End-of-the-month musings: some short takes to finish out June

It’s the end of the month, so it’s time to clean up. I always seem to end up with some leftovers I want to address. Here’s this month’s short stack:

***

Health Care: The School Board of Culpeper County Public Schools, after central office staff weighed the options, voted in favor of offering their employees three options for health coverage.
While I agree with board members Elizabeth Hutchins and Leanne Jenkins that the employees as a whole deserved to be in on the process that brought about the options now to be offered, one fact remains: Anthem, and the rest of the health care industry, is sticking it to all of us. The insurance providers are looking to eliminate PPOs, so the prices to participate in them are outlandish.

Here in Virginia, there is one clear option, as acknowledged by two School Board members Monday night: The General Assembly needs to agree that all county workers and local school employees throughout the commonwealth should also be considered state employees. When this change occurs, the state will be able to shop around for the absolute best deal for coverage.

***

Summer resolution: Thanks to my bargain-hunting wife and my enthusiastic sons, I am now the proud owner of a Jumbo “George Foreman Grill” and a Wii Fit.

I am now on notice to knock out the fat with the help of two finely tuned home appliances. (Happy Father’s Day!) Talk about motivation: When I got on the Wii Fit to set up my ‘wee person’ who will represent me, my usual slightly graying, bespectacled, virtual “Jeff” put on a few pounds, to reflect my overweight state.

There’s nothing like the sight of your own cartoon going from “Wii cute” to pleasantly plump as a motivator to get on the darned thing and follow the fitness advice from the talking step.

This summer, it is my plan to spend time each day with the Wii Fit, so I can see my virtual me go from fat to less fluffy.

Oh, yeah, here’s the good news: According to Wii Fit, I’m 35 again! So even though I need to lose a few pounds, thanks to my balance and posture, I seem to have shaved off eight years from my real age.

***

Reality vs. Reality TV: Jon and Kate plus eight? Try Jeff and Doray plus 84.

Reality is much more interesting than reality television.

Until my son gave me the 10-cent version of just who Jon and Kate were, I was not in the know about these reality stars, nor their large brood of multiples. There are very few reality shows to which I pay attention.

Lately, I’ve been occupied, along with my wife and other volunteers, with my own plus-size group of children. I’ve had no time or interest in TV families, fictional or non-fictional.

Directing the Windmore children’s production, with my wife, for the past four summers, we’ve come to know quite a diverse group of young people from our community. Each summer, they audition in droves and we put together a group of public school, private school and homeschool children, but who share the same desire. They want to be in a show and lose themselves for a few weeks in the process of rehearsing and performing a musical.

This summer, our biggest turn-out yet (well over 100!) has yielded our largest cast to date: 84. The show may be a condensed version of the “The King and I,” but for us the show is about each child and teenager on the stage.

And don’t do it for me or my overweight, Wii-self, but come out and support the 80-plus community children in “Getting to Know: The King and I,” this Saturday at Eastern View High School’s auditorium. Showtimes are 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Walker’s column appears each Wednesday on the editorial page.