Motley Moose – Archive

I used to have a job. I have either gone to school and/or worked since I can remember. I have a couple of degrees and while I was getting them I worked at a vast array of jobs. Most of my jobs have been low paying. When I was younger, those were the kinds of jobs I could get and as I got older the work I did was designed to get me where I wanted to go, but were still fairly low paying.

I got my first “real job” working in my field about 14 years ago. I work in one of the “helping” profession, so while I was not going to get rich, I made a decent living.

That is until I got sick. That was when everything changed.

Decent affordable and universal health care coverage is an issue very important to me. While I have had health care coverage for most of my life, I have had my life utterly destroyed over the past two years by private insurance.

I went from having a good job, to becoming disabled, losing my health care insurance, and finally losing my disability insurance; because they decided that I was ‘all better’ early last spring. Since that time, I have lost my home and pretty much everything else. I am completely dependent upon the kindness of my partner, who continues to care for me in the best way she can, but the strain is beginning to crack and crumble what little I have left.

I have nothing but debt, my application to SSDI has been denied twice (normal procedure, from what I have been told) and I am almost utterly unable to fight for what I need.

I guess my personal story is not that important and I really do not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I am currently getting help through the county I live in, and although it is very minimal, $200.00 in cash and $200.00 in food stamps, I again have health care. Problem is those small and great forms of assistance are now in jeopardy as our governor has decided I am getting too much help. The general assistance will be cut in January and I am uncertain as to whether I will be able to continue to get Medicaid.  

This week has been an eye opener for this lifelong Democrat. The passing of Senator Ted Kennedy has suddenly focused our collective attention on the astonishing professional and personal life of this extraordinary man. I am not much for watching news of the deaths of public figures, but have been transfixed with my television these past few days.

I am not such an innocent, as to be unaware of the faults of Senator Kennedy. One would have had to live under a rock, to be completely ignorant of the terrible stories told about Ted Kennedy. Chappaquiddick, recklessness, drinking, and arrogance were but a few of the poison daggers held against Senator Kennedy.

Even a staunch Democrat like me was angry with him for the 1980 election.