My son called to say hello yesterday and asked if I heard about the deal about congress and the agreement regarding the debt ceiling. I told him that I had. I was concerned about it only because I have blinders on right now. I wanted to make sure the Veterans Hospital stayed opened and that I continued to receive my Social Security as I have health issues right now.
I saw a cartoon in the paper this morning. It was Ziggy and he was on the phone waiting and he received a recorded message: "...Your call is very important to us but ANSWERING your call ISN'T!" I really understood that joke because nothing is more funnier than something with a kernel of truth at its center. I even put it on a tweet this morning. I put it here as well.
I just got a call from someone in the admin office of the VA office about my travel. They wanted to make sure I was aware that they will be making the arrangements for my travel to the hospital since I am a disabled veteran. Again, I was brought to their notice by a call from the central office of the VA because of a note that I wrote on the VA Facebook Page. They also wanted to make sure I was getting all of the services I needed. I said yes. Although I did not get all of my calls answered, I am only concerned about my cancer at this point. I am very happy they are going to take care of my transportation.
I will be doing a series of procedures and I did some of my shopping yesterday because I have no idea if I will be able to do it after Thursday. I will finish the rest of it today. I remember when I was involved with cancer and the VA before and I was not able to do it. I also will be returning my library books because I don't want to worry about that either. I went to Barnes and Noble and bought some murder mysteries that were on sale. I have one of their discount cards. They also had a 75 percent off sale and I bought two blank journals and several classic books that I have been wanting to read.
I just had another call from the VA and this one from the social worker department. They were wondering if I had enough money to live on. I told them that there was not an issue now that the transportation issue being worked on. He was very nice. Again, I am astonished to the amount of attention I am receiving thanks to Facebook.
It has occurred to me that that I have always been known as a trouble maker; but what if I was a veteran who had trouble putting things together? What would have happened to me then? I shudder to think about it. When I was a veterans' representative in California, I considered it my duty to make waves for the veteran who sat at my desk asking for help. I got in trouble for it many times and some of my fellow vet reps really resented my doing it. Still, I could look at myself in the mirror although I earned some serious enemies in the Veterans Administration. Luckily, that was long enough ago that it is forgotten and in another state.
I am still hoping that I will survive this latest health crisis. Last night as I was sitting reading my book and looking out the patio door it occurred to me as I looked at the beautiful scene outside in the evening dusk that many people that I have known over the years are now gone. My parents and brother are gone. Several close friends have passed away and my first love recently died. It would not be so bad to die now, but I don't want to at this time. I still have things to do.
On the Internet yesterday, there were a series of names, ages and pictures of the people who were killed in Norway. They looked like an assorted bunch of people one would know as neighbors. Many of them were so young and some were close to my age although not many. They had things to do too but a mentally ill person took their lives. Just because I feel that I have things to do does not mean that I will be allowed to do them. That is the new reality that I have been facing lately.
Most people have war stories that they tote out ever so often. Those stories become polished by their telling and re-telling. I am no different. I went to the second-hand store last week and bought a wonderful large map of the USA that I put just below my map of the world that I had in South Korea last year. I used the world map last year to see where I was then and to look at the USA. Now, I look at California and now at northern Oregon where I am now. California is green and Oregon is orange and Washington is bluish purple. I am just a few miles from Washington but I have never been there. I was waiting until things calm down so I can drive there and say I have been to Washington. I would do it today, but things have not calmed down yet. Maybe someday soon they will.
No comments:
Post a Comment