it's been a while

What have I been up to - mostly working and trying hard to survive.

big news of the day is I just wrote (and sent) my very first  letter to a political figure...
here's a copy of it.


Dear Mr President,

First off let me say I'm a great admirer of yours. I watched the election
with a great deal of excitement and hope. You've made history.
Congratulations.


I know you've had a hard uphill battle the whole time you've been in
office. You had a gigantic mess to sort through and you were left with
precious little to clean it up with.

There was so much hope when you started now that hope is dwindling fast
because we - the people are seeing no changes.

Prices go higher each day, there are no jobs, homelessness is rising.
People aren't allowed to marry the person that they love because of
senseless bigotry, People are sick, they're dying and they're afraid
because they can't afford even the most basic healthcare.


We're seeing parties for honoring rich people, trips to other countries
and it all looks grand but we're the starving children with their noses
pressed against a sweets shop window....we're looking at it all there
pretty before us but we'll never be able to taste it. We can't afford it.
We're seeing news stories about pallet loads of $100 bills that cost
millions to print....awaiting destruction. Most of us don't even have a
$20 dollar bill in our pockets. To us the thought of billions of dollars
going up in smoke when we can't even buy gas to heat our homes with is
almost unbearably obscene.


But sir we know you can't fix everything..it's too broken. Please though
could you try to follow through with healthcare?

We're dying.
Your people - your tax payers - the people who sweat to make the money
that's being spent to travel, throw parties and burn (and their families)
are dying because we can't afford to go to doctors. Insurance is too
costly, medical fees are off the hook  and it's just getting worse. If we
are having a hard time affording fuel to heat our homes and food to put on
the table can you imagine how hard it is to pay for insurance and if you
don't have insurance you can forget getting medical care.

Paying for care as you go - also not a possible thing - we can't afford it.

I literally lay in bed last night crying from pain and fear because I
think I'm dying and I can't afford to go to a doctor. The free clinic
won't see me either .... A hospital stay would render me homeless. I
work.I bust my butt 12 to 20 hours a day doing freelance design work and I
can barely pay my rent and utilities and buy enough cheap food to get me
through each week. Life shouldn't be this hard and as hard as it is for me
it's harder for thousands of others.


I got to thinking - I'm not unique. I'm not special. If I'm in this
situation there have to be others hundreds...thousands maybe even hundreds
of thousands of other hard working Americans who are in the same shape.
Barely scraping by, sick, terrified, and at the ends of their ropes.

I'm writing on behalf of all of us.

Please Sir, we need your help. We need you to give us back our hope
because without hope there's nothing left.






Sincerely,