“I am so sick to death of money,” Fran writes on the Alzheimer’s message boards. “The struggle to keep up with bills and expenses. I already hate dealing with my own and am now handling mom’s as well. Are we the only ones who constantly struggle to keep up with everything? We don't make extravagant purchases. I'm talking oil bill, house payment, utilities, car payments, student loans, groceries, gasoline, prescriptions. My hubby and I make decent money between the two of us working. It just never seems to be enough.”
Well, Fran got me thinking. That it’s a good thing that I’m a romantic idealist.
When I'm in love I feel rich, I told Fran. I know other people like that, too. Makes a big difference in one's state of mind. I know some relatively poor people who feel rich. Feel blessed. Seems to me that fella Jesus didn't have much money, either. I guess he was rich in spirit. And what's the deal about a rich man getting into the kingdom of heaven? Something about it's more likely that a man on a camel will be passing through the eye of a needle. So maybe in the long run it's not so good to be filthy rich, monetarily speaking.
Anyway, my comment drew an immediate response from Maebee, one of my critics and a prominent member of the Alzheimer’s Ladies Aid Society. “Love doesn't pay the bills though, Jim,” she said. ”That is what this thread is about. Reality, not feelings."
So, as I am wont to do when Maebee speaks her words of wisdom, I said, “Tell me, Maebee, what would Jesus do about the plight of the poor? And what would he advise the middle class that has trouble making ends meet? I have a hunch Jesus would be encouraging us to work for the common good.”
That brought replies from two of Maebee’s compatriots in the Ladies Aid Society, Lori and Betsy. They simply posted the message, SUJ, which I guess is supposed to be abbreviation for Shut Up, Jim.
And I came back with a rejoinder that that ain’t gonna happen. And that the unromantic ladies know it.
That brought on to the scene a woman that goes by two monikers, New Realm and Diana. “Damn you Jim,” she spouted. “You thread wrecking creep. Can't people who really need support be allowed to vent to ‘friends’ without someone who is ‘book smart, but practical stupid’ jumping in and twisting everything around? Oh, Go BLOG yourself.”
Funny, isn’t it? That’s a day in life on the Alzheimer’s message boards. One tries to give a romantic twist to life and things. And what does it earn you? You’re called a creep. –Jim Broede
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15 comments:
A woman calling herself Snick also sent this to me on the Alzheimer's message boards. I guess she thinks I'm too romantic for my own good and not practical enough. She says:
"Jim, dude, you are getting nuttier than a two peckered billygoat.
"Ease off on the pot.
snick"
So, now I've been called a two peckered billygoat and a creep. --Jim Broede
Fran:
I’m reading a book titled, “The Twilight of American Culture,” by Morris Berman, a cultural historian and social critic who has taught at a number of universities in Europe and North America.
And he contends that America is no longer a middle class society. That there’s an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. And that makes it increasingly difficult for most Americans to make a living. And that it becomes easier for a select handful to make a killing.
For instance, Bill Gates’ net worth in 1998 -- $46 billion – was larger than the combined net worth of the bottom 40 percent of American households.
In 1973, the typical CEO of a large company earned about 40 times what a typical worker did. But late in the 1990s, he earned from 190 to 419 times as much. And of course, that’s been widening since then.
What the country has experienced is an unprecedented redistribution of income toward the rich. In terms of wealth disparity, the United States leads all other major industrial nations.
So, Fran, little wonder that you are feeling the pinch. You ain’t middle class anymore. You are edging closer and closer to being poor. And we gotta do something about that. We need change in America. Maybe a full-scale revolution. --Jim Broede
I do not believe you will print this but here goes.
What you seem to miss is the fact that it is a SUPPORT forum. It is a place for people who are going through a very rough life experience to be able to vent, laugh, cry, share and say what they are feeling.
What it is NOT is the Jim Broede room. It is not a book club discussion, a economics class, a life is but a dream forum.
It would seem that you are incapable of just saying to someone that you hear them and support them. They need to be heard, not told. They need to be comforted, not judged.
You left out the fact that it is your habit to tell people they "could be doing better". OF COURSE THEY COULD BE DOING BETTER! Everyone could be doing better at everything they do, every single minute of the day. "Could" do better is not supportive. They are not robots. They are not coming to the forum for an efficiency evaluation.
You should stick to being delusional (Ponce de Leon) and leave the folks who are looking for a gentle word alone.
And yes you are a creep and you know it and you "wear it as a badge of honor". That is a quote from one of these entries in which you describe your self percieved ability to intimidate.
So in closing, SUJ.
Anonymous:
You have an interesting point of view. But it's far too narrow-minded. Too restricted. You need to expand your horizons and allow for a multitude of opinions and approaches to "support" on the Alzheimer message boards. There should be room for a book club discussion, an economics class, a life is but a dream forum. People who come to the message boards should be allowed to choose between this and that. You want rigid rules. Life was not meant to be lived by rigid rules. Especially not your rigid rules. You are entitled to your opinion. But so am I. We all have a right to speak. So, no, I'm not gonna shut up. I'm gonna exercise my god-given rights. --Jim Broede
By the way, folks, I'm for taxing the rich. Far more than they're taxed now. And using much of the money for social welfare programs for the poor and the beleaguered elements of the so-called middle class. I'd put some of that tax-the-rich tax money into such things as universal health care. To make sure that everybody gets adequate health care. Even the 47 million uninsured Americans. --Jim Broede
Yeah yeah yeah. I'm for taxing the rich, helping the poor, a chicken in every pot, puppies in every yard, rainbows every morning and a full moon every night. I'm also for a world where everyone smiles all day long and goes to bed with a lullaby. Now back to reality. YOU are the creep who is treating the caregivers like crap...and you call me narrow minded. Too funny.
My bosom buddy Maebee posted this observation on the Alzheimer’s message boards:
“Thank goodness, we live in the United States, where entrepreneurism is possible. Bill Gates DID come from a wealthy family, but it is documented that he made his own success. He made $20,000, the year he was 14. Look at the stories of people who have come up from poverty levels, to successful people. A 'select handful' has you worried?
”I am more worried about the abuse to the system, by the 'poor' as well as the wealthy. I am NOT talking about those who are truly needy. I am talking about able bodied, available individuals and families, sitting on their butts, collecting from the system, and laughing all the way to the casino, or the drug dealer's house. My feeling is that those abuses are what are hampering the entire system. The waste and abuse. The tax loopholes, too. THAT"S what needs to be addressed, not the ‘American Dream.’
.
”The Gates Foundation is nothing to sneeze at, and is referred to as "the largest transparently operated charitable foundation in the WORLD". Billions of $$$ are given, each year, worldwide.”
I thought that Maebee made some valid points. I wish she had also acknowledged that so-called entrepreneurs – some very rich ones --- have often exploited poor people by paying them very low wages. While the entrepreneurs made obscene profits. Just another way to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. And more reason to tax the hell out of rich people. –Jim Broede
And pardon me, dear Anonymous,I'm not treating care-givers like crap. But I am suggesting that care-givers that treat their patients like crap have no business being care-givers. And that's exactly what some of them do -- treat their patients like crap. And it's time to put an end to it. I'm for protection of the patients. They deserve better care than what they get from some overworked and tired and depressed care-givers. --Jim Broede
Some day capitalism as we know it will be replaced by something better. No system lasts forever. Capitalism will evolve into something more equitable -- so there isn't such a wide gap between the rich and the poor. I'm confident of that. Because I'm a romantic idealist. --Jim Broede
I think some care-givers are angry with me because they have guilty consciences. They assume that when I say some care-givers have no business being care-givers that I mean them specifically. It's a sign that they feel they are doing an inadequate job. Otherwise, they'd just conclude that I must be talking about somebody else. Anyway, folks, it's impossible for every care-giver to be a good care-giver. There are good care-givers and bad care-givers and a whole lot inbetween. All I'm saying is weed out the bad ones -- for the sake of the patients. Isn't that reasonable? --Jim Broede
If you have a problem with the way someone is doing something, like caregiving, you should be man enough to tell them. When you generalize like you do, you are only trying to cover your own ass, so you can say, "I didn't mean that person". If you think someone is a danger to their patient, why the heck don't you DO something, Jim! For heaven's sake, they are in DANGER!
You speak of rights, well, other people have rights too. You have no special absolute rights, especially when you infringe on the rights of other people. It is just a matter of time, when you will bother the wrong person. And you are not just bothering the same old people anymore. You have fresh targets.
YOU are the one that is so narrow minded, you can't see past JIM. You think anyone who has anything to say about you is wrong. Who cares if you're romantic? Who cares if you base your opinions on what someone says in a book? Who cares if you are a loner? You seem to be the one that is perpetuating when someone criticizes you. Heck, when was the last time someone called you a "pollyanna"? Maybe it is because you are talking so much about who you are, or how you are, people get sick of it. All someone has to do, is search for "8-10 hours a day" and pages of posts come up. If a person claims things like this so much, people don't believe it. Who are you trying to convince?
You seem to thrive, when people are not liking you! Maybe you are AFRAID to have more than 1 or 2 friends?
What is cared about, is the way you treat other people. You ARE getting creepy, Jim. You know people do not like you taking stuff from the Alzheimer board, and bringing it here. Yet you do it, especially if no one has posted here for awhile. Then, you start criticizing, and copying. Why can't you have your blog be separate from the boards? People come here to look, and see it is just about the same. Same stuff, different day. Then they see that they don't have to come back here. You just cannot function, without the "Ladies", can you?
Have you tried to get a life away from the boards? I mean, completely away? YOU seem to be the one addicted to the Ladies Society, and trying to rile them up. See, you won't even say who you have placed in this make-believe group. You are so non-comittal. You also seem to have nothing much to offer by way of support of information at the boards.
So, now, you are getting what you need, by way of responses. Just the way you NEED it. I'm sorry that I have added to the fodder.
Broede's Broodings said...
I think some care-givers are angry with me because they have guilty consciences. They assume that when I say some care-givers have no business being care-givers that I mean them specifically.
I think, you think too much. Your brain is frying! Maybe it is because what you consider a bad caregiver is not really a bad caregiveer, by any one else's standards. Just because someone is having a bad momemt, you are ready to lock up the caregiver. If you have the balls enough to print these things, you at least should have the balls to admit who you are talking about. BUT, you are not talking about anyone "specifically", are you? That is because you are only using these remarks to solicit responses here. It was getting lonesome, wasn't it? I see, you had started talking to yourself, again. Bad sign, Jim.
Dear Anonymous:
I want the bad care-givers to identify themselves. They have to learn to acknowledge that they are bad and unsuited for the job. Otherwise, they won't get better or turn the job over to someone who's a relatively good care-giver. My singling them out by name probably will do more harm than good. It'll make them even angrier. And that's exactly what they have to curb. Often, it's their mounting and unrelieved anger that makes them bad. They have to put a rein on their anger. Maybe go into counseling. --Jim Broede
Dear Anonymous:
More of us should talk to ourselves. It's a way of looking inward. A way of probing our depths. Some of us may be too shallow to look inward. Or we may be too frightened of what we might find. I'm not scared. I'm fascinated. --Jim Broede
I've also noticed that bad care-givers almost always use pseudonyms. Maybe it's that they are ashamed to identify themselves. Their real selves, that is. By the way, I never use a pseudonym. I like being myself. As for people who stay anonymous, I suspect they have something to hide. I'm forthright. I don't have to hide behind a fake name. --Jim Broede
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