Welcome to my "thoughts" on a way to solve our healthcare crisis and common sense insights/solutions for other problems that plague our society.  In order to establish a bit of credibilty up front, I would like to explain my background. I'm a recently retired Oral and Facial Surgeon (there's a mouthful!), but am also a small business owner and developer, an avid outdoorsman, an active general aviation pilot, a husband and father, a world traveler and adventurer.  After graduating high school, I attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  While there, I was instrumental in starting our own, on-campus fraternity, with all the complexities associated with that endeavor. Working as many as four jobs in the summer as well as working during the school year, I graduated and was accepted into dental school, taking a semester off to teach high school biology and coach the tennis team.  Other summer jobs included working in the Texas State Senate as a Sgt-at-arms, working as a wrangler in the mountains of NW Colorado,and working as a security guard at "Astroworld" in Houston. Other jobs include nights as a phlebotomist at St. Joseph's Hospital, drawing blood samples form patients, sweeping out the Astrodome in exchange for minimum wage and free admission to games, and even delivering the "yellow Pages" door to door !  After graduating Dental School, I served two years active duty in the USAF with the rank of Captain, then returned to Houston for a four year residency in Oral and Maxilllofacial Surgery, serving as Chief Resident at Ben Taub Hospital, Methodist Hospital, Hermann Hospital, and the VA Hospital. I have been published in numerous professional journals as well as outdoor magazines, and have helped with the production of outdoor TV shows.

     So why is any of this important?  Simply to show that I have had the good fortune to experience a multitude of life situations, drawing from all of them to help form an idea of what our country was, is, and can be. More importantly, however, I have learned that when all else fails, plain old common sense should be our inspiration.

BTW....ALL PICTURES POSTED ARE ONES my wife Sabra and I have taken during our travels ! Hope you enjoy the writing and the pictures and that both stimulate thought.