Dino-Slayer/Santa Claus needs help
Donation protected
I have neuropathy in my feet, sugar in my blood, apnea in my sleep, and a touch of depression upon my soul. I wake tired and grow more tired through the day. My short-term and operational memory tends to be unreliable. These disabilities forced me into early retirement and prevent me from working a job that requires sustained mental or physical exertion. Once an avid reader, I cannot read more than several pages of a book before my mind wanders and, even though my eyes continue to scan words, I realize that I don’t even know what I had just “read”.
I also teeter on the brink of financial ruin. The divorce/custody battle which began in 1997 cost me most of my personal possessions and consumed all of my assets. Even though I was awarded full custody in 2003, legal issues dragged on until spring of this year when my ex declared bankruptcy, thus evading tens of thousands of dollars the court had awarded me in attorney’s fees. Service on the debt I assumed for my daughter’s college education (as yet uncompleted) consumes big bites of my pension. Most months, the money usually runs out a week or so before the next retirement check arrives. This is not sustainable and it fills me with constant worry.
Even so, I have a couple of success stories. Because I have been blessed/cursed by reaching my current state in life bearing a strong resemblance to the one we call Santa Claus, I have found a very profitable—but highly seasonal—line of work. The real work is in the pre-season, marketing and managing but playing the gig is very much like being a celebrity at a party; it’s not work at all for me.
The other success has been on facebook. Even in my most fatigued state, I find a very comfortable psychic zone in which I can read and respond to short articles and commentary. While writing lengthier pieces (like this) tends to be rather daunting and take a long time to craft, witty retorts and obscure references pop out of my head with great ease. Going toe-to-toe with trolls for hours may be off-putting to some of my readers but it energizes me. I am also gratified by the opportunity to sharpen my thinking and sharpen my arguments by working through issues with both well-wishers and scoundrels. It is also easy because I’ve been going over the main themes for 50 years now and I have basically heard it all before.
At any rate, it has blossomed into something I had never imagined. I was already on the road to becoming quasi-famous in the fb universe when an off-handed gag about Spielberg and a triceratops went viral last year. This fame (or “fame”, if you will) even helped me land an invitation to a reception featuring President Obama last month. When I met the PotUS, he told me, “Good looking beard, man.” This is the stuff of bucket lists. I got to admit, it’s getting better all the time.
It is said that the Chinese have a word that can translate either as “crisis” or “opportunity”. I am at such a crossroads now and I intend to convert it into an opportunity. As some know, I am currently serving a 30-day block from facebook because I chided a guest for writing “bare arms” instead of “bear arms”. It was relatively mild sarcasm without profanity or name-calling but a decider (robot?) at facebook determined it to be in violation of their vague, inconsistently-enforced “community standards”.
Facing the loss of that platform, I am looking at a couple of alternatives that include an income-generating web site full of the political commentary, humor, and music links that people enjoy on my fb page and/or a radio show full of the political commentary, humor, and music links that people enjoy on my fb page.
I have many fans and followers who know me for making an honest presentation of myself and what I stand for; please know that this appeal is authentic. I have absorbed a lot of blows in the last 20 years but I still expect to spend my final 20 in a place of relative comfort, security, and fulfillment. In future updates, I will explain more about my plans but I need this $$ infusion to bring stability to my immediate situation and to make capital investments for my future projects.
Please donate as you can or are inclined. And since I cannot post on my own timeline, it would be a major gift merely to share this. Thank you friends, for standing with me one more time.
I also teeter on the brink of financial ruin. The divorce/custody battle which began in 1997 cost me most of my personal possessions and consumed all of my assets. Even though I was awarded full custody in 2003, legal issues dragged on until spring of this year when my ex declared bankruptcy, thus evading tens of thousands of dollars the court had awarded me in attorney’s fees. Service on the debt I assumed for my daughter’s college education (as yet uncompleted) consumes big bites of my pension. Most months, the money usually runs out a week or so before the next retirement check arrives. This is not sustainable and it fills me with constant worry.
Even so, I have a couple of success stories. Because I have been blessed/cursed by reaching my current state in life bearing a strong resemblance to the one we call Santa Claus, I have found a very profitable—but highly seasonal—line of work. The real work is in the pre-season, marketing and managing but playing the gig is very much like being a celebrity at a party; it’s not work at all for me.
The other success has been on facebook. Even in my most fatigued state, I find a very comfortable psychic zone in which I can read and respond to short articles and commentary. While writing lengthier pieces (like this) tends to be rather daunting and take a long time to craft, witty retorts and obscure references pop out of my head with great ease. Going toe-to-toe with trolls for hours may be off-putting to some of my readers but it energizes me. I am also gratified by the opportunity to sharpen my thinking and sharpen my arguments by working through issues with both well-wishers and scoundrels. It is also easy because I’ve been going over the main themes for 50 years now and I have basically heard it all before.
At any rate, it has blossomed into something I had never imagined. I was already on the road to becoming quasi-famous in the fb universe when an off-handed gag about Spielberg and a triceratops went viral last year. This fame (or “fame”, if you will) even helped me land an invitation to a reception featuring President Obama last month. When I met the PotUS, he told me, “Good looking beard, man.” This is the stuff of bucket lists. I got to admit, it’s getting better all the time.
It is said that the Chinese have a word that can translate either as “crisis” or “opportunity”. I am at such a crossroads now and I intend to convert it into an opportunity. As some know, I am currently serving a 30-day block from facebook because I chided a guest for writing “bare arms” instead of “bear arms”. It was relatively mild sarcasm without profanity or name-calling but a decider (robot?) at facebook determined it to be in violation of their vague, inconsistently-enforced “community standards”.
Facing the loss of that platform, I am looking at a couple of alternatives that include an income-generating web site full of the political commentary, humor, and music links that people enjoy on my fb page and/or a radio show full of the political commentary, humor, and music links that people enjoy on my fb page.
I have many fans and followers who know me for making an honest presentation of myself and what I stand for; please know that this appeal is authentic. I have absorbed a lot of blows in the last 20 years but I still expect to spend my final 20 in a place of relative comfort, security, and fulfillment. In future updates, I will explain more about my plans but I need this $$ infusion to bring stability to my immediate situation and to make capital investments for my future projects.
Please donate as you can or are inclined. And since I cannot post on my own timeline, it would be a major gift merely to share this. Thank you friends, for standing with me one more time.
Organizer
Joseph Branscomb
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC