The caregiver "thing"--I'm not sure what to call it--was about what I expected. It was in the huge auditorium of a brand new elementary school in Bayville and five people attended, including me. The director of "NJ Senior Services" talked about the thrilling benefits we should all be humbly grateful to get. However, for most of them, there's a means test and I doubt if we qualify. During the question period, I pointed out that the blurb on the agency's web site noted the session was for caregivers of "parents, grandparents, and neighbors." Nowhere did it mention spouses and the director's talk seemed aimed at the same group. That puzzled me and I mentioned it; it seemed to puzzle her, too. I also told her about Wellspouse and Visiting Physicians of South Jersey. Seems to me if you're trying to inform caregivers of resources, you could step out of the narrow "Ocean County only, realm" and have info on other helpful entities.
Well, hey, it was a few hours out in a new place and I enjoyed that. Got home before 4:00.
Wider: There's an excellent piece by William Pfaff on "Anti-War.Com," comparing the U.S. involvement in the middle east with Europe's long and bloody war of centuries ago. It concludes:
"The consequences of expanding this meaningless war will not be Taliban nuclear conquest of the world but, as in the case of the Thirty Years’ War, involvement of one group or country after another for goals of their own, having nothing to do with the governments or the issues that started it all. The only things that will stop this before it gets worse is simply to stop, or go bankrupt."
Words to ponder, but will anybody? Only you and me and I'm not so sure about you.