Our friend and brother, BFSkinner hit the emergency room again yesterday. This poor man has really been through it.
Hospitals are great places to have when you need them, but they are not much fun when you do.
I am grateful for hospitals, nurses, doctors and modern medical science. But it's still hard being sick, broke and alone. And it's not unusual. Thirty million remain uninsured in this country. The world is full of sick and lonely people.
x YouTube VideoIt's hard being a victim of the American healthcare system - no doubt, the worst in the industrialized world. It's all about money, profits and outrageous overcharges. Should you have a sudden bout with ill health or have a serious medical emergency, you will learn what it feels like to be the helpless prey of a heartless system.
BFSkinner has been getting more than his fair share of this crap. Way more.
We are fortunate to be in a position to help. Helping someone who truly needs it is the highest humanitarian calling, the sublimest act of which we are capable, the sort of thing that can redeem hopeless sinners. Compassion is the best part of us. Hands down.
x YouTube VideoFor details on BFSkinner's circumstances and info on how you can help, I offer you this from a previous diary:
“Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.”
We all know BFSkinner . He's been around these parts for a long time and is well known and well loved by the community regulars. Many of us are aware of his serious and multiple health challenges, not to mention the attendant financial challenges.
With his permission, I'm posting an earlier kosmail from him. It lays out the situation and contains links for anyone who wants to catch up on what's going on with him.
Wed Nov 18, 2015 at 12:42 PM EST
Here are some of the most recent urls:
Basically I have emphysema, diabetes, epilepsy, crohn's disease, been hospitalized about 8 times since April, have bills coming up the wazoo (medical, student loan, etc) and finally have a ray of hope my hearing for disability is Jan 12 I am worried about surviving until then. To do so I need about 2000 (to cover expenses for the rest of this month, and December and Jan until the hearing) or else not sure what I am going to do.
Any help or assistance would be appreciated
HUGS!
His PayPal address is houstonbfskinner at netscape dot net
And here's his GoFundMe page.
We are at our best when we are helping others. Our friend and brother, BFSkinner is in deep trouble. This is a grand opportunity to provide meaningful help where it is truly needed. I appreciate your kind attention and I am asking you to please solemnly reflect on BFSkinner's desperate need and dire circumstances. Now is the time for this community to show its compassionate heart.
Thanks to everyone who pitches in to help. Thank you for your kindness, compassion, human decency and generosity.
Namaste.
Lest they be angels (in honor of Daily Kos's BFSkinner)
Continuing the theme of the universality of human sadness, here's a tune from a man I've loved for most of my life. I'm so glad he didn't OD, that his plane never fell out of the sky, that he's still making magic to make us feel alive.
x YouTube VideoThis next song is one of my favorite sad songs. I've shared it with BF any number of times. He's probably sick of it by now. I hope he can bear it one more time for I can't resist posting it yet again. It's exquisitely sorrowful, imo. There's an odd healing to that. It seems counter-intuitive but sorrow artistically rendered can scour the sadness from our bones. I think that's why we love the blues.
x YouTube VideoWe never escape our sadness, not for long anyway. It comes with the territory. Like suffering, it's one of those central parts of our shared experience that tie us all together. People have long understood that it's best to learn to find the beauty in sadness, for it is unavoidable and the beauty can help us bear it. Here's some more beautiful sorrow, a towering song written by the great Leonard Cohen and covered here brilliantly by Jeff Buckley.
x YouTube VideoNow that we've shed a tear paying homage to the human condition, let me close with a rousing song of hope, the song from which my title is derived. I love this song and this performance of it. It never fails to lift my spirits. I hope it does the same for BFSkinner and anyone else who could use the boost.
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart Blow away the dreams that break your heart Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted The dogs on main street howl, 'cause they understand, If I could take one moment into my hands Mister, I ain't a boy, no, I'm a man, And I believe in a promised land I believe in a promised land...
x YouTube VideoIf you are fortunate enough to be in a position to help BFSkinner with a few bucks, or in any other way, please do. Love makes the world go 'round.
Heartfelt thanks to all who pitch in to help. May your kindness be returned to you a thousand fold.