Book Meme

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Pretty much everyone's done it at this point, but I was tagged by gingerwall.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4-7 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest (unless it's too troublesome to reach and is really heavy. Then go back to step 1).

Fortunately, I'm not next to my bookshelves, so this was simpler than it appeared to be for other people, lol. I'm sitting at the kitchen table, so the closest book is the one on the table. It's for my health care policy class. See if you can guess what they're talking about:

Premiums would be adjusted for risk, so a person with a severe health condition would pay higher premiums. The beneficiary could choose among HMOs, insurers, or a community-based network of physicians and hospitals. Patients who followed the medical plan laid out by their physicians with respect to medication, vaccination of their children, stopping smoking, and so forth, would earn extra money that would be deposited in their flexible-spending accounts. They could use this money for medical services not covered under the basic plan. The plan will require approval by the state legislature and a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services ("Medicaid Rx" 2005). Other states are considering a variety of reforms.

Just for kicks (because that wasn't much fun) this is the book I'm currently reading. (It was in my purse, and thus also closer than the bookshelves.) It's called Broken Paradise by Cecilia Samartin, about two cousins, Nora and Alicia, growing up in Cuba in the 1950s. When Castro comes to power, Nora and her family leave to go to the United States while Alicia and her parents stay in Cuba:

Then Marta comes through the front door ready to offer excuses for her lateness. I tell her what's happened, and her face twists in agony. She hears Papi scream from the bedroom, drops her bag, and runs to their bedroom.

"Marta, you can't go in," I say, running after her. I grab her arm, but she wrenches it free and bursts through the bedroom door. Papi is lying on their bed in his suit, his knees up to his chest, sobbing as Mami strokes his hair, talking softly with a gentle strength we only see when he is unable to be strong.

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[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

An Embarrassment Of Riches, James Howard Kunstler

Our host arrived home well before we tied up at his quay and came down to await us with a gig for the ride uphill to the mansion. We had barely time to apologize for our dishelved state when we were led to Ravenel's fine bathhouse behind the main dwelling. Here we happily scrubbed our skins pink and were barbered and shaved by an elderly slave, expert in his office, and finally were treated to the ultimate delight of fresh linen shirts and breeches. I tell you, the aroma of soap had as much intoxicating power to me as the most potent liquor. I felt like a new man.

Thus bathed, barbered, and attired we were conducted to the front portico, where Judge Ravenel, his plump, good-natured wife, Martha, their daughter, Clara, and son-in-law Joseph Hardin, awaited us with a tray of dainty eatables and a pitcher of that region's favorite beverage, the mint julep, a decoction of powerful Kentucky whiskey doctored with a spoonful of sugar syrup and crowned with a sprig of mint leaves.