Posted on 06/09/2011 1:40:41 AM PDT by Absolutely Nobama
Some of the folks who have read this column for a while know that I am a diabetic. My pancreas has gone on strike, much like a greedy Wisconsin teacher. (It doesn't produce insulin anymore.) My diabetes has affected my eyesight and my heart. I have had a heart attack and I have a small Charcot break in my left ankle. (A condition common in diabetics with neuropathy.)
Needless to say, my health is somewhat like our federal "government". It always teeters on the edge of total disaster.
My doctor always tells me: "Alan, it's time to start thinking about going on disability. You can't keep keep gambling with your health."
My answer to that: "You can Kevorkian me first, doc."
I've never actually looked into it, but according to my doctor, I have a very a good case and I wouldn't have any problem getting disability. My darling wife thinks it would be a good idea. When I step off a curb the wrong way or I start to see double because my sugar is higher than the national debt, I often ask myself, "Why are you putting up with this crap ?" (Believe me, I'm no hero. I whine and whine. When I'm done whining, I complain bitterly.)
The answer is simple: I have pride in myself. How on God's green and not to metion cooling earth could I possibly live with myself knowing that the money I'm living off of was stolen from some poor working slob working 80 hours a week just to send his kid to college ? How could I live with myself knowing that the money I'm living off of should be going to a 19 year old Marine who returned from Afghanistan without legs ? I'd rather be a bloated diabetic corpse than have any of that stuff on my conscience.
I'm not looking for any "attaboy"s and I think it's worth repeating that I don't think of myself as any sort of hero. I simply live by this credo:
Yes, I will.
Ping!
But you’ve been paying into the system for years and years. It’s your money and you deserve it all back. (I’m just practicing for when SS goes bust just as I’m about to start collecting. I wish they would just tell me now - and let me not dump anymore money into the pyramid.)
I hope that your health conditions improve.
Listen to your wife. Be her hero.
There is no shame in disability. You aren’t taking away from anyone.
think of all the people you’ve supported by your working and paying taxes over these many years
there is a time for everything in life - including a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your lifetime of labor
and going out on disability doesn’t have to be an endpoint - you can always refuse disability payments after you make a mil or so from writing a book or starting up that hobby-business you always wanted to
I like big trucks, big boats, big houses, and naturally, pretty women. I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family; not some mid-level, government flunky with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts squirting out babies.
Hang in there! Sitting around home in a wheelchair is not heaven on earth either. You are better off staying as active as you can for as long as you can.
I’ve been doing pretty well for the last couple of months. Thank you.
Actually, our money is gone, replaced by a bunch of worthless IOU’s.
I agree with the others who pointed out that you’ve paid into the system, there is nothing wrong with withdrawing the deposits you’ve made.
Your comments called to mind a story my mom told me about my legal immigrant grandmother. When my grandfather’s union went on strike (this had to be in the 40’s or 50’s), he wanted to apply for some type of gov’t assistance, and my grandmother snapped at him, “I did NOT come to this country to be a burden!”
No, there’s no shame in it. I simply can’t live that way.
OOOOOOORAH!
Take care of yourself, and listen to your doctor and your wife.
Diabetes make a person easy to upset and get angry.
Listen to your body.
Your wife wants you around, so lose some weight and take your meds.
“there is a time for everything in life - including a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your lifetime of labor”
I’m only 37.....
I see what you’re saying, but there is no way on earth I could do that.
Roger that.
Down from 340 libs to 285. My last A1c was 7, down from 8.
I no longer believe the money is there. It’s been replaced by a bunch of worthless IOUs.
If I were you, I’d file for disability right now. You and your wife deserve some time together, and the future is uncertain, if you are teetering “on the edge of disaster” as you say. You may or may not be aware that, even if you qualify the first time you are examined by the government doctors (and you may not qualify, no matter how sick you actually are) there is still a six months wait before beginning benefits.
I’m not saying give up and go on the dole. But please, listen to your wife out of love and respect for her...she must be worried about you.
And—God bless you, FRiend. We are in His loving hands, no matter what.
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