The Gig Economy

In Ring Three of The Greatest Show on Earth:

So, in keeping with the general zeitgeist, Sophie will be driving Uber from here on out. That's because she needs to start pulling her own weight and stop taking hand-outs. She's a drug addict as well and needs to take responsibility for her actions. As her parent and primary caregiver, I do, too.

We just received notice that our private insurance company, Blue Shield of California, is jacking up our plan 40%. According to my very experienced and reasonable broker, it's due, in large part, to the sabotaging of The Republican President (that's what I'm calling him now as he was voted in by those people and is tolerated by those people and is supported by those people) over the last nine months. Yes, it's a whole lot more complex than that, and premiums for private insurance policies continue to vex the greatest minds, but that's what They should be working on. But, hey, what do I know? I certainly don't want the gov'mint coming between me and my doctor.

I've come to the conclusion that Sophie is over-medicated, that her brain has been damaged by long-term usage of benzodiazepines and so we must continue to wean her from it.

In the meantime, I will be shelling out even more of a co-payment for the benzo due to new health insurance rules that only allow a 24 day supply instead of a 30 day supply (something about the liquid form and not being able to open a bottle or give part of a bottle) and so that means more money for the drugstore and the drug manufacturer and the insurance company, more money because the drug, ineffective in controlling seizures, is powerfully addictive and could literally kill Sophie if stopped. We are, basically, slaves to it and to the whole shebang, the Greatest Show on Earth.

Hence, the Uber gig. Who's driving with us? We're thinking we can fill it with clowns and drive it over a cliff.