Dealing with Life's Challenges

It's been one hell of a summer!

It's been many months (three to be exact) since I've last posted on this blog. A busy summer - yes! A summer of confusion, upheaval and filled with chaos? Most definitely.

Quite frankly, it's difficult to compose when you are biting at the air, while running around in circles while trying to maintain your mental and physical health, manage a house, manage finances while dealing with bureaucratic bullshit. I couldn't hold my thoughts together to concentrate on any one challenge at a time.

Honestly, I don't know where to begin in writing about my whirlwind life. It's much like the argument about the chicken and the egg - I'm not even sure what event even happened first - Gary's illness, the financial mess, dealing with health care and health insurance - but one thing is certain; all finally caught up with me bringing me close to having a heart attack or possibly a stroke.

Yep, taken by ambulance to the hospital ER with a heart rate of 160 that was increasing. I was given Nitro in the ambulance, had my heart stopped twice in the ER in an attempt to 'reboot' it to slow down. Admitted and spent the night with multiple tests including a chest X-ray, an EKG and an Echocardiogram along with the myriad of blood work. I slept well - wish it was a longer stay because as soon as I got home I had to deal with the same old bullshit that sent me to the ER in the first place. I wish the hospital had kept me for a week; I needed the rest.

Well, there is plenty to write about but now I'm tired. My energy level is at a low but I will write more soon - maybe tonight and break down every detail.

Pay Back The $900 Billion Borrowed!

Could this possibly explain why SSI and SSDI recipients will not receive a cost of living adjustment for the next two years? For me, at $65 per month, that is a loss of $1560.00! More denials at the first and second stages = increased homelessness! And, of course, who is going to be accused of mismanaging money...

Social Security and Medicare finances worsen

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Social Security and Medicare are fading even faster under the weight of the recession, heading for insolvency years sooner than previously expected, the government warned Tuesday.

Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, a year sooner than projected last year, and the giant trust fund will be depleted by 2037, four years sooner, trustees reported.

Medicare is in even worse shape. The trustees said the program for hospital expenses will pay out more in benefits than it collects this year, just as it did for the first time in 2008. The trustees project that the Medicare fund will be depleted by 2017, two years earlier than the date projected in last year's report.

The trust funds -- which exist in paper form in a filing cabinet in Parkersburg, W.Va. -- are bonds that are backed by the government's "full faith and credit" but not by any actual assets. That money has been spent over the years to fund other parts of government. To redeem the trust fund bonds, the government would have to borrow in public debt markets or raise taxes.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the head of the trustees group, said the new reports were a reminder that "the longer we wait to address the long-term solvency of Medicare and Social Security, the sooner those challenges will be upon us and the harder the options will be."

Geithner said that President Barack Obama was committed to working with Congress to find ways to control runaway growth in both public and private health care expenditures, noting the promise Monday by major health care providers to trim costs by $2 trillion over the next decade.

However, Republicans pointed to the newly dire assessments as evidence the Obama administration has failed to come forward with actual entitlement reform to close the funding gaps.

"Instead of getting existing public programs in order right now, some are saying we should create a new government-run health insurance plan," Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, said in a reference to the administration's health care proposals. "When we can't afford the public health plan we have already, does it make sense to add more?"

House Republican leader John Boehner said the trustees report "confirms what we already knew: Our nation cannot afford to continue this reckless borrowing and spending spree."

The findings in the trustees report, the annual checkup given the two benefit programs, did not come as a surprise. Private economists had been predicting that the dates the programs would begin to pay out more than they take in and the dates the trust funds would be insolvent would occur sooner given the economic recession.

The deep recession, the worst the country has endured in decades, has resulted in a loss of 5.7 million jobs since it began in December 2007. The unemployment rate hit a 25-year high of 8.9 percent in April.

Fewer people working means less being paid into the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare.

The Congressional Budget Office recently projected that Social Security will collect just $3 billion more in 2010 than it will pay out in benefits. A year ago, the CBO had projected that Social Security would have a much higher $86 billion cash surplus for the 2010 budget year, which begins Oct. 1.

The trustees report projected that Social Security's annual surpluses would "fall sharply this year," then remain at a reduced level in 2010 and be lower in the following years than last year's projections. The report said that the Social Security annual surplus would be eliminated entirely in 2016, reflecting increased demands from the wave of 78 million baby boomers retiring.

That means Social Security will have to turn to its trust fund to make up the difference between Social Security taxes and the benefits being paid out beginning in 2016. The trustees projected the trust fund would be depleted in 2037, four years earlier than the 2041 date in last year's report.

At that point, the annual Social Security taxes collected would be enough to pay for three-fourths of current benefits through 2083. To tap the trust fund, the government would have to increase borrowing or raise taxes because Social Security bonds exist only as bookkeeping entries.

While the smaller surpluses that will begin this year will not have any impact on Social Security benefit payments, the government will need to borrow more at a time when the federal deficit is already exploding because of the recession and the billions of dollars being spent to prop up a shaky banking system.

Medicare's condition is more precarious, reflecting the pressures from soaring health care costs as well as the drop in tax collections.

The options available to deal with the Social Security shortfall include raising the payroll tax that funds Social Security, such as removing the cap on income subject to the tax, or cutting benefits in some fashion such as raising the retirement age.

The administration is pushing Congress to pass legislation this year to extend health care coverage to some 50 million uninsured Americans, preferring to tackle health care before Social Security.

The trustees report is likely to set off renewed debate over Social Security and Medicare. Critics have charged that the Obama administration has failed to tackle the most serious problems in the budget -- soaring entitlement spending.

The administration on Monday revised its federal deficit forecasts upward to project an imbalance this year of $1.84 trillion, four times last year's record, and said the deficits will remain above $500 billion every year over the next decade.

More bureaucratic red tape

It's driving me mad; making me crazy!

I'm grabbing at my head about to pull my hair out and am close to losing my freaking mind over crap.

No, let me just call a spade a spade; it's not crap, it's BULLSHIT! I'm up to my lower lip in it.

I'm being clothes-lined by bureaucratic red tape. It's strangling me!

Am I PISSED OFF? Sure I am and I think rightfully so! Read on...

I'm dealing with Medicare and am not sure if I have coverage; but I have been paying into it for a year to the tune of approximately $96.00 a month automatically deducted from my monthly Social Security Disability payment. That's $1152.00 and I might not be covered. Or am I? Gary found out that the State of Ohio is also paying my monthly payment of $96.00 - a surprise to him and me and to Rita, our caseworker at Job and Family Services in Steubenville.

So let's do the math - a TOTAL OF $2304.00 is being paid into Medicare FOR ME and BY ME!

So there is some sort of double-dipping here and I can't go to a doctor and get the medical care I require due to all the uncertainty. I haven't been to a regular medical doctor, a rheumatologist, or pulmonary doctor for one year.

Before my Social Security Disability was approved I was receiving Medicaid which paid for everything medical that I needed - doctors, physical therapy, procedures (MRI, mammograms, colonoscopy, ER, hospitalizations, pulmonary care, sleep studies, etc. and prescriptions). You name it, it was paid for and there were no co-pays, no spend-downs, no deductibles - no worries!

MEDICAID IS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE reserved for the poor and primarily for those who have no or very little monthly income and, in my case, waiting for Social Security Disability. Medicaid wasn't easy for me to get. Caseworkers are unwilling to divulge that it and many other benefits are available - that's just too much paperwork.

Many of the homeless who are waiting for their disability benefits are not aware they are eligible for disability cash assistance ($115.00 per month in Ohio), food stamps ($162.00 maximum benefit per person per month in Ohio) and Medicaid insurance. Many homeless do not have proper identification to get the benefits they deserve.

Many are misinformed by their caseworkers, as I was, but I fought - it was the third caseworker (in Cleveland) who put forth the effort in getting me my benefits. She got me back benefits too! By listening to me and putting forth an effort she found my original appointment information in the system. That appointment was from before I became homeless. I was unable to get back because the location where I applied was in a different part of town - I was without money for bus fare. End result was back payments totaling close to $700.00.

One thing this caseworker told me was that there are plenty of benefits available for the poor and homeless but, unless the applicant requests help from a specific program, caseworkers are not permitted to divulge information to the client.

The smokescreen in trying to get benefits is thick. Many of the poor and homeless accept "no you are not eligible" and give up; don't put up a fight. Many are sick and getting sicker; no energy to fight the system while health is failing.

Homelessness affects one's health - it ages a person cutting years off a person's life. I see how badly I look every time I look in the mirror - I look awful and I feel worse every day. The stress is killing me!

NEWSFLASH: 11:30 a. m. Monday - Rita from the Steubenville office of Jefferson County Department of Job and Family Services just called. She took the time to delve further into my file and found out that the State of Ohio is not paying my Medicare premium as previously reported. Oh, what should I believe anymore?

I do appreciate Rita though; she is kind and wishes she could do more to help but her hands are tied too. Benefits are determined by income and she has to go by the guidelines imposed by government.

I just opened my mail from Job and Family Services. Now it's in writing that I was denied for State of Ohio paid "QUALIFIED MEDICARE BENEFICIARY (QMB)" Reason: INCOME REPORTED EXCEEDS THE PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS. We based this action on OHIO ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, Rule 07431."

Okay, it's in writing and HELL I KNEW THIS SO WHY ALL THE CONFUSION?

Poverty is by design; it's control over the masses, the gigantic thumb pushing forcefully down on the poor holding them there, making people sick-keeping them sick. It's a vicious cycle; the dog chases its tail and will never get hold of it.

In May, Social Security Disability and SSI recipients will get a one time payment of $250.00 in addition to the monthly benefit check. Food stamp recipients will receive an additional 13% in allotment per month (which boils down to an additional box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the shopping cart). WOW, HOW GENEROUS!

Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, feels that "The Obama Administration championed the extra $250 that everyone on disability will be receiving in the next month. Some might think that this is a positive, but I view it more as an insult and results in a lowering of their grade. I mean, these individuals have to figure out how to live on a small amount of money, and now the government is sending them a few coins to go out and spend. How about an increase in the disability check every month so that these Americans are not doomed to poverty for the rest of their lives?"

I am in total agreement with Mr. Davis!

Sure Gary and I are both eligible for that extra $250.00 and are looking forward to that measly one time payment. But we both have a major fight on our hands and that is to see to it that we have more than adequate health care coverage, to be able to get medical treatment and our prescriptions with out having doctors offices calling us and canceling our appointments because we are not in the system.

I have some phone calls to make and will be on the phone for hours trying to get this Medicare issue resolved. My prescription coverage was dropped because I signed up for a PPO rather than an HMO so the state won't pay for my prescription coverage.

When that extra $250.00 comes I might have to give my neighbor a few bucks of it so she can pick up a case of industrial strength butt lube with aloe for me at Cosco.

The fight continues for Gary and me as our health is dramatically failing!

And yes - I'm rather punchy at the moment!

Why go postal? Go Karma!

It has it's own sweet revenge!

From Wikipedia: Going postal is an American English slang term, used as a verb meaning to suddenly become extremely and uncontrollably angry, possibly to the point of violence. The term derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public.

I had lost count many years ago the number of times the term ‘Going postal’ was topic of conversation during breaks, lunch, during and after work at social events amongst co-workers and myself.

At one job in the late 1990s a coworker of mine offhandedly asked me, “If going postal means shooting up the workplace at a post office, what would shooting and killing co-workers at a printing company be called?”

My answer, “Graphic violence!”

Although neither I or my friends and former associates in printdom know of any incident of a mass murder rampage (slash) suicide ever happening in a commercial printing company, many of us can fully understand why these things happen in the workplace.

Working in advertising and commercial printing is stressful and highly competitive. There are deadlines that must be met, every facet of production has to run on schedule and there is absolutely no margin of error. Clients pay big bucks for us to produce a product that represents their image favorably. Press time is a valuable commodity that must be started up for each job on schedule.

In newspaper or magazine production, a space is held waiting for the ad to come in by a deadline date. The same is true in commercial printing where press time is reserved. Miss the deadline and the client risks paying an additional charge of $800.00 or more an hour for staging, prepress and press idle time. And God forbid if a press breaks down and the job has to be moved to another press or farmed out to another company. We barely had enough time to get the job ready for press the first time, even if the job came in on schedule. Now we have to make time to rework the darn thing.

Talk about stress!

The fast paced demands of the commercial printing industry could be exciting and physically draining but not to the extreme point of pushing someone past the brink. We had other means of shaking off a bad night at work - the bar - from 8 a.m. till 3 p.m. and we pounded down a lot too; while shooting pool, playing darts. Friday morning bowling league was great for working off the tension of a bad night - while drinking, of course!

It’s not the work itself - it’s the (mis)management; the blame maker; the incompetent bullying taskmaster at the job!

Quite frankly, my friends and former associates can relate to the incidents committed by postal workers pushed beyond the emotional breaking point, however we do question why they (the postal worker), or for that matter, any disgrundled worker has to take out so many people on the way to Mr. Bossman’s office. After all, chances are that some times; many times they had to deal with his crap too.

Yeah we’ve all discussed it; we’ve all figured who might get theirs eventually. We’ve even tried to pinpoint who in the department might become unhinged enough to do the deed and we all pledged to come to that person’s defense in court, if need be. We even had an agreement that, should it be any one of us, remember who the target is and keep our co-workers out of it-we’ve all suffered enough.

So where is this all leading to?

It leads to that one incompetent, cowardly bastard (along with his accomplices) whose actions may have been the catalyst; the finger on the trigger that set my endocrine system awry; the beginning of my decline in good health that I enjoyed for so many years - the one who nearly caused me to have a nervous breakdown; keeping me in a chronic state of adult anxiety.

It was 1994 when I heard about a job opening at the Berea, Ohio printing facility of a large, well-known downtown Cleveland, Ohio publishing company. I was working for a commercial printer in Twinsburg, Ohio at the time and was very unhappy working the day shift. I felt that the midnight shift job in Berea provided, not only the opportunity to leave but, (naturally being a night owl) working the shift of my preference.

About two weeks after applying, I was called to come in for a skills test after work. I was told to meet with John, the second shift prepress supervisor. He would be the one to test me.

Without going into detail regarding the technical aspects of the skills test, John checked my work and told me that the quality of my work was the best of all the people he submitted the test to and that he was going to recommend me for the position. After giving a two-week notice, I started the job in Berea; eventually moving there in 1995.

The job was going great for me and I really liked working there. Several of my friends applied for and got jobs there. I would never suggest to friends to apply at a known hell hole.

Just short of being there a year the problems started.

John accused me of making mistakes that required re-doing my work. I asked him to show me what it was that I did wrong but he couldn’t produce proof.

Soon the mistakes became a weekly occurance, then a nightly occurance yet John could not produce evidence.

My anxiety overwhelmed me; I started having problems sleeping. I couldn’t figure out how I could be making so many mistakes; I did not have a reputation for making mistakes. I had a letter of recommendation from a former department supervisor that clearly stated that I was “meticulous” and had “a keen eye for detail”, so why was I making so many mistakes and WHY wasn’t John able to produce the evidence so that I could correct whatever I was doing wrong?

And there were those constant threats that I better straighten up regarding the errors or face displinary action such as a two-week suspension without pay or being fired.

My doctor wrote a letter on my behalf requesting that my shift start time be changed to 1 a.m. so that I didn’t have to deal with John (he usually left work at that time). Still, he would stay over until I came in so he could tell me about the mistakes that I was making; that too much of my work had to be torn down and restripped. He said that some of the jobs went up on the press wrong and the company was losing valuable press running time, thus costing money.

Finally, John produced the evidence that I had been asking for. He showed me a photocopy of the film ( I ) stripped before it was torn down and restripped. The photocopies weren’t clear because negatives could not be photocopied clearly. He also had the corrected negative taped to the mylar carrier. I checked the label on the mylar carrier that the film was secured to. It was initialed by the original stripper who worked on that particular page. It was initialed CM.

But wait a minute...CM? I don’t initial anything CM and none of the writing on the label was mine.

I told John that was not my writing or my initials. He was insistant that I initialed the job and he would not accept that.

We argued for several minutes over this. I initial everything CDM - for my first, middle and last name-period; and I circle my initials too! Always have; always will.

At the end of my shift, I had to meet with Department Manager Vince V. who told me that he had no choice but to suspend me for two weeks without pay for costly mistakes.

Although going without two weeks of pay would be a financial hardship, I had hoped that I could get my nerves calmed down in that time.

One Sunday night I went into work and began to have problems with lightheadedness; I couldn’t think.

The floors were being stripped and waxed; my department had been finished several hours earlier but the chemical smell lingered. It was disorienting me. (I am still sensitive to chemical smells and MCS is often a componite of fibromyalgia and CFIDS).

The lead person on my shift was Tim M.; a part-time fireman and EMT in Amherst. I went to him and told him I was having problems; or tried to. I was conscious of my surroundings, somewhat coherent but spaced. I felt like I was coming out of a drug induced sleep; feeling much like I was under the influence of sodium-pentethol. I was trying to get help from Tim; I couldn’t think on my own. I needed to go to the hospital but could not convey that to him. I don’t understand why, being an EMT, he did not recognize this.

I tried to work. I started to make mistakes; I corrected them. I made more mistakes; I corrected them. I remember struggling to think and not feeling confident in what I was working on. I was exposed to toxic chemicals at work again and once again I lost my ability to function.

(I've had several exposures to toxic chemicals in my 25 year career).

Now some (still not all) of the mistakes were mine.

My doctor took me out of work for three months. I had to leave work often due to the continuous outgasing from the chemicals; even weeks later.

Meanwhile my best friend Debby, who had started at the company upon my recommendation, had suggested that I make an appointment with a rheumetologist that her sister was going to. Debby was quite aware of the problems I was having with anxiety, sleep and the beginning of depression symptoms and felt that I might have what her sister was diagnosed with; fibromyalgia. (I will write more about how my diagnosis for fibromyalgia was made in a future posting).

I received a letter from the company asking me when I could return to work. In the letter, they stated that they would have to fill my position if I did not return soon.

Although I didn't feel ready mentally and physically ready to return, I convinced my doctor to release me from sick leave despite his objections. He signed the release papers.

I telephoned the HR Director and told her that my doctor was releasing me to come back to work. The next day, I took the release to the HR Director and was asked to wait in the lobby. About ten minutes passed and then I heard various names announced over the intercom - the company president Bob M., the plant manager, the department manager Vince V., second-shift supervisor and my immediate boss John H. - all called to the conference room.

I knew immediately, I was set up.

Then I was escorted in. The HR Director, her assistant and a secretary (to document the meeting) were also present.

Needless to say; I was let go. The president of the company said that I wasn’t fired - I was being laid off. He said that the company would not dispute unemployment compensation and that I was welcome to apply for any future openings that I was qualified for within the company.

I did apply for an advertised opening in my former pre-press department and was not granted an interview.

I filed with the EEOC a discrimination complaint against the company. During the EEOC investigation, they could not find evidence to support my claim.

After my dismissal, two subsequent charges of sexual harassment were filed with the EEOC against the company. One of the charges, filed January 22, 1997 in U.S. District Court in Cleveland was settled out of court, in favor of the victim, for an undisclosed amount in damages The other victim, in a separate incident of sexual harassment, was awarded a settlement (by jury) in excess of $800,000. The company appealed but, unfortunately, the victim financially could not pursue the case. Both cases were high profile; publicized by Cleveland print and television media!

Years later - after my symptoms worsened, I could no longer work and had filed for Social Security Disability - I ran into a former employee of this company at the library in Berea.

Debbie S., a department manager who had been fired by the company after the sexual harassment jury trial, had been instructed to falsify testimonial documents regarding that particular lawsuit against the company.

Debbie S. told me that she had come to my defense regarding the mistakes that I was accused of making. She showed my shift-supervisor, the department manager and the plant manager writing comparisons between the labels initialed MC and mine which were initialed CDM.

She also told them who MC was. His name was Mike C. and he initialed all of his work with his last name initial first (the C) and his first name initial last (the M).

Mike C. had been at the company for nearly 20 years; was well liked - one of the boys.

Debbie S. said that a comment was made that, since they (the spine-less bastards!) had made the mistake of accusing me, they felt they should continue the charade rather than risk being sued. All of this was on the advice of Russ H., the head of HR at the downtown Cleveland corporate office, and corporate attorneys. The reason why I was laid off rather than fired; the reason why my unemployment claim was not going to be disputed.

However, I believe in Karma.

You see, John H., my shift-supervisor - my immediate boss, had gone on sick leave for anxiety and was very close to a breakdown. After several months on sick leave he was advised to return to work or his position would be filled. He returned and was dismissed!

Here’s is an interesting note about John H. - he was given his supervisory position because - he made too many mistakes when he was a four-color stripper!

In 2006, the company was sold to a Chicago-based printing and publishing company (the largest in the United States) and the Berea facility was closed.

It is believed (in all faiths: all cultures) that, when close to death (NDE) or at the actual time of death, each and every one of us will experience a panoramic life review. I wonder what it will be like for my accusers who were at this particular printing/publishing company?

There is no need to resort to violence - just be patient. What goes around, comes around.

Karma is a good thing. Wait for it. Enjoy the gratification of it!

End

By the way, I DO NOT endorse violence in the workplace!

Please feel free to comment. I would love to hear what you have to say about TOXIC BOSSES!


Oh, Yes! Here are some links you may enjoy:

How to protest at work the French way - take your boss hostage

Boss Bitching: Tyrant Boss Types

AND WE MUST NOT FORGET THE QUEEN OF MEAN. She has had her panoramic life review & she won't be back.

Visits by extraterrestrials...

...if you're asleep, is there still that sucking noise?

My sleep has been totally screwed up my entire life. That's why I chose to work midnight shift - I had great difficulty functioning at a day job.

I struggled to sleep at night; fell asleep a lot in class in high school (although I was never caught). I can no longer enjoy going to a movie theater because I fall asleep, staying awake at meetings, lectures, etc. is virtually impossible. Baseball games? I'm walking around at the top of the innings; watching the game in my paid seating at the bottom of the inning when the Indians come to bat.

I fell asleep at work a lot at my last job; standing, while cutting film with X-acto knife or razor blade in hand. Happened after they had moved me to day shift. That's when the 'fit hit the shan'!

I suffer from short term memory loss. I remember a lot of things from when I was 6 months old - being baptized, the taking of the group picture at the Miller Family Reunion in 1956. I remember being potty trained, watching the first-run televised original "Mickey Mouse Club" from my playpen (how in love I was with Cubby O'Brien), the day my dad tried to sneak it out of the house to throw it away (how I carried on!).

I remember events in my friends lives that they don't remember.

But don't come up to me on the street or at a class reunion and say, "Cindy, do you remember me?"

Just give me a few minutes (or twenty) until the electrical transmitters in my brain spark. The circuitry doesn't work too well - sometimes it shorts out.

Often, mentally focusing on any task is problematic whether it be housework, writing a check, talking on the telephone, reading, comprehending, concentrating. If the phone rings while I am cooking it disrupts my thinking.

Something shorts out in my frontal lobe. It's as if someone has a remote in hand, changing the channels but it's all going on in my brain; not the TV. And that humming noise is such a distraction.

Something strange was going on one night while at work in Michigan. A very simple task I had to do that's too technical to explain to anyone who doesn't know prepress. An apprentice could have done it without any problem; for me, a journeyman, it was cake. But let's say I made a major mistake while compositing two films into one film. I checked it, saw the mistake I made and tried to correct it. All I had to do is combine 16 films into 8 films. I wasted 16 pieces of film and 5 hours on what should have taken me two hours at the most. I saw the mistake, knew what I did wrong but my brain and actions were like a broken record; skipping, repeating.

Years later, I lost my ability to read, to distinguish color, became dyslexic, lost my hand-eye coordination - yadda, yadda, yadda.

Some days I can wake up and feel fully rested and capable of thinking. Some days I do nothing,; talk to no one other than Goldie or Gary.

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue syndromes are what I have and both conditions have no clear test marker (just adnormalities) making both conditions difficult to diagnose or to even prove, especially when winning a claim for disability. I have seven abnormal sleep studies. In some, I never hit REM sleep; in others I was in REM stage for less than 15 seconds.

So keeping in mind that there is no cell (like cancer) or any other defined marker has caused me to wonder if possibly(?), sometime in the middle of the night, I am being visited by Greys, Nordics, Reptilians or any number of interplanetary beings. After all there are many well documented encounters-some sightings by law enforcement, some by airline pilots, some by astronauts.

I even saw a triangle in the sky hovering over a corn field near Columbiana, Ohio in 1978, back in the day when Ohio state Rt. 11 was a hot bed for UFO activity from Columbiana all the way to Astabula.

There was even a multiple witness sighting of a craft between my hometown of Toronto and Stratton in October of 2008! Could they possibly know I left Cuyahoga County? Are they looking for me?

The Vatican even believes in ET while many in the medical community dispute the existence of Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (because of the complexity of both conditions, they don't want to acknowledge what they don't know about both -a cop out).

I had an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic. The neurologist said there was something unusual on the MRI.

So, the next time you see me and I seem disoriented - in a fog - unable to concentrate, ask me if my ear hurts. I think that's where they insert the straw. Could that MRI possibly offer validation?

Top photo: HEY THERE! HI THERE! HO THERE!- It's Cubby O'Brien. WHY? Because I like him!
Second photo: IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER - Scene from Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man".
Third photo: PROBED FOR TENDERNESS - Abductees Barney and Betty Hill

Sometimes ya just have to make light of your own situation!