Baking day, which means I finally get to try out that new sifter. Never used one in all my life, but it seemed the logical way to sort out that old lumped-up flour…
And it works just fine! Problem solved.
A nice warm day, though a bit windy. I finally decided to set up the porch for sittin’ and thinkin’.
And I went to fill the hummingbird feeder, only to learn why it has seemed to be leaking…
Plastic base has cracked all the way down, right through the threads. I’m surprised it doesn’t leak more. I’m trying to patch it with some adhesive/sealer, but it’ll need to be replaced. It’s less than a year old, and not a cheap piece of dollar store crap! Much disappoint. And it could have come at a better time…
…because this morning I spent my last $40 on stuff even less fun than that. Had a couple of ‘pooter cables go south more or less simultaneously, and had to decide if I cared if my burner phone still had service. I decided I did, and that was my last twenty bucks in the world for the remainder of the month. No big deal, I’ve got lots of stuff and with winter having finally ended I can stop paying for so much damned propane. But it did seem symbolic and synchronic and all that happy horseshit, because…
Yesterday was my birthday. And while birthdays don’t normally have any thrill or any sting, I’ve been dreading this one for a year. Ever since my last local regular gig dried up I’ve been living on $100/mo from Patreon and Big Brother’s care packages. At the grand advanced age of 65, I can draw social security – I can also get on medicare, which means I can have my eyes looked to. I haven’t mentioned that lately: Truth is it hasn’t been going well. I’m allergic to an ingredient in all but one of the medicines I’ve been prescribed, and that one isn’t very useful. I’m virtually blind in my right but there’s still time to try surgical remedies for the left. And the only way to do that is to choke back my bile and go on the dole.
It isn’t just pride. Even before I spent more than 12 years in the desert I was kind of phobic about filling out government forms – it’s part of the reason I”m here. I truly don’t know how one goes about signing up for all that shit, though people tell me it’s easy.
And of course if I do all that, I most certainly draw the attention of people who most certainly resent my inattention to them – I never call, I never write. Oh, I’m not expecting SWAT teams and gunfights, I’m not that important. But the time has come to kiss goodbye one of the things I have truly come to cherish, and I get to choose: either my sweet, sweet government-free life, or my ability to see my way around a room.
Hi Joel , I’m in the same situation as you with the social security , with me it’s deafness not eyes , and inner ear balance issues , not a missing leg. I want to keep active and productive but those two things have been compromised. I do have a couple of acres paid for out in the country and that ss check may make that country ” hermit transition ” workable . That Patreon site hasn’t kicked in for me yet but we must keep trying right ? The people I know who are receiving ss are not really on the ” dole ” they’re just getting a check because they paid into a government program … same with medicare , take care of yourself buddy , Patrick
Awww heck, missed your Birthday so belated congratulations on making it through another revolution on this ball of dirt. This is also means you are a scant 2 years and 13 days younger than the old fart writing here.
Serendipitously (and that IS a word no matter what spellcheck thinks) I happen to be cleaning out 40 years of computer cables and much other gear, send over a wish list of every thing you may need today and in 5 years time when stuff breaks,
I am sure we can cobble together a safety package or two. Same goes for hand tools – anything you wish you had on hand during recent wrenching sessions? I am finding multiple sets of a lot of stuff in the process of cleaning, organizing and sorting.
Congrats on the b’day, Joel!
I did the SS thing entirely online, easy doings.
Best birthday wishes…
Joel, happy belated birthday. I hope you managed to drink the wine you received with someone.
So far as doing a little government paperwork, don’t be silly, get it done. I’m not a fan of big bro either, but some things are far worse then refusing to do a little paperwork. For things like benefits paperwork is nothing but a means to an end.
If you have or can get a tube of a product called Seal All (yellow tube with red letters last time I bought it) it will likely mend your feeder base. It seems to mend anything, even actively leaking things. I’ve used it for many decades, never leave home without it because you never know… Where I live Lowe’s, Home Depot and hardware stores sell it, haven’t looked in WalMart. About $6. It is fully cured in 6-8 hours, sets up very quickly to stop active leaks.
Yup, that’s just what I used, Zelda. We’ll see this morning how well it works.
Might want to check on the 65 age requirement if you intend to collect “full” benefits. I’m 71 and had to wait until I was 66 for the full benefit. Seems somewhere along the line the age was raised based upon the year you were born.
Joel: “virtually blind in my right” I am blind on the right; one gets used to it.
Shooting a right handed bolt long gun is rather awkward, though.
Surgery: go for it. It’s better than being blind on both sides. I speak from experience.
If you have the option of being awake during surgery, you will have a unique perspective.
Drugs are your friend. Chemical manipulation of yer brain does wonders with a competent anesthetist.
And happy birthday!
All you gotta do is step on Laddie one time and he’ll tell you very quickly how important it is for you to be able to see where you’re going…
Unless you are sure you have another 25 years or so, there is no $ disadvantage to collecting your SS now, you will get a bit less per month but you will get it a year more.
Hey Joel , If you were born in 1953 like me the full benefit age is 66…medicare is 65 , Patrick
You only have 2 months after your 65th birthday to apply for Medicare without penalties if I remember right when I applied for everything. Plus as Tsgt Joe mentioned the reduction in SS isn’t that much.
I went with a Medicare Advantage plan because the Part D (prescriptions) is rolled in and no prescription gap. Disadvantages are it’s a HMO/PPK plan, does not have nation wide coverage like traditional Medicare and may not be available in your county.
Happy Birthday!
I’m 10 years less one day behind you.
Seems somewhere along the line the age was raised based upon the year you were born.
Pretty much inevitable really. SS is a Ponzi scheme, and it was worsened when LBJ decided that the Feds could make better use of all that money than the people who ostensibly owned it (“ostensibly” because, per Flemming v. Nestor, no one has any contractual rights to SS benefits).
I’ll probably be eligible just around the time the whole house of cards collapses, which is why I’ve tried to plan for retirement on the assumption that none of those programs would be available to me.
A belated “Happy birthday”, Joel! May you have as many more as you like, and no more than you want.