Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Maddening statement on bureaucracy

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, June 21, 2001 | 8:19 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Reach her at deskin@ lasvegassun.com.

In my years of schooling, I must have missed something.

Admittedly, mathematics was not one of my strong subjects. I would never had made it through calculus in college without the help of a friend.

He did my math problems and I wrote his English essays.

But I doubt if my friend would be able to decipher some of the statements I get from my insurance company and medicare.

Case in point: Two years ago I had some eye surgery. Last week I received a detailed bill of payments. The statement included such items as "Wrong CT on EM," "Needs UPI" "MEDIA Inform" and several other notations, which I cannot understand. The final page noted: "Gas 2-01" and "total due $88.15."

I assume, after two years, the biller has decided I owe that amount. Every day, almost, I receive something from my insurance company showing services for which they are being billed.

There is some consolation in the fact that the statement says: "This is not a bill -- explanation of benefits." However, it would take an experienced medical professional to translate some of the charges into English.

It's no wonder doctors and health providers abhor the paperwork required to collect bills that may have been hanging around for several years.

The best show in town is a park bench in one of our shopping malls.

If people watching is your thing, take an hour or so to "watch the girls go by" -- also boys, babies, fat ladies, thin ladies, the scantily dressed and over-dressed, guys with big paunches and guys with small paunches -- sooner or later they all pass by.

The stars of the show are the teenagers flaunting the latest in youth garb. It's better entertainment than many of the shows on the Strip -- and it's free.

Out of curiosity I recently watched a TV documentary on rock music. Several groups with outlandish names performed with blaring sound, unintelligible lyrics and dazzling light displays.

I honestly tried to find some feature that would explain the current infatuation with this kind of music. It wasn't in the cacophony of sound, or the grubby looking outfits, swiveling hips or discordant tones. This member of the "Greatest Generation" prefers those big-band sounds; singers who stand before a mike and deliver lyrics one can understand; and the great ballads of song masters like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, Paul Anka and others.

Posted speed limits are there for a purpose. That's what I always believed.

But try driving the 65 mph limit on I-215. Huge semis, sports cars, vans, big cars and small cars sail by.

My last attempt to drive I-215 almost ended in disaster. A small truck, travelling in the next lane, lost its cargo. A ladder and several cement blocks came bouncing onto the highway. There was a screeching of brakes -- and believe me brakes screech when applied at 60 mph or better. A huge cement block came bouncing toward me. With the help of a quick prayer I was able to avoid it.

Will I try again? I think I will stick to surface streets, but there is one moral to this story: If the highway patrol or police need to finance more cops, just start tagging all those going over 65 mph on I-215.