Reality check

To the Editor:

I’m a 75-year-old senior on a fixed income on a “staycation” because of the floating COVID pandemic. I try to keep busy around my house and garden in an effort to rejuvenate, reflect and try to stay away from the media blitzes on TV. I’m a penny pincher, even more so now.

The necessities are barely affordable, and they have been for a long time with added fees, robo calls and poor customer service. I was basically forced (by the Washington Fire) to get the expensive California FAIR Plan insurance required, in addition to getting traditional homeowners insurance (liability).

I received a re-inspection notice for a number of fire hazards that needed attention: roof, limbs over house, vines and brush. This became very expensive, though the results were great. Wish I could get some credits for my compliance to get some kind of reduction on costly insurance rates with the FAIR Plan. You must together buy both insurance packages. Those of us on fixed incomes are barely making essential monthly payments to survive.

I’ve also been reading a lot with two old college books from long ago. Reading them once again gave me much more insight into our country’s state of mind and disunity. I’d like to share these books with you, check out the library, they are probably there: “Behavior and Misbehavior: A Teacher’s Guide to Action,” by James L. Hymes, 1955, Prentice Hall; and “The Greening of America,” by Charles A. Reich, 1970, Random House. The latter is a reality check on the who, what, where, why and how on the technology revolution that has affected our values, lifestyles and laws of morality. It explains how technology has thrust upon us and affected us mentally and emotionally, influencing our lives. A reality check for all of us. Catherine Crawford

Sonora