Let's visit on the Porch II (Helena, East Helena: electric bill, warmest, insulation)

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by happiness is

History with old photo of 1906 Sweet Pea Carnival in the Bozeman Chronicle today

Words fail in the presence of flowers - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Newsmakers

Click Sweet Pea, Inc. - A Festival of the Arts in Bozeman, Montana, for those interested in the more current times Sweet Pea Festival.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Dang, here I was hoping it was short for Dominatrix!

Sounds good. Win-win for everyone.

There's something like that here for work-release felons, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to work at all from what I've seen, maybe because it's almost entirely druggies. Tho I expect the average veteran might be a trifle more motivated.

In some casses I guess you could call it a Dominatrix. The DOM in Sheridan is very lax. They have DOM members being the guardes that monitor the checkin and out and make sure the logbook is proper. So in a lot of cases because a buddy is on watch he'll let somebody come in late and they'll fake the time, or a buddy will call first and the guy will let him back about half snockered. Also I mentioned 6 months max with a few exceptions. An exception would be an amputee that can't possibly complete theropy in 6 months. In the case up here, some of the DOM people work right on the VA compound itself. I think there are 60 of them. Laundry, gardening, lawn care, housekeeping, etc. Seeings how I'm the resident expert in the hospital, I've seen some housekeepers that have been there for 4 or 5 years. These are NOT amputees and have no business going over the 6 month period.

There are also DOM's that operate properly. Even and fair, strict but just and those DOM's turn out some great people.

There are also DOM's that are prisons. Room inspections, clothes gotta be on hangers, desks have to be clean with nothing on them, room vacuumed dailey, doorknobs and all fixtures have to be polished, when you talk to staff you will call them by Mr or Ms and you say Sir or Mam. You can tell these because the people strive to get out of there so they can do drugs to get it out of their mind, or do alcohol, etc...

I should tell you how I know this. In 2008, I was in the Hospital from Aug 22 until Jan 28. I had som e major medical problems, but they only took half of that time. The other half I only had to be there at 7am and at 7pm to have dressings changed. Every VA has a Patient Advocacy team. 1 person from heat ward was the rep and we had weekly meetings to discuss patient problems, plan events (picnic, fishing, hiking etc) for those patients that could participate. The Mental Ward, Special Needs Unit, Rehab and DOM had many people that could enjoy outings. Me, being in the Medical Unit and being mobile, I was elected. However, I never had very many people that could participate. Sometimes I have a guy or gal that had a foot or arm amputation that could participate and I would push their wheelchair or assit them loading in buses or maybe fixing a tray for a hand amputation.

So I met a lot of folks that have played the VA system and by that I mean they have went from VA to VA. One VA would now pronounce the fit or maybe they were at the end of their CWT, so they'd travel down the road to the next VA and claim substance abuse, PTSD, Mental problems etc... So on these events like picnics I met a lot of wonderful Vets and had the opportunity to speak with a lot of them. I learned a lot. There is a lot of abuse out there and I'm not talking daddy touched him inappropriately, I'm talking the Vet knew exactly how to touch his Uncle Sam inappropriately.

Sorry I got so long winded. But I'm home on my keyboard and not useing my cell keyboard.

[Walter Greenspan]

At Salt Lake City, at the evening meal, DOMs with a physician's note were given extra food in brown bags for a late snack.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Sorry I got so long winded. But I'm home on my keyboard and not useing my cell keyboard.

Well, you had all those words saved up from having to use the cellphone

I'd never heard of this program, all very interesting. Sounds like they need a master index so they can cross-check if someone is, uh, making a career out of using the DOM program. I can see where the odd case might be better left alone (if not really able to make it otherwise), but it shouldn't be a hammock for the lazy.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Well, you had all those words saved up from having to use the cellphone

I'd never heard of this program, all very interesting. Sounds like they need a master index so they can cross-check if someone is, uh, making a career out of using the DOM program. I can see where the odd case might be better left alone (if not really able to make it otherwise), but it shouldn't be a hammock for the lazy.

All the VA's are on a single system. But if they read all district's, they are way too slow. They lock out other districts to keep traffic down. I went to South Dakota a couple weeks ago and got Steroid shots in my hip. SD is in a different district. So my doctor put my files in a folder called "Remote". The Dr in South Dakota went to that folder and retrieved it. But they don't generally do a system wide search unless there is a specific call for it.

But, I can go to any VA in the world and tell them I need treatment and tell them my records are in the Sheridan sysstem. So a doctor will send an email to the Sheridan system asking for record availability of my records. As soon as my doctor saw the message he would immediately throw them in that remote folder.

[Jbechtel]

News Flash***** I was listening to KOA radio out of Denver this morning and the disc jockey was interviewing Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel. She's in the area doing filming for an upcoming show. The DJ asked her, out of all the places she's traveled here and around the WORLD, what was her favorite place to possibly live would be. She said Wyoming or Montana! Way to go Samantha!! She must of insulted the Denver audiance with that remark.

[jasper12]

I am so cold. Under 4 down comforters, and an electric blanket. I am gonna die if it gets any colder.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by jasper12

I am so cold. Under 4 down comforters, and an electric blanket. I am gonna die if it gets any colder.

........................honey, "you ain't seen nothin' yet"........wait'll we get "a touch" of a good old-fashion "artic front" that hangs around for 10 days or so..............I've got a photo somewhere in my den of two thermometers on a tree next to the deck on the north side of my home:.....one reads MINUS 42F & the other one only had numbers down to minus 40...........the winter of 1980/1981 in the bitterroot. Some water lines froze that were buried 50 inches below grade..........thats what happens when excessive moisture saturates a given area, and there is no snow-cover to insulate that area AND the temp drops down to the minus forties and stays in that range for several nights.

[Mt-7]

Ha!
Makes for a Victorian marriage, hubs only sees the foot after December till it warms up.
New comers, try to acclimate yourself by not wearing lots of clothes but layer as the temps drop.

[ElkHunter]

Coffee, out of my pot, as much as I want. Life is good.

Still really slow here. Today is better then yesterday. Can walk about 15 ft before I have to stop. Going to try and get outside today.