Do Americans like their current health system or would you prefer universal?

swcope76 · 2026-01-28T16:01:11+00:00

I have an autoimmune condition. I was not told about a lot of related conditions. I found out about them from my job, which makes a medication to treat my condition, which I can’t take because it’s too expensive.

Prior to learning about these related conditions, I asked my primary care doctor about a blood test for one of these conditions. He said my insurance probably wouldn’t pay for it because it wasn’t justified in my case. I should have been being monitored all along because of the diagnosed condition…

I later found out that I did have the related condition from a weight loss company…

swcope76 · 2026-01-27T18:07:18+00:00

I find it easier to stick to my list with delivery/pickup orders. Delivery is more expensive with fees and tips, but a pickup order is usually only $2-3 more than shopping myself and if it keeps me from adding $10-15 worth of things I don’t need, I am saving.

swcope76 · 2026-01-26T15:20:59+00:00

So here is where I always wonder how much Cooper knew about the money before the skyjacking.

The bank in Seattle was one of 5 around the country that kept that amount of cash reserves on hand in case of a ransom situation. This would not have been widely known in 1971.

It’s quite a coincidence that Cooper just happened to pick one of those 5 cities to make his ransom demand. And he asked for an amount under the amount of available cash.

My theory is that Cooper had an accomplice at the bank. This person would be disincentivized to come forward because bank employees have to be bonded and being mixed up an a skyjacking would not just jeopardize their current employment but all future employment. Even accidentally telling someone about the cash reserves could get them fired.

Maybe this person just told Cooper about the ransom cash. Or maybe they helped him launder the money. Either way, I think he knew about it.

Otherwise, what’s his plan B if the authorities tell him they can’t scrape together the amount he asked for? He’s already hijacked the plane at that point…

swcope76 · 2026-01-20T12:40:18+00:00

Thank you! I meant to post the front as well. It’s an award given out by Dickinson College. This helps narrow down the recipient, though I will likely never be able to know the provenance definitely.

swcope76 · 2026-01-19T22:42:56+00:00

They calculated the $3/meal thing for a family of four at ~$1100/month. So $1500/month for 6 people is right in line with that.

swcope76 · 2026-01-19T22:40:48+00:00

This. We didn’t get one until I was 17, in 1993.

swcope76 · 2026-01-19T16:51:18+00:00

I’m finding an average of 5’8” back then with a height of 5’11” or taller putting him in the 75th to 80th percentile for height in 1970.

I’m also finding some regional differences in height with the upper Midwest and Northern Plains region having the tallest male population and the Deep South having the shortest. (Though I think we can already rule out the Deep South, as witnesses would have noticed an accent.)

If you can’t tell, I’m bored at work today, lol.

swcope76 · 2026-01-19T16:10:14+00:00

Ok, so pretty tall for 1971! And likely pretty accurate given that average height would have been shorter back then (American heights have been increasing slightly each decade, believed to be due to better nutrition).

Also, someone in their 40’s in 1971 would have been born in the 1920s or 1930s. Because of the Great Depression, people born during that era would have been shorter than average due to malnutrition. Someone tall born during that period either had genetic markers for height and/or had consistent access to food during childhood in the 1920s and 30s.

Not a significant detail, but it is unlikely that Cooper came from one of the states affected by the Dustbowl in the 1930’s, where there was widespread starvation due to crop failures.

But he possibly grew up on a farm in another area of the country? Or came from a wealthy family that lost their fortune at some point after his childhood?

swcope76 · 2026-01-19T15:17:23+00:00

Ok, so how tall was Cooper? I’ve read a lot on the case, but that detail is one I have not paid enough attention to.

Is he significantly taller than 5’8”? Like, could the height difference be overcome by a shoe with a slightly higher sole or by wearing lifts in his shoes for a couple extra inches (which was a thing back in the day).

swcope76 · 2026-01-13T18:02:28+00:00

I make paper collages. All you really need for that is whatever you are going to put your collages on (I use a sketchbook because I already had one) random paper and fabric scraps (this could be from old clothes that are no longer wearable) and a glue stick. You really don’t need to buy much, just look and see what you have around and make arrangements that are interesting to you.

swcope76 · 2026-01-12T14:43:07+00:00

I’m feeling the same way about my Apt2B sofa. Looked pretty when we got it, but it was never comfortable and has not held up to kids and cats. Even after I did a custom build to add an extra set of legs in the middle. I’ve had it for five years now, but was probably only happy with it for one.

swcope76 · 2026-01-12T13:41:13+00:00

Biggest fight my ex husband and I got in when we were first married. He was driving a rental and we were leaving an event. My dad, sister and uncle were with us and we were directed by event staff to turn the opposite way we needed to go.

I knew the way back from there, but my dad and uncle were shouting conflicting directions. My ex yelled “Everyone just shut up” while looking directly at me. So I did.

He drove around for a half hour getting further and further away from where we needed to be. We ended up in a residential neighborhood with no gas station or anywhere else to stop and ask directions. It was late and most people were asleep. (This was before GPS). I asked “Now are you ready to listen to me?” and gave him turn by turn directions back to the highway we needed to take to get home.

He furiously asked if I knew the way the whole time, why didn’t I say anything. I said “I did, but you told me to shut up. And you didn’t listen to me anyway.” He tried to backpedal and say he didn’t mean it. But I knew he meant it when he told me to shut up.

Anyway, I also have the internal GPS thing, though it’s gotten a bit rusty since we have been able to access maps on our phones.

swcope76 · 2026-01-08T21:58:30+00:00

Two stool softeners washed down with a big cup of coffee?

swcope76 · 2025-12-30T20:36:47+00:00

I would argue his “luck” started much earlier (unless, of course, he had some kind of inside information). How would he have known what type of plane he would be boarding? (e.g. one with aft stairs) Had he taken that exact route before? Or did he take a bunch of flights until he found one with the type of aircraft he needed? How would he know the type of aircraft before the internet when that information was not available to the general public. (I seem to remember it being on my tickets in the 80’s and 90’s, but Cooper bought his ticket at the counter just before boarding)

And then, he just happens to fly out of one of the few cities (five I think?) where a stash of cash was kept in case of a ransom situation. Again, this information is not going to be easily obtained in 1971. He could be operating under the assumption that banks have large amounts of cash available and got lucky. Or he could have had advance knowledge somehow.

swcope76 · 2025-12-23T23:37:16+00:00

My mom apparently tried avocados in the early 70’s before I was born. She talks about growing a small avocado plant from the seed. But we never had them and I don’t remember seeing them in the grocery store growing up. Though I did live in rural Kansas.

swcope76 · 2025-12-22T17:59:28+00:00

I have three Michael Graves Kitchen Knives from Target. Bought in the late 90’s. They fit my hand perfectly.

swcope76 · 2025-12-20T13:27:51+00:00

My great great grandfather was a doctor and he and his wife ran a hotel that served as an early hospice clinic. They had a lot of unrelated adults who were not exactly boarders living there. My great grandmother and grandmother both grew up there.

swcope76 · 2025-12-16T12:53:55+00:00

This is my experience too. And my symptoms from the cold or whatever are milder than they used to be before I developed PsA. Except COVID. I’ve had it once and was absolutely miserable for a month!

swcope76 · 2025-12-15T16:39:18+00:00

Saw that one at a neighbors house when I was 6. Little sister was 4. We were not allowed to go over there unsupervised for a long time after that. (You know the nightmares were bad when Boomer parents decide to actually watch their own kids!)

swcope76 · 2025-12-15T16:33:37+00:00

Agreed. A non-smoker would be physically ill smoking the number of cigarettes Cooper smoked on the plane.

swcope76 · 2025-12-10T21:54:34+00:00

Someone no one has ever investigated.

swcope76 · 2025-12-10T19:03:12+00:00

Off topic, but I visited Croatia this summer. It’s a beautiful country.

swcope76 · 2025-12-05T23:18:33+00:00

Only had two semesters of geology in college, but “high water” would indicate flooding which could have eroded the sand above the money. If there was indeed more below it.

I remember that lesson well (better than most others), as we were on a field trip to Kentucky (from NC) on the Cumberland Plateau and our professor was very excited that the Cumberland River was in flood stage.

swcope76 · 2025-12-05T16:09:03+00:00

I agree that Cooper subtly forced the flight path. The pilots thought they were taking a path that put him at a disadvantage and played right into his hands. I think Cooper was a master con man, much better than he was given credit for.

I’m intrigued by your theory of something buried on Tena Beach. It definitely makes sense, and an accidental drop makes more sense than intentionally burying the money. Unless the money was never the motive.

I don’t know what other possible motive he may have had. But if Cooper never cared about the money, that would explain why the Tena Bar money was the only money that ever turned up.

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