United Nations Humanitarian Awards CenterI had to laugh, of course.
#28 Oxford Street
London United Kingdom
This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of Two Hundred And Forty Five Thousand Great Britain Pounds (GBP245,000) for the month of April, 2008 Prize Promotion which is Organized by United Nations Humanitarian Office.
PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM
Winners shall be paid in accordance with his/her Settlement Center. United Nations Humanitarian Office.
Award must be claimed no later than 15 days from date of Draw Notification. Any prize not claimed within this period will be forfeited.
Stated below are your identification numbers:
BATCH NUMBER: YM 09102XN
REFERENCE NUMBER: YM35447XN
PIN: YM09788
These numbers fall within the England Location file, you are requested to contact our fiduciary agent in Liverpool and send your winning identification numbers to him;
Agent Name: Mr. Leeton L. Smith
E-Mail: leeton22@walla.com
Tel: +447024092941
You are advised to send the following information to your Claims Agent to facilitate the release your fund to you.
First name...............................
Last Name.............................
Country..................................
Contact Address.....................
Telephone Number.................
fax Number............................
Marital Status.........................
Occupation.............................
My Date of birth......................
Sex.................................
Congratulations!! once again.
Yours in service,
Dr. (Mrs.) Gladys Shawn
It seems that this mortal coil is one that I would gladly give up if I knew two things: 1) that if I do, I will live life everlasting in some ethereal plane of existence (I'd settle for Hell, because could it really be worse than George Bush's America?) and 2) I was no longer responsible.
Since health issues have loomed large for me lately, I have been acutely aware of my responsibilities, and while not obsessing, have been pondering what to do going forward in the worst case "if" scenario.
Sadly, last night brought these concerns into sharp focus, and I'm rather angry today.
You see, my mom was checked into the emergency room last night by her cardiologist. I'm not sure why (I was too angry to visit her last night), but my suspicions are she is suffering from congestive heart disease. At any rate, the presenting symptoms was very badly swollen legs, possibly gangrenous.
Why am I angry? My mom has access to some of the finest medical care in the world, gratis, for all intents and purposes. She has an old-line union healthcare plan which will pay for nearly everything, as well as Medicare.
She is deliberately refusing treatment.
Now that is her choice, and from that perspective I cannot argue with her, but she also has a responsibility to her family, most notably to my brother, and she is abrogating that duty.
My brother, for reasons some of you know and reasons I won't get into here, lives with my mother. He's 60 years old and two years ago had open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve.
The running trope in my family is, when my mom goes, I will take care of my brother. Fair enough. He's capable of day to day living, holds down a job and lives a quiet life. Low maintenance, in other words. I can deal with that.
What I am angry about is this "suicide by neglect" course my mom has chosen. By putting her body in peril, she risks failing in her stated attempts to just let go of life, and thus becoming a vegetable or at the very least, bedridden and disabled.
As it stands now, my brother is her primary care giver, and so long as she is able to do some things for herself, that's a fair relationship. To burden him with this kind of nonsense is not only unfair to him, but borders on maltreatment.
I know the underlying reasons for her behavior, which I won't get into. Her motives are repugnant to me, and speak of a self-indulgent spoiled brat (and so now you know who I most resemble).
Thanks for reading this, I needed to get that off my chest.
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