Hello all...
Wow...what an incredible time to be a progressive/lefty! We've gotten the neocons on the run, are headed to the biggest landslide in a Presidential race since 1984, and have a kickass slate of candidates who are well-funded, mainly due to the generosity of those of us in the netroots.
I've given a little bit, early in the campaign, and would love to give more, but my heart (which I figuratively gave to Obama long ago) had other ideas, and has landed me in a bad place in the waning days of the Bush error...
I'm a longtime Kossak (User ID: 22231), though not a regular poster...my forte has always been spiritual/religious writing, and thus Street Prophets has been more my haunt (User ID: 431). I have, however, had my share of Daily Kos diaries, the most recent being On October 4th, Mobilize Your Family For Change (which was my first rescued diary). (Note: for those who read that piece, my 5 year old son had a great time canvassing for Obama! He was so cute, even McCain supporters were nice to us...) I've been pulling back from online writing lately, however, because I'm working on two books, and trying to do what I can on the ground to help a Democratic sweep in November. I've been e-mailing and agitating, and knocking on doors...
Until last week. I had been feeling "off" for some time, and had started getting symptoms like tingling in my fingers, heart palpatations, light-headedness, and more. I tried writing them off as more diabetes-related annoyances, but my wife felt that there was something more going on, and so my doctor ordered a stress test for last Wednesday. Well, the cardiologist didn't like what he saw, and scheduled a cardiac catheder for this past Monday. The verdict? Four...freakin FOUR!!!...shiny new stints in my arteries, fixing one blockage that was at 80% and another that was almost 100% blocked.
By the way, I just turned 38 in September.
What I'm getting at here is: you're never too young. Don't let your (relative) youth fool you, as it almost did me. I thought that I had a good 10-20 years before I had to worry about major heart problems, and here I was under a year from a major heart attack. Don't let the excitement of the election season blind you to potential problems in your own body.
Also, and this is the part I hate to do, but I could use some help. Like many of you, I'm living paycheck to paycheck. I'm the only wage earner for a family of four, and bills have been making things tough. My cardiologist wants me to take at least one full week off to recover, while two would be best for me. My rent, however, is making me go back sooner..way sooner. Possibly tomorrow. I can get the time off, but I can't get it paid. We've checked with the State of Ohio, but no dice there. It's not like I need that much...a few hundred dollars could make the difference. So if you're in a place that's safe for Obama, or perhaps your local candidates are flush with cash, or maybe you can just spare a fiver or a ten-spot, you can donate here, via PayPal.
And for every donation I receive, I'll e-mail one of my annoying right-wing relatives pro-Obama posts from the Kos, because, well...ok, I'll do that no matter what! And I thank you all in advance.
- Steven M Boyett
aka HippyWitch
aka Taliesin Athor Govannon