Prsrt.

Std
U.S. Postage
PAID
Worcester, MA
Permit No. 2

LEGAL
BRIEF
ROBERT A. GEORGE, ESQ.
STURBRIDGE ATTORNEY
M O N T H LY L E GAL ADV ICE
FOR RE AD ERS OF
THE S TUR B R I DGE TI M E S M AGAZ IN E
GIFT
CERTIFICATES
I have a steakhouse gift certificate someone gave me
last Christmas. It says it’s only good for a year, but I
know better. I could cash it in for a rib eye in 2015 and
the restaurant would still have to honor it.
Massachusetts does a good job protecting people
who buy or receive gift certificates. Every gift certificate
is good for seven years even if it says otherwise on its
face. A merchant who refuses to take a gift certificate
within the seven years faces a fine of up to $500.00.
If a gift certificate gives no expiration date, it’s good
“in perpetuity,” which means my grandchild, assuming
my grade-schoolers grow up, get married and have kids
someday, can cash it for a rib eye a half century from
now, assuming they still have rib eyes in 2059.
The law also requires that merchants clearly mark
the date of issue on the face of the certificate, and to
give you your change in real money once you’ve used
up to 90 percent of its face value.
The Commonwealth extends these protections to
electronic cards with dollar values, and to cards or cer-
tificates given when a customer returns an item.
Of course, this provides little comfort to the scores
of people out there who have gift cards from Ames, or
Bradlees, or any other defunct chain. When a business,
big or small, goes belly up, there’s no gift to get and,
under the law, pretty much no way to force a bankrupt
merchant to honor it.
This means that gift certificates are safe presents,
but not necessarily good ones. After all, cash is good
everywhere and, to be honest, what I really want is
sushi.
To Advertise in
The Sturbridge Times Magazine
call Karen
at 508-347-7077
20 THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE
r MUSINGS FROM LONG HILL
HERESY
BY RICHARD MURPHY
There will always be a Cambridge. Though Cambridge
may change physically, it will always be itself. Let me
explain. My daughter wanted to hang out there with
friends at a once-yearly event. A doting parent agreed to
leave her off and then retrieve at the call of a cell phone.
Most people from my generation spent some time hang-
ing out from Central to Harvard Square when young.
There were many attractions along Massachusetts Ave,
from restaurants and bars to used book stores and music
to name a few.
It was a crisp but not cold autumn day of a few weeks
ago. I could spend it idly walking around like a tourist
and maybe see if any bookstores were left.
Harvard Square appears an upscale haven, while
Central retains much of its grittiness. What has not
changed is young, fashionable people proselytizing some
radical cause du jour. Sure enough, as if it were still 1971,
it was not long before I was accosted by a young man. He
asked me if I supported our our national effort to make
Middle Eastern nations safe for democracy. As I have mis-
givings about the project and admitted them, he thought
he had a live one.
He was ready for me. I was asked if I was for a nation-
al health plan and replied that I was not. My interlocutor
wanted to know how I could support the status quo and
was perplexed when I again replied that I did not. Well,
what was I for?
He was in for a bigger shock when I told him that all
health insurance should be outlawed. Am I crazy, or just
some sort of grinch? I hope neither and have reasons for
my view. It started to come about a number of years ago
when I had occasion to visit a podiatrist. He examined my
feet and took an x-ray. I was informed that I would need
s
something called “orthotics,” not covered by insurance. I
inquired as to the cost of the device and a hefty fee was
quoted. I am ashamed to say, I near screamed when I
replied, “I can’t afford that.”
I don’t know if I shocked the good doctor, but he
quickly took pains to allay my fear of penury by telling me
of a brand of shoes that would serve me as well at a frac-
tion of the cost. The shoes were sought out and pur-
chased. I have been walking well enough ever sense, but
the incident got me to thinking about the whole health
care debacle.
Had the orthotics been covered by insurance, the doc-
tor would never have mentioned the shoes. Had I acqui-
esced in purchasing the device, he also may have remained
silent. This is not a great model in either case. It is absurd
to think that it will improve under a public option. There
is no reliable feed back on costs currently because there is
no incentive.
It was inevitable from day one that it would come to
this. To make that point, it is necessary to look at the his-
tory of health insurance in this country. During World
War II, business was booming as production for the war
effort took off. To curb inflation, there was a government
ordered cap on wage increases. How could one company
lure workers away from the another if they could not pay
more? They had to find a desirable perk. Well, health
care insurance would be a deductible expense so why not
as business was good.
After a war, life changes, but it never goes to status quo
ante. Health insurance grew and grew. It was a big plus
in employment. Everyone loved it. It became such that
on the Jerry Williams talk show there was a horror story
Continued on following page
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
ESSAY
Winter: The Inconvenient Blessing?
By Jeff Cannon
Come January, the face of Janus turns. Faded is the sacred stations of our work and errands, and then
radiant glow that bore gifts of recognition, supportive carefully retrace our steps to safely return home.
love. The intoxicated rush that lifted us straight up into There I collapse in a comfortable spot. Rocking to the
the dizzying heights of festive joy…has dissolved. With rhythm of my slowly warming breath, gentle flames
January we find ourselves abruptly dropped back to spin soothing stories that weave me into quilts of pat-
school, to work. Once again we return to the ordinary terned solace. Silence with its tranquil arms lifts me
domed horizon of our less exciting everyday world. out of tiredness. Exhaustion mellows to casually
So it seems we find ourselves in the evidently faceless touch and by feeling contemplate those simple arti-
time of Winter. I’m not sure that Winter intentionally facts of the heart that come with quiet rocking.
means to deceive us. I only know it comes as a guest Continued on page 24
who arrives more like a host, lingers like a relative every-
one hopes won’t arrive…but invariably does. It comes
with such fanfare as if to pay in advance for arriving
with all of its trunks and suitcases. In great anxious
turns it opens every case only to dump more of the same
fluffy, chilly contents that spilled down from the last
unzippered backpack.
So the festive spell fades. We bundle up with more
sweaters, scarves and overcoats. As more frosty arms and
crystal fingers continue to stretch across our face, shov-
eled sidewalks and plowed driveways, we pray that win-
ter finds whatever it’s looking for and quickly moves on!
Yet, winter seems to take its time. We, at least I do,
grumble quietly as we trudge, slip, slosh and slide to the

Heresy
Continued from previous page
of someone prepped for an operation being
asked just prior to being put under if he had a
blue cross card. After all, everyone did. This
was either the late 50s early 60s, and may have
been apocryphal, but you get the point.
All of a sudden costs rose. There were many
reasons for this. from the Viet Nam War until
the appointment of Paul Volcker to the Fed,
inflation picked up steam. All prices rose,
though education and health cared seemed big-
ger than most others. Another factor was regu-
lation. The Commonwealth mandated a men-
tal health option. This surely helped many peo-
ple, but it was not demanded by the public, but
by the professional class that benefitted. It
added an incremental cost. I doubt the shrinks
were the only special interest to do that.
So we’ll have some bill, now or later that will
claim to fix the unfixable. Then more laws to
fix it the same way that Congress fixes Social
Security for good now and again.
There is a slight, ever so slight possibility that
somebody may miscalculate and put something
in the bill that may actually work. It is devoutly

THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE 21