Government Bureaucrazy

 We went to "Dragon Garden" and picked up a Chinese Takeout Feast for the Family.  It was past 3:00 p.m. to get the Lunch Special, but since we come in so often, and she knows I pick up the Grandchild after 3:00 p.m. from Work, they often still let me get the Lunch Specials anyway, which is Sweet of them.  We got Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Orange Chicken, Eggrolls and the smaller Fried Spring Rolls, Crab Rangoon, Steamed White Rice, Fried Rice, and Noodles in the Combo Lunch Specials.  And getting all that made Fresh and in less than 10 Minutes and at a great price, can't be beat.  

You can't get shitty Fast Food that fast.  The Son had also just gotten off Work and said he wasn't Hungry, Princess T said Rusty was taking her out to eat, but both of them ended up stuffing their Faces.  *Winks*  Once you see it and smell the Aroma, you just can't resist. *Smiles*   And I like supporting this small Family owned Business in our Community.  And now I don't have to cook, and I'm well fed, so, Color me Happy.  Nice way to finish out a day and just now relax or take an Afternoon Nap.  It was a day with nothing on the Calendar so we could do whatever we wanted to and The Man did very well Today coming along with me.  He even walked some without the aid of his Walker.  When he'd had enuf Fun, we quit for the day.

The Young Prince already got a response from Social Security, way earlier than expected, he's been Assigned a Caseworker to Review his Claim.  They sent a long Questionnaire that he has to fill out that outlines function, or lack of function, of daily life his Condition challenges him with.  I'll help him fill it out since he won't get thru it on his own and it has to be turned in before the 25th so they don't give you a lot of time to complete it and return it.  I've helped Family and Friends fill these out before, nobody with a significant Mental or Developmental Disability could possibly do it without assistance or be expected to.  I feel, after looking at all the Questions, he should have no problem being Approved, but, you just never know. 

  Seriously, you really just never know.  When he used to do Art on the Walls of his Room with his own Excrement as an Older Teen, that wasn't Crazy "Enough" to receive SSI before!!!  So I don't know how Crazy you have to be actually, according to SSI Shrinks they sent us to back then who Evaluated "them"???   Yep, all SEVEN of him, due to the D.I.D., only compounding being Schizophrenic and Institutionalized then fairly often when he'd try to Kill himself or become so Paranoid he thought the rest of  us were trying to Kill him. *Eye Roll*  Thankfully he doesn't do THAT anymore, the Shit Monkey Episodes, but I still have the Photos I took for that Psychiatric Visit tho'...  and the One of his Seven who did prefer Painting that way, we successfully transitioned to using the Garden Variety of Art Supplies instead!  *Whew*

It used to be that along with the Paperwork, you had to be formally Evaluated by their Doctors and Caseworkers too, which I expect will be the next step if it's similar to how it was 20+ Years ago?  The Daughter really can't even get thru the Process so I only Hope he can, it's grueling.  When he was a Teen he endured it and didn't Qualify at that time, primarily coz being a Minor, we were still responsible for him despite how debilitating his Illness was to him.  And, at that time, becoz he had a 148 IQ they felt he was not "Disabled Enough" becoz of his Intelligence, despite the Mental Illness being off the charts Serious and his Behaviors not sanitary or safe and he could be a Danger to Self, and sometimes others as well. 

 He required very high levels of Supervision and Schools wouldn't even accept him by the High School Years.  Coz they couldn't manage a Schizophrenic, Schools didn't want the Liability Issues and didn't know what to do with him really except suggest Institutionalization.  So, he was ultimately denied his Education by around his Freshman Year of High School.  And I remember thinking, we're not applying for Services and Disability becoz he's not Intelligent, but becoz he's Seriously Mentally Ill, the Two are not mutually exclusive.  You can be a Genius and still be barely functional if your Illness impairs Quality of Life and Independence.  If you require a Full Time Caregiver as an Adult and cannot Support yourself and/or nobody will Hire you, it's a problem.  How is a vulnerable Person expected to Survive like that?

If the person is now a Grown Adult incapable of their own Care and Support, its unrealistic to expect the Parents or Grandparents to not receive any Help financially to take Care of them and ensure the basic essentials be provided for their existence.  It's why you see so many Mentally Ill on the Streets and Homeless tho', Families can't always afford to or be able to Deal with all that it entails.  As we Age Out, our Pensions and Social Security in our Old Age, simply aren't sufficient to also be covering all of the living expenses of a Seriously Disabled or Ill Adult Child or Adult Grandchild of ours that has no place else to go, no other placement, no income, and ends up living with us permanently.

I'm Thankful he did Qualify finally for Medicaid, but that took quite a long time to receive and he ran up a lot of expenses Medically he could not Pay at all while waiting for Coverage.  He still had Coverage thru New Mexico's Medicaid Approval for 90 Days after moving here, but Arizona wouldn't take or Honor it.   It was a Caseworker at one of the Hospitals he Owed Money to that finally Advocated successfully on his behalf and helped us thru the Process and connected us also with Agencies that could also advise us on how best to approach Social Security on his behalf and explain the Process.  After all, they would like to get Paid for Services rendered.  So the Social Worker came to the Home at no charge several times on his behalf and made a lot of Calls for him.  Much more effective than me doing it.

Why?  If you have Social Workers willing and able to be Assigned to you, they often get callbacks and have direct Numbers to get thru, that the General Public doesn't have access to and you'd never get callbacks or even get thru otherwise.  Or get Appointments Scheduled.  And at this point, with him, now he's 26 this Year and still has never received a Federal Dime for his Disability even tho' it's Severe and he can't live Independently or take care of himself or work, I'm going to bury them in Appeals if they don't Approve him now.  I don't have anything to lose by being relentless about this.  I'm fed up with him being forsaken by a System that doesn't work for those it's supposed to Serve and Protect.  And I won't be around forever, or probably a whole lot longer, to pay for everything he needs just to Survive!!!  So, Tick-fucking-Tock, Time is of the Essence here.  And wading thru Government Bureaucrazy is so Time consuming...

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Mini Rant now over we'll be back to our regular scheduled programming by the next Post... Smiles... Dawn... The Bohemian

A Flashback Friday

 

Well, in Real Time this will be a Flashback Friday Post.   Right now the Great-Grandpup, Tyson The Pit Bull, is back and arrived at 1:00 in the Morning, coz Allen is back in Arizona for a few days.  He rented a real swanky Hotel Room and that's where he'll meet up with The Young Prince.  I guess they have their arrangement and I agreed to board the Great-Grandpup anytime he's here in Arizona coz Motels/Hotels are not usually welcoming of big Dogs and we adore Tyson.  He loves coming back to the Mini Farm to romp thru the Pasture, it's like a Dog Vacay to him.  *LOL*  I still had food and treats I'd bought for him last time and the whole Family is delighted to see him again.  He's getting Old and we don't know how much longer we'll have him, Pit Bulls actually have fragile health from too much inbreeding to get them looking the way Humans wanted them to look.

So, anyway, I can't tell the Grandsons how to handle their Relationship and subsequent Divorce, which, The Young Prince still wants a Divorce and Allen has finally come to terms with the fact his Husband no longer wants to be Married to him.  But, until the Divorce is final, Allen has been sending Money, and having Groceries delivered regularly or whatever his Husband needs.   Becoz that's been MY terms of their current arrangement I made clear.  So long as he's hitched, well, I don't care if our Grandson is living here and I'm his Caregiver, I kinda always expected I might be with such a Mentally Ill Adult Grandchild.   But I expect his Husband to Support him until and unless the Divorce finalizes and/or The Young Prince qualifies and receives Disability Income of his own.

In New Mexico he qualified and received more for being so Disabled, in Washington State too.  It annoys me that State to State there are such vast discrepancies in qualifying for FEDERAL Benefits like SSI, Nutritional Assistance, Medicaid, Housing, Services... it's inequitable.  Every American should have equal criteria for qualifying due to their Disability and circumstances.  It shouldn't be dictated by which area of the Country they reside in.   Some States shouldn't have preferential Services qualifications than others IMO, but they do, for a variety of things, including for our Veterans as well.  I've heard from other Bloggers that in their State they have excellent Veterans Care, others have as many problems as we've had, it's the Luck of where you Live and how good or bad it will be.

We got dropped by United Healthcare for example, becoz we're a Veteran Medicare eligible Family in Maricopa County.  But United Healthcare still covers other Veterans on Medicare across the Country, our Location was Targeted and Singled Out to deny Coverage to.  We have just under Five Million people in our County and approximately 245,000 Veterans.  That was a lot of dumping and denying, tho' they did pick on and Target a lot of Rural Medicare Families they Insured too.   Nationwide they're expected to drop 1.4 MILLION Medicare Advantage Members!!!  This included 180,000 Policy Holders directly impacted by Targeted Markets exits across 109 Counties and 16 States.  Plus Donnie Two Dolls has a Beef with our great Senator, and American Hero, Mark Kelly.  So, Arizona is punished due to the Retribution and Revenge Tour this Prez is on.  Which should be illegal, but, what are we as a Nation doing about it?  Nothing!

The criteria and excuse they gave to drop all of us was rising Medical Costs, Utilization Rates, and Government Funding Reductions!!!  In 2026 roughly One in Ten Medicare Advantage Members/Enrollees {about 2.6 MILLION People} are Losing their specific Insurance Plans due to widespread Terminations by Major Providers like United Healthcare, HUMANA and Aetna.  Maricopa County was dumped by Aetna MA too so we couldn't choose them either, HUMANA and obscure MA's were all the Choices we had left to receive coverage from!!!  Patients have also been forced out of Network often too.  It's a Hot Mess and an impact of the Big "Ugly" Bill that is extremely Discriminatory.   Even certain Specific LEGAL Immigrant Groups have been Targeted, not just Veterans!!! 

 I tell The Man, it's why I've always checked the "White" Box on Race Identifying Forms of all kinds.   So I WON'T be Unlucky enuf to be the Targeted Racial Group being Targeted next by our Government.  I'm not of a Federally Recognized Tribe anyway that would receive Federal Indian Benefits on my Dad's Side.   So considered "White By Law" as my Dad always joked when asked by us what we should put down as our Race on those Forms that always ask the Question.  As a Mixed Race Person they used to always insist you only check ONE Box.  I remember my Friend Collette and I would get in Trouble in School if we decided to check all the Boxes that Identified our Racial Blend.  *LMAO*  Collette had damned near all the Boxes Checked coz her Dad was half Black and half Native American of a Federally Recognized Tribe, so she was actually a Registered Tribal Member, and her Mom was half White and half Chinese!!!  She herself looked Pacific Islander as a Teen & Adult, so folks thought her to be Samoan or from Fiji!  *Ha ha ha*  She's the Oldest of Three Sisters, and like me, all Three got Lighter complexion too as we got Older.  I was a lot Darker complexion as a Child.  So were my Kids and The G-Kid Force.

Collette ended up Marrying an African Immigrant and so now her Last Name I can't even pronounce!  *Smiles*  But she joked that at least her Daughter LOOKS Black and it's not Questioned WHAT she IS?   *Smiles*   You get that a lot if you're Interracial, WHAT ARE YOU???  It's a predominant Question that people seem to feel they NEED to Know and yet sometimes take Issue with your Response.  It's as contentious an Issue as the Gender Issue seems to be now, as to what one Considers themselves and Identifies as Being.  Other People get all kinds of Twisted about what you Identify as, as if it really matters to or impacts THEM!  I find it Crazy and a bit hilariously ironic, it shouldn't matter to them if I "Identify" as any damned thing, it won't impact their Life at all.  Growing up I'd get some folks take Issue if I said I was White, they'd point out I had a Parent of "Color" so I wasn't "White".  But, just as many would take Issue if I said I was "Indian", they'd point out my "Whiteness" or that I didn't Look Ethnic "Enough".  Well, compared to my Mom and her People I do, but, compared to my Dad and his People I don't.  *Laughs, Oy vey and an Eye Roll, whaddya gonna do about other folk's Hang-ups and made-up Rules concerning you?*

But, on a Piece of Paper, anyway, checking the "White" Box always was more Beneficial over the various Decades I've been around the Sun, than checking a "Non-White" Box.   And I play the Odds that would grant me the most Favor within Society and it's ways of skewing things on a very uneven Playing Field.  I'll take the Advantage and Privileged Route by default, why not and why wouldn't I?  *Winks*   I remember my Dad going for Job Interviews after Retirement and tho' he had the Qualifications, sometimes he wouldn't get hired becoz of his Ethnicity.  He'd roll with it and remain Stoic, but I knew it had to bother him, he just never let it put a dent in his Dignity, Pride or demeanor.  If I ever happened to mention something in Life wasn't "Fair", Dad's Stoic deadpan response was always the Dark Humorous one of, "Sweetheart, Life isn't Fair, or Bras wouldn't come in Sizes".   He would never allow you to Play The Victim in any scenario, even if  you were being Victimized.  His other Advice was, "Sweetheart, they may never Respect you or Accept you, so make them Fear you."  It's great Advice, it Works.  *Winks*  Pix Above is me and my Dear Mom.

This is our Dear Neighbors next door, Sylvia and Old Tom, TJ and Rob's Parents, they're both in their 80's and an Interracial Couple, she's Hispanic, he's White.  One of their Kids looks Hispanic, the other Two look White.  She just Celebrated another trip around the Sun and had a Birthday.  So, this is her Birthday Pix, they both look and act Amazing for their Advanced Ages.  She can still Rock a Bikini, I kid you not!!!   And Old Tom can do anything a 40 Year Old Man can do, and probably keep pace with them too!!!  They are the BEST Neighbors you could ever Hope for and we just Adore them.  Since my Parents have been gone a long time now, they're like Surrogate Parents to my Generation, of who they still consider "Young People".   *Bwahahaha*   Coz all their Kiddos are in their 60's... tho' all their Kids are not quite as Old as The Man and I, our Parents, were they still living, would be in their 90's now and nearing that Century mark that few attain.  My Welsh Uncle made it to 90 and One of my Welsh Nanna's Youngest Sisters, my Aunt Ivy, made it to 99.

Then

Now

Anyway, another Old High School Friend whose still among the Living is my Old Friend Joe, on the Left pictured Above.  They lived in the same American Projects as we did just a few Doors down and we went to High School together.  He played Basketball really well and I do Believe he went Pro.  He looks exactly the same at Age 70, I'd still recognize him, he hasn't changed One Iota and Time has been very Kind to him.  Helluva Nice Guy and our Moms were Friends.  I've really been enjoying my deep dive down Memory Lane.   My Brother contacted me and said he and his Son have been Texting, since connecting via Phone proved difficult due to his Son's Work and busy Schedule, which is understandable.  His Son will be coming out to Cali in a few Months for Work tho' and Hopes to get together in Person and that's wonderful News.  Don't know if he's Flying or Driving, since he's coming from the East Coast to the West Coast?  If he passes thru Arizona I'd like for him to be able to drop by too, we'll see.  My Brother is giving him our Address and letting him know he's always Welcome.

 

My Brother is hopeful his Heart holds out a few more Months so he can reconnect in Person with his Son one last time.  I hope so too, we know his Time is likely pretty short, his Heart is doing it's best to keep functional but is quickly failing and there's nothing that can be done.  It's beating so fast now to try to push Blood out of the side that's failing that it can't keep up at that accelerated pace for too much longer according to his Cardiologist.  And he's not a candidate for a Transplant.  He said he may just also, if he makes it to Fall, make a Trip to AZ to see us one last time even tho' his Docs said he shouldn't take that Show on the Road.  He knows The Man can no longer Travel, otherwise I'd go out to Cali instead.  The Daughter has said we could do a Road Trip together if we absolutely had to and leave her Dad in the Care of the G-Kid Force and her Brother... but I know that would be a Big Ask and Heaven Forbid if something happened to him while I was away, I wouldn't wanna risk it.  Plus, Trips anywhere now aren't within workable Budget anymore either.  Due to this Guy:  {See Below}

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Well, this Flashback Friday has been Fun... Dawn... The Bohemian

Reminiscing ~ Living In the Moment While Looking Back Fondly

 

So, The Man just finished the last of his OT with White John, we'll miss him, such a very nice and compassionate young Man.  He was extremely pleased with how much Work that The Man put into their Sessions.  He said it's rare for a Client to do that actually.  The Man joked that I wouldn't allow him NOT to put in the Work.  *Bwahahaha*  He was telling me what his Mom Collects, Steiff Stuffed Animals and Porcelain Dolls, he finds the Dolls to be Creepy.  I told him the Money will be in that Steiff Collection, so, don't throw away Money if he inherits any of that.  *Smiles*  Dolls can be iffy and a hard Turn to make any Money on, depending on the genre.  John is fascinated by our Collections and said he'd rather inherit something like this, coz it's Cool and looks like it has Value.  *LOL, but Sweet of him to say out loud so Sincerely.*

We have Asian Paul coming for the PT last visit in about another Hour, then The Man will be done with both OT and PT, moving forward then with Cardiac Rehab at the Hospital next.  That will be more closely monitored and I can drop him off at the Hospital for it, then pick him up when he's done.  It's right beside our Antique Mall Location, so I can Work my Spaces while he's doing his Cardiac Rehab, so, it will work for both of us. I'm hopeful that after he finishes up those Sessions, he might be strong enuf to go do some things with me again, we miss doing it together, he always enjoyed the outings so much.  It was one of the few activities we could still spend quality time together doing as a Couple and enjoy doing, looking forward to it.  I still do it by myself, or sometimes with any Kiddos who wanna come along, but, I'd like him to be able to again.

I did Environmental Cleanup this Morning for about 40 Minutes after dropping both Kiddos off at their Work and before it got too Hot to do it.  My little Park Ranger was there, he said he has one more Week left at that Park before his Transfer and introduced me to his replacement, a Younger Hispanic Man named Angel.  I found a brand New pair of expensive Brand Sandals someone had just forgotten.  He told me to just take them, since they'd only have to throw them away, they were exactly my Size and looked like they'd never been worn.  People leave behind the strangest things sometimes and you wonder if it's accidental or intentional when it's something nice?  Was this person wearing no Shoes then when they left the Park?  *LOL*  Their Loss is my Gain, they're attractive and very comfortable.  I looked them up Online and they are $50-$60... so, Score!!!

I spent most of the Morning looking up and sorting Pokemon Cards I'll be taking in to the Locked Case.  They were the Cards the Grandkids told me to look up coz they'd be worth more than a Dollar.  The Dollar ones are Selling fast of coarse, but the Kiddos knew which ones had more Value and I'd of had to look up every damned Card otherwise, which would have been too labor intensive.  It's Helpful to Google Value of things tho', so that you have a point of reference as to what you should be charging for anything, and especially what you have limited or no knowledge about.  I am Clueless about Pokemon and it's HOT right now so I wanna get all the Cards we have into our Inventory already.  I bought clear Card Sleeves for them at a Craft Store, you get like 100 of those for about Two Bucks and Customers like the protection it offers.

I didn't get them all looked up and Priced, but I got everything in Sleeves and about 1/3 Priced to take in when I go to pick up my Check.  Amy didn't bring in that Trophy yet she's giving me, she may have forgotten or didn't have time to come in again.  I don't know that I'll go in Today, but mebbe Tomorrow I will.  I just haven't been in the Mood to go out of the House once it heats up to high Triple Digits or use Gas if I don't have to either.  It is altering my Habits to have the Economy in the shitter.  I won't overpay for anything and will do without it, or be wasteful for what is essential, but higher priced now, like Gas.  I just don't have the Resources or Income in Retirement to spend more than I usually Budget for.  I'm pretty strict with Budget and won't go over Budget.  I've made quite a bit extra with how often I spend time doing Environmental Cleanup now and the volume of Aluminum I'm Recycling tho'.  And I enjoy the doing of it, I'm not out spending Money if I'm being Purposeful to do other things that cost me nothing and make a Positive difference.

I invested in purchasing a couple of Old Yearbooks I didn't have from my Old American High School in England.  My Family couldn't always afford to buy a Yearbook, and every once in a Blue Moon, one will come up For Sale on E-Bay.  I Lucked Out and got Two of them for Two Years I was there and a lot of my Old Friends are in.  And neither one had been Written in, so was like New, tho' one did have a couple of missing Pages, for it's Age, the rest of it was in pristine condition and the lower price reflected the damage of just a couple of missing Pages.   After that Memorial Page I got directed to recently while trying to find a Friend, showed how many of my Old Friends I've Lost, I decided I wanted to at least have the Yearbooks of when we all were Young and just beginning our Young almost to Adulthood Journey.  I won't be going to any Reunions of Lakenheath American High School in England, I doubt I'll even be going to any Reunions here in Phoenix of the High School I Graduated from, I only ever attended one, I think it was the 20th or something, now it would be the 50th+.  I just wouldn't wanna know everyone who wasn't there becoz they're no longer above dirt.

I've been more Nostalgic than usual lately, more time spent in reflection about a lot of things, not just past things, but present things, and potentially future things.   I don't have Solutions for a lot of it, just hanging tough thru what isn't working well right now and hopeful it won't get way worse, but, there's no guarantees.  I fondly reminisce about the Past coz I feel that I had a pretty good one overall, not a perfect one, but, I'm not complaining either, it was pretty good overall.  I enjoyed Success and attaining many Goals I'd set for myself, often exceeding them.  High School was good for me, I had a lot of Friends, good Teachers, academically I always did well, I have good Memories of it all.  My Employers put me thru some College so I didn't have to pay for it.  I just studied Real Estate Law coz it was relevant, I didn't waste time with non-relevant to my Career Classes or Socializing.    

I worked during the Day and went to College at Night, coz I was a Single Parent at the time with a demanding Career in the Corporate Grind.  And being a very Young Female Corporate Executive, of when there were scant few, in a Misogynistic Good Ole' Boy Era, I was focused on advancing my Career and supporting my Baby.  I didn't have Time to fuck around or be Miss Party All The Time, like some College Students do.   I didn't mind the Challenges as much as I resented the Prejudices and biased Systems that kept Women and Minorities down.  You had to be better at what you did if you expected to be promoted above any White Cis Gender Male, even if they didn't have the experience and weren't the best person for the Job or the Promotion.  I was very Ambitious and wouldn't be told I Couldn't Do something just becoz I was too Young or a Female or came from the Wrong Zip Code.

But, I had GREAT Mentors who Believed in me and taught me everything they knew.  They passed the Mantle to me before or after they Retired and became some of my closest Friends, even tho' the Generation Gap was Wide between my Age and theirs.  Mostly Sage and Successful Women older than me that had made it and broken Glass Ceilings a Generation or Two ahead of me.  And some older Successful Men too who took me under their Wing and helped me cultivate contacts in a Patriarchal System they had Favor and Influence in.  They knew it wouldn't just be what I know that got me ahead, but WHO I knew.  The only other route forward was not an option I ever considered, and if you know the Old Saying, you know what I mean.  *Winks*  And if you aren't familiar of the crass Saying its... In the Corporate Grind it's either what you know, who you know, or who you blow.  It's still pretty much True.

Me, Above, the High School Years.  None of my own Kiddos liked High School... actually, they didn't like School at all, including The G-Kid Force.  It wasn't the most Positive experience for any of them and so I couldn't relate at all coz it had been for me personally.   Once I Graduated tho', I Moved On and didn't really look back or consider those Years to be my Glory Years.  Seemed when I went to that 20 Year Reunion, for some Classmates, it had been their Glory Years and where they felt the most relevant, popular, happy or successful.  Tho' some Classmates I did go to School with really made it in Life after High School, some became famous in fact.  One in particular, I just knew he'd be something Special.  Even tho' in High School he was a real early Seventies Hippie, he was madly Talented and involved... as an Adult, he is an Executive Producer in Hollywood with numerous Accomplishments!  Below are some of Vic's Yearbook Pixs when we were in High School at Lakenheath in England... and some of his Fame Photos now.  Vic is 70 now but still Handsome.  Such a Nice Guy too.  He Dated a Friend of mine in High School, everyone Adored Vic.

Then Circa 1970's at Lakenheath High School, England

Now

I was happy to see Vic's success, he was richly deserving of it and was a really Special and incredibly Talented person at a very Young Age before we were even Grown.  And it was good to know he wasn't among the Fallen Lancers who have Died, from our High School Alumni there at Lakenheath, an American Military High School.  Vic was one of the Dorm Students, a lot of Students lived on Campus mid-week and only went Home on the Weekends.  Becoz all of the Bases in Great Britain were not close enuf to commute to the American High School, so they had Dorms for Students whose Active Duty Parent wasn't Stationed at Mildenhall or Lakenheath.  They were Bused Home after School on Fridays.   

A lot of the Dorm Students were Friends, as well as many who lived on either Lakenheath in Base Housing, or Mildenhall on the 'Economy' since Mildenhall didn't have Base Housing so we lived in either English Housing Off Base or American "Projects", if you could get Lucky to get into them.  We did both, Lived in Thetford in an Old Victorian English Home, then lived on Glebe Close, which were the American Projects in Thetford, the nearest Town to the Military Base Dad was Stationed at and we could get Bussed to and from.   

I was fortunate that my Dad was Stationed at Mildenhall, which was close enuf to Bus us to Lakenheath to the High School daily, so we didn't have to live in the Dorms at Lakenheath.   We also had Students whose Parent was Stationed at Upper Heyford, Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Alconbury, Fairford and Croughton, and they were the Dorm Students.  They lived in Barracks like Dorms, Male Dorms and Female Dorms... with Adult Dorm Live Ins who Chaperoned them.  I don't know that at 14-16 I would have wanted to Live away from my Family at the Dorms... or that the Supervision would have been as adequate as it was with my Parents.  I was a Young Hippie and I might have gotten myself into some trouble making poor decisions that Teens are prone to making, especially those of us who were notorious Non-Conformists.  *LOL*   My Parents were Bohemian Spirits, but our Moral Compass and Parental Respect and Reverence was still set high. Lakenheath High School still has about 350 Students... the HS Opened in 1960-1961. 

I'd be more inclined to wanna attend a Reunion of Lakenheath than of my HS here in Phoenix, where I only went my Senior Year and was more of an Outsider.  Most of the Students at our HS in Phoenix had grown up together and lived Local all their Lives except for the Military Students whose Families were Stationed at Luke, AFB or had Retired here when they got out of the Military.   My Dad's last Base was at Luke and then he Retired after a 27 Year Career.  We liked it here so we stayed.  Dad was from the Rez in Oklahoma and we certainly didn't wanna live there.  And we didn't have Family anywhere else in the States, but we had other Military Friends here that had Retired in and around Phoenix, and we'd known for Years and were Stationed at other Bases together when they were still Active Duty.  Some of them had been Stationed in England when we were and decided to Retire here too.  One Family we knew from living in the American Projects at Glebe Close in Thetford, bought a Home just a block away from where my Parents bought one in Phoenix.  Their Dad Retired a Year before ours did, my Parents remained Friends with their Parents until they all Died.

I lost touch with their Sons, but I know the Oldest one became Career Military who was awarded the Silver Star for Bravery during a War.   And the Younger one became a Professional Musician, a Pianist as I remember.   Never could locate either of them via Social Media.  Their Dad, Ray, outlived both of my Parents, but sadly their Mom, Jean, was the first to Die of all our Parents, losing a battle with Cancer.   She and my Mom were best of Friends since the early 1970's.   When they lived just a Block apart our Moms would visit each other daily, have Tea and visit, when people just did that kind of Socializing often, while our Dads worked.  Our Moms had put their Careers away when they Married Military Men, coz you Moved often in support of their Military Careers.   I remember my Moms Friends either visiting us often, almost daily, or us visiting them often.  You don't see folks Socializing like that anymore.

I miss the closeness Friends used to have, people are becoming more superficial in their interactions and not very invested in their Relationships, from my Observations, especially of the Younger Generations.   When I was a Young Adult I had abundant Friendships and my Grandkids said that mostly, Modern Young People do not.  It makes sense to have less Friends as you Age Out coz you find most either end up Moving Away or Passing Away over Time, which, is a predictable outcome as Time goes on.  When you get Older, especially after Retirement, you're generally not meeting a lot of New People and you don't have the time ahead of you anymore to establish those tight long term Friendships that develop over a lot of Time spent knowing one another.   I've had some of my Inner Circle for well over half a Century now... I'm not gonna Live over half a Century more to have that kind of History with someone 'New'.   And when those you Share that much History with are Gone, it leaves an incredible Void that can't be filled.

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The Reminiscing of our cherished Memories sure are sweet tho'... Dawn... The Bohemian