As strange as it seems, I got bullied a lot when I was a kid.

I could hardly blame the other kids; I was a prime target for bullying. By the time I was 11, I was overweight, wore glasses and those old metal braces, and had a really bad complexion. With five kids, money was tight, and my mom, God love her, made a lot of my clothes herself. And cut my hair herself. Read more

Years ago, I saw a wonderful movie called “Other People’s Money.” If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do, especially the monologues in the last 20 minutes of the film. Really first-class lessons in economics and capitalism encoded into a movie.

At one point in the movie, a merger and acquisition specialist (played by Danny DeVito) uses this (paraphrased) example to explain how technology changes our lives: Read more

My Mom has a wonderful way of dispelling fear, anxiety and trouble with just a few words. I guess when you make it to 82 (don’t tell her I told you how old she is!), you pick up a few things along the way.

About things in the future that could be problematic: “Don’t borrow trouble! Today has enough!” Read more

Gene therapy is the new moon shot. And the space race of the 60s is a lot like the race for new vaccines, medicines and prescription drugs of today. Developing these new treatments and in some cases, outright cures, that the U.S. is known for takes a lot of work, a lot of risk and a lot of money. Read more

Whew! I can’t tell you how happy I am when election season ends. I’m always hopeful for the new candidates, but also a bit saddened by the vitriol that seems to pop up prior to and during such elections, every time. That’s another reason to celebrate the end, I think.

I’m already getting emails….

“Mike, what does a new president and administration mean for Louisiana and health insurance?” Read more

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in the Bertaut household, and, oddly enough, both times were happening simultaneously.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, I started feeling a bit puny. Sinus-y and a little fuzzy around the brain. Over the next couple of days, those symptoms stayed about the same and I started feeling fatigued. On Saturday, Oct. 10, my daughter, who lives with us, started feeling bad and had a fever. She got tested for COVID-19. Her result was positive. My wife and I decided to go get tested. I was positive; she was negative. Read more