart or even a respectful nod to a Mexican ballader.

Basilio Badillo 378

Col. Emiliano Zapata

011 52 (322) 2222.071

website

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Old Town Art Walk (Pto Vallarta)

A particularly attractive and cosmopolitan attraction for anyone in town is the weekly Art Walk held from late Oct. to May 27, 2009 (the season may vary) every Wednesday evening from six to ten. On this evening sixteen associated galleries play hosts to a steady flow of art collectors and visitors as well as introduce amazing artists. Attending an exhibition/cocktail reception is a refined delight: wine, professional art, mingling and, of course, the opportunity to make friends and meet the actual artists.

"I love the serious colors," he told me. "Interesting ones like black and other dark tones."

In January I had the pleasure of having artist Lena Bartula explain to me the meaning behind her work "Dream Interrupted" during the opening of her latest exhibit "Enigmas" at Sol y Luna Gallery. With the purpose behind the painting shared I was able to see pass the contempory-ness to the core of the real image. It is a thrill to look at art (or listen to musice) and get it; that is, to get just what the author aimed to achieve.

Last month I attended three receptions.

Pacifico Galeria presented back-to-back major solo exhibits of its best selling painter Brewster Brockman whose featured works also include sculptures and reflect his grasp of indigenous Mexican imagery or folklore and abstract estetics. A very tall man with a beaming smile you'll be forgiven for mistaking the unassuming artist for one of the guests; but Mr Brockman is approachable and was happy to speak with anyone who stopped in.

The Art Walk is so named because all of the associated galleries are within walking distance of each other. Just a couple of doors down from Pacifico, Quadro Galeria held an opening of its co-founder, architect and painter Aaron Villanueva who retrospectively referred to his exhibit as "The Power of Color." "I love the serious colors," he told me. "Interesting ones like black and other dark tones." The large sized paintings are multilayered mediums whose tactile textures entice the eyes and tempt the fingers to touch.

Meanwhile Galeria Uno held a reception for Francisco Sanmiguel who, in addition to paintings and wooden sculptures, entertained guests with melodies on his woodwind.

The Art Walk promotes national and international talent and is an inspiring and safe buying experience for first time collectors. For a list of the galleries as well as more information on the Art Walk visit its website.

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