March 11, 2011 11:55 PM

Oh, for the old days!

My wife's headlight went out(both high and low beam). No big deal you say! I thought so, too. I looked at the manual and figured that I could buy the bulbs as specified and change them myself. Why, years ago, it was a simple matter to unscrew the old bulb and hook up and screw in a new one. That was then, this is now!

First of all, so much stuff is packed together in the engine compartment that I really couldn't reach the lights from the back as the manual explained their location to be. Accepting defeat, we went to a car parts store and paid to have someone replace the two bulbs for a measly $38. Simple enough! Not to be!

The manual was incorrect! There were not two bulbs - but only one that did both the high and low beams. But, more importantly, it was a special bulb with a ballast attached to it. The bulb was $100. If the ballast was the problem the price went up dramatically. Not wanting to order the bulb and have that not be the problem, the manager at the store recommended that we go to the Volvo dealer where we bought the car.

In so doing, of course, the part price goes up astronomically(dealers just have much better parts, you inow!). So my wife went to the dealer this morning nd paid $180 to replace the bulb. And that was cheap! She convinced them to give her a discount because she said we got a better price from another one of their dealerships. The actual price would have been $268. And we were lucky! If the ballast was at fault, the price would have been over $400!

In my entire life, I have never collectively spent that kind of money to replace headlights. What has happened to inexpensive replacement parts that can be easily installed by the car owner?

To top it all off, the suggested at the dealership that the other headligh was probably in danger of failing as well and they recommended that she replace that one, too! You can imagine her response to that idea! It just ticks me off that nothing is reasonably priced these days!

That's been the tale of woe for us. But it pales incomparison to that of the man that I talked to today as part of the "First Connection" service provided by the Leukemia And Lymphoma Society. He was diagnosed with AML back in January, went through round one of chemotherapy, and it didn't do anything! Now the doctors want to "try" something else. He's upset because they appear to be shotgunning his treatment with no real idea what to do next. How do I respond to that?

I told him how positive my experience has been and then I did something that I am really not supposed to do! I sugeeted that maybe his doctors should seek consulatation elsewhere(Dana-Farber?) where his particular type of leukemia is not some new, strange disease but a common ailment that they have seen and treated many times. At this point, he thought that my suggestion was valid and would proceed accordingly with his doctors at his next appointment on Monday. I feel so helpless when I make these calls and, yet, he felt that our one hour conversation was well worth it to him. I'm so thankful that he felt that way.

It's amazing! Others, who are part of the program, have never made any calls while I have made at least half a dozen. It's the least that I can do and I do feel that it is a small thing that I can give back for the successful experience that I have had.

This is beginning to get too lengthy...

Bob