An Angry White Man Vents.
Friday, 22 August 2014
Rain. 3-5 days of rain then a 2 day reprieve, usually of hot, humid days.
I either am soaked from traveling on foot in the rainstorms, or wet from the inside out from sweating heavily.
Yes, I am pleased that it is not freezing, blowing wet snow 3' deep like I dealt with all last winter. But, I have no escape from the weather extremes. I have not slept well the last week, between the rain, high heat, and the large number of semis and RVs parked nearby with their engines and generators running all night long!
Denny finally received his EBT Card on Wednesday, and we went shopping, fried chicken (cold), and some snacks to keep our bellies from grumbling.
His card was stoked with almost 2 months worth of benefits, as he was approved 8 July, though the card didn't finally arrive until 20 August!
We have elected to shop every few days rather than stock up and lose food to the heavy rains and high temps, Even with a Coleman cooler, we cannot keep food chilled to preserve it for more than 24-48 hours. (Ice is not considered food, and we cannot use our EBT benefits to purchase ice!) I did obtain 2 freezer packs that we rotate from the Get-Go freezer to the cooler and back, but without ice being added to the cooler every 2-3 days, it is a losing battle.
Well, while I am very pleased that Denny has finally received his benefits, I made the hot trek to the PO Box today, and lo and behold, 2 letters from SSA in Baltimore, MD!
I opened them at the post office, and was dismayed to find that my disability and supplemental income applications were denied!
I hustled to the library to email my attorney and the paralegal, and call my doctors.
Dr, Mahlies, my primary physician, has hospital rounds on Fridays, and Kim, the lady at Dr. Furlan's office (my neurologist) who handles SS information, is out of her office. I left messages.
The only good news is that my attorney emailed back, and she says this is typical SOP for SSA, to deny a claim before the official legal time limit has expired to submit them!
She also stipulates that SSA routinely "loses" reports and mysteriously finds them when called into legal hearings! She says in her experience, the SSA is the worst agency she has ever encountered, the right hand not knowing what the left is doing, because they are so compartmentalized, understaffed and underbudgeted!
(Hmm, sounds an awful lot like the IRS losing 2 years of emails, and the Obama Administration not knowing what the Obama Administration was doing!)
Kim from the neurologists office returned my call, and stated that a full report was sent to SSA in April! But Dr. Furlan was not listed as one of the sources used to determine my eligibility.
So, I am going to have a very uneasy weekend!
