Welcome back My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. Today is Monday September 30th, 2013. I have injured my lower back I can hardly stand up. I slipped on rubble on the stairs, they NEVER clean up after Demoing here... I fell down the stairs and have injured my left knee. I cannot walk... I can hardly stand. My neck is throbbing with pain that shoots down both my arms into my hands. Saturday I placed a dozen or so boxes into storage. Since Saturday I have packed, my Firebird 802 gaming computer. I cried when I did pack that computer. I just have this horrible feeling that I will never see my favorite computer in my entire life.
.
Truthfully, I have been crying every single day, for the past two weeks. Only when I am alone… which it is fortunate that I am alone all the time. Larry… the 73 year old widower that STOLE $300 of my much needed, hard fought for, funds. I have called Larry. I have messaged ‘Larry’. ‘Larry’ refuses my calls, but sends me messages… calling me a liar…then asking (in the same message) “why don’t you move in?” . How terribly abusive can one human being, be? I mean if I move in is it day after day of him calling me names? Berating me and insulting me? That is not a roommate situation… that is an ABUSIVE situation.
. So, ‘Larry’ I refuse to move in and be your punching bag. Next, I have mailed the Certified Latter to ‘Larry’. This is the precursor to my LAWSUIT against ‘Larry’. Yes, I am filing a lawsuit in small claims court. I am asking for; my original $300, all expenses (including the certified latter, bus and cab fare, and caregiver expenses to file and pursue the law suit), pain and suffering caused by his abuse and refusal to give back my deposit and I will be asking the judge for treble damages, too. I will make this law suit as close as I can to the $5,000 limit to this level of justice.
.
I am in tremendous pain and suffering. I fear for my life and my safety. I have been continuing my search for a place to live. I have few leads… and I am fearful that I will be putting my belongings in storage to live, with Alex, on the streets of Orange County. I cannot get into a shelte4r… because I take medications… and that makes me a target for abusers. I will keep all my medications away from me… and any cash I may have at the time.
.
I had really hoped not to spend October homeless… and worked so hard. If only a greed and avarice soul had not sought to do harm to another American… just to float their sick boat of anger and animosity. ‘Larry’ best be glad that my friend Harley is not living here, now. I would have sent Harley over to get my money… and he would have come back with the money… all $300 and all 6’5” of Harley. J
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I have to rest… some. If there is anyone out there.. reading.. that could help me. Please do!
Thank you… and it is an honor that you come to read my work.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Daniel Update September 28th, 2013
Dear Family, Friends, and Followers at @ The Other Shoe,
I am working very hard to get everything I own packed. I am paying someone to help, every day. Yesterday I put about a dozen boxes into storage. I have; my bed, computers, HDTV and DVD and Xbox left to pack.
.
I just might have found a NEW place to live. He is disabled, too. He is 23 and lives alone in his own home. He, too, is a gamer. I am hoping to meet and see the room on Monday. If we get along, and the room is adequate size… and he will take the deposit in thirds… BAM! I will have a new place to live.
.
I NEVER give up! I should have more information, soon, about this new prospect. I have written several times… Told him that I LOVE to bake and cook.
.
I hurt so very much, in my neck and lower back. I haven’t been in pain this bad in nearly a decade. Since before my last surgery. Having said, I am going to rest some, today. I will, hopefully, have Good News soon and I will post just as soon as I know anything.
.
“Thank you, everyone, for your support… your kindness… for being there for me through one of the most difficult times in my adult life… since my divorce.
.
As always I am honored that you come and read my words… my works. I hope that soon, I can get back to; ‘The Mars Report’, ‘A Week In Review’ and ‘The Sunday Funnies’. I welcome regular posting… I welcome being here for you every day.
.
Thank YOU!
I am working very hard to get everything I own packed. I am paying someone to help, every day. Yesterday I put about a dozen boxes into storage. I have; my bed, computers, HDTV and DVD and Xbox left to pack.
.
I just might have found a NEW place to live. He is disabled, too. He is 23 and lives alone in his own home. He, too, is a gamer. I am hoping to meet and see the room on Monday. If we get along, and the room is adequate size… and he will take the deposit in thirds… BAM! I will have a new place to live.
.
I NEVER give up! I should have more information, soon, about this new prospect. I have written several times… Told him that I LOVE to bake and cook.
.
I hurt so very much, in my neck and lower back. I haven’t been in pain this bad in nearly a decade. Since before my last surgery. Having said, I am going to rest some, today. I will, hopefully, have Good News soon and I will post just as soon as I know anything.
.
“Thank you, everyone, for your support… your kindness… for being there for me through one of the most difficult times in my adult life… since my divorce.
.
As always I am honored that you come and read my words… my works. I hope that soon, I can get back to; ‘The Mars Report’, ‘A Week In Review’ and ‘The Sunday Funnies’. I welcome regular posting… I welcome being here for you every day.
.
Thank YOU!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
A THEFT Before Homelessness...
Welcome back My Dear Readers to The Other Shoe. It has been six days since I last published here at my blog. For the past six days I have spent my waking hours; packing, sorting, labeling and packing. My disability makes this work slow and quite painful. However, I persevere because I have received great news and I was thrilled to have a place to move to! [Note the past tense in that sentence]
.
Today I received a call from Mr. Gay (I will refer to Mr. Gay as Allen for the rest of the article, just as I address him in life). Allen called and explained that on the 25th he had his first hearing. The hearing started with the judge indicating that he wanted Allen to serve three years! This is what I thought… feared when I approached Mr. Lawrence Hierlmeier about rooming.
.
I met with Mr…. I will call him Larry for the rest of the article… I am typing this article, as I have not been able to afford to replace my headset microphone, yet. When I met Larry, for the first time, and talked about moving into his home. I explained that I was without my caregiver. I explained that Allen had broken the law and that I did not expect him out for six months to a year. Larry said
.
“I understand, we all make mistakes…”
.
I indicated that when Allen was out of jail that I would coordinate, to the best of my ability, moving out when Allen was released. Larry said;
.
”Don’t jump the gun… we will be able to work something out…”
.
Larry was; kind, open, sharing and admitted that he had taken a liking to me. I was under the impression that Larry; understood my disability, found me truthful and said (while driving me home at the end of the interview)
.
“Don’t worry, Daniel, I everything is going to work out… we will all meld together… like family… “
.
I had a very good feeling about Larry, I had a very good feeling about living in the room he showed me. I express no hesitation when he asked about leaving a deposit, at the end of the interview. I handed Larry $300 CASH and went up to the room to make some measurements. Below is the receipt that Larry gave me, when I returned downstairs. I handed Larry his tape measure and took the receipt. I then indicated that I would call an OCTA ‘Same-Day Taxi’ and wait out front to be picked up.
.
That is when Larry offered to give me a ride home, and I accepted. That was September 23rd, 2013 (as indicated on the receipt below). Oh, I failed to mention. Larry told me that his grandson, he had raised the daughter and son of one of his daughters when she was killed by “a drunk driver´ and “the father just left the children with me…”. He informed me that his grandson was going to school for game design. I was excited by this sharing because I am an avid gamer and spent years writing reviews of PC games (here and at another web site ‘All-Out Gamers’).
.
I was quite happy thinking that I would be rooming with a person studying game design. As Larry told me, on the drive home;
.
“… we are going to be a good fit…”
.
That is why the events of today have me; upset, confused, injured and scared. At 9:50AM Pacific time, today, Allen called me from jail. I knew that the 25th was a court date… I was scared because he did not call me last night. However, Allen sounded… upbeat, and I soon found out why. Allen explained that he went into the court, waited six hours to have his case heard. Once his case has before the judge, the initial ruling was for Allen to spend THREE YEARS in jail… to be sent “up-state” to the long-term facility and that the judge had no desire to show any lenience. It was at this time that the Public Defender and the Assistant District Attorney brought my letter to the judge’s attention.
.
They made it clear, to the judge that the letter had been sent to them, and the Governor’s Office via Register/Return receipt mail. After some discussion, and to the chagrin of the judge, Allen received twenty-four DAYS, three years formal probation, and required to make an $800 donation to witness protection. My letter helped. I am sure… certain, that it was not just my letter… my words that swayed the court’s decision. As the public defender told Allen:
.
“You don’t belong here… you don’t belong in jail. I can tell just talking to you… that you do not belong.”
.
I do hope that in any way… any small way that my words and what I had to say about Allen; how he keeps me alive, how he has deep ties to the community, and that he is a kind and gentle person gave the court pause. I also think that the past two weeks to daily… nearly hourly prayer played a role. I was overjoyed that Allen will be out of jail in time for my next doctor’s appointment. I am overjoyed to have Allen back so soon!
.
As soon as I got off the phone with Allen, I began to think of the impact this knowledge would have on my living situation. Larry knew that Allen was my caregiver. Larry knew that, when Allen was released, I would want to live with him again. Larry KNEW that Allen and I had been living together for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS! I hid NOTHING from Larry about Allen and my desire to live with him just as soon as he got out of jail. That is why… what happened, next…. floored me!
.
I took me some time to get my thoughts together. As well, I was coordinating the people to help me move my belongings into storage, find a ‘self storage’ facility close to my new home and take a bath. Once I had picked a storage facility, and made a reservation. Met with Matt, one of the people I wanted to have help me move. I called Larry at 4:16PM.
.
Larry was out for a walk with his dog. I, briefly, explained that Allen would be out of jail by the 21st. I told Larry that I wanted to discuss the impact this would have on our room mating together. I even explained that if he was not comfortable with Allen living there I would find another place to live. Larry said:
.
“Don’t jump the gun,. Daniel. You know I do have another spare room… I want to work with this… I am sure that we can work things out… DO NOT WORRY!”
.
That was @ 4:16PM pacific time (today) September 26th, 2013. The very same day that I found out, and only three days since I gave Larry a $300 deposit. FYI Larry asked about the deposit, and I offered the $300 without hesitation. BIG MISTAKE on MY part!
.
At 4:50PM Larry called my number, I was unavailable and he left a very terse message. I called Larry back at 5:41 PM. It was at this time a extremely angry Larry answered and began to loudly browbeat me. Larry came directly to the point;
.
“You are not getting back the $300 deposit. You acted hastily and you have harmed both of us. You made an agreement, which you can no longer complete, and I do not feel that you deserve to get any of the deposit back…”
.
I said:
.
“Larry that $300 is ONE THIRD of all the money I get in one month! I apologize… I told you that I can move in… without Allen…”
.
(Larry) “No, you cannot complete the agreement, I will not allow you to… you cannot and I feel you do not deserve any of the $300.”
.
I am speechless, literally. I stand there, with my heart stopped in my chest. In one angry and antagonistic move Larry has; left me with only DAYS to find someplace to live and taken $300 away form me… when I need it the most! I plead with him:
.
“Larry I do not know what I have done to anger you… to upset you… to invoke your ire! PLEASE do not do this to me. I was prepared to give you $100 of the deposit for ‘days of rental lost’.”
.
(Larry) “That is not enough, you entered into an agreement that you can no longer keep and I am keeping the $300. There is nothing more to be said… “
.
I say what I think anyone would say to a thief;
.
“I am sorry but I am afraid that I am forced to call the Anaheim police and report…”
.
I am cut off by a, now, screaming Larry;
.
“What did you call it… my (sarcastically slurred) ire? Well you have raised my ire. You are not getting back one cent.”
And Larry hangs up on me.
.
I am standing in the parking lot… shaking. In just a matter of seconds I have; lost $300 of the money people gave me out of the kindness of their hearts and… I am without a place to live… with only a week or less to find another place. Never in my entire life have I ever been so completely harmed and offended by any human being. Larry knew of my disability and limited financial means. I was willing to pay RENT for the three days he held the room for me.
.
I called the Anaheim police. They said it was a civil matter and that I had to take it to court. I am without a home… out $300 and I am supposed to take the time to file suit? My Dear Readers I am not writing this to ask for anything. I am writing because… other than finishing packing… looking as best as I can for five days… I do not know what to do.
.
Larry contacted me on Craigslist. I have a sneaking suspicion that Larry may well be one of those that uses craigslist to prey on others. I was; used, taken advantage of… boned. What strikes me most odd? Until today, at 4:51 & 5:41 Larry was; understanding even supportive. Then, like a light switch Larry turned ugly, offensive and brutally hurtful and thieving. He yelled at me. He insulted me… called me “Stupid” and too impulsive…”
.
[caption id="attachment_1682" align="aligncenter" width="630"]
Larry's Ticket To Theft[/caption]
.
It was as though he was not satisfied with just stealing from me…. He had to hurt me in the process. I have never in my life witnessed a more drastic, ‘Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde’ switch in a person, ever. I have no place to turn and now $300 less than I had just three days ago and nothing to show for it. Below is the receipt that Larry gave me. I am going to make a short video, tonight…
.
.
As always, My Dear Readers, I am honored that you come here and read my words… my work. I apologize that tonight was not an entertaining article. I hope… that soon… I can bring you more of what you enjoy… and less of… this.
.
Thank YOU!
P.S. First, I WILL include a copy of the receipt later tonight. It is scanning and taking forever... I apoligize. I just REALLY wanted to get this published. Thank you.
.
Today I received a call from Mr. Gay (I will refer to Mr. Gay as Allen for the rest of the article, just as I address him in life). Allen called and explained that on the 25th he had his first hearing. The hearing started with the judge indicating that he wanted Allen to serve three years! This is what I thought… feared when I approached Mr. Lawrence Hierlmeier about rooming.
.
I met with Mr…. I will call him Larry for the rest of the article… I am typing this article, as I have not been able to afford to replace my headset microphone, yet. When I met Larry, for the first time, and talked about moving into his home. I explained that I was without my caregiver. I explained that Allen had broken the law and that I did not expect him out for six months to a year. Larry said
.
“I understand, we all make mistakes…”
.
I indicated that when Allen was out of jail that I would coordinate, to the best of my ability, moving out when Allen was released. Larry said;
.
”Don’t jump the gun… we will be able to work something out…”
.
Larry was; kind, open, sharing and admitted that he had taken a liking to me. I was under the impression that Larry; understood my disability, found me truthful and said (while driving me home at the end of the interview)
.
“Don’t worry, Daniel, I everything is going to work out… we will all meld together… like family… “
.
I had a very good feeling about Larry, I had a very good feeling about living in the room he showed me. I express no hesitation when he asked about leaving a deposit, at the end of the interview. I handed Larry $300 CASH and went up to the room to make some measurements. Below is the receipt that Larry gave me, when I returned downstairs. I handed Larry his tape measure and took the receipt. I then indicated that I would call an OCTA ‘Same-Day Taxi’ and wait out front to be picked up.
.
That is when Larry offered to give me a ride home, and I accepted. That was September 23rd, 2013 (as indicated on the receipt below). Oh, I failed to mention. Larry told me that his grandson, he had raised the daughter and son of one of his daughters when she was killed by “a drunk driver´ and “the father just left the children with me…”. He informed me that his grandson was going to school for game design. I was excited by this sharing because I am an avid gamer and spent years writing reviews of PC games (here and at another web site ‘All-Out Gamers’).
.
I was quite happy thinking that I would be rooming with a person studying game design. As Larry told me, on the drive home;
.
“… we are going to be a good fit…”
.
That is why the events of today have me; upset, confused, injured and scared. At 9:50AM Pacific time, today, Allen called me from jail. I knew that the 25th was a court date… I was scared because he did not call me last night. However, Allen sounded… upbeat, and I soon found out why. Allen explained that he went into the court, waited six hours to have his case heard. Once his case has before the judge, the initial ruling was for Allen to spend THREE YEARS in jail… to be sent “up-state” to the long-term facility and that the judge had no desire to show any lenience. It was at this time that the Public Defender and the Assistant District Attorney brought my letter to the judge’s attention.
.
They made it clear, to the judge that the letter had been sent to them, and the Governor’s Office via Register/Return receipt mail. After some discussion, and to the chagrin of the judge, Allen received twenty-four DAYS, three years formal probation, and required to make an $800 donation to witness protection. My letter helped. I am sure… certain, that it was not just my letter… my words that swayed the court’s decision. As the public defender told Allen:
.
“You don’t belong here… you don’t belong in jail. I can tell just talking to you… that you do not belong.”
.
I do hope that in any way… any small way that my words and what I had to say about Allen; how he keeps me alive, how he has deep ties to the community, and that he is a kind and gentle person gave the court pause. I also think that the past two weeks to daily… nearly hourly prayer played a role. I was overjoyed that Allen will be out of jail in time for my next doctor’s appointment. I am overjoyed to have Allen back so soon!
.
As soon as I got off the phone with Allen, I began to think of the impact this knowledge would have on my living situation. Larry knew that Allen was my caregiver. Larry knew that, when Allen was released, I would want to live with him again. Larry KNEW that Allen and I had been living together for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS! I hid NOTHING from Larry about Allen and my desire to live with him just as soon as he got out of jail. That is why… what happened, next…. floored me!
.
I took me some time to get my thoughts together. As well, I was coordinating the people to help me move my belongings into storage, find a ‘self storage’ facility close to my new home and take a bath. Once I had picked a storage facility, and made a reservation. Met with Matt, one of the people I wanted to have help me move. I called Larry at 4:16PM.
.
Larry was out for a walk with his dog. I, briefly, explained that Allen would be out of jail by the 21st. I told Larry that I wanted to discuss the impact this would have on our room mating together. I even explained that if he was not comfortable with Allen living there I would find another place to live. Larry said:
.
“Don’t jump the gun,. Daniel. You know I do have another spare room… I want to work with this… I am sure that we can work things out… DO NOT WORRY!”
.
That was @ 4:16PM pacific time (today) September 26th, 2013. The very same day that I found out, and only three days since I gave Larry a $300 deposit. FYI Larry asked about the deposit, and I offered the $300 without hesitation. BIG MISTAKE on MY part!
.
At 4:50PM Larry called my number, I was unavailable and he left a very terse message. I called Larry back at 5:41 PM. It was at this time a extremely angry Larry answered and began to loudly browbeat me. Larry came directly to the point;
.
“You are not getting back the $300 deposit. You acted hastily and you have harmed both of us. You made an agreement, which you can no longer complete, and I do not feel that you deserve to get any of the deposit back…”
.
I said:
.
“Larry that $300 is ONE THIRD of all the money I get in one month! I apologize… I told you that I can move in… without Allen…”
.
(Larry) “No, you cannot complete the agreement, I will not allow you to… you cannot and I feel you do not deserve any of the $300.”
.
I am speechless, literally. I stand there, with my heart stopped in my chest. In one angry and antagonistic move Larry has; left me with only DAYS to find someplace to live and taken $300 away form me… when I need it the most! I plead with him:
.
“Larry I do not know what I have done to anger you… to upset you… to invoke your ire! PLEASE do not do this to me. I was prepared to give you $100 of the deposit for ‘days of rental lost’.”
.
(Larry) “That is not enough, you entered into an agreement that you can no longer keep and I am keeping the $300. There is nothing more to be said… “
.
I say what I think anyone would say to a thief;
.
“I am sorry but I am afraid that I am forced to call the Anaheim police and report…”
.
I am cut off by a, now, screaming Larry;
.
“What did you call it… my (sarcastically slurred) ire? Well you have raised my ire. You are not getting back one cent.”
And Larry hangs up on me.
.
I am standing in the parking lot… shaking. In just a matter of seconds I have; lost $300 of the money people gave me out of the kindness of their hearts and… I am without a place to live… with only a week or less to find another place. Never in my entire life have I ever been so completely harmed and offended by any human being. Larry knew of my disability and limited financial means. I was willing to pay RENT for the three days he held the room for me.
.
I called the Anaheim police. They said it was a civil matter and that I had to take it to court. I am without a home… out $300 and I am supposed to take the time to file suit? My Dear Readers I am not writing this to ask for anything. I am writing because… other than finishing packing… looking as best as I can for five days… I do not know what to do.
.
Larry contacted me on Craigslist. I have a sneaking suspicion that Larry may well be one of those that uses craigslist to prey on others. I was; used, taken advantage of… boned. What strikes me most odd? Until today, at 4:51 & 5:41 Larry was; understanding even supportive. Then, like a light switch Larry turned ugly, offensive and brutally hurtful and thieving. He yelled at me. He insulted me… called me “Stupid” and too impulsive…”
.
[caption id="attachment_1682" align="aligncenter" width="630"]
Larry's Ticket To Theft[/caption].
It was as though he was not satisfied with just stealing from me…. He had to hurt me in the process. I have never in my life witnessed a more drastic, ‘Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde’ switch in a person, ever. I have no place to turn and now $300 less than I had just three days ago and nothing to show for it. Below is the receipt that Larry gave me. I am going to make a short video, tonight…
.
.
As always, My Dear Readers, I am honored that you come here and read my words… my work. I apologize that tonight was not an entertaining article. I hope… that soon… I can bring you more of what you enjoy… and less of… this.
.
Thank YOU!
P.S. First, I WILL include a copy of the receipt later tonight. It is scanning and taking forever... I apoligize. I just REALLY wanted to get this published. Thank you.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Daniel Update and More September 20th, 2013
Welcome back My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. Just a little update and touching base… with my base. J I awoke this morning coughing and running a fever. The cough is deep in my chest and quite raspy. My temperature was 100.2 degrees… so, stress and poor diet have conspired and I must have the flu. I knew that I shouldn’t wait till October 22nd to get my flu shot. October 22nd is my next appointment with Dr. Gorlick.
.
Unfortunately I will not have a place to live when that date arrives. At least, right now it does not appear that I will have a place to live. I find myself in a bit of a quandary. Whereas I have used little of the funds I have raised. The amount I have left is not enough for storage and a place to live. My possessions need to be safe. I have found a place that is close by and the rental is $100 a month. I plan on putting most of my possessions in storage next Friday.
.
I will pay for two or three months. That should leave me with $400 - $500 left. I have a doctor’s appointment, so I am going to need a place to clean up, charge my power chair, and an address to be picked up. I am thinking I will stay on the streets until October 21st. That afternoon I will get a room for two days, a ground floor room. There is a hotel across the street from where I live. That way I can get my power chair out of storage, clothes, take a bathe and have them pick me up. Go see the doctor. Come back and spend another night in a bed, prior to rerunning the power chair to storage and heading back to the streets.
.
I simply cannot miss my doctor’s appointment. I desperately need my medications. See, the way I see it Mr. Gay should be out and able to help me, again, by the end of October. That is, if he is not released on the 27th of this month. I have written, and sent via ‘Registered’ mail letters to; Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Public Defender’s Office and The Office of the Governor explaining the circumstances Mr. Gay faced at the time of his arrest. I explained the impact his continued incarceration will have on my health, too.
.
.
I know… you don’t have to tell me. It is just that I cannot afford an attorney for Mr. Gay. Hell, I will be doing well to; get my belongings in storage, file to halt or retard the Unlawful Detainer and feed myself for the next three weeks. My Dear Readers, I am spending the monies I received form you very sparingly. No splurging on pizza or eating out in fast food places. I take all my meals at home. I generally eat tuna or hot dogs and sometimes some beans. That is IT!
.
I will admit, I have been forced to pay a friend, on three occasions, for his time and efforts helping me to get food and medications home. I am frugal with the monies I have been blessed. However, I cannot afford… nor can I really physically accomplish getting out and looking for another place to live. I need help. I am afraid that this weekend I will be calling a family member… maybe, and a friend asking if they can come out here and help me find a place to live… if I get the courage.
.
I do NOT want to interrupt anyone’s life. However, I am just incapable of doing anything beyond getting my belongings into a storage facility… by myself. I put that in the letters I wrote, too. If Mr. Gay were here, I could get everything moved and myself. Without his assistance, I am greatly hampered.
.
So, the plan is that on September 27th, 2013 I will have help putting most everything I own into a storage facility here in the city of Cypress. I will pay several months, in advance. I will pay for a post office box… then I will take my little friend Alexander and I will head out to see where I can… live. Shelters are mostly out of the question. First, I am on two pain medications and oral and a transdermal patch. The patch that I wear? Saw a television show about ‘addicts’. Well, evidently that patch I wear to live in intractable pain? Some addicts use for injection and are worth… well, more that I will put in print.
.
Needless to say, my patches are worth more than my life. Second, Alexander. I cannot find a place for him, and I refuse to make him suffer any more than need be. He is scared, already. I want… need to have him with me. I am without Allen… without a roof over my head… please I just need to keep someone I love nearby. That is not too much to ask, is it? I have figured out how to construct a temporary cage that will fit into the grocery cart I have purchased. I refuse to get harassed or arrested for using a grocery store cart.
.
Cypress police just love harassing the homeless already; I plan on giving them no reason to bother me. When I need to shop, or go into some place. I will drop Alex off at the storage facility and put him in his cage, for a few hours. During my doctor’s appointment I will leave him in his cage in the room I rent for a few days.
.
I am praying that Mr. Gay gets out ROR. If not, I plan on staying here in Cypress the best I can until he gets out. Once out, I hope that he and I can find a place to live and continue or lives, together.
.
I am not really sure just how often I am going to be able to write, here. I will take videos, frequently at first, of my life on the streets. You can follow my videos at my YouTube channel. (Just click that link and it will take you to my channel… home of 115 videos). When I am able I will post articles, and post article with the videos. Honestly, I do not think I am going to feel like communicating… once I am homeless.
.
Crazy, huh? I am talking so calmly about being a statistic… homeless. No use crying… no use getting mad… Did I tell you? Mr. Gay was out the Friday he made his indiscretion going to the Unemployment office. See, he had not received a check in more than ten days and we could not get through to the office on the phone. There is a reason why here: ‘Upgrade to California's unemployment system causes problems for thousands’ [1] TWENTY THOUSAND people were without checks for over two weeks. (Late adddition it was FIFTY THOUSAND[2]Californians without their Unemploymnet... 75% of which WORK!)
.
Not an excuse… “Just the facts, Ma’am.” Joe Friday – Dragnet.
Thing of it is? Without that snafu Mr. Gay would never been out that day. Right now? I WOULD HAVE HIM HELPING AND $500 MORE TO HELP ME!
.
That is a FACT. Anyways, anyone that might want to help me? Contact me via Facebook or this blog. I do need help. I cannot walk, far, without assistance. I do not have a place to live. Any kind of help will be greatly appreciated. I am not a criminal… I did nothing wrong… yet… my life is going to be horribly damaged, too.
.
As always, I am deeply honored that you come here and read my works… my words.
.
Thank YOU!
.
Unfortunately I will not have a place to live when that date arrives. At least, right now it does not appear that I will have a place to live. I find myself in a bit of a quandary. Whereas I have used little of the funds I have raised. The amount I have left is not enough for storage and a place to live. My possessions need to be safe. I have found a place that is close by and the rental is $100 a month. I plan on putting most of my possessions in storage next Friday.
.
I will pay for two or three months. That should leave me with $400 - $500 left. I have a doctor’s appointment, so I am going to need a place to clean up, charge my power chair, and an address to be picked up. I am thinking I will stay on the streets until October 21st. That afternoon I will get a room for two days, a ground floor room. There is a hotel across the street from where I live. That way I can get my power chair out of storage, clothes, take a bathe and have them pick me up. Go see the doctor. Come back and spend another night in a bed, prior to rerunning the power chair to storage and heading back to the streets.
.
I simply cannot miss my doctor’s appointment. I desperately need my medications. See, the way I see it Mr. Gay should be out and able to help me, again, by the end of October. That is, if he is not released on the 27th of this month. I have written, and sent via ‘Registered’ mail letters to; Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Orange County Public Defender’s Office and The Office of the Governor explaining the circumstances Mr. Gay faced at the time of his arrest. I explained the impact his continued incarceration will have on my health, too.
.
If you would like to help me help Mr. Gay? PLEASE CALL: Mr. Glen A. Gay Booking #2785848 TO
The Orange County District Attorney's Office
West Justice Center 8141 13th Street Westminster, CA 92683 (714) 896-7261
AND
West Justice Center Office of the Public Defender
14120 Beach Blvd., Suite 200 Westminster, CA 92683-4593 T
Tel.: (714) 896-7281 FAX: (714) 896-7368
Toll Free: (866) 634-6225
HEAD OF COURT:
Martin Schwarz, Assistant Public Defender
.
I know… you don’t have to tell me. It is just that I cannot afford an attorney for Mr. Gay. Hell, I will be doing well to; get my belongings in storage, file to halt or retard the Unlawful Detainer and feed myself for the next three weeks. My Dear Readers, I am spending the monies I received form you very sparingly. No splurging on pizza or eating out in fast food places. I take all my meals at home. I generally eat tuna or hot dogs and sometimes some beans. That is IT!
.
I will admit, I have been forced to pay a friend, on three occasions, for his time and efforts helping me to get food and medications home. I am frugal with the monies I have been blessed. However, I cannot afford… nor can I really physically accomplish getting out and looking for another place to live. I need help. I am afraid that this weekend I will be calling a family member… maybe, and a friend asking if they can come out here and help me find a place to live… if I get the courage.
.
I do NOT want to interrupt anyone’s life. However, I am just incapable of doing anything beyond getting my belongings into a storage facility… by myself. I put that in the letters I wrote, too. If Mr. Gay were here, I could get everything moved and myself. Without his assistance, I am greatly hampered.
.
So, the plan is that on September 27th, 2013 I will have help putting most everything I own into a storage facility here in the city of Cypress. I will pay several months, in advance. I will pay for a post office box… then I will take my little friend Alexander and I will head out to see where I can… live. Shelters are mostly out of the question. First, I am on two pain medications and oral and a transdermal patch. The patch that I wear? Saw a television show about ‘addicts’. Well, evidently that patch I wear to live in intractable pain? Some addicts use for injection and are worth… well, more that I will put in print.
.
Needless to say, my patches are worth more than my life. Second, Alexander. I cannot find a place for him, and I refuse to make him suffer any more than need be. He is scared, already. I want… need to have him with me. I am without Allen… without a roof over my head… please I just need to keep someone I love nearby. That is not too much to ask, is it? I have figured out how to construct a temporary cage that will fit into the grocery cart I have purchased. I refuse to get harassed or arrested for using a grocery store cart.
.
Cypress police just love harassing the homeless already; I plan on giving them no reason to bother me. When I need to shop, or go into some place. I will drop Alex off at the storage facility and put him in his cage, for a few hours. During my doctor’s appointment I will leave him in his cage in the room I rent for a few days.
.
I am praying that Mr. Gay gets out ROR. If not, I plan on staying here in Cypress the best I can until he gets out. Once out, I hope that he and I can find a place to live and continue or lives, together.
.
I am not really sure just how often I am going to be able to write, here. I will take videos, frequently at first, of my life on the streets. You can follow my videos at my YouTube channel. (Just click that link and it will take you to my channel… home of 115 videos). When I am able I will post articles, and post article with the videos. Honestly, I do not think I am going to feel like communicating… once I am homeless.
.
Crazy, huh? I am talking so calmly about being a statistic… homeless. No use crying… no use getting mad… Did I tell you? Mr. Gay was out the Friday he made his indiscretion going to the Unemployment office. See, he had not received a check in more than ten days and we could not get through to the office on the phone. There is a reason why here: ‘Upgrade to California's unemployment system causes problems for thousands’ [1] TWENTY THOUSAND people were without checks for over two weeks. (Late adddition it was FIFTY THOUSAND[2]Californians without their Unemploymnet... 75% of which WORK!)
.
Not an excuse… “Just the facts, Ma’am.” Joe Friday – Dragnet.
Thing of it is? Without that snafu Mr. Gay would never been out that day. Right now? I WOULD HAVE HIM HELPING AND $500 MORE TO HELP ME!
.
That is a FACT. Anyways, anyone that might want to help me? Contact me via Facebook or this blog. I do need help. I cannot walk, far, without assistance. I do not have a place to live. Any kind of help will be greatly appreciated. I am not a criminal… I did nothing wrong… yet… my life is going to be horribly damaged, too.
.
As always, I am deeply honored that you come here and read my works… my words.
.
Thank YOU!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
A View of America's Future via the Past?
“Fellow Americans. … This year… When the war ended. I felt, like millions of Americans… that I was not responsible for the causes of the war… nor the outbreak of war… nor the conduct of the war. Nor was I responsible for the political situation in America. I was just a citizen, just like tens of millions of other Americans.
.
A time came when an American could only take pride only in the past. While the present was only something to be ashamed of. With the decline of foreign policy and the decay of political power the internal collapse began. The dissolution of our great national institutions amd decay and corruption in our administration. And so began the decline of our nationhood. All this was brought about… all this was caused…
.
And now we see the collapse of class after class. The Middle classes are in despair. Hundreds of thousands of lives are ruined. Every year the situation grows more desperate for tens of millions. Hundreds of thousands are going bankrupt. The ranks of the unemployed continue to swell. One, two three four million… five million, six million seven million… Today it may be seven or eight million.
.
How long can this go on? I am convinced that we must act now if we are to act before it’s too late. Therefore, I decided with the support of my party… which began with few members… and now is twelve million strong. To save the nation and the Republic."
.
Does any of this sound familiar? Do these words ring true, today? Does anyone recognize the words I have just written? Do these words strike a cord, with you?
.
This is a speech I just finished watching. I have replaced… updated… some of the words. The numbers were brought up to date… I replaced fatherland with Republic… and I replaced Germans with Americans.
.
This speech was originally given by Fuehrer Adolf Hitler at a rally given days after he was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
.
As I listened to his voice… as I read the translation at the bottom of the screen… a chill came over me. A chill that cut to the core of my soul. I left out the harsh words about “the Jews…”. However, if one were to replace “the Jews…” with “the Liberals…” it would speak the same… carry the same…. Appeal the same, to the same people.
.
We, Americans, stand at a turning point in history. If we continue to allow ourselves to be lead by divisionism.. If we continue to allow hyper-partisan tactics to succeed. If we allow ourselves to see members of the other party as not equal Americans. Equal in all ways, equal in all rights? We stand on a path that leads to a deadly future.
.
The echoes of the past are coming to haunt our future. I cannot stop people hating. I cannot stop people pushing their brethren down so that they might feel up. I cannot stop the schadenfreude (a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people). I can only write what I see. Write what I think. Share my ideas and pray for the best.
.
I have been writing, now, for more than an hour (I write slowly with one hand). Yet, I still feel the chill. The terrible cold of these words, and the anger and hatred that is sew into them by their speaker. America stands on a precipice. The edge of a social razor blade. I cannot pull US back… I can merely warn of the fall.
.
As always, I am honored that you come here and read my works… my words.
.
Thank you!
.
A time came when an American could only take pride only in the past. While the present was only something to be ashamed of. With the decline of foreign policy and the decay of political power the internal collapse began. The dissolution of our great national institutions amd decay and corruption in our administration. And so began the decline of our nationhood. All this was brought about… all this was caused…
.
And now we see the collapse of class after class. The Middle classes are in despair. Hundreds of thousands of lives are ruined. Every year the situation grows more desperate for tens of millions. Hundreds of thousands are going bankrupt. The ranks of the unemployed continue to swell. One, two three four million… five million, six million seven million… Today it may be seven or eight million.
.
How long can this go on? I am convinced that we must act now if we are to act before it’s too late. Therefore, I decided with the support of my party… which began with few members… and now is twelve million strong. To save the nation and the Republic."
.
Does any of this sound familiar? Do these words ring true, today? Does anyone recognize the words I have just written? Do these words strike a cord, with you?
.
This is a speech I just finished watching. I have replaced… updated… some of the words. The numbers were brought up to date… I replaced fatherland with Republic… and I replaced Germans with Americans.
.
This speech was originally given by Fuehrer Adolf Hitler at a rally given days after he was appointed Chancellor of Germany.
.
As I listened to his voice… as I read the translation at the bottom of the screen… a chill came over me. A chill that cut to the core of my soul. I left out the harsh words about “the Jews…”. However, if one were to replace “the Jews…” with “the Liberals…” it would speak the same… carry the same…. Appeal the same, to the same people.
.
We, Americans, stand at a turning point in history. If we continue to allow ourselves to be lead by divisionism.. If we continue to allow hyper-partisan tactics to succeed. If we allow ourselves to see members of the other party as not equal Americans. Equal in all ways, equal in all rights? We stand on a path that leads to a deadly future.
.
The echoes of the past are coming to haunt our future. I cannot stop people hating. I cannot stop people pushing their brethren down so that they might feel up. I cannot stop the schadenfreude (a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people). I can only write what I see. Write what I think. Share my ideas and pray for the best.
.
I have been writing, now, for more than an hour (I write slowly with one hand). Yet, I still feel the chill. The terrible cold of these words, and the anger and hatred that is sew into them by their speaker. America stands on a precipice. The edge of a social razor blade. I cannot pull US back… I can merely warn of the fall.
.
As always, I am honored that you come here and read my works… my words.
.
Thank you!
Daniel Update Spetember 18th, 2013
Welcome back My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. My road ahead will be very rough. It will test me in every way imaginable. It will cause me, as it already has, great physical pain and suffering. I am beside myself with; sadness, fear and trepidation. The worst part, My Dear Readers? It appears I will face it completely alone.
.
Mr. Gay was not release, yesterday. I have till the end of the month to; either fight the eviction (alone), or move (alone). Quite honestly, I am not physically capable of either. Fate, the harsh mistress that she is, sees fit to make this a battle I fight alone. I have no friends here in California to help or assist me. The only help I have received, so far, I have been forced to pay for their assistance.
.
Every dollar I pay to; have food brought to me, pay to get a ride to the pharmacy or grocery store. Is a dollar less I have to move and put my belongings in storage. I do not have a way to go and talk to people renting rooms. I do not have a way to get anywhere except via my wheelchair alone and OCTA access. I do not think I am getting all of my mail.
.
Therefore, I am going to go… somehow, to the post office and get a post office box and have all my mail sent there for the time being. I am running low on; food, water, and most everything. I am going to call Orange County Social Services today. I will ask them for any assistance they can spare. With all; Federal, State, County and local budgets cut to the bare bone. I am not expecting any help what so ever.
.
I am going to do two things, over the next ten days. First, pack everything that I am able to pack. Second, make arrangements to find a storage facility and get a storage room. I will then fight the unlawful detainer. If I win, I will keep my room here until Mr. Gay gets out or 60 days pass, which ever comes first. If I loose, I will pay to have everything I have managed to pack placed into storage and seek shelter.
.It is already getting cooler, here, at night. Fall and winter are approaching. I do not look forward to be without a home (homeless) during the fall and winter… not at all. However, it is Southern California so I will not get snow… just rain and nights down into the 40’s and 50’s.
.
I cannot get to places to rent a room, alone. I am too proud to ask anyone to come to California and help me. Texan pride is strong. You can take the boy out of Texas, you cannot take the Texas out of the boy. I will keep all monies in the bank or storage, as with all my medications. I will know, by the end of the month, just how long Mr. Gay will be in jail.
.
Once Mr. Gay gets out of jail, I will have assistance to find a place to live and get back to writing and living a normal life. Contrary to what some might have imagined, I will not be able to blog on the streets. I know that readership will die off… I will likely loose all of you, My Dear Readers.
.
However, I am going to keep my phone service. Therefore, I will be able to blog snippets occasionally. I will be able to post vides taken from my cell phone. See where this is heading?
.
My Dear Readers, barring the worst possible outcome? YOU, My Dear Readers, will be witness to the whole fall from grace! You will bear witness to the first (that I am aware of) blogging homeless person. It will not be regular, it will (most likely) not be pleasant. Living on the street is not ‘pleasant’. For those weak of heart? I suggest that in ten days, to two weeks, you stop reading my blog and watching my YouTube videos. For everyone else? Stand by for the most… jarring personal narrative of our time.
.
FYI, I am already sick. I have this terribly raspy cough that just won’t leave. I have fevers every day. OH GOOD NEWS!!! My doctor, Dr. Laurence Gorlick (a tremendous physician and… well, a man I trust implicitly) is/was very concerned with my fevers and weight loss (down to 163 @ my last visit… and I am sure it is still falling as I cannot prepare meals… and really have little food here). So, he ran some tests. One of which was an HIV/AIDs test. Now, I told my good doctor that I am completely monogamous! I love Mr. Gay and I deeply respect the sanctity of MARRIAGE! He, however, was unconvinced and ran the test… as that was the only reason he could thing of for my symptoms I have another way, I will impart shortly). The test came back yesterday, to me. It was… …. …. (drum roll, please!) NEGATIVE!
.
I do not have AIDs! I knew as much, in my soul. Therefore, the only remaining reason for my symptoms? Extrusion (rupture) of several discs of my cervical spine. (See image below)
.
[caption id="attachment_1655" align="aligncenter" width="382"]
Four Stages of Disc Herniation[/caption]
.
When a herniated (or prolapsed) disc is ground down by bone spurs (osteophytes) the disc cover (nucleus pulpous)’leaks’ into the spinal canal or this mixes with the cerebral spinal fluid. Either action results in; fevers, loss of appetite, weight loss, inability to lift hands and arms. Sound familiar? It is my personal opinion that at least one cervical disc has moved on the sequestration (that sounds familiar… Congressional sequestration = sequestration of my cervical discs?!?!?)
.
[caption id="attachment_1653" align="aligncenter" width="250"]
Parts Of Discs[/caption]
.
Now, that does not explain the cough, raspy sound in my chest and general feeling of illness. That, I think, is just me coming down with a bad chest cold. Chest cold + living on the streets = pneumonia. JOY!
.
I told you that the next weeks to months would be exciting! I refuse to beg, My Dear Readers. No matter how far I fall I will not beg for help. I have asked. For six weeks I asked… yea, I even at times… shamefully begged. That is over. I will find my way out of this… one way or another. I would appreciate any assistance from anyone. I am Danny Hanning on Facebook. There is a link, above, to my YouTube channel. Then, there is this blog. There are many ways to reach out and talk to me or help.
.
I am going to be very busy, the next ten days. I do not know if I will have time to write or promote my work. I look to you, My Dear Readers, to share my words… share my works… share my plight. I will accept help from anyone that wants to help. I do not know how I am going to get everything I own… packed and into storage. The more I can get done = the less I have to pay to have others help.
.
California is on the other side of the nation, from most of the people I know and love. However, here in California? I have the best health care coverage I could hope for in these Untied States outside Massachusetts (thanks to ‘Romney Care’). I have been (graciously) asked to move to ‘Southern’ states. I regret to inform all that if I would do that I could no longer afford the medical care I need and deserve. Our nation has divided itself… and health care has become a battleground. I need to stay in a state that covers ALL medical costs for the poor. California does this.
.
Enough ‘politics’ I have no time, nor desire to talk politics… I am falling between the cracks in our society and I have to focus on the fall. I will write when I can. I will make videos of living on the streets and upload them to YouTube as often as I can.
.
I sincerely apologize for leaving you, My Dear Readers. If I was in better health… able to lift, move, walk… I would have a better outcome… a softer fall. I will not lie. I am scared to death. Homelessness is not safe. I will not be safe. I refuse to break laws. I will do my best not to; loiter, panhandle, beg, or bother anyone in any way. I will, likely, take my wheelchair and a grocery cat-thingy I bought long ago at Home depot.
.
I will take Alexander with me, as much as I can as often as I can. I will keep his cage in the storage room when I cannot take him with me But I do not want this to upset him or make him scared, too. He deserves better.
.
As always, I am honored by you coming here and reading my words… my works. I promise that I will do everything I can to avoid being homeless… and if that happens I will work hard to get back off the streets.
.
Thank YOU!
.
Mr. Gay was not release, yesterday. I have till the end of the month to; either fight the eviction (alone), or move (alone). Quite honestly, I am not physically capable of either. Fate, the harsh mistress that she is, sees fit to make this a battle I fight alone. I have no friends here in California to help or assist me. The only help I have received, so far, I have been forced to pay for their assistance.
.
Every dollar I pay to; have food brought to me, pay to get a ride to the pharmacy or grocery store. Is a dollar less I have to move and put my belongings in storage. I do not have a way to go and talk to people renting rooms. I do not have a way to get anywhere except via my wheelchair alone and OCTA access. I do not think I am getting all of my mail.
.
Therefore, I am going to go… somehow, to the post office and get a post office box and have all my mail sent there for the time being. I am running low on; food, water, and most everything. I am going to call Orange County Social Services today. I will ask them for any assistance they can spare. With all; Federal, State, County and local budgets cut to the bare bone. I am not expecting any help what so ever.
.
I am going to do two things, over the next ten days. First, pack everything that I am able to pack. Second, make arrangements to find a storage facility and get a storage room. I will then fight the unlawful detainer. If I win, I will keep my room here until Mr. Gay gets out or 60 days pass, which ever comes first. If I loose, I will pay to have everything I have managed to pack placed into storage and seek shelter.
.It is already getting cooler, here, at night. Fall and winter are approaching. I do not look forward to be without a home (homeless) during the fall and winter… not at all. However, it is Southern California so I will not get snow… just rain and nights down into the 40’s and 50’s.
.
I cannot get to places to rent a room, alone. I am too proud to ask anyone to come to California and help me. Texan pride is strong. You can take the boy out of Texas, you cannot take the Texas out of the boy. I will keep all monies in the bank or storage, as with all my medications. I will know, by the end of the month, just how long Mr. Gay will be in jail.
.
Once Mr. Gay gets out of jail, I will have assistance to find a place to live and get back to writing and living a normal life. Contrary to what some might have imagined, I will not be able to blog on the streets. I know that readership will die off… I will likely loose all of you, My Dear Readers.
.
However, I am going to keep my phone service. Therefore, I will be able to blog snippets occasionally. I will be able to post vides taken from my cell phone. See where this is heading?
.
My Dear Readers, barring the worst possible outcome? YOU, My Dear Readers, will be witness to the whole fall from grace! You will bear witness to the first (that I am aware of) blogging homeless person. It will not be regular, it will (most likely) not be pleasant. Living on the street is not ‘pleasant’. For those weak of heart? I suggest that in ten days, to two weeks, you stop reading my blog and watching my YouTube videos. For everyone else? Stand by for the most… jarring personal narrative of our time.
.
FYI, I am already sick. I have this terribly raspy cough that just won’t leave. I have fevers every day. OH GOOD NEWS!!! My doctor, Dr. Laurence Gorlick (a tremendous physician and… well, a man I trust implicitly) is/was very concerned with my fevers and weight loss (down to 163 @ my last visit… and I am sure it is still falling as I cannot prepare meals… and really have little food here). So, he ran some tests. One of which was an HIV/AIDs test. Now, I told my good doctor that I am completely monogamous! I love Mr. Gay and I deeply respect the sanctity of MARRIAGE! He, however, was unconvinced and ran the test… as that was the only reason he could thing of for my symptoms I have another way, I will impart shortly). The test came back yesterday, to me. It was… …. …. (drum roll, please!) NEGATIVE!
.
I do not have AIDs! I knew as much, in my soul. Therefore, the only remaining reason for my symptoms? Extrusion (rupture) of several discs of my cervical spine. (See image below)
.
[caption id="attachment_1655" align="aligncenter" width="382"]
Four Stages of Disc Herniation[/caption](I am in the THIRD stage from the left)
.
When a herniated (or prolapsed) disc is ground down by bone spurs (osteophytes) the disc cover (nucleus pulpous)’leaks’ into the spinal canal or this mixes with the cerebral spinal fluid. Either action results in; fevers, loss of appetite, weight loss, inability to lift hands and arms. Sound familiar? It is my personal opinion that at least one cervical disc has moved on the sequestration (that sounds familiar… Congressional sequestration = sequestration of my cervical discs?!?!?)
.
[caption id="attachment_1653" align="aligncenter" width="250"]
Parts Of Discs[/caption](The parts of Discs and Spine)
.
Now, that does not explain the cough, raspy sound in my chest and general feeling of illness. That, I think, is just me coming down with a bad chest cold. Chest cold + living on the streets = pneumonia. JOY!
.
I told you that the next weeks to months would be exciting! I refuse to beg, My Dear Readers. No matter how far I fall I will not beg for help. I have asked. For six weeks I asked… yea, I even at times… shamefully begged. That is over. I will find my way out of this… one way or another. I would appreciate any assistance from anyone. I am Danny Hanning on Facebook. There is a link, above, to my YouTube channel. Then, there is this blog. There are many ways to reach out and talk to me or help.
.
I am going to be very busy, the next ten days. I do not know if I will have time to write or promote my work. I look to you, My Dear Readers, to share my words… share my works… share my plight. I will accept help from anyone that wants to help. I do not know how I am going to get everything I own… packed and into storage. The more I can get done = the less I have to pay to have others help.
.
California is on the other side of the nation, from most of the people I know and love. However, here in California? I have the best health care coverage I could hope for in these Untied States outside Massachusetts (thanks to ‘Romney Care’). I have been (graciously) asked to move to ‘Southern’ states. I regret to inform all that if I would do that I could no longer afford the medical care I need and deserve. Our nation has divided itself… and health care has become a battleground. I need to stay in a state that covers ALL medical costs for the poor. California does this.
.
Enough ‘politics’ I have no time, nor desire to talk politics… I am falling between the cracks in our society and I have to focus on the fall. I will write when I can. I will make videos of living on the streets and upload them to YouTube as often as I can.
.
I sincerely apologize for leaving you, My Dear Readers. If I was in better health… able to lift, move, walk… I would have a better outcome… a softer fall. I will not lie. I am scared to death. Homelessness is not safe. I will not be safe. I refuse to break laws. I will do my best not to; loiter, panhandle, beg, or bother anyone in any way. I will, likely, take my wheelchair and a grocery cat-thingy I bought long ago at Home depot.
.
I will take Alexander with me, as much as I can as often as I can. I will keep his cage in the storage room when I cannot take him with me But I do not want this to upset him or make him scared, too. He deserves better.
.
As always, I am honored by you coming here and reading my words… my works. I promise that I will do everything I can to avoid being homeless… and if that happens I will work hard to get back off the streets.
.
Thank YOU!
Monday, September 16, 2013
A Small Personal Victory For Daniel
Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. Victories just have not been a part of my life, as of late. However, today I am celebrating a major personal victory. A victory that will save lives! On August 5th, 2013 I wrote a little article called ‘Today? DANNY SAVED LIVES!’. This article was quite popular, as it received thirty-one ‘Likes’ and drove a considerable amount of traffic that week. This article explained how I witnessed construction workers on the property, that day, trying to repair the pool and Jacuzzi whose damage was far too extensive to just be repaired.
.
I had a little feedback… not entirely supportive. They claimed I was just nitpicking because I was being asked to move and that, likely, the pool would just be repaired at another time. [Is this gloating? I never seem to get the chance… so this is unfamiliar territory] Today, I and my assertions, were proven correct. Below is a video of the beginning of the demolition of said pool and Jacuzzi.
.
Upon seeing the crew out there, tearing apart the pool and Jacuzzi, I called the City of Cypress Code Enforcement and confirmed. The new owners have properly obtained permits for the demolition of both the pool and Jacuzzi. They explained that they had yet to receive the plans for the construction of the new pool and Jacuzzi. Then a funny thing happened. The gentleman from the City of Cypress Code Enforcement THANKED ME!
.
He recognized my name, and voice, and said that they were now keeping a close eye on this property and that the new owners are now cooperating with the city. [Believe it or not] I was speechless. I thanked the city employee and hung up the phone.
.
Allen (my caregiver and BFF for the past twenty-five years) often calls me ‘The Last Boy Scout’. Today, he was correct. I was correct. A pool, and Jacuzzi, with extensive damage. Damage that broke the foundation, in several places, and broke rebar (in several places) simply cannot be repaired. To merely repair a pool with that level of damage places the lives of those who swim and play, in said pool, in grave jeopardy.
.
Yes, my actions, will cost this new owner more money… and time but it will guarantee the safety of all those that come here and swim and play. I feel good!
.
I have yet to find out the fate of Mr. Gay… and that leaves me quite scared and, at times, terrified… but, for a moment today, I am proud of myself and my actions. Below is a short video of the crew beginning the demolition.
.
.
As always it is an honor to have you, My Dear Readers, come here and read my work.
.
Thank YOU!
.
I had a little feedback… not entirely supportive. They claimed I was just nitpicking because I was being asked to move and that, likely, the pool would just be repaired at another time. [Is this gloating? I never seem to get the chance… so this is unfamiliar territory] Today, I and my assertions, were proven correct. Below is a video of the beginning of the demolition of said pool and Jacuzzi.
.
Upon seeing the crew out there, tearing apart the pool and Jacuzzi, I called the City of Cypress Code Enforcement and confirmed. The new owners have properly obtained permits for the demolition of both the pool and Jacuzzi. They explained that they had yet to receive the plans for the construction of the new pool and Jacuzzi. Then a funny thing happened. The gentleman from the City of Cypress Code Enforcement THANKED ME!
.
He recognized my name, and voice, and said that they were now keeping a close eye on this property and that the new owners are now cooperating with the city. [Believe it or not] I was speechless. I thanked the city employee and hung up the phone.
.
Allen (my caregiver and BFF for the past twenty-five years) often calls me ‘The Last Boy Scout’. Today, he was correct. I was correct. A pool, and Jacuzzi, with extensive damage. Damage that broke the foundation, in several places, and broke rebar (in several places) simply cannot be repaired. To merely repair a pool with that level of damage places the lives of those who swim and play, in said pool, in grave jeopardy.
.
Yes, my actions, will cost this new owner more money… and time but it will guarantee the safety of all those that come here and swim and play. I feel good!
.
I have yet to find out the fate of Mr. Gay… and that leaves me quite scared and, at times, terrified… but, for a moment today, I am proud of myself and my actions. Below is a short video of the crew beginning the demolition.
.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/f4Ao8kxF7f0]
.
As always it is an honor to have you, My Dear Readers, come here and read my work.
.
Thank YOU!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
A Plea For Sanity And Compassion
Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. I have received some high praise for my recent article ‘The American Civil War of 201_’. I am extremely faltered by this praise, as that it comes from a fellow author with whom I have great respect. I understand that I need work on my grammar. If my life stabilizes I full intend to go back to college and taking courses on creative writing and English. I do not want to offend you, My Dear Readers, with poor grammar or spelling. I use ‘Word’ to write all my articles, but I know that I still make amateur mistakes. I appreciate your understanding and tolerance.
.
Having said, I would like to offer one bit of defense for my writing. Several times in my life of writing I have been told, mostly by women with whom I was intimate, that they can hear my voice when they read my work. I just couldn’t ask for higher praise. I am proud of my voice and the way I express myself. If I can manage to improve my grammar, and still keep the style? I would be a very happy author.
.
I have not written about my caregiver/BFF Mr. Gay today. I have not spoken of my dilemma, either. That does not mean I have not been working, or hurting. Quite the contrary is the case. I am still quite terrified by my impending… situation. However, I have not been idle. Below is the text of a letter I have constructed for; Governor Jerry Brown and The Public Defenders Office of Orange County. What I wouldn’t give for the resources to hire a good attorney for Mr. Gay. What I wouldn’t give to have the financial resources to post bail. I would give my very soul for his release. I feel a deep and heavy guilt for his situation.
.
Everyone’s actions are their own. “Poor judgment should not be rewarded with personal sacrifice.” My father said those very words to me, when I was seventeen years old. My father had a very informed understanding of the world we live in, and an intellect that far outweighed his formal education. I miss my father more than I can say. He could be as hard as nails, as unforgiving as iron, and as loving as any son could hope.
.
I know that one day’s action, by Mr. Gay, now seems to overshadow a decade of caring for my every need. In an effort to correct the record and give Mr. Gay a fighting chance of being released and keep me from homelessness. I have written this letter and will fax it to; Governor Jerry Brown of California and The Public Defenders Office of Orange County.
.
IF there had been time? I would have started, run and promoted 24/7 an Indiegogo Campaign to raise money for his bail and a very good attorney. Quite honestly, if it were not for Mr. Gay… I would have died in my bed… this year. I owe Mr. Gay my life.
.
.
“Dear Governor Jerry Brown,
My name is Daniel Hanning and I live in Cypress, California. I am a disabled American with a huge problem that I pray your office will assist me. I have a caregiver, and best friend and significant other of twenty-five years. For the past eight years he has been my sole caregiver. IF I ate, it was because Glen Allen Gay feed me. If I bathed, it was because Glen Allen Gay bathed me. If I shopped or enjoyed fresh air or went to a doctor appointment, it was because Mr. Glen Allen Gay got me there safely.
.
On Friday September 13th, 2013 Mr. Gay was walking to the local Unemployment office. He had not received his check when it was scheduled, not for more than seven days late. Just a week before someone on our property stole his one and only means of transportation, his bicycle. It was very hot. Mr. Gay was very tired and under tremendous stresses.
.
For the past eight years Mr. Gay gets up at 5 or 6AM to feed me and get me my morning medications. After that, we would go out and try to find a full time job. At 47 in this market Mr. Gay has worked tirelessly to find that illusive full time job. Upon getting home, at noon, he would get me fed lunch and bathed if it was my day to have a bath.
.
Next, my afternoon medications. Then Mr. Gay would go to his part-time job. Upon getting home for his job he would prepare dinner for me, get my evening medications and then get me ready for bed. He would stay up with me, if my pain was bad as it has been for the past two years. I suffered with severe Degenerative Disc disease, spinal stenosis, limited use of my left hand, left foot drop, and severe intractable pain. Mr. Gay worked tirelessly to make my life livable.
.
On July 29th, 2013 Mr. Gay and myself received a Sixty Day Notice to vacate our affordable residence of the past ten years. On top of caring for me. On top of looking for work and having dozens of employers pass him over for a younger person. On top of my condition getting worse, so bad that I stop breathing in the middle of the night and being unable to swallow often. On top of having his only means of transportation stolen (the new owner of the building told one of the evicted residents “take any bike you want off the property I want all of them off of my property. The same property owner that has refused to get permits from the City of Cypress for his work on this property)
.
On top of all of that Mr. Gay spent FIVE DAYS on the phone trying to get through to Unemployment. I was on my cell phone, he was on his cell phone and I was using the building phone. Three phones for five days and we never once got through to the unemployment offices. Mr. Gay and I needed his check so that we could afford to comply with the 60 day notice and move.
.
Without Mr. Gay, Dear Sir, I am completely lost. I will end up in a continuing care facility, costing the state thousands a week more than my disease costs now. That, or I will Fall between the cracks and end up homeless on the streets of Orange County, California.
.
Mr. Gay broke under the pressure. At 47 years of age Mr. Gay broke the law. Instead of continuing to walk, in the heat for miles to get a check. Mr. Gay broke with what is right and made a huge error in judgment and broke the law.
.
Please understand that I am not condoning Mr. Gay’s actions I am putting his actions into context. If anyone is to blame, it is me. I ask so much of him every day. His job refuses full time hours. HE works for Olive Garden and I am sure you are aware the owner of this company is making a political point (he hates President Obama and ‘Obamacare’ aka ‘The Affordable Care Act’) and refuses all hourly employees livable wage jobs by keeping hours to less than twenty a week. I am sure that if this lowly blog write (I write The Other Shoe) knows about the antics of the CEO of Darden Foods, you do, too.
.
Mr. Gay has worked hard and played by the rules the majority of his life. He takes care of me, free of charge to the County of Orange and the State of California. Mr. Gay is set to be arraigned Tuesday September 17th, 2013. Mr. Glen Allen Gay (age 47) Men’s Central Orange County Booking # 2785848. If he is released on his own recognizance with community service? He can return and continue to help me life and move.
.
However, if Mr. Gay is sentenced I will need full time care, paid for by the County of Orange and the State of California. Mr. Gay did not sell anything or damage anyone else’s property. He did not cause another human any pain of suffering. However, if he is held it will cause me grave pain and suffering. If I end up homeless, I will likely die due to my condition. I will slip and fall and I will expire. I cannot walk more than a few steps. I cannot bathe myself or prepare my own meals. I do not want to become a burden to the county or the state or end up homeless and dead.
.
Please can you help me help Mr. Gay? I am fearful for my life. Please, reach out and change the course of our futures and protect my health and life?
.
You can reach me at [removed for privacy concerns] Please, just one phone call can alter the course of our futures. Give Mr. Gay a second chance at helping me and bring hope to my life. Please contact me if you need further information of proof of my cervical degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.
.
Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter,
Respectfully,
Daniel L. Hanning
.
As always, it is an honor that you come here and read my work My Dear Readers. I sincerely thank you for your kindness and support.
.
Thank you!
.
Having said, I would like to offer one bit of defense for my writing. Several times in my life of writing I have been told, mostly by women with whom I was intimate, that they can hear my voice when they read my work. I just couldn’t ask for higher praise. I am proud of my voice and the way I express myself. If I can manage to improve my grammar, and still keep the style? I would be a very happy author.
.
I have not written about my caregiver/BFF Mr. Gay today. I have not spoken of my dilemma, either. That does not mean I have not been working, or hurting. Quite the contrary is the case. I am still quite terrified by my impending… situation. However, I have not been idle. Below is the text of a letter I have constructed for; Governor Jerry Brown and The Public Defenders Office of Orange County. What I wouldn’t give for the resources to hire a good attorney for Mr. Gay. What I wouldn’t give to have the financial resources to post bail. I would give my very soul for his release. I feel a deep and heavy guilt for his situation.
.
Everyone’s actions are their own. “Poor judgment should not be rewarded with personal sacrifice.” My father said those very words to me, when I was seventeen years old. My father had a very informed understanding of the world we live in, and an intellect that far outweighed his formal education. I miss my father more than I can say. He could be as hard as nails, as unforgiving as iron, and as loving as any son could hope.
.
I know that one day’s action, by Mr. Gay, now seems to overshadow a decade of caring for my every need. In an effort to correct the record and give Mr. Gay a fighting chance of being released and keep me from homelessness. I have written this letter and will fax it to; Governor Jerry Brown of California and The Public Defenders Office of Orange County.
.
IF there had been time? I would have started, run and promoted 24/7 an Indiegogo Campaign to raise money for his bail and a very good attorney. Quite honestly, if it were not for Mr. Gay… I would have died in my bed… this year. I owe Mr. Gay my life.
.
.
“Dear Governor Jerry Brown,
My name is Daniel Hanning and I live in Cypress, California. I am a disabled American with a huge problem that I pray your office will assist me. I have a caregiver, and best friend and significant other of twenty-five years. For the past eight years he has been my sole caregiver. IF I ate, it was because Glen Allen Gay feed me. If I bathed, it was because Glen Allen Gay bathed me. If I shopped or enjoyed fresh air or went to a doctor appointment, it was because Mr. Glen Allen Gay got me there safely.
.
On Friday September 13th, 2013 Mr. Gay was walking to the local Unemployment office. He had not received his check when it was scheduled, not for more than seven days late. Just a week before someone on our property stole his one and only means of transportation, his bicycle. It was very hot. Mr. Gay was very tired and under tremendous stresses.
.
For the past eight years Mr. Gay gets up at 5 or 6AM to feed me and get me my morning medications. After that, we would go out and try to find a full time job. At 47 in this market Mr. Gay has worked tirelessly to find that illusive full time job. Upon getting home, at noon, he would get me fed lunch and bathed if it was my day to have a bath.
.
Next, my afternoon medications. Then Mr. Gay would go to his part-time job. Upon getting home for his job he would prepare dinner for me, get my evening medications and then get me ready for bed. He would stay up with me, if my pain was bad as it has been for the past two years. I suffered with severe Degenerative Disc disease, spinal stenosis, limited use of my left hand, left foot drop, and severe intractable pain. Mr. Gay worked tirelessly to make my life livable.
.
On July 29th, 2013 Mr. Gay and myself received a Sixty Day Notice to vacate our affordable residence of the past ten years. On top of caring for me. On top of looking for work and having dozens of employers pass him over for a younger person. On top of my condition getting worse, so bad that I stop breathing in the middle of the night and being unable to swallow often. On top of having his only means of transportation stolen (the new owner of the building told one of the evicted residents “take any bike you want off the property I want all of them off of my property. The same property owner that has refused to get permits from the City of Cypress for his work on this property)
.
On top of all of that Mr. Gay spent FIVE DAYS on the phone trying to get through to Unemployment. I was on my cell phone, he was on his cell phone and I was using the building phone. Three phones for five days and we never once got through to the unemployment offices. Mr. Gay and I needed his check so that we could afford to comply with the 60 day notice and move.
.
Without Mr. Gay, Dear Sir, I am completely lost. I will end up in a continuing care facility, costing the state thousands a week more than my disease costs now. That, or I will Fall between the cracks and end up homeless on the streets of Orange County, California.
.
Mr. Gay broke under the pressure. At 47 years of age Mr. Gay broke the law. Instead of continuing to walk, in the heat for miles to get a check. Mr. Gay broke with what is right and made a huge error in judgment and broke the law.
.
Please understand that I am not condoning Mr. Gay’s actions I am putting his actions into context. If anyone is to blame, it is me. I ask so much of him every day. His job refuses full time hours. HE works for Olive Garden and I am sure you are aware the owner of this company is making a political point (he hates President Obama and ‘Obamacare’ aka ‘The Affordable Care Act’) and refuses all hourly employees livable wage jobs by keeping hours to less than twenty a week. I am sure that if this lowly blog write (I write The Other Shoe) knows about the antics of the CEO of Darden Foods, you do, too.
.
Mr. Gay has worked hard and played by the rules the majority of his life. He takes care of me, free of charge to the County of Orange and the State of California. Mr. Gay is set to be arraigned Tuesday September 17th, 2013. Mr. Glen Allen Gay (age 47) Men’s Central Orange County Booking # 2785848. If he is released on his own recognizance with community service? He can return and continue to help me life and move.
.
However, if Mr. Gay is sentenced I will need full time care, paid for by the County of Orange and the State of California. Mr. Gay did not sell anything or damage anyone else’s property. He did not cause another human any pain of suffering. However, if he is held it will cause me grave pain and suffering. If I end up homeless, I will likely die due to my condition. I will slip and fall and I will expire. I cannot walk more than a few steps. I cannot bathe myself or prepare my own meals. I do not want to become a burden to the county or the state or end up homeless and dead.
.
Please can you help me help Mr. Gay? I am fearful for my life. Please, reach out and change the course of our futures and protect my health and life?
.
You can reach me at [removed for privacy concerns] Please, just one phone call can alter the course of our futures. Give Mr. Gay a second chance at helping me and bring hope to my life. Please contact me if you need further information of proof of my cervical degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis.
.
Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter,
Respectfully,
Daniel L. Hanning
.
As always, it is an honor that you come here and read my work My Dear Readers. I sincerely thank you for your kindness and support.
.
Thank you!
The American Civil War of 201_
The American Civil War of 201_
In 1860 there were, roughly, thirty-one million Americans in our great nation. Twenty-two million of them lived in the ‘Northern states’ and nine million lived in the ‘Southern-Confederate’ states. When the fighting finally ended in the far west and Texas, it took some time for the word to reach these places that the war was over. Over SIX HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND Americans had given their lives… for a LIE.
.
What was the lie? That freedom belonged to only some Americans. The lie was that the people of the North were any different from the Americans in the South. That African Americans deserved to be enslaved. The lie was the same as it is today.
.
"It's divided our country in a way that we haven't been divided probably since the Civil War…” Robert Kennedy Jr. [1]
.
Thirty-One million Americans reduced to thirty point four. There are now well over One Hundred times as many Americans today as there were in 1860. Therefore, and equivalent ‘War Between The States’ in the twenty-first century would more than decimate (to reduce by 1/10) our population. SIX MILLION AMERICANS! One in every fifty Americans would die.
.
In the late hours of my campaign I was told that I could raise more money... if I "apologized to Texans..." for "throwing bombs... at Republicans..." I was offered the opportunity to garner assistance from well healed Texans if I apologized for throwing bombs and "offer and olive branch..."
.
An olive branch. Like?
.
“Please I AM SORRY IF I HAVE OFFENDED ANY TEXANS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! . I am beside myself in grief… I cannot write anymore… Please accept my apology. PLEASE?” (from ‘Dear Texans’)[2]
.
I tore myself up, inside. I exposed myself and pleaded for forgiveness. Irony? The irony was that after that article? My biggest donations came not from Texas, but from ENGLAND. I did my penance (voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong)[3]
.
I was not forgiven. The sixth Christian Tenet is:
“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”[4]
.
Yet, I was not offered forgiveness. Why? I publically flayed myself. Took responsibility for actions I was told I had engaged in and begged for forgiveness. It was not forthcoming… Why?
.
We live in a nation divided. Not by me. I have been told “you throw bombs…” Yet, when asked to show me the bombs I have thrown… the wrongs I have committed? (Everything I have EVER written is right here at The Other Shoe) DEAFENING SILENCE. Nobody can point to any single article… any passage of any article I have ever written where I have “thrown bombs” at Republicans or Conservatives. “Why?” You may well ask. Because it never happened. Want the truth? The truth is that I did write this:
.
“Texas is experiencing a hat-trick of changes. These three factors will not only impact Texas politics, from the Governorship to the State House, they will shift Texas from the deeply Conservative ‘Red’ of today. To a deeply purple, then ‘Blue’ like it was in my youth.”[5] (From my article ‘Texas is Turning Purple. Are you seeing this?’)
.
The entire article was based on United States census data from 2010 and 2012. It was based in FACT. That article was the closest I have ever come to “throwing bombs…” at Texas or Texans… and I NEVER ONCE said anything ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ and every single fact was documented and referenced. For that I am shunned. For that I am allowed to fall… to become homeless by people with more money than they could spend in three lifetimes.
.
“"It's divided our country in a way that we haven't been divided probably since the Civil War…”
.
SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DEAD AMERICANS.
.
“It got so bad… they stopped burying the dead and they piled up in the streets. Bloated bodies… picked over by carrion birds…”[6]
.
Yet, some Americans really want to repeat that sick national tragedy? If the Civil War were to happen today Six Million Americans would die. One in every fifty Americans would loose their life. All over one Presidency?
.
When do we begin to count the dead? If there is another ‘War Between the States’. When will historians begin the counting? Yesterday?Today? Tomorrow? Will me ending up homeless and dead, be counted?
See, I am free. I know that my condition will take my life. I had a neurosurgeon show the courage to tell me the truth about my spinal disease. One day… my spinal cord will be crushed by either a bone fragment or a errant disc propelled by gravity during a fall. This will result in me loosing the ability to breath. I will loose conscious, and die. I know how I will die…. Do you?
.
Tuesday. Next Tuesday I will know if my caregiver and best friend of twenty-five years will be released in time to help me move. See, because if he is not released…. Because I was never forgiven? I will end up homeless and I will die on the streets of Orange County California. I know this. And I am at peace.
.
Will America continue to pull at the very stitches that were sewn in 1863 till they spill our national guts out for the entire world to witness? I do not know. I fear the worse for the nation I honor and love. I am not a ‘Southerner’. I AM an American! I happen to be born in the ‘South’. However, I never let that factor define WHO I am. I am at peace.
.
If the worst happens… if Allen is not released on this coming Tuesday. I have little left. I will post two more articles. They are already written. These articles outline the years of abuse I have endured. These articles name the people who have abused and misused me. Nothing is left out. Nobody that has caused me harm is left out. All is told. Because? What will I have to loose? I am at peace.
.
I pray for you all. I pray that you find peace. I pray that our country puts aside all this anger and hatred. However, if history is to be our guide to the future? Our great nation will, once again, work to tear itself apart. While the world watches in horror.
.
Imagine the ‘Civil War’ with… Tanks… Jet Aircraft… Helicopter gunships… Automatic weapons… NUKES. As the world watches in horror. And, I am at peace.
.
“A House divided against itself… Cannot stand.” Abraham Lincoln June 16th 1858[7]
.
I could have been spared… Likely by someone that I played with as a child. Someone that watched me on stage at PHS. I could have been saved a humiliating death homeless on the streets of Orange County, California. If only I had asked for forgiveness? Right?
.
I did. And I am at peace.
.
May God have mercy on US all.
.
In 1860 there were, roughly, thirty-one million Americans in our great nation. Twenty-two million of them lived in the ‘Northern states’ and nine million lived in the ‘Southern-Confederate’ states. When the fighting finally ended in the far west and Texas, it took some time for the word to reach these places that the war was over. Over SIX HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND Americans had given their lives… for a LIE.
.
What was the lie? That freedom belonged to only some Americans. The lie was that the people of the North were any different from the Americans in the South. That African Americans deserved to be enslaved. The lie was the same as it is today.
.
"It's divided our country in a way that we haven't been divided probably since the Civil War…” Robert Kennedy Jr. [1]
.
Thirty-One million Americans reduced to thirty point four. There are now well over One Hundred times as many Americans today as there were in 1860. Therefore, and equivalent ‘War Between The States’ in the twenty-first century would more than decimate (to reduce by 1/10) our population. SIX MILLION AMERICANS! One in every fifty Americans would die.
.
In the late hours of my campaign I was told that I could raise more money... if I "apologized to Texans..." for "throwing bombs... at Republicans..." I was offered the opportunity to garner assistance from well healed Texans if I apologized for throwing bombs and "offer and olive branch..."
.
An olive branch. Like?
.
“Please I AM SORRY IF I HAVE OFFENDED ANY TEXANS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! . I am beside myself in grief… I cannot write anymore… Please accept my apology. PLEASE?” (from ‘Dear Texans’)[2]
.
I tore myself up, inside. I exposed myself and pleaded for forgiveness. Irony? The irony was that after that article? My biggest donations came not from Texas, but from ENGLAND. I did my penance (voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong)[3]
.
I was not forgiven. The sixth Christian Tenet is:
“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”[4]
.
Yet, I was not offered forgiveness. Why? I publically flayed myself. Took responsibility for actions I was told I had engaged in and begged for forgiveness. It was not forthcoming… Why?
.
We live in a nation divided. Not by me. I have been told “you throw bombs…” Yet, when asked to show me the bombs I have thrown… the wrongs I have committed? (Everything I have EVER written is right here at The Other Shoe) DEAFENING SILENCE. Nobody can point to any single article… any passage of any article I have ever written where I have “thrown bombs” at Republicans or Conservatives. “Why?” You may well ask. Because it never happened. Want the truth? The truth is that I did write this:
.
“Texas is experiencing a hat-trick of changes. These three factors will not only impact Texas politics, from the Governorship to the State House, they will shift Texas from the deeply Conservative ‘Red’ of today. To a deeply purple, then ‘Blue’ like it was in my youth.”[5] (From my article ‘Texas is Turning Purple. Are you seeing this?’)
.
The entire article was based on United States census data from 2010 and 2012. It was based in FACT. That article was the closest I have ever come to “throwing bombs…” at Texas or Texans… and I NEVER ONCE said anything ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ and every single fact was documented and referenced. For that I am shunned. For that I am allowed to fall… to become homeless by people with more money than they could spend in three lifetimes.
.
“"It's divided our country in a way that we haven't been divided probably since the Civil War…”
.
SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DEAD AMERICANS.
.
“It got so bad… they stopped burying the dead and they piled up in the streets. Bloated bodies… picked over by carrion birds…”[6]
.
Yet, some Americans really want to repeat that sick national tragedy? If the Civil War were to happen today Six Million Americans would die. One in every fifty Americans would loose their life. All over one Presidency?
.
When do we begin to count the dead? If there is another ‘War Between the States’. When will historians begin the counting? Yesterday?Today? Tomorrow? Will me ending up homeless and dead, be counted?
See, I am free. I know that my condition will take my life. I had a neurosurgeon show the courage to tell me the truth about my spinal disease. One day… my spinal cord will be crushed by either a bone fragment or a errant disc propelled by gravity during a fall. This will result in me loosing the ability to breath. I will loose conscious, and die. I know how I will die…. Do you?
.
Tuesday. Next Tuesday I will know if my caregiver and best friend of twenty-five years will be released in time to help me move. See, because if he is not released…. Because I was never forgiven? I will end up homeless and I will die on the streets of Orange County California. I know this. And I am at peace.
.
Will America continue to pull at the very stitches that were sewn in 1863 till they spill our national guts out for the entire world to witness? I do not know. I fear the worse for the nation I honor and love. I am not a ‘Southerner’. I AM an American! I happen to be born in the ‘South’. However, I never let that factor define WHO I am. I am at peace.
.
If the worst happens… if Allen is not released on this coming Tuesday. I have little left. I will post two more articles. They are already written. These articles outline the years of abuse I have endured. These articles name the people who have abused and misused me. Nothing is left out. Nobody that has caused me harm is left out. All is told. Because? What will I have to loose? I am at peace.
.
I pray for you all. I pray that you find peace. I pray that our country puts aside all this anger and hatred. However, if history is to be our guide to the future? Our great nation will, once again, work to tear itself apart. While the world watches in horror.
.
Imagine the ‘Civil War’ with… Tanks… Jet Aircraft… Helicopter gunships… Automatic weapons… NUKES. As the world watches in horror. And, I am at peace.
.
“A House divided against itself… Cannot stand.” Abraham Lincoln June 16th 1858[7]
.
I could have been spared… Likely by someone that I played with as a child. Someone that watched me on stage at PHS. I could have been saved a humiliating death homeless on the streets of Orange County, California. If only I had asked for forgiveness? Right?
.
I did. And I am at peace.
.
May God have mercy on US all.
.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Daniel Update September 14, 2013...
Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. This is my update for September 14, 2013. First, a review, at 6PM Pacific time yesterday (while waiting for Allen my caregiver and best friend roommate to come home from running errands) I receive one of those calls all of us hope to never receive. Allen calls me and, casually, tells me that he has been arrested for Grand Theft Auto. I suddenly leave my body and begin to have an out of body experience. I notice… he laughs. That is what I just wrote, when Allen told me that he was in jail for stealing a truck…. He laughs!
.
I am not amused. My Dear Readers, for the past three years I have never once walked further than my bathroom. Everywhere I go, anywhere I go Allen pushes me in a wheelchair. I cannot walk without my left foot dragging behind me. I have the shoes to prove this fact. My mind immediately flashes on; how am I going to get food, how am I going to get my prescription on Tuesday, how am I going to get…. Anywhere? Back to that in a moment.
.
Allen stops laughing when I raise my voice and ask “You are in jail? For stealing a car?!?!? What is going to happen to me??? I will end up homeless and then DEAD!” (Not too much of an exaggeration… I know what it is to be homeless… I know my limitations). Allen mostly ignores my heartfelt grief and tells me that the arresting officer thinks they will let him out, later tonight (that would be last night, Friday night 9/13/13… FYI he did not come home).
.
I ask him what is supposed to happen to me, to Alexander… to moving. How am I supposed to move all alone, now? He does not even say that he is sorry, My Dear Readers. He continues with saying that he would likely be out of jail. At this time I am getting very scared and very upset. I tell Allen, because I at least realize this might be the only time I ever talk to husband of twenty-five years, that I love him but that his actions will lead to my being homeless and perhaps dead.
.
Allen hangs up on me. He left that morning at 8Am to; go to unemployment to straighten out a problem he had getting his most recent UI check. A, FYI, check he was going to use to pay me back for his half of this month’s rent. See I used $350.00 of the money I raised to pay his half of the rent, on the first. I NEED that money to MOVE!
.
I am writing this not to ask for money, My Dear Readers, more than anything I am writing this article and the following ones to chronicle my fall. See, it REALLY HAS been an honor to have you come and read my words… my works. It just would not be the honorable thing to do to just leave you all and not explain what went wrong… what happened. My Dear Readers, I owe you more than that.. SO MUCH MORE! However, I am falling… falling without a safety net…. Falling with no hope of safety.
.
In two weeks I will run out of pain medications. I will be going through opiate withdrawal living on the streets. Honestly, a fate worse than death…. I am sorry I get scared and I digress. I am very scared… terrified of what lies ahead. I had a little quite life scratched out. Then the 60 day notice… now Allen in jail. My Dear Readers, I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!!! I follow all the rules. I pray every day. I do no wrong to another man. I break no laws… and yet I stand on the verge of total social collapse… and homelessness.
.
If there is anyone that can and will help? Contact me via Facebook or this blog… I am so sorry that I am leaving. I am so sorry that I will never get to share…. ‘The Adventures of Princess Nadia’. I will keep praying and searching for some soft landing. I am just so scared… there is little food in the house. I only have three days of pain medications left and the pharmacy is… well, it might as well be a mile away.
.
I am sorry… I am breaking down… I will write more when I can.
.
Thank you.
ADDENDUM Saturday September 14th, 2013 2:30PM:
"I realize that my grief and confusion may have LEAD to some confusion. I APOLIGZE! Glen Gay did NOT 'steal' a truck, in that he did not sell it, or wreck it or anything like that.... AT 47 years of age Glen Allen Gay went for a 'joy ride' to an Unemploymnet office. He was caught... at the Unenmployment office. That is my understanding, but nobody is talking to ME>"...
FURTHER
"Here is Glen Gay's day. He gets up at 5 or 6AM to prepare me breakfast... get me bathed, if it is my day for a bath, goes out to look for a FULL TIME job. Comes home by noon, feeds me again, gets me my meidcations. Goes to WORK... Comes home, prepares me dinner, helps me if I need, and gets me ready for bed. Go to sleep, rinse and repeat! Glen Allen Gay has been doing this, for me and himslef, for the better part of seven years. I cannot say I wouldn't CRACK.... I am in no way defending his actions... but can YOU say YOU could help me EVERY DAY for the better ...part of a DECADE every day to eat, bathe, and take medications? Could you? Would YOU?"
.
I am not amused. My Dear Readers, for the past three years I have never once walked further than my bathroom. Everywhere I go, anywhere I go Allen pushes me in a wheelchair. I cannot walk without my left foot dragging behind me. I have the shoes to prove this fact. My mind immediately flashes on; how am I going to get food, how am I going to get my prescription on Tuesday, how am I going to get…. Anywhere? Back to that in a moment.
.
Allen stops laughing when I raise my voice and ask “You are in jail? For stealing a car?!?!? What is going to happen to me??? I will end up homeless and then DEAD!” (Not too much of an exaggeration… I know what it is to be homeless… I know my limitations). Allen mostly ignores my heartfelt grief and tells me that the arresting officer thinks they will let him out, later tonight (that would be last night, Friday night 9/13/13… FYI he did not come home).
.
I ask him what is supposed to happen to me, to Alexander… to moving. How am I supposed to move all alone, now? He does not even say that he is sorry, My Dear Readers. He continues with saying that he would likely be out of jail. At this time I am getting very scared and very upset. I tell Allen, because I at least realize this might be the only time I ever talk to husband of twenty-five years, that I love him but that his actions will lead to my being homeless and perhaps dead.
.
Allen hangs up on me. He left that morning at 8Am to; go to unemployment to straighten out a problem he had getting his most recent UI check. A, FYI, check he was going to use to pay me back for his half of this month’s rent. See I used $350.00 of the money I raised to pay his half of the rent, on the first. I NEED that money to MOVE!
.
I am writing this not to ask for money, My Dear Readers, more than anything I am writing this article and the following ones to chronicle my fall. See, it REALLY HAS been an honor to have you come and read my words… my works. It just would not be the honorable thing to do to just leave you all and not explain what went wrong… what happened. My Dear Readers, I owe you more than that.. SO MUCH MORE! However, I am falling… falling without a safety net…. Falling with no hope of safety.
.
In two weeks I will run out of pain medications. I will be going through opiate withdrawal living on the streets. Honestly, a fate worse than death…. I am sorry I get scared and I digress. I am very scared… terrified of what lies ahead. I had a little quite life scratched out. Then the 60 day notice… now Allen in jail. My Dear Readers, I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!!! I follow all the rules. I pray every day. I do no wrong to another man. I break no laws… and yet I stand on the verge of total social collapse… and homelessness.
.
If there is anyone that can and will help? Contact me via Facebook or this blog… I am so sorry that I am leaving. I am so sorry that I will never get to share…. ‘The Adventures of Princess Nadia’. I will keep praying and searching for some soft landing. I am just so scared… there is little food in the house. I only have three days of pain medications left and the pharmacy is… well, it might as well be a mile away.
.
I am sorry… I am breaking down… I will write more when I can.
.
Thank you.
ADDENDUM Saturday September 14th, 2013 2:30PM:
"I realize that my grief and confusion may have LEAD to some confusion. I APOLIGZE! Glen Gay did NOT 'steal' a truck, in that he did not sell it, or wreck it or anything like that.... AT 47 years of age Glen Allen Gay went for a 'joy ride' to an Unemploymnet office. He was caught... at the Unenmployment office. That is my understanding, but nobody is talking to ME>"...
FURTHER
"Here is Glen Gay's day. He gets up at 5 or 6AM to prepare me breakfast... get me bathed, if it is my day for a bath, goes out to look for a FULL TIME job. Comes home by noon, feeds me again, gets me my meidcations. Goes to WORK... Comes home, prepares me dinner, helps me if I need, and gets me ready for bed. Go to sleep, rinse and repeat! Glen Allen Gay has been doing this, for me and himslef, for the better part of seven years. I cannot say I wouldn't CRACK.... I am in no way defending his actions... but can YOU say YOU could help me EVERY DAY for the better ...part of a DECADE every day to eat, bathe, and take medications? Could you? Would YOU?"
Friday, September 13, 2013
I Am SO Scared!!!
Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. First, I have been away for the past week or so. I spend most of my time looking at Craigslist, looking at newspapers, making phone calls, and nursing some severe pain. As well, I have been hiding something from all of you, My Dear Readers. I want to apologize. My pain is terrible and my use of my left hand… and even my right now, diminishes each and every day. I really want to write. To communicate. My disability outweighs my desire. That is why I apologize. However, there has been something else that has dominated my time, and vexed me.
.
Glen Allen Gay is my caregiver and companion of twenty-five years. He has only had to care for me these last ten years. Before that? I was the major bread winner and I loved showering Allen with all the things he wanted and liked. We had good times and bad. Lately more bad than good… and I am ashamed for that… I want to do more for him. The past two weeks… Allen has been drinking. I have tried to be supportive. I have tried to ignore the problem. I apologize… but when Allen drinks… he (and I know he doesn’t mean it)… Allen can be mean.
.
Today was Allen’s payday. I begged him not to drink. Since last night I have begged him not to drink. He did not listen. I saw him only shortly today, in the morning… before he left to run his errands.
.
It is now 7PM. At 6PM I received a phone call from a ‘Restricted’ number. I had not heard from Allen since 3PM today. My Dear Readers, I apologize for having to write this… I never thought I would have to write about something like this… Allen and I have had a mostly quiet life for twenty-five years. I can hardly walk… I am so sorry.
.
Allen called me from jail! (I am so embarrassed... . scared and confused)… Allen got drunk today… and he told me on the phone that he is in jail for Grand Theft Auto. (I am crying as I write this…. This is so not me…. ) Allen is in jail for stealing a truck… I freaked when he called. We are just TWO WEEKS from having to move! At 47 years old Allen got drunk and stole a truck from a highway construction site! I am still in deep shock!
.
I am ashamed at the fact that when he told me I immediately freaked out and started asking
.
“Allen, what am I going to do? I am going to end up homeless because I cannot move without you!”
.
I am ashamed that I only thought of myself. He hung up on me. I do not know if I will hear from him again. I am so totally lost. I cannot even walk to the store for food or to the drug store for my medications on Tuesday. There, I am doing it again. I am sorry. Allen is in jail and all I can think about is me! I feel so terrible. My Dear Readers, I am not a bad person! I haven’t broke a law in my life. Not even a speeding ticket in forty years of driving.
.
I am ashamed that I am having to write this and terribly afraid of what people will think. I care deeply for Allen… but when he drinks, he is very different person. I begged him not to drink, today. I do not think he was kidding for lying to mess with me. This is no joke. Please, My Dear Readers, understand this is totally foreign to me. I am scared to death that I am now going to end up homerless and loosing everything I own because of Allen’s… drunken acts.
.
I know this moving has been hard on Allen. It has been hard on me! I spent Six Weeks writing every day to raise money so that I could move us…. Then he pulls THIS! I am so totally scared. I know that I will not sleep, tonight. I may never see Allen again. Then I selfishly think; what will happen to me? What will happen to Alexander and myself??? I have a home with a bed… computers and a TV… Now I cannot move… I am unable to get out and find a place…. Why did he have to pull this stuff fright now?
.
My Dear Readers, I do not know if I will be able to write. I will do my best to keep everyone updated on what happens to Daniel. I just wanted to write what has happened before the whole world spins out of control. If you know me in real life. Please? Reach out and call? I am so scared. Allen did everything for me… and now he is gone and I do not know what to do… where to turn. How could my little Allen steal a truck!?!?!?
.
This is like my own personal ‘Twilight Zone’! Allen has never broken the law… a Driving While Drunk when he was young. My little Allen stole a truck!??!? And now I will end up loosing everything I own and homeless because of his drunken indiscretion?
.
Well, it is an honor to have you come and read here @ The Other Shoe. I never thought I would be writing THIS! Please, hear me as honest and truthful when I tell you this has me spinning… scared… terrified… I do not know what I am going to do… where I am going to turn. I will try to post soon.
.
Thank you.
.
Glen Allen Gay is my caregiver and companion of twenty-five years. He has only had to care for me these last ten years. Before that? I was the major bread winner and I loved showering Allen with all the things he wanted and liked. We had good times and bad. Lately more bad than good… and I am ashamed for that… I want to do more for him. The past two weeks… Allen has been drinking. I have tried to be supportive. I have tried to ignore the problem. I apologize… but when Allen drinks… he (and I know he doesn’t mean it)… Allen can be mean.
.
Today was Allen’s payday. I begged him not to drink. Since last night I have begged him not to drink. He did not listen. I saw him only shortly today, in the morning… before he left to run his errands.
.
It is now 7PM. At 6PM I received a phone call from a ‘Restricted’ number. I had not heard from Allen since 3PM today. My Dear Readers, I apologize for having to write this… I never thought I would have to write about something like this… Allen and I have had a mostly quiet life for twenty-five years. I can hardly walk… I am so sorry.
.
Allen called me from jail! (I am so embarrassed... . scared and confused)… Allen got drunk today… and he told me on the phone that he is in jail for Grand Theft Auto. (I am crying as I write this…. This is so not me…. ) Allen is in jail for stealing a truck… I freaked when he called. We are just TWO WEEKS from having to move! At 47 years old Allen got drunk and stole a truck from a highway construction site! I am still in deep shock!
.
I am ashamed at the fact that when he told me I immediately freaked out and started asking
.
“Allen, what am I going to do? I am going to end up homeless because I cannot move without you!”
.
I am ashamed that I only thought of myself. He hung up on me. I do not know if I will hear from him again. I am so totally lost. I cannot even walk to the store for food or to the drug store for my medications on Tuesday. There, I am doing it again. I am sorry. Allen is in jail and all I can think about is me! I feel so terrible. My Dear Readers, I am not a bad person! I haven’t broke a law in my life. Not even a speeding ticket in forty years of driving.
.
I am ashamed that I am having to write this and terribly afraid of what people will think. I care deeply for Allen… but when he drinks, he is very different person. I begged him not to drink, today. I do not think he was kidding for lying to mess with me. This is no joke. Please, My Dear Readers, understand this is totally foreign to me. I am scared to death that I am now going to end up homerless and loosing everything I own because of Allen’s… drunken acts.
.
I know this moving has been hard on Allen. It has been hard on me! I spent Six Weeks writing every day to raise money so that I could move us…. Then he pulls THIS! I am so totally scared. I know that I will not sleep, tonight. I may never see Allen again. Then I selfishly think; what will happen to me? What will happen to Alexander and myself??? I have a home with a bed… computers and a TV… Now I cannot move… I am unable to get out and find a place…. Why did he have to pull this stuff fright now?
.
My Dear Readers, I do not know if I will be able to write. I will do my best to keep everyone updated on what happens to Daniel. I just wanted to write what has happened before the whole world spins out of control. If you know me in real life. Please? Reach out and call? I am so scared. Allen did everything for me… and now he is gone and I do not know what to do… where to turn. How could my little Allen steal a truck!?!?!?
.
This is like my own personal ‘Twilight Zone’! Allen has never broken the law… a Driving While Drunk when he was young. My little Allen stole a truck!??!? And now I will end up loosing everything I own and homeless because of his drunken indiscretion?
.
Well, it is an honor to have you come and read here @ The Other Shoe. I never thought I would be writing THIS! Please, hear me as honest and truthful when I tell you this has me spinning… scared… terrified… I do not know what I am going to do… where I am going to turn. I will try to post soon.
.
Thank you.
Monday, September 9, 2013
The Syrian Quagmire
Welcome back, My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe. I am a proud to be an American… for the most part (more about that in the coming weeks). I am not proud of the ‘American War Machine’ and neither was our greatest military President of modern times, President Ike Eisenhower.
.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” [1]
.
However, I am getting ahead of myself. Keep that quote in mind, My Dear Readers, aas I continue… by going backwards a bit.
.
SYRIA: “Syria (i/ˈsɪriə/SIRR-ee-ə ; Arabic: سوريا / ALA-LC: Sūriyā, or سورية / Sūrīyah; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: سوریه, Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Arab Alawites, Arab Sunnis, Arab Christians, Armenians, Assyrians, Druze, Kurds and Turks. Arab Sunnis make up the majority of the population.” [2]
.
Not mentioned here is that Syria has been ruled, like North Korea, by a single family since November 1970. That Assad family, first Hafez al-Assad and now his son Bashar al-Assad. The majority of arms that make up the Syrian armed forces come from the former U.S.S.R. and they are tightly aligned with Iran.
.
Quagmire: “a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position” [3]
.
America stands on the precipice of history, once again. If America chooses (and let’s face it… it IS a choice. No threats have been made against America of Americans by Syria.) it will not be a singular action. It will unhinge the Middle East even further. Iran has already started their saber rattling by threatening military action against Israel if America lunches missiles against Syria.
.
Israel has responded by erecting, and making well known that they have erected, their ‘Iron Dome’ (Iron Dome (Hebrew: כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, kipat barzel) is a mobile all-weather air defense system[6] developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.[5] The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away and whose trajectory would take them to a populated area.[7][8] Israel hopes to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from the current maximum of 70 km (45 miles) to 250 km and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously)[4]
Next, characterization: this international problem (for the lack of a better moniker) can easily be characterized as a secondary result of the Arab Spring.[5] Truthfully, the people of Syria no longer want to be ruled by the tyrant that is Bashar al-Assad. Further, I will continue to remind you, My Dear Readers, that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger clearly warned, prior to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, ‘If America invades Iraq to overthrow Sadam Hussein it will destabilize the Middle East for generations…’ Henry, as always, was correct and we are now living in that world.
.
Finally, reality in America; I heard this put best on MSNBC today “those that support war do not support President Obama, and those that support President Obama do not support war…” Can’t find a hyperlink to who said that on what show, today. My apologies for the person that made this astute and correct comment. However, I support President Obama and I support a change of leadership in Syria. I do not support a new war. Even dropping bombs in Syria will engage America in the Middle East in a way that I no longer support. However, there is a caveat.
.
Whereas I do not think it is the correct course of action for America to engage Syria militarily. Although, I do not think America or the world should just sit idly by and allow Bashar al-Assad to gas his citizens with impunity. First, there should be consequences for Basahr’s actions. International consequences that include, but are not limited to, his removal as leader of Syria. Second, I firmly agree with Russia’s Foreign Minister’s call for “all of Syria’s chemical weapons to be placed under international control[6]”
.
Once we have taken these lethal and ‘indiscriminate weapons’[7] from al-Assad? America should work diplomatically to remove al-Assad from power via ‘Free and fair elections’. America should NOT involve ourselves in this civil war. We should not provide weapons to anyone in Syria. Syria IS a bridge too far for America.
.
“To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:
We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.”[8] President Dwight D, Eisenhower
.
As always, My Dear Readers, it is an honor that you come here to The Other Shoe and read my work. I hope that I do justice to that honor… I hope that I continue to work and deserve your support.
.
Thank YOU!
.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” [1]
.
However, I am getting ahead of myself. Keep that quote in mind, My Dear Readers, aas I continue… by going backwards a bit.
.
SYRIA: “Syria (i/ˈsɪriə/SIRR-ee-ə ; Arabic: سوريا / ALA-LC: Sūriyā, or سورية / Sūrīyah; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: سوریه, Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Arab Alawites, Arab Sunnis, Arab Christians, Armenians, Assyrians, Druze, Kurds and Turks. Arab Sunnis make up the majority of the population.” [2]
.
Not mentioned here is that Syria has been ruled, like North Korea, by a single family since November 1970. That Assad family, first Hafez al-Assad and now his son Bashar al-Assad. The majority of arms that make up the Syrian armed forces come from the former U.S.S.R. and they are tightly aligned with Iran.
.
Quagmire: “a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position” [3]
.
America stands on the precipice of history, once again. If America chooses (and let’s face it… it IS a choice. No threats have been made against America of Americans by Syria.) it will not be a singular action. It will unhinge the Middle East even further. Iran has already started their saber rattling by threatening military action against Israel if America lunches missiles against Syria.
.
Israel has responded by erecting, and making well known that they have erected, their ‘Iron Dome’ (Iron Dome (Hebrew: כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, kipat barzel) is a mobile all-weather air defense system[6] developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.[5] The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away and whose trajectory would take them to a populated area.[7][8] Israel hopes to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from the current maximum of 70 km (45 miles) to 250 km and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously)[4]
Next, characterization: this international problem (for the lack of a better moniker) can easily be characterized as a secondary result of the Arab Spring.[5] Truthfully, the people of Syria no longer want to be ruled by the tyrant that is Bashar al-Assad. Further, I will continue to remind you, My Dear Readers, that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger clearly warned, prior to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, ‘If America invades Iraq to overthrow Sadam Hussein it will destabilize the Middle East for generations…’ Henry, as always, was correct and we are now living in that world.
.
Finally, reality in America; I heard this put best on MSNBC today “those that support war do not support President Obama, and those that support President Obama do not support war…” Can’t find a hyperlink to who said that on what show, today. My apologies for the person that made this astute and correct comment. However, I support President Obama and I support a change of leadership in Syria. I do not support a new war. Even dropping bombs in Syria will engage America in the Middle East in a way that I no longer support. However, there is a caveat.
.
Whereas I do not think it is the correct course of action for America to engage Syria militarily. Although, I do not think America or the world should just sit idly by and allow Bashar al-Assad to gas his citizens with impunity. First, there should be consequences for Basahr’s actions. International consequences that include, but are not limited to, his removal as leader of Syria. Second, I firmly agree with Russia’s Foreign Minister’s call for “all of Syria’s chemical weapons to be placed under international control[6]”
.
Once we have taken these lethal and ‘indiscriminate weapons’[7] from al-Assad? America should work diplomatically to remove al-Assad from power via ‘Free and fair elections’. America should NOT involve ourselves in this civil war. We should not provide weapons to anyone in Syria. Syria IS a bridge too far for America.
.
“To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:
We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.”[8] President Dwight D, Eisenhower
.
As always, My Dear Readers, it is an honor that you come here to The Other Shoe and read my work. I hope that I do justice to that honor… I hope that I continue to work and deserve your support.
.
Thank YOU!
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