Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Prescriptions, Kennedys and other issues

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 | 9:44 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@vegas.com.

A little of this, a little of that:

Every time I read or hear lamentations over the rising cost of prescription drugs, I visualize the lady who lost her mobile home in the Las Vegas flood. She had no home insurance because she had to use the money to buy medicine.

Prescription drug prices are so astronomical that many very sick people are doomed unless they are lucky enough to carry medical insurance that covers drug costs.

I know because a recent snafu by my insurance company resulted in my having to dish out $78 for a prescription that normally costs $12. The sad fact is that most of the high-priced prescription drugs are those required by elderly people on a fixed income -- who must make the choice between medicines to keep them alive and healthy or other of life's necessities.

While large pharmaceutical companies are researching new drugs, they might think about having some bean counters research ways to keep the cost of life-saving drugs reasonable.

It's easy to agree with Vernon Bostick, who has been a Sun reader for many, many years. He would like to see former governor and Sun Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan run for the U.S. Senate. "O'Callaghan," he says, "has tremendous breadth of experience and understands the important issues confronting us." Bostick writes to say: "Ruthe Deskin can be of the greatest service to Nevada. Convince Mike O'Callaghan to run and your boss to back him." Vernon, my friend, it's a great idea except for one thing: Mike O'Callaghan has issued a booming NO on this matter many times. And he hasn't changed his mind.

The Kennedy mystique lives on in a new book by Richard D. Mahoney. I received a copy of the book "Sons and Brothers" from an old friend, Cap James, with a recommendation to read.

Basically it's the story of the special bond between Jack and Bobby Kennedy, their wildly different personalities and the blending of their special talents. The well-documented tales of intrigue, manipulation and misplaced loyalties make for excellent reading. New questions arise about the conspiracy to assassinate the president, as well as the Kennedy connections with mob leaders, the attempts to kill Fidel Castro, Bobby's hatred of Jimmy Hoffa and some untold stories about the government's involvement with unsavory characters.

The author, a former secretary of state in Arizona, lives in Phoenix, where he teaches at the Thunderbird School of Management.

If you receive an unmarked envelope containing a copy of a newspaper advertisement and a small yellow stick-on note addressed to you and signed by someone you think you might know but can't quite remember, don't waste too much time trying to decipher the "old friend's" signature. It's just a new market ploy to get you to read the ad and take action. Quite clever, really, and the idea doesn't hurt anyone, other than to cause a sense of bewilderment.

Frank Hughes asks: "Do you think the good old days were when people tried to live within their means, rather than trying to live beyond their wildest expectations?"