airwayman

I'm your typical "dirty little Johnnie." I do my best work with a couple of stiff scotch and sodas.

Oh Carlene, I beg to differ...no, not all, but most of you ARE beautiful in mind and body. We do hope you are willing, of course, but sex isn't everything. It may be near the top but the list is long. Yes, women do make the rules because you control half the money and all the sex. Do you know why women have wrinkles around their eyes (crow's feet)? It's because women always say "you want to do WHAT??" You know why men have crow's feet? Because they say "PLEASE!!!"

It's just a man thing (again, no pun intended). If you don't have one of those things, you just can't possibly understand. Nor can I understand a woman's feelings. I try, really I do, but there is a difference. It's springtime, look outside, are the female birds falling on the ground, flopping their wings trying to seduce a male? NO. It's us males that think you all are beautiful and act like idiots.

Charlotte....the Queen City

All I can tell you with certainty is that BCBS of NC now covers the lap band surgery as of Jan/Feb of '07. My surgery is a week from this coming Monday.

People in the U.S.A. have done some pretty stupid things in the past few hundred years. Take the poor American Indians. Talk about an injustice, we justified killing a goodly number of them and putting the leftovers on reservations because we labeled them "savages." Don't want to kill a native american, fine, we'll just call them "savages" and there's your justification. Slaves? What's wrong with having a slave? Let's go to war against our brothers up north for the right to sell human beings into bondage. Okay, okay, the North won so no more slaves but, by God, them black folk gotta have their own drinkin' fountain, sit in the balcony at the picture show and give up their seat to a white person on the bus. And we don't want no black man playing golf at the country club...it's a gentlemen's sport. The blacks can just be caddies. Now we move on to gay rights. Why should we give a "domestic partner" health insurance after all he/she is a queer! They don't deserve health insurance or survivor's benefits.....and no dental insurance either. Cost too much to insure "them kind of people." Stupid, stupid, stupid. You all are right, someday we'll look back and shake our collective heads at the way gays are treated. It's like I tell my wife....homosexuality is not a disease and it doesn't respond to antibiotics.

Hi, welcome to the club. Hope it all turns out just the way you want it. One word of caution, you need to call a BS rep, have him/her guide you to the website, download and print you particular BCBS corporate policy for surgery for morbid obesity. Read it carefully and follow ALL instructions. It took BCBS of NC less than one day from the day to approve my surgery. I had everything exactly as they wanted. Be aware you may be required to have medical proof that you were/are morbidly obese for at least four of the last five years. BCBS NC required that proof. No 6 mo. diet, though. Airwayman

Uh, I tried praying to God to overcome my addiction to women....didn't work, I'm still a boob junkie. Seriously, this kind of thinking really bothers me. Why do people have to obstain from sex or turn their lives to God and the church to straighten (no pun intended) them out? How 'bout all the pediphile priests? You remember those despicable humans, the ones who queered thousands and thousands of little boys and ruined them emotionally for life. How about the hundreds of millions of dollars these bastards cost the Catholic church. Beautiful churches and diocese that were hundreds of years old, declaring bankrupcy because priests were having sex with scared little boys. Are the men going to heaven because they all prayed for forgiveness? Because God forgives anyone who gives their life to Christ, confesses their sins and promises not to fondle little boys penises ever again? If two gays live together and are responsible law abiding citizens of the community when they die are they going to hell because they didn't "turn their lives around?" But if a priest who fondled many an alter boy says "I'm sorry God" he gets to go to heaven. I don't believe that for one second. LIVE AND LET LIVE.

Hey BJean and Green, you're both my kinda gals. Green, I love your comment...just look at your equipment, if it gets you excited, you're gay! Hah, no books, no Ph.Ds, no therapists. Only problem is some people like both types. Now, that's double dippin' and downright piggy. Pick one or the other and leave the rest for others. Thanks BJean, for the comment above. Yes, I really like women. I have many men friends and men hobbies but I really prefer to talk to women, always have. I like to walk through the perfume department of a big store. I like to pass by Victoria's Secret and see all the lacy stuff (but it can get hung up in your teeth). I like women with earrings, nail polish, toe polish, fancy shoes, lipstick, makeup and cute hairdos. My biggest downfall? Boobs. I'm addicted to them. Sorry if that turns you gals off but they are just plain sexy. I like a nice set of legs and a rounded booty but boobs are my favorite. How'd we get off on this anyway? I'm really just a normal man. Yes, some men are asexual. I have a couple of friends that have almost no interest in sex. Both of their wives have let it slip to my wife that their husbands make love to them maybe every three months. Maybe. If that's the norm, then I'm not normal.

Okay!! A threeway, two chicks and me, woo hoo, in my dreams. Uh, guess I better ask my wife if it's okay. But if we're just talkin' about sex I guess that would be okay. After all, Bill Clinton got 37 BJs in the Oval office and he said it wasn't sex. Don't know exactly what it is about women that turns me on so much. They basically look like a man only just enough different to keep my full attention since I could walk. Don't get me wrong, I'm no pervert or sex addict, I just like women. BJean, you said you hoped I wasn't just one of those dudes who was all talk. Just what did you have in mind? Yours truly, Airwayman

Okay, but let's compromise. I'll forget the burgers & fries, football and model airplanes if you'll agree to nix the interior decorating and the artsy fartsy stuff. Let's just settle on sex. Next to breathin' and eatin' it's one of my favorite subjects.

Ah, you guys are gettin' too deep for me, think I'll sign off. Before I go, can someone direct me to a thread where they talk about cheeseburgers, sex, football, model airplanes or golf. Anything BUT religion, racism, the war, George Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Britney Spears or Anna Nicole. BTW, the Drs. office called this morning. My surgery is scheduled for 4/30.

The first girl I was engaged to was a young divorcee. She never talked about her marriage but I knew she couldn't have been married very long becaue she was only 20. After we'd been dating for almost a year she started putting the push on to "go look at rings...just look." I also had the Viet Nam war staring me in the face as soon as I graduated so I was reluctant. This led to some discussions about marriage which led to a discussion about her previous marriage. She said she met this guy right after high school and was immediately taken to him. They dated for a short period and were married. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long and she divorced him. She could tell I wasn't satistifed with this explanation so she went on to say that, although she was very close to her parents, they disagreed on this guy. The more they gently tried to convince her he wasn't the right guy, the more she resisted. I asked her if she remembered when she realized she'd made a mistake. She said "yes......the night I walked down the aisle. I knew I had won the battle over my parents, I was getting married, and I knew it was a huge mistake. It was just too late to back out. I started thinking about when I could divorce him the next day."

Yeah, I've been married to my rockette for 35 years. I was engaged twice before I met her. Both times, the gals got tired of me; the first one got tired of waiting because I wouldn't marry her until I graduated from college. The second one just got tired of looking at me. Both gave me the ring back but broke my heart. I'm not the most religious guy in the world but, looking back, I thank God every night I never married either one of those bitches. Then two years later, I absolutely hit the nail on the head. No one is perfect but my wife comes damn close to being the perfect mate for me...and I thank God.

Why is that??? What in the world do women of all ages see in these Ne'er-do-well, lazy, liars? I can't tell you how many women I've known in my life that fell for absolute jerks when there were tons of sensible men around. The more they lie, them the cheat, the more they disappoint, the more some women fall for them. Amazing. Reminds me of the joke about the two young gals that went to the zoo and were standing next to the gorilla exhibit. All of a sudden this huge gorilla sticks his hand through the cage and grabs one of the gals. He beats the crap out of her, throws her up against the wall, stomps on her and savagely rapes her a couple of times before zookeepers can drag her out of the cage. Ambulance comes and takes her to the hospital where she's place in ICU. Finally, several days later they allow her friend to visit her. There are wires and tubes stuck in her everywhere, monitors, bandages, etc. Her face is bruised and her eyes are almost swollen shut. She murmurs something. Her friend listens closely to the garbled words...."he never calls, he don't write......"

You are a very wise grandmother. There's a squirrel in my backyard that has been trying to get on the bird feeder for two years. Everytime he gets close, I trim off the encroaching branch from one of the surrounding trees. He never gives up, ever, he keeps looking for another way, testing all the new branches. The other day I looked out the back window and there he was, hanging on the feeder upside down stuffing his cheeks with sunflower seeds. Those young boys are just like my squirrel, they won't give up, ever. Your job, as a caring grandmother, is to make sure you weed out the bad squirrels. Your granddaughter is too young to know the difference between a bad squirrel and a good one. That's where you come in. Trust me, it's worth the effort.

Nuts have a lot of calories but if eaten in moderation they really knock the hunger pangs for me. Yes, nuts have a lot of fat but it's not the kind of fat that tries to kill you.

Some folks, like the lady above, don't lose any weight before surgery. Some must have liquids for two weeks, some doctors mandate a month-long diet. Some are allowed to eat Protein during the pre-op diet. Some of our European and Aussie friends weren't even on diets...one lady said her doctor told her no special diet, just NPO 12 hrs. before surgery. If it were me, I'd keep quiet and do the best I could. I've never heard of a doctor sewing up a lapband patient, without installing the band, telling the patient to go home and diet for a few more days and come back when the liver is smaller so he can complete the surgery.

I was celibate.............until the first Friday night after I got my driver's license. That was 43 years ago. I know some of you will beat me up over this but we'd been tacitly planning it for almost a year. I went off to college, she married a friend of mine. A couple years later I met my future wife at the airport baggage claim. I wouldn't change the outcome for all the tea in China. Neither would my old flame.

Ahh, let's see what side am I on? Well, first, I love women...have since I was about 4 and discovered the good lookin' neighbor lady wore perfume and had mucho curves. As the Confederate Railroad song says "I like my women just a little on the trashy side....too much makeup too much rouge...get's me excited and kinda confused." Guess that leaves me out of the gay side. Besides, I couldn't stand to touch another man's whiskery face...yuk. I don't go to church but I am a believer. BTW, it's CHRISTMAS AND EASTER. Does that make me a conservative? Don't mind gays, it's their thingie, none of my bees wax. I believe in a woman's right to choose. Does that make me a liberal? I hate the war in Iraq but can't imagine where we'd be if Saddham was still sittin' on the throne. Guess I'm in the middle. I love my wife and have never cheated on her. She's my best buddy and we've been together for 35 years. What does that make me? Unusual?

I completely agree with the analogy of the alcoholic resuming drinking "socially" and the band being removed. Face it folks, we are foodaholics for life. Removing the band will, eventually, increase hunger and there is a significant chance a bandster without a band will, over time, resume the old lifestyle and gain weight...a lot of weight. Just like the alcoholic or an ex-cigarette smoker, we're addicted forever. JB

Couple of thoughts....one, if your husband has medical ins. and you are only purchasing BCBS for the possibility of having bariatric surgery, you might be better off to self pay. Secondly, you said your doctor had never mentioned your weight. Many doctors never mention weight...they don't want to hurt the patients feelings. Really. I have several doctors for various ailments. One has vaguely mentioned weight loss. Stacyann, get on the scales. Measure your height. Google on BMI or find a BMI chart somewhere on the zillion sites related to weight control. Run your finger down the weight column and the height column and get the truth. Not knowing is akin to sticking your head in the sand. If your BMI is over 40, there's a time bomb ticking inside you. Don't mean to scare or ridicule you. Just want you to live a long and healthy life. Morbid obesity kills people every day. JB

Stacyann, I live in NC so I can't help with MO and KS. Many, if not all, of the BCBS companies have their own individual policies. So, best answer is, it depends. In NC you'd be sc***ed because you said you haven't seen a doctor in years. The NC policy has recently been changed to allow gastric banding but one of the qualifiers is you must provide medical proof of your morbid obesity for at least four of the last five years. If you haven't been weighed in a doctor's office in years I don't know how you could get around this requirement. However, I've read that some BCBSes don't require proof of a weight history, instead, they require a medically supervised diet for six months. Remember, it takes two to Tango; if you are using an ins. policy provided by your employer, or your spouse's employer, both the ins. company AND the employer's policy must allow gastric banding. I've heard that some ins. companies allow gastric banding but the company declined to purchase that option. In that case, the fight would be with the company human resources dept. not the ins. company. Good luck. JB

Yes, it's a bother but you need to do it. My doctor required another sleep study even though I had a cpap machine. Well....yes...it had been years since my last sleep study but I complained just the same. Turns out the ins. co. bought me a new machine and I got updated pressures. Oh yeah, after surgery and weight loss I'll have to go back for ANOTHER sleep study to have the pressure reduced but that's the price I pay for being overweight. Untreated sleep apnea is dangerous. Get it done and move on.