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2021 Farm Log

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Hopalong:
Oy, stuck in mud or struggling through it sounds like the perfect metaphor for where poor B is right now.

The only time I got a workaround from usual government sluggitude was years ago when I discovered that for years before I moved home, my widowed mother had been unwittingly collecting my Dad's entire SS after his death instead of the reduced portion that was her widow's benefit. It happened because unlike the other organizations that had been properly informed, the Army had not received its required copy of his death certificate--the mistake made by her executor, a law firm. She didn't know, never having managed money before. I didn't arrive until eight years after his death and thought everything had been handled properly. I was no accountant but saw no red flags.

It looked to me as though her lawyer had set up everything correctly, her income streams were all being automatically deposited (and as we know, I ain't no paperwork genius). I forget how long it was, but one day I saw a letter to her saying that her bank account had been frozen by the Dept of Defense and she'd was thereby ordered to repay it all. Now. That would've wiped her out, made her unable to pay her mortgage, etc. It all left me trembling in my socks at the power of the government to just...DO.

Long story a LOT shorter, I eventually appealed directly to our senator (oh what a letter) -- explaining how in pure trust she thought everything was right, and in her late 80s, she had carried along innocently, not understanding she'd been awarded more than she was entitled to, and what did they want from this saintly elementary school teacher and oh-so-Christian widow of a much-respected honorable veteran who had been personally commissioned by Dwight Eisenhower and nobly served overseas in intelligence during the war....did they want to drive her from her beloved home? (I also asked a family friend at the JAG school to write them as well.) Not to be immodest, but my letter would've made Genghis Khan draw out a lace hankie to wipe his compassionate tears.

The senator's office stepped in immediately, the DFAS agreed to a small monthly payment, and that was that. All got repaid over the next several years. WHEW.

All this just to wonder if a senator might intervene for Buck. You, better than anyone, could write up a very clear and compelling narrative and timeline of his suffering. (With zero blame, etc.) Sometimes, that's exactly what Senatorial staffers love to do. FIX things for fair constituents who bring a painful injustice to their attention!

That's the GOOD side of government having the power to DO. Many individual human beings who work in government bureaucracy, including Senate staffers, find it genuinely satisfying to step in and make a wrong situation right. It's part of their job descriptions, to review constituent appeals and act on those they can. They take them to their boss for approval and sometimes they can get the lead out, even with the VA. Having a senator's backing for an intervention can give it rocket fuel.

Just a thought.

hugs
Hops

sKePTiKal:
Case in point: he just TODAY got the new status VA ID card they insisted they had to mail to him (status change due to retirement from active duty)... he started the process LAST AUGUST. This is an important milestone in the struggle. LOLOL. Even though it seems inconsequential and de rigeur... why should a simple thing like this take SIX MONTHS, to go through the process??

Oh, he's written his senators; Pentagon brass; the President even - and given media interviews. The "Buck" gets passed every single time. (And his senators didn't change in the most recent election.)

A bunch of us - online friends - have brainstormed all the ideas that exist for years now, Hon. At this point, I think it's sheer stubbornness and not giving up, that will win the day for him. Well, that and knowing how many people are in his corner and value his knowledge/expertise on all things mechanical and his remarkable wit, even in the face of such monolithic not-caring. Given what he's already endured - and overcome - we won't let him give up now, even if he wanted to. It's the old "outlast the turkeys" strategy - and it does work, as long as you don't lose hope or faith.

It's easier to keep trying - when you have people that let you know they support you in the struggle.

Hopalong:
Whoof. Well, add me to his list of supporters....

I'm just so very sorry he's had to go through all this

NONSENSE!!
hugs
Hops

sKePTiKal:
Thanks Hops, I'll let him know. He'll probably relay a "thank'ee" back...  ;)

For whatever reason, I seem to still be having a hard time over this. Maybe it's just 'coz nature abhors a vacumn. Still chipping away at the little things list, sorting out my head, and trying to keep up with everything.

Hopalong:
I can imagine. I would be, too.

I know you care enormously about his health and frustrations.
But does it also feed into the whole waiting waiting waiting and delays?

I don't know how you manage to live in this ambiguity but am awed
that you do find ways to self-stabilize, no matter what goes on with B.

Say more about what's hard, if you like. It's okay.

hugs
Hops

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