Large families

I know that having large families is not popular.  Heck, get married isn't even popular.  I wouldn't consider myself in a big family by any stretch of the imagination, but my family is larger than most I see in the community around me.  Having a lot of children around is crazy, I know, I just had all my posterity at my house for a surprise party for my husband.  I have eight grandchildren ranging in age from 13 years to 10 months.  When they are together, things are a little like a circus. Still, there are plenty of good reasons why having a large posterity is a blessing in my life.

My sister-in-law needs a kidney transplant. She has no posterity, but fortunately for her, she has mine that loves her like their own. One of our family (who wants to remain anonymous) is going to donate their kidney.  It isn't a match, but it still puts Cindy at the top of the donor list. That would not be possible without a large posterity.

When Richard was in his accident, there was not one day that I was alone in my efforts to handle all the things that I had to deal with.  I had children that helped me.  I had a community around me that gave me support like I could not believe, but the ones that were in it for the long haul were these kids of mine.

As I grow old, it is these three people that I can depend on to be there to continue to love me even if I loose by bowel control, bladder control, memory, or ability to care for myself.  My precious girls have offered to take care of my in my old age. I didn't ask them to, they offered.  One thing I can be sure about and that is that I will never be alone. I have 11 people (so far) that I know will always care and be there for me.  That is worth a great deal to me.  It also makes me sad for those who do not have such a posterity.
I understand that there is only so much we can do about having a large posterity.  I understand that some people want it, but it is denied them.  I am fortunate, and I know that, but I also made decisions differently than those who chose not to have children.  I am blessed, but I am also grateful for the decisions in my life that lead me to this place. There is nothing in my life that I have done that will make as big an influence in 100 years than these people. There is nothing more important than raising them to be the kind of citizens I hope the future will have. It is not politically correct to say this anymore, but I still believe that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.  They are also the people that will pay for the social security of those in my generation.  We should be grateful for large families that will provide for all of us in our old age, but I am grateful in innumberable ways for the posterity that I have.  It is my greatest treasure.

Retirement and the fight continues

Richard is now old enough to apply for retirement.  He made a call to start the process and that is when the problems started.  He is being offered almost $2000 less a month now, because he is "disabled" than he would have been if he didn't have that accident 11 years ago.  We are weighing our options, and trying to look at this from every angle.  I suppose that there will be many more blog posts as this unfolds.  We tried to get the documents that support this decision made by his employer, but we are told that they have to "ask permission" for him to see them.  These are documents that cover the plans of retirees and disabled employees.  Are they secret?  Shouldn't they be accessible to every employee?  Are they changing them depending on the circumstances?  Do you have any option here?  

The bigger question for me is why does everything have to be a fight?  Why should he have to fight for what is rightfully his?  Why, after years of hospitals and doctors and too many surgeries to count, and malpractice by insurance companies as well as medical professionals do we still have to fight for him to his retirement?  Is the whole point of it all to wear the employee out so they have nothing left inside to fight with?  

We fought for accidental death and dismemberment insurance to pay numerous times.  We fought health insurance over and over again.  We fought Social Security to get his benefits. We fought for dignity in health care.  We fought doctors who have done more harm than good (and I wish I could say that there weren't many of them, but the truth is, there have been a LOT of them!) We fought the post office for access to a mailbox. We fought people who say stupid stuff to disabled people.  We fought businesses who do not have aceess or compassion for people who just want to live their life as normally as possible.  I get tired of fighting. 

Is it not bad enough that he has a traumatic brain injury?  Is it not bad enough that he has missing bones in his forearm? Is it not bad enough that he only half an eye to see out of? Is it not bad enough that he only has one working hand and one working foot?  Is it not bad enough that he lost his career and sense of worth from his contribution to society at large?  I guess it is not, because now we have to continue to fight for his retirement.  

If you think this can't happen to you, be careful because this is certainly not a situation that we chose to be in.  Disability can happen to anyone, and it can happen to you.  

There has to be a better way.  I hope that the world will figure out a better way as time goes on.  We may not benefit, but it is my hope that someone will.  

The Peacock

This is something that has been brewing inside of me for about 4o years now.  It’s the perfect time to say it.  

I have been a Donny Osmond fan since about 1970. It has not always been a popular position. In fact, it has rarely been a popular place to be. But the truth is that Donny has gotten better and better. The older I have gotten, the more I have realized that Donny has one of the best voices in the history of entertainment. He may not have started out that way, but Donny is a perfectionist and a hard worker.  He has spent over 50 years getting better and better, and still no one will give him a chance.  Why?  Because he is “Donny Osmond.”  Michael Jackson once told him that his name was poison and that if wanted a career in show business, he needed to change his name. Donny didn’t do that. He thought his career was over in 1978 when he got married.  He was 21 years old.  

In the 70s, I read “The Parade” magazine that came in the Sunday newspaper. There was a weekly column where you could ask questions about celebrities. I don’t remember who the writer was, and if I did, I probably wouldn’t give him credit, but about once a month there was a question about Donny or another Osmond.  The writer would proceed to tear Donny apart every time.  He said that Donny had no talent over and over again as if he was trying to convince himself.  

In 1989 Donny released a single called, “Soldier of Love.” In order to get it played by radio stations, they had to keep his identity a secret. People loved the the song, but what good is a great song when no one will play it?  Because it was played without a name, it went to #2 on Billboard’s Top 100 in 1989.  

One would think that after that, Donny would deserve some respect. However, when he went to audition for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Andrew Lloyd Webber even said to him, “Where have you been keeping that voice?”  as if it were some secret that he was hiding.  

In the early 2000’s Donny asked his fans to call their local radio stations and ask them to play his latest song, “Breeze on by.”  This one Donny wrote himself, and it was fabulous.  I called my local station in Las Vegas and asked them to play it.  The DJ could not have been more insulted. He was not going to play Donny Osmond.  No way.  Why? Because he was Donny Osmond.  No other reason.  He wouldn't even listen to it.  

Meeting Donny for the first time in Chicago.

Now, Donny’s career continued, and it continued because he has very loyal fans.  Most of his fans have been with him since 1970, and some before that.  One of the reasons for this is because of Donny’s personality and integrity as a star.  Let me explain.  Donny has never met a stranger. I was blown away when I met him for the first time.  I was meeting Donny Osmond, and that was one of the most important moments of my life.  I was so nervous that I thought I was going to wet by pants so I wore protection just in case. (Yes, I really did just admit to that!) Donny put me at ease immediately. First of all, he spent approximately 30 minutes with 6 of us after a show of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in Chicago. By the time we left, all of us felt that he was our best friend.  He treats everyone as if he has known them all of his life.  I was especially sensitive to this because I have members of my family with asperger’s syndrome. One of the problems with asperger’s is that it makes one “socially awkward.”  After being around several people who were socially awkward, I met Donny Osmond, who is the absolute opposite of that.  I believe it is a gift, but I don’t know if it is natural or something he has learned along the way.  All I know is that he makes you feel as if you are the most important person in the room. More celebrities need to know how to do that.  

Dancing with Donny in Las Vegas

When the Oprah show ended, Donny rounded up all the Osmond descendants and they did one of Oprah’s last shows.  It was just days after their father had died, but they didn’t cancel the show.  Oprah’s producer, Tara Montgomery said this, “I’ve worked here 16 years,” Tara said in an article posted on “The Oprah Winfrey Show’s website. “I’ve worked with every celebrity that you can think of, and there is no doubt in my mind, if anybody asks me in 30 years, ‘Who was the nicest celebrity?’ [It’s] Donny Osmond and his family.” 

https://www.accessonline.com/articles/access-top-10-the-oprah-winfrey-shows-best-celebrity-moments-101562

On top of this, Donny walks the walk.  He lives what he says be believes, and there are few around that do that these days too.  

Donny won Dancing with the Stars in 2009. While he was competing (which if you have ever seen it, you will realize how much work goes into just competing, never mind winning,) he was also performing in Las Vegas nightly and doing a radio show, all at the same time.  

Speaking of Las Vegas.  Donny started a 6 week engagement there and now that 6-week contract has been extended to over 10 years. 

I have lived in Las Vegas for about 9 years and I have seen a lot of shows.  There are great singers, there are great performers, there are great dancers, but rarely are they all in one person.  Donny is the exception.  He puts on a show like no other. He performs and even dances like a 25 year old and the man is 61 years old!  I have gone home from concerts that I had been wanting to see for 30 years disappointed because compared to Donny, the show was dull.  They just didn't have the sparkle that Donny has in his shows.  I have even seen Donny when he alone was on the stage, and he still had us all wrapped around his finger.  The truth is, Donny is AMAZING!

When I heard about the premise of “The Masked Singer” I knew this was the show for Donny.  It was perfect for him because he could be given the opportunity to showcase his talent with no prejudgments. He never gets that chance, and now he had it.  I knew the Peacock was Donny right away, but in the New York Times after the first show By Rob Bailey-Millado said,

“This colorfully costumed contestant teased himself as a showbiz veteran from the age of 5..."

The Twitterverse thinks Donny Osmond is a no-brainer — but was the King of Pop really his pal? (And does Donny have the pipes to bust out that soulful version of “The Greatest Show” from the hit Hugh Jackman/Zac Efron flick?)”

https://nypost.com/2019/01/03/are-the-masked-singer-stars-donny-osmond-rumer-willis-and-cee-lo/

Yes, Donny does have the pipes to do it, sadly you are not open-minded enough to give the man a chance. That's too bad for you Mr. Bailey-Millado. The Donny we saw on "The Masked Singer" is the Donny that those of us who know him recognize.  We had no doubt because the truth is, the Peacock was signature Donny! 

Now Donny is over 60 years old and people still don’t get it. Donny is amazing.  His fans have known it for many, many years. I am hoping that after coming in ahead of LaToya Jackson and Gladys Knight in The Masked Singer, perhaps some will be willing to admit that they underestimated Donny. I hope that there are those out there that will start to look for Donny’s songs on iTunes that have never done that before. He says that he is going to release another album soon, and maybe a different kind of buyer will buy it than has in the past.  I hope so.  I hope that this show will have opened some eyes in the entertainment industry.  I certainly haven’t listed everything that Donny has done in his career in this short writing, but I wanted to show that over and over again Donny Osmond and his talents are under-appreciated. He is one of the greatest talents of our day and a rare breed in that he is actually nice to his fans.  Hollywood could learn a lot from a man with a career as long as Donny Osmond's.  The question is: Will they?