They’ll have to make Hell bigger.
I was on the phone with my Mom the other day. Eighty-five years old, has had a couple of strokes, widowed, and allows my 40-something crazy addict brother to live with her. It’s not a happy conversation. It’s really heart-hurting. She’s calling to say that because my brother has run up her telephone bill, and taken the money to pay for her TV service, she’s going to have to turn off both phone and TV.
We talk for a long time about her money trouble, and the absolute need for her to cut my brother off and throw him out. She can’t/won’t. And the rest of us won’t send her money because he takes it. We tried sending things like grocery store gift cards, but he’s taken those, too, to sell. It’s a hell of a mess.
Then she’s on to the next topic: Social Security. “Have you heard that Social Security is ending any day now?” she asks.
“What? No it’s not, Mom. What are you talking about?”
“I get a letter almost every day saying this month could be my last getting my Social Security check . . . ”
“From WHOM?”
“Washington! I’ve got six or seven of them right here . . . ‘the situation is urgent’ . . . ‘you must send us at least $5 to help save Social Security’…”
“Mom, look; you have enough trouble dealing with reality. That’s not real. Don’t worry about that. Those are scams. They just want your money. Unless it comes from the Social Security Administration, just THROW. IT. AWAY. Don’t worry about it.”
“But it says Congress has wasted all our money . . . right here, let me read it to you . . .” and she skims . . . “says they’ve spent all the Social Security money on . . . ‘expensive vacations’ and . . . and ‘PORK!'”
And there is the laugh I’d needed.
Later, telling Jif about the Social Security crisis created by the U.S. Congress’s love of the other white meat, we agreed that once you get started, it’s hard to stop:
“There’s bacon . . . chops . . . don’t forget RIBS!” Social Security is in big trouble.
But really, six or seven different groups who are making money by getting frightened little old ladies and gents to send them $5 to save their desperately needed Social Security checks? They’re gonna have to make Hell bigger to accommodate such.
What Was I Thinking? 
Wow, that’s really scary. These scammers are the pigs at the trough. I believe that what goes around comes around and these people are creating their own hell.
Good luck with your mom.
Ah yes, those people will definitely get theirs. It’s guaranteed in the Great Book of Karmic Payback. What? You’ve never heard of that book? Oh, it’s out there. I haven’t seen it on Amazon, but I’m pretty sure it’s available somewhere… maybe it was an As Seen On TV Infomercial I saw… I don’t remember…
((Good luck with your Mom, love.))
Oh, susie.
I’ve heard about the “What goes around” concept, but never really seen it in action. If it’s the case, I must be one evil bastard since I tend to get the shit end of the stick.
It sounds like the brother needs a swift kick to the ass. Maybe two.
I am so sorry about your family troubles. It’s so sad that people prey on seniors like that. All that stress your mother doesn’t need. At least you were able to tell her what to do about it. Hopefully this time she’ll listen.
Ugh. That’s worse than the Nigerian scammers…at least they trap people by greed, not playing on fear.
On the mom front, is there any store local to her that delivers groceries? You could place (and pay for) an order online and have it delivered to her?
Sorry to hear about your family’s situation. Before I finished reading, my first thought was that your brother was telling her about the Social Security problem and planning to keep her money for himself. See? That almost makes the real problem seem more manageable somehow.
*fantasizing about making pork chops out of the sick fucks who think up these scams*
Hey there! I have a similar situation going on with my mother/sister. It is a complicated situation, but here is how I solved it: We opened 2 bank accounts, with my name and my mother’s name on both. Her social security is deposited into an account that she has no access to. I have the checks and ATM card for this account. I pay all of her bills from this account, then transfer what is left to the other account and tell her how much is there. It seems to have fixed the problem. Although… it sounds like your mom might be a little more out of it than mine. Not much more, though. Ugh!
Big Sighs and Hugs. I wish I could fix it for you, Susie.
In reality, I can barely get up the energy to fix the pork chops that are in the fridge. Fix them for dinner, that is.
That is HORRIFIC. How do people live with themselves?
and I thought this was going to involve law enforcement.
Whether man or meat, makes no nevermind. I won’t ask any questions other than, “Has it been cooked until its juice have run clear?”
On a serious note? Perhaps you could pay her phone or cable bill directly…or handle her finances for her. Nowadays everything is handled online and by computers. It’s an idea, and circumvents dealing with the parasite of a brother.
Ugh. People suck. Some people, anyway.
I don’t really believe much in hell or heaven (except as we create them for ourselves during our lifetimes). However, I’m willing to make an additional exception for people preying on the fears of the vulnerable. Those people need the hell they make for themselves, PLUS an Intensive Hell for the Reprehensible, that our WhatWasIThinking Posse could put together for them.
For starters, I vote that the only thing they get to eat is pork. Raw. Then, CK and I can make a video of those (RARE) occasions when our perfect children are squabbling, and make sure it plays on an endless loop in the sleeping quarters of Intensive Hell for the Reprehensible. Anybody else with a good idea?
*sigh*
people suck
Oh jeeez. The whole situation has got to be tough. Adding to it with a scam is just icing on the cake of suck. Hugs to you and your mom.
I seriously would end Social Security for some ribs, or pork sausage biscuits and gravy…
Yeah I would have no problem making senios citizens suffer for some sausage biscuits and gravy.
Sucks about your brother.
We never do get to see the “comes around” part, do we? I realize we really shouldn’t wish people ill-will, if we are allowed to do so, I have a list started.
Extra prayers for you and your mom. Maybe we should all pray for your brother!
Wow, Susie. It’s sad how things are in your mother’s life. And for those whose access to their mother might be blocked or impaired because of it. So many things are just plain sad.
{{{{{{{Susie}}}}}}}
squirl, someday I imagine there will be a big cosmic traffic jam with all the “coming around.”
ck, you make me sing, “It’s the great big book of everything, with everything inside…”
htgt, I know.
bone, I agree with the Rx for the brother.
karen, I hope.
lisa m, that is a great idea, that I hadn’t tried. I just checked and her local stores don’t deliver. At least not yet. I’ll keep checking on that, though.
shawkey, he hasn’t thought of it yet, that’s all. He’s tried every other manipulation.
bucky, they wouldn’t be very tasty.
charlotte, thanks for the idea. He has stolen checks from her, forged her name, opened cards in her name, etc. But if there were an account he didn’t know about… A few years back, right after her strokes, I did take over all the finances, knew every dime that went out, and she did fine, had more than enough $. As she got better, it seemed good for her emotional health to take the responsibilities back, to be more independent. Financial survival may take precedence over independence now, though. I’ll have to think about this.
kcinnova you got chops in your fridge? Lucky you. 🙂
ern, I do not know. Either my brother or the scammers. Don’t know.
bone, I wish it did.
maven, we do directly pay some things — heating oil, hairdresser. As I said to Charlotte, I’m going to look into getting control of the $ again. It’s a stressor for me, but not nearly as much as worrying whether she has food, phone, etc.
shari, damn, you’re cold. 😉
traci, there are those who do.
kranki, thank you. That’s the thing I was saying to my other brother — being 85 is tough enough without all the unnecessary crap.
william, I see a run for Congress in your future.
barb, I never refuse prayers. Believe me, God hears an earful about little bro!
lynn, thanks for the hugs. It is just plain sad, sometimes.
Hell is plenty big, and if you can believe Milton or whoever it was, it also has multiple levels…..in which the types of people you describe should be in one of the lower sections. (My third-grade teacher should be in the basement but I digress).
Charlotte has a decent idea – another option is a trust (or if you can, maybe a conservatorship). That way, the money from your mom’s SSI goes into the account and is available for her needs, but it can’t be raided by anyone else. It also offers you a layer of protection in the event someone opens accounts in her name (with or without her permission), and then something goes haywire. It would protect the other name on the account from exposing their personal assets to a judgment that might arise out of the misuse of funds.
Good luck, Susie. I hope you find a way to work through this!!
Your mother’s situation sounds eerily similar to that which my parents were in with their son. What’s he’s doing is exploitation, which is illegal in the case of sr. citizens. In many states there are two types of guardianship, one is of the person, the other is of their finances. Perhaps it’s time to look at the finance side?
Your brother sucks. That is all.