This morning at 5:30 am I got up to put out my trash. It was still dark and I heard a clanking sound coming down my street. At first I thought it might be raccoons getting into the neighbors garbage up the street, but slowly a figure, bent over by the years trod into view.
It was an elderly woman equipped with a flashlight who was trudging along, inspecting each recycle bin for plastic bottles or cans. I asked her " Are you collecting plastic?" She said "I need to pay for my prescriptions." I had been saving plastic for several weeks and offered up 4 plastic garbage bags of plastic for her. She wept. She asked my name and said she would light a candle for me. I told her to return next week and I would collect more for her. This woman had no business out on the street in the dark at her age. She was clearly frail. She was doing what she had to do to afford her medication, and this is what the Republicans are railing against when they obstruct health care reform. I don't know what if anything Obama's plan will do for the woman I met this am, but I am sure it will be more than anything offered by the GOP. I ask my friends at Daily Kos to light a candle for this woman whose name I do not know, and send funds to whatever candidate will help to alleviate her predicament. No elderly woman should be forced to root through garbage to pay for her prescriptions.
I so wish I was a more gifted writer and could paint a better picture of this woman. She likely had been taller once, but this morning she stood just 5 feet, as she was bent with what might be osteoporosis. Her hair was gray, and I worried that she might not even have the strength to carry the bags of plastic I had for her. I struggled to contain my tears so she would not be embarrassed. She tried not to cry, but was moved to tears by 4 bags of plastic that meant the difference between medication this month or none. It is really that simple!