I'm not doing this for myself, and I'm looking for a loan, not a gift.
My partner, Kitsap River, has been given a ticket to Netroots Nation by a very kind benefactor.
But I'm very embarrassed to admit that we don't very happy to say that thanks to the generosity of many Kossacks, we now have the money for a plane ticket. More, as they say, below the fold...
I have a decent-paying job with good benefits (including healthcare insurance that Kitsap River has mentioned elsewhere), and my compensation even includes a quarterly bonus scheme.
But more than half of the latest bonus went to a collection agency, to pay off a horrendously overdue medical bill that had tripled in size due to, well, to having gone to a collection agency. Almost half of what was left was needed to plug a hole in our monthly budget that was made by unexpected car repairs in July, and the rest of it funded a trip to Portland for Ed Schultz's Townhall meeting. (Some other Kossacks were there, too.)
So, despite my backup plan for spending the last of my Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles on a free ticket, none are to be had; the best we could do would be to get her to Washington, D.C., where she would arrive too late to catch the train back to Pittsburgh, and the DCA-to-PIT round trip airfare would be almost as expensive as a flight from out here in Seattle or Portland.
So I'm asking for a loan.
As of this writing, the cheapest fare from Portland to Pittsburgh is about $560, not counting fees for excess baggage — her dialysis machine will be her carry-on, so there will surely be a charge to check her suitcase, and you know the airline will try to charge for her medical supplies which ought to be carried free. I figure $600 will just barely suffice today, but the longer it takes to pull the funds together, the higher the airfare will be, so I need to do a deal as soon as possible.
Those of you who know Kitsap River's diaries in the healthcare series and elsewhere know that this NN hits the heart of what she's been working for, and she would have much to offer the attendees and special guests by way of insight, strategy, and just plain fire in the belly.
I'll be joyously happy to repay the lender(s) with interest, as long as I can spread the repayments across a few months so as to do minimal damage to our already strained budget.
Please comment below, or send email via the address in my profile. Thank you.
UPDATE: Thank you, and thank you on behalf of my beloved as well. Your kindness and generosity brings tears to my eyes and deep gladness to my heart.
The last summation I see below is $450, but that may not include later additions; as mindoca noted below, there should be a contingency allowance.
Special thanks go out to TFLS, mindoca, and all of you who are helping have helped make KR's trip to Netroots possible.
I'll update again later this morning, after I get a half-hour or so of sleep and hie myself off to work.
Once again, thank you from the depths of my being.
Update #2: All has been arranged, and the plane ticket is now purchased. Once again, thanks to everyone from the utmost depths of my heart.