Social Security and Its Stupidity

My girlfriends son-in-law has high blood pressure (220/150 on many readings), has had a stroke, congestive blood pressure, and he's a diabetic. He can't work and hasn't for a number of years yet in spite of this the Social Security Administration denied his disability claim for both SSI and SSDI.

I wasn't that surprised about him being denied for SSDI since he hadn't worked for a number of years, however I am outraged over his denial for SSI. How in the world can they justify denying someone benefits, who has a history of medical problems like those stated above. His doctors and specialist have all stated he needs to be on disability yet he was still denied.

I don't know but would be willing to bet that the people making these decisions have no medical experience what so ever. They even likely get bonuses for denying claims. I'm also not saying that everyone who applies should be approved but that is something that needs to be decided on a case by case bases. It is also something that needs to be verified through medical records of each persons case. Denial shouldn't be across the board happening and shouldn't be done solely on the lame attempt of cutting cost so the government can waste money elsewhere.

Will someone please explain how it is that those who deserve it the most get denied while the crack pots out there playing the system get it right away?

Perplexing Perplexity

I'm not a genius but I'm not stupid. There are things I know well, things I know some what and things I think I know. There are also things I believe I know better then other people but have my doubts about so I keep my mouth shut when ask concerning those things.

There are also things I don't know much about and things I don't know at all. In this is also other subclasses of things - things I don't know and don't care about, things I don't know now but knew at one point, etc.

I can't say at all that I know everything about any one thing but I will claim I know a lot about most everything. Many times I find that the things I don't know anything about are the things I can give the best advice about and people seem to think I know what I'm talking about.

One example of this would be building a garage. I haven't a clue about construction but I know what looks right and what doesn't. I also have a keen sense of what would work better to get things done easier which is why when my landlord was building the garage he listened to me and seemed to follow my lead, in spite of the fact he has/had more knowledge about construction then I do.

Blogging is something I haven't figured out yet either. What is the point of blogging anyway? We put on the screen for the whole world to see (yes I know I can make things private but whats the point of that anyways?) and maybe if you are lucky or have built up a following, which I haven't, you will get comments regularly about what you post. The key question however is why? Why bother with blogging?

So far blogging has, as far as I'm concerned, managed only to take time I could be doing something else and enjoying more. Yet I have found that I have been blogging more and playing less (well not this week based on the amount of activity I've had on Facebook).

Facebook is something else I don't understand. If it wasn't for the apps they have there I wouldn't even bother maintaining an account there. I don't "blog" on Facebook and I don't post pictures there. I only play games. Once in a while I'll respond to someone else in their post.

Maybe one day I will be less perplexed by the perplexity of things and learn to understand more. For now I will continue to go thru life wondering how I ever got involved with all this goofiness in the first place.

Knee Replacement Surgery

MY girlfriends nephew is going in for knee replacement surgery today. That wouldn't be so bad except its just too dang early.

I'll be back to post more on this later.

Be back soon.

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Well the Nephew come thru surgery OK and is recovering nicely. We were a little freaked out when we first walked into his room. He was in pain which we expected but is knee and leg was soaked in blood that had seeped thru the bandages. I went to the nurses station and asked told them about it but they assured me that was normal.

When I told my girlfriend she got up and walked down there. The nurse said she was on her way in and would take care of it but it was normal. After the nursed came in she admitted that it was a little more bleeding then she expected and was a little concerned. Still insisted however it was normal and wasn't anything to worry about.

I jumped ahead of the story a little by telling you the ending first so let me back up a little here...

The Nephew was suppose to be at the hospital by 7 a.m. with surgery scheduled for 9 a.m.. They finally took him back to the pre-op room around 9:45 a.m. and he was suppose to be in recovery within 90 minutes. Everything ran late by about 90 minutes which made for an even longer day.

After many hours of sitting and waiting for word about the surgery we finally heard from the doctor. He said that in all his years as a doctor he has never seen arthritis. He was also surprised that the nephew was able to handle that amount of pain because of the severity of his knee.

After the doctor we spent another 90 minutes waiting for word about the nephew being moved into a room. That ticked us off. Like my girlfriend said it wasn't like they didn't know he was going to be there or that he came in thru the emergency room excepted. They knew for a week about that surgery and a room should have been ready in advance.

I could talk about my option of hospitals with all the things I've seen or experienced as a patient but I won't bore you right now with that. I'll close this post by saying that all seems well, I'm tired and cranky and I'm sure I hear my bed calling me. That might be a bill collector calling but either way I fall over dead for some good sleep right now.

Facebook App: Truths About You

I have been reading some of the responses that others have answered about me on Facebook Application called, "Truths About You". Truths About You allows others to answer general yes/no questions about someone. Some of the answers about me surprise me also disappoint me. I would like to personally answer some of these questions with yes/no answers about myself.

1. Do you think that Jeff B. has ever given money to a homeless person? This was answered on Facebook as no but the truth is I have many times given my last dollar to a homeless person or someone less fortunate then myself. One time giving as much as $10.00, cup of coffee and food to a guy just trying to get home.

2. Do you think that Jeff B. still sleeps with a teddy bear? Someone said yes to this but the truth is I have never slept with a teddy bear. I have most of my life had a cat or dog around to sleep with. I did however have a stuffed tiger once that I allowed to stay on the bed part of the night.

3. Do you think that Jeff B. voted for Obama? Answered yes on Facebook but I have to admit I haven't voted since Carter was in office which was my one and only time I voted in a presidential election. Yes, I voted for Carter, no I wouldn't never have voted for Obama nor would I have voted for McCain. I grew up in Illinois and was familiar with Obama's politics (a little) there. McCain on the other hand is more out of touch with the American people (read some of my other post) and doesn't even deserve to be in office any longer.

4. Do you think that Jeff B. is a good friend? This was answered as a no and I admit sometimes I'm not. I try to be a good friend and desire to be so. My biggest problem here is so many of those I was a good friend with stabbed me in my back and left me hanging so its hard to allow myself to get that close to others again.

5. Do you think that Jeff B. has ever pranked call someone? Do you think that Jeff B. would pull a fire alarm as a prank? They answered no to both of these yet the truth is I have pranked called someone many years ago while I have never pulled a fire alarm.

6. Do you think that Jeff B. has ever cheated on a test? I appreciate that someone said no to this but the truth is I have at least twice cheated on a test. Once in High School for Algebra the other was in College for a required English class.

7. Do you think that Jeff B. speeds when driving? Though someone said no (thank you) I do speed when driving in some places. Mostly I speed while on the interstate or back country roads.

8. Do you think that Jeff B. should not wear tight clothing? I agree with who ever answered yes to this question. My body style and size would make me look like a stuffed turkey ready for Thanksgiving if I wore tight clothes. Ain't going to happen.

9. Do you think that Jeff B. has ever skinny dipped? The yes answer here gave me the chuckles since I can't even swim. The closes I have ever come to skinny dipping was standing outside under the garden hose without my shirt on.

10. Is Jeff B. fun to be around? This was also answered with a yes and I can't give you a good yes or no answer about myself on this one. Do I joke around a lot? yes. Do I like teasing and having fun? yes. Most of the time when I am in a group of people regardless if I know them or not I'm pretty quite and only talk to one or two people within the group. I do loosen up after a few visits with the same group of people and tend to find one or two persons who I can tease or pick on to help break the ice each gathering.


If I am anything its naive at times since I tend to speak openly about what I am thinking. This could also be called being blunt.

I hope this helps you understand me better. If you have a few general questions you would like to know the answers to leave me a comment or send me a response via Facebook. I just might answer them.

Facebook and other Internet Demons

Like so many others I have become addicted to Facebook. I never planned on ever using Facebook and had no intentions of ever making it one of the first places I go everyday but I have.

I used to visit Pogo.com regularly and even paid for the Club Pogo membership for years. Once that price reached $40 a year I started wondering if it was still worth the cost. The games are fun and many people I've met that are pretty cool to hang out with while playing games. I like the chat box most of all because it meant I didn't feel I was alone online.

Facebook seems to have a chat box but its has limits and understandably so since Facebook is about friends on your list. Facebook is for the most part not 100% a "social networking site". Facebook is actually much more then that.

Most people using Facebook will post on the Walls various comments, thought and other things daily but a great deal of time is spent playing many of the games there. Farmville, Frontierville, and Cityville are three of the popular ones. I'm sure I've left out some that are even more popular.

I can't say I completely like Facebook and I won't go as far as saying I've fallen in love with it but I do go there daily. Most of the time you can find me playing poker or working on one of the games mentioned above.

I've admitted to being or growing addicted to Facebook but I have to wonder what is the actual appeal to Facebook over other sites both past and present? There are Forums, blogs and game sites that have some better features then Facebook just not as many in one place. There have been many sites over the years that tried to do what Facebook seems to have created a niche for. But why are we so addicted to Facebook?

Maybe the better question would be to ask why have we all become so addicted to the Internet? That is a question I will save for my next post, right now my pigs, cow, ox and other animals need fed and my land needs re-cleared on the Frontier. Have game with travel.

This is my dog, Buddy. He's a Chinese Crested Powderpuff. He weights between 11 to 13 pounds depending on time of year. Despite his breed and how lovable of a dog his is, I think he needs to see a psychiatrist.

See Buddy has two main problems. First he's lazier then a coon dog on a hot forth of July. If it wasn't for his tail wagging once in a while I would have to check for a pulse. Most of the time if I don't see Buddy somewhere near by I'll find him on our bed snoozing.

The second problem is he's scared of most everything and barks at himself. Let me explain the barking part first. Every time someone knocks at the door or walks past the house or knocks on the wall Buddy barks. Normal, right? Well a while back Buddy was sitting by the front door and had to scratch himself. While doing so his paw would come down and smack the floor. He jumped up and started barking at the door as if someone else beside him was making that noise.

Now back to the scared part. Like I said Buddy is about 11 to 13 pounds, a small dog. A friend of ours came over and brought her dogs with her, Sara and Kita (Keta). Kita is a big beautiful care free type dog that wouldn't hurt a flea. Sara is a chiawawah. Both dogs are female. Buddy, being a guy went a sniffing and needless to say was run off by the big mean vicious....

chiawawah - Sara.

Buddy came running over to me on the couch and coward under my arm. I tried getting him to get down but he wouldn't hear of it until that big brute Sara was out of the house.

I'm feeling very protected with my little Buddy in the house. I'm sure he'll scare those leaves outside off our lawn so I don't have to rack them.

Whom wrote what?

I've been a member of Accentuate Writers Forum now for about 4 years. The interesting thing about AWF is the variety of people who are members there. They come from a wide range of backgrounds with differencing levels of experience. Everyone at AWF have interests that are as varied as the number of members we have. If they have anything in common it is they write or have a love for the written word. Each of us at AWF also share in a desire to someday have our name in print and many of them have succeeded in some way.

If we have learned anything from AWF its that it isn't easy to go from a writer to a published author. It takes work and dedication far greater then many other fields of work. A person doesn't become a published writer just by sitting down at a typewriter and spending a couple of hours. It takes many days, many pages and many more re-writes of everything you've said to polish those pages into something publishable.

Not everyone who dreams of being published will reach that goal and not everyone who does should have. There are some published writers who lack the "real" skills to tell a story or to express an emotion in a compelling way. Some published writers lack imagination and originality of thought to make them stand out.

Sadly many times the greatest writers with the best talent don't write to reach publication but to satisfy their need to write. To them it isn't important or a dream to be published. They only desire to write something for themselves and on occasion share their work with a hand full of others. Some great writers also don't see themselves as talented writers and feel they are not good enough to be published.

As I sit here and re-read this post I realize now that I'm rambled and strayed from my intentions of this post. I started this post planning to talk about TV personalities, mostly evangelist who seem to publish something new almost weekly. I was going to talk about how they are either not that busy or have too much free time on their hands to write so much. I wanted to say too they likely have or use ghostwriters who spend hours reading and listening to sermons or speeches just to pull material into a book format. My point is these evangelist can't possibly be spending that much time at a typewriter (or computer) to write that much.

It is important to understand writing isn't something to be taken lightly. Writing as a profession is a noble and honorable career choice if you have the dedication to see it thru. Many don't and some who do shouldn't.

Leukemia go away please!

A friend of ours from the Accentuate Writers Forum has found out recently that she has leukemia. Currently she is getting chemo treatment and is expected to have a long stay at the hospital.

First off let me tell you I don't know much about Rissa. I know she is married and has a young son who I believe is 6 years old. I also know she is a writer and a friend to many many people. Besides that she is sometimes goofy and almost always high spirited with a ready word of encouragement for others.

If you read my blog only once in your life I ask this be that time. I'm asking for your support and help in sowing upon Rissa and her family a monetary gift of support.

The easiest way to do this is thru PayPal at Rissa@rissawatkins.com. If that doesn't work for you I would ask you to visit our writers forum (Rissa's writers home)and click on our donate button there. All funds donated for Rissa will go directly to her and her family to help with mounting hospital bills and other cost related to her battle with Leukemia. You can find our writers forum at accentuate writers

Finally I would like to ask that you send her via her website - rissawatkins.com words of encouragement, prayer and supportive uplifting message to let her know how much you care.

Thank you from me personally for anyone who takes the time to do this for my friend and God Bless