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