My co-op electric company that un-co-oped a few years ago has finally had to let us choose our own electric. Which is really a good thing, this coop has had a bit of a monopoly going for years, and we have literally paid for it.  Thus the needed de-regulation. We HAVE to pick a new REP. If we don’t choose one on our own, one will be assigned to us, randomly, at a higher rate.   I researched and compared prices and customer ratings up until just before the deadline to choose. I don’t want to a provider that ends up being more $$$ than one I would be assigned. I don’t want to get one that has crappy customer service. I don’t want one that has a hidden fee. I don’t want a neighbor tell me they got a better deal than I.  I will still have to pay a supply charge to my ‘old’ electric company, through the new company. And of course any repairs or outages are the responsibility of my ‘old’ undesirable electric company. I would prefer that the monopoly not get anymore of my money. That is not an option though. They govern getting the electricity put through the power lines. (It is like Ma Bell and the government, they still get their cut) I do though have the option to find a company with lower energy rates. And I wont have to deal with the ex- Coop if I pay my bills on time, and protect my property from external forces like mother nature or cars running into the poles. Also having the REP’s involved gives the customer more representation in this, it is not just the piddly ole customer the ex-co-op has to answer to it is the REP’s and the Texas Electric commission.

This is all kind of like Celiac/gluten intolerance. We don’t want to have the problems involved with eating wheat. We know in order to get well we need to stop eating wheat. If we don’t take action and quit wheat, then we will have more problems to deal with. We will have our body pick which part will fail.  We could just continue to eat wheat and let the doctor be the proactive one and prescribe RX and surgery for the symptoms, instead of the cause. We then will end up paying more, physically and financially. We will still have to deal with the symptoms of gluten intolerance but also the symptoms of the RX and surgeries.  The general public tells us we are wrong (sometimes the doctors), to remove wheat, they ridicule us for making a choice different than theirs. When we do remove wheat we still have gluten intolerance, still can never eat wheat/gluten without having to ‘pay’ for it. . We have to pay more monetarily for our food, a lot of the time. But by taking control of the situation and removing wheat/gluten, by taking ownership of ourselves, we allow ourselves other options. We do heal. No more meds. No more Dr. visits.  We can eat many of the foods we once had to remove, usually everything BUT wheat/gluten can now be consumed. Once we accept gluten intolerance is real, and we are affected by it we find others who too know this. We have our experience of healing and theirs to present to the nay sayers, giving us more ‘clout’.  If we just accept that the human body can not digest wheat gluten, and do all we can to protect ourselves from it, we will no longer have to deal with the effects of it.

I know a woman whose mother has been diagnosed with Celiac, her sister has celiac, nieces and nephews have celiac. Her son has been have stomach issues for a long time, moodiness, and acne are the newest symptoms he is exhibiting. Because of her ‘experience’, she knows it is Celiac. The doctor though did a blood test, and it didn’t show positive for Celiac. She knows the blood test for Celiac is fallible. She knows that they should remove the wheat, and then watch for the results. She knows even for herself many of her own maladies would disappear if she removed wheat. But even knowing all of this,  because the test did not confirm what she knows, she will continue to feed her son wheat, and pepcide, and accutane and deal with the side effects of those. WHY? To respect a close minded MD? To not have to ‘take away’ pizza from her son? So he and she won’t have to face the ridicule of those who don’t agree with gluten free living? Or is she focused on the one unmovable, unchangeable, non-option, and loosing control by doing so?  Yes.

We have the option to face the inevitable. Go Gluten Free!