Hi folks,
Some of you might remember me. Most probably won’t.
If you take a look at my profile, you’ll see I’ve been on this site a while. 2004 to be exact. My first comment was on the MA courts ruling in favor of marriage equality; to those who said it was “too soon”, my response was “If not now, when?” So, yeah, I’m an old timer. Seen a lot of names come and go over the years.
Not sure when my last post before today was. Probably some time in 2018, maybe 2019. I just couldn’t see posting here. Literally. It had nothing to do with politics, or the number of front page pieces complaining about Trump, or the general depression over the state of affairs. I started losing my sight, and it became impossible to read the site, and difficult to see the keyboard to type anything.
My husband started spending more time on the computer, since I could no longer do so. Then we lost his employer-based retiree health insurance; they changed their system and we fell through the cracks. I kept asking him to follow up with the employer but his follow-through was never the best. Finally, that lack of follow-through probably killed him; he died of a heart attack in early May of this year.
The last 3-½ months have been spent getting my life back in order. I spent that time with my Republican sister (not just Republican, but FOX-watching, Limbaugh loving) — she helped me a lot as long as we didn’t talk politics. I was actually able to get health coverage through my late husband’s employer (as a surviving spouse), she and her husband helped me get organized, and most important, I was able to get my sight back; turned out it was really bad cataracts (fairly early onset ones). We got a gifted ophthalmologist who was willing to cut us a break on his costs, I applied for and got financial aid to cover the rest. So this isn’t a plea for money; I’m actually doing okay financially. (Emotionally may be another story; I feel like I haven’t yet fully grieved his death, and it’s something I’ll have to deal with as the year(s) progress.)
Thanks to Social Security survivors benefits plus the portion of my husband’s pension I still receive, I can actually live on my own in some comfort. And I’ll be doing what I can to stop Trump and the Rethuglicans from pulling the rug out from underneath me and millions in the same leaky rowboat. (I still remember how the media laughed at Al Gore when he talked about the Social Security “lockbox” back in the 2000 election.)
Still dealing with a few loose ends. In the Episcopal General Confession, the congregation asks for forgiveness for “what we have done and what we have left undone.” My husband left a lot undone, some of which I didn’t know about until after he was gone. But a lot of them have been cleared up with patience, and yes, financial resources I didn’t realize I was entitled to thanks to his former employer and the union. And others are progressing.
So, guess this is just to say I’m back, and more determined than ever to get rid of as much of the current regime and its enablers as possible. I’ve always been in favor of a sane opposition party to keep the Democrats from devolving into complacency and corruption; we may have seen some of that complacency back in 2016 though I hope we’ve had a major wakeup call. But the GOP as is currently constituted is not sane, and probably hasn’t been since the days of Ronald Reagan if not earlier.
Catch you all on the flip side...
