Ron

was one of the first to see the West Side Story when it made its debut in Philadelphia in the early 60's. Even though many members of the audience walked out of the show as a result of its violent content that didn't bother the then 13 year-old Ron. Ron inherited an interest in the performing arts from his parents who exposed him to the theater and Broadway shows early on and his interest only flourished over the years. Ron and his wife routinely make the trip to NY city to attend the Broadway shows and plays. They ride the bus from Philadelphia and get bargain rates offered by companies like Boat Bus and MegaBus.

Another good reason to visit the Big Apple is that their daughter works for a major financial company in the neighborhood. Ron spoke proudly of his daughter who graduated with an MBA degree from Columbia Univ. She had just started to work for Goldman Sachs in 2001 when NY City was attacked by the terrorists. Soon after 9/11 an opportunity allowed Ron's daughter to relocate and spend two years in GS's Tokyo office. Visiting their daughter in Japan made for a memorable trip but the one at the top of his list is his recent visit to South Africa's Table Mountain. Like Winston from a previous mcbreak, Ron also thinks it is simply one of the most astonishing and beautiful places in the world.

Ron used to be a high school AP psychology teacher. He may have retired a few years ago but keeps himself busy by traveling, attending seminars and workshops and indulging other hobbies.

The current topic of most interest to Ron is the health care debacle. He will be disappointed if the reform efforts are defeated following the election of MA's senator-elect. Ron supports a public option because he believes that it would make H'care affordable to more people. In turn, more people would be able to seek care and not wait until they were struck with a major illness or condition which would end up costing more dollars to the government. If more people are covered and seek preventative care then it would ultimately save more money to the country. The debate continues and it looks like things may go back to square one unless the house is agreeable to the senate's version of the bill and there's no need for further action from the senate. For Ron, this health care reform hit home very recently when his wife, who is 60 years old and healthy, was told that her monthly premium will be $850.

Like Ron said, nowdays it is all about politics and the meaning of "compromise" is lost because in politics "compromise" is viewed as weakness. Does bipartisanship even exist in today's politics or do politicians only care about the next election as soon as they take office?

We shall find out in the next couple of weeks, at least on the H'care issue. Like David Leonhardt states in his article in the NY Times, Centrist, and Yet Not Unified, "The decision is whether to expand insurance and try to control costs, despite the political risks, or whether that project will once again be put off until another day."

My question is, if homeowners and auto owners are required to and can manage to get coverage through the private sector, why are those options not available at a relatively reasonable cost for health coverage? Wouldn't it be striking if some day we could tell our friends "hey, I just saved a ton of money by switching to Geico" about our health policy? I look forward to that day. It was only recently that I was able to proudly say the same thing about my auto policy.

Philadelphia may be home of the famous cheese steaks but Ron is not crazy about them. If around town, however, he recommends stopping by the Reading Terminal Market which boasts some of the best restaurants in the city and freshest local products.

As we were closing our conversation, I had the pleasure to meet Ron's friendly wife, who was coming to meet Ron. It sounded like they were planning to grab lunch and head to a matinee show.