In my job as the Santa Fund reporter for the Nashua Telegraph, I've learned that there are so many more people needing help for the holidays and winter this year, that the Salvation Army is having a special drive for coats, boots, scarves and other winter gear. They are looking for new and gently used items but really new is best. If you have a new coat that you don't like or doesn't fit, consider dropping it off at the Salvation Army on Montgomery Street, not the store on West Hollis. If you're out shopping and something is on sale, keep this in mind. If you don't want to bring it over, I'd be glad to do it for you.

So how do you like this for a punch in the face to the AD? I know an 11 year old with an agressive form of cancer. There is a pill used to help the effects of chemo -it's called Zofran and for me and this boy and others, it makes the difference from being in the fetal position all day and actually eating and participaing in life. Well this boy's insurance company would only pay for 10 pills a month. He needed three a day. So his mother had to dole out these pills at a half and quarter of the dose he needed. Of course they weren't as effective. What kind of American Dream is that? Shame on the big insurance companies. How in the hell do you people sleep at night?

Whether you were for or against the Heatlh Care Bill, it was hard not to be moved by the president's mention of his mother, who was fighting with the insurance companies while she was fighting a losing battle against cancer. I was lucky to have great healthcare coverage in my three battles with cancer, but even with that, I still haven't recuperated from the loss of salary, out-of-pocket expenses and the other non-covered costs of a medical crisis like parking at hospital garages (no it's not free in Boston) baby sitters, long distance phone calls and a million other little things. Believe me when you're going through chemo, afraid your kids will grow up without their mother, throwing up, watching your hair fall out, you are the least equipped to negotiate with bureaucrats about your health care. This healthcare bill is not an answer to all that, but it is a beginning of an answer and for all those who are currently facing a medical crisis and can't fathom how they're going to pay their bills let alone feed their children, it feels like someone cares.