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Hello, I am so uncomfortable doing this. I am a 42 year old woman with two wonderful toddler boys ages 3 and 2. My troubles started in 2010 during my pregnancy with my second child. I became very sick and the doctors were unable to find the cause. During the search for a cause I was diagnosed with Lymphoma, but the cause was finally identified when I gave birth two months prematurely. I will not go into graphic detail, but I came out of the hospital 7 weeks later,with shortbowel syndrome and other serious problems. My son thankfully was fine and is thriving. I worked for a government agency for 16 years, and suddenly found myself surviving on disability. I must add that my husband was not much of a help. We are currently seeking to get divorced after 5 years of marriage. Through my illnesess he has been verbally, emotionally and on occasion physically abusive. I prolonged the divorce due to my health conditions and he is a good father to our children. My, what I thought was an upstanding, husband lost his job in 2009 and has not worked since but some small jobs. Even though he has worked, he has barely contributed to supporting the family. I have managed to keep the family afloat by paying the critical bills. What I haven't been able to pay is:

*our monthly condo maintanence fee of $258.00 for the past 3 months.
*I have a $160.00 car insurance payment due on 6-10-12, this will keep my paid until 10-10-12.
*The divorce attorney is asking for a $2500.00 retainer.
*June health insurance of $555.00.
*The numerous unpaid medical expenses.

I make it happen with the rest of the things my boys and I need. In July of 2012 I will recieve Medicare, since I will then have been on disability for 2 years. I think that will make things somewhat easier on me. As a note, lymphoma is not being treated right now. Thank goodness the nodules have remained stable, though if there is any change I will probably have to start some sort of treatment.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated. Since almost dying in 2010, I have a renewed faith in God (though I have always been a believer). I know that God walks beside me and my children and the He watches over us. Prayers to all that are on this site, whether asking for help or giving it.

Updates: September 11, 2011 - I have been able to get a part-time job which is good news, but the rest is just about the same. Thank you for your help Malum Designs
and Pete B.
Since my previous posts have yielded only four donations over the last five months I thought I would try this approach. My financial problems are quite real. If you find my fable entertaining please send a small donation.
- Fortuna vitrea est, tum cum splendet frangitur -

The Grasshopper and the Ant
A Classic retold by Joseph the Beggar King
Part One

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there were two friends, the Grasshopper and the Ant. Why these two became friends is a bit of a mystery. The Grasshopper was a dreamer and a drifter. The Ant was a believer and an achiever.

In school the Grasshopper would look out the window without thought and only learned the subjects he found interesting. Sometimes he would fall asleep in Math class, other times when a angry teacher would jump him with a pop question he would give the correct answer in way that would confound them.

The Ant was a teachers dream, he soaked up every subject the system taught him, gave the correct answers in the correct way and got straight A s. He would delight his Math teacher by doing compound interest in his head. The Ant believed that what they taught him would help him succeed and was very completive. After graduating High School the Ant got an Academic Scholarship and the Grasshopper got a Pell Grant.

Within four years the Ant got two BS degrees in Business Management and Engineering. The Grasshopper dropped out after the first year. He went to live with the Rainbow Tribe for a few years. On the way to the bus station he found an old fiddle in a trash pile along the road and when he got station he was able to panhandle his bus fare. That was the Grasshoppers first beg.

The Ant took the College like a fish to water. During open Rush some Greeks invite him to be a brother in their Fraternity. He earned his dues by being the Frat Houses Accountant and made beer money by writing term papers. One day while visiting the Tri Deltas he watches the girls play volleyball and is amazed that even though they are playing a vigorous game not one of them breaks a sweat. It is there he meets the girl of his dreams, Polly Fishbane.

While the Grasshopper was living with the Rainbow Tribe he never meets the girl of his dreams, but it does not really matter too much because they believe in Free Love. So free, in fact, that after what you might call the Honeymoon he found himself getting a little bored with it. From the Rainbow Tribe he learns to live off the fat of country and from his new friend, Buffalo with Runs, he learns to live off the land. Buffalo with Runs was an very old Indian that was adopted by the tribe. He taught the Grasshopper what wild plants were safe to eat or use for medicines. He showed him how to set traps and hunt small game. Then, during one winter Gathering four people froze to dead because they were too stoned to come in out of the cold. The Grasshopper became very sad and hopped away.

The Ant is recruited by a Aerospace firm even before he graduated college and goes to work on the Apollo Program. He and his new wife Polly loved the Florida sunshine and settle down to start the American Dream. They decide to have two and half children. Even though the third kid looked a bit odd the Ant loved him as only a father can. With easy money down and mortgage tax deductions compliments of Uncle Sam, they get a house with a two car garage. Next they get two cars and the Rat Race is on. The Ant loves it! Working on the Apollo Program is more than a job, it is being part of history. Polly loves it! Raising their kids and Keeping up of with the Jones. She starts selling Avon products on the side. The Ant buys the best bass boat in the neighborhood, but only uses it once a year because he too busy working. He sets up his retirement funds and a small stock portfolio. Life is Good!

After leaving the Rainbow Tribe the Grasshopper panhandles his way across the country. He sets up in parks and subways where he pretends to play his fiddle while selling jewelry made of deer anthers and beads. The noise he makes with his fiddle sounds like a cat being killed and people give him money just to make him stop. Before the Cops run him off, the Grasshopper usually made enough in one day of begging to cover his needs for the week. When he is hungry he goes to a Soup Kitchen and when he needs clothing there are the Sharing Centers. Every now and then he lets some good hearted woman try to save him. Life is Good and he hops away.

The Apollo Program ends and the new Shuttle program does not start for a couple of years. The Aerospace company were the Ant works at does not win any of the new bids. They offer him a job in California at 20% less of his salary. Polly and the kids are in a rage. Nobody wants to move and leave their friends. The Ant sells his house at a loss because the real estate market in flooded by the laid offs. The one car and the boat are reprocessed. He sells off his stock portfolio for the down payment on the new house in California and even though money is tight the Ant decides to take the family on a short vacation to Key West to uplift their spirits. He finds the Grasshopper selling deer antler jewelry at the Front Street Market. While Polly and the kids go shopping, he and Grasshopper catch up and have a couple of beers. The Ant tells his friend about the laid offs and the move. The Grasshopper asks him - Are you Happy - ? The Ant says - Yes -. His friend says, - Good - . They watch the sunset and see a green flash on the horizon.
To be continue.

Hi... I am a stay at home mom of two kids one 4 year old and a 16 month old.
My eldest, a girl, is about to start school this year in september.

My little girl has always been special and she is the most loving thing on earth. We didn't realize till about 6 months ago that she has a condition called opticnervehypopasia and that she is considered legally blind. The time before that we knew there was something wrong with her but none of the doctors could figure it out until we went to a bigger city in our state to a childrens hospital.
Because of her condition, she is also very small for her age and just isn't thriving like other 4 year olds. She has to take growth hormone shots and thyroid medicine and may need sex hormones later in life.

I hate giving her shots everynight.. she cries and it breaks my heart and i don't do it when my husband is home because it just stresses him out to the point he can't go to sleep. (he also does a lot of overtime.. so him not sleeping is very bad... especially since he has to drive a ways to get to work)

My husband works while i take care of the kids and we are doing the best we can.. but like so many other people these days, we are barely getting by. Some months we aren't. We arent' getting social security or medicaid for disabled children either, everything is tied up in paper work. We have family around us but they have been sick and are struggling financially too.

We can't pay all of our bills and it reallys kills me inside to know that we owe doctors that have helped us and family too, but... can't pay what is due to them. We have had to borrow $50 here $100 there more than a couple of times just to keep the electricity on.

My daughter hasn't had a lot of interaction with other kids her age and as a result she is socially awkward on the rare occasion she does see other children. She watches TV and she says she wants friends and to go to "school". With how things are going now, i'm not sure how my husband and i can make that happen for her.

I really want this badly for her... i just think that denying her this opportunity is just going to delay her developement even further. I have worked with her at home with her numbers, letters, shapes and so on..... and she can read simple words already. but she is such a talkative, outgoing kind of kid that loves to make people laugh that I do feel like at the tender age of 4 she senses that she IS missing out on something already...

And that's what i am hoping someone out there will help us give her. There is a preschool close by where she will be able to socialize and find friends and just be a little kid!

That would also be great for my youngest because that would allow him to be 'the baby' a little more. Since my daughter has had a lot of things going on with her where most of our attention had to be foccused on her since she is a high needs child.

The preschool is 3 hours a day 5 days a week and costs $5 a day and $2 for snacks.
Any amount of money/gift card or whatever you wish to send as a result of this post would be greatly appreciated....

1930 E 540th rd pleasant hope, mo 65725
you can also send throuh paypal.


If i don't recieve any money at all for this post... i thank you for taking the time to read this anyway.... writing about my family's struggle and mine atleast lifted a little of the ginormous weight on my shoulders for a little while...

Thank you.

I am a single mother and grandmother. Both my daughter and grandchild live in the home with me. I work night shift so I can take care of my grandchild while my daughter goes to school and works(and she barely makes enough for her gas and diapers for the baby). We can't afford childcare, and being the baby can't speak in sentences we don't want her in daycare anyware.

Because I care for my grandchild during the day I can't get another job to help with expenses. Currently all of my check goes to rent, my car expenses so I can get to and from work, and my lights. After that I have nothing left over for food, usually just enough for about a weeks worth of Ramen noodles and some snacks for the baby.

I've pawned everything I can pawn. I have 1 television left, and that is what my grandbaby watches PBS on....so I can't pawn that! I'm losing my furniture this week...but thats neither here nor there, my concern is what is my family going to eat tomorrow. I can stand to lose a few pounds, but how can I look at them, especially a 2yr old, knowing they're hungry!

I also have to take our dog to the shelter because she's hungry as well. She has only had scraps from what little bit of food we had....I can't feed her either.

It's so embarrassing to be in this kind of situation. I look at my coworkers and wonder if they realize I'm skipping meals, that I have hunger headaches.

Anyhelp that anyone can give me would be so appreciated. $1 can buy almost 6 packs of Ramen noodles at Walmart! That would seem like a Thanksgiving feast right now.

Thanks for anything that you can do!

Do you believe in true love? I do, and I may always believe if bestowed the proper provisions.

She was the only thing that saved me from a life of crime and possibly worse, and she came all the way from Argentina to do so. I was, as I am now, a poor student in Colorado and a "lucky bum" who finally got a break by love finding him. Currently I study foreign language, ie; Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Latin. As impressively smart as one would assume i'd have to be to study so many languages at once, to the contrary I was terribly stupid where it matters most, which is at romance. In short because of being a total " fat -head" and ingrate, I let her get on a plane out of my life without saying goodbye. Its been over a year.

Since then, my nights have been like torture without her, and each new romantic fling has been as hollow and meaningless as the preceding. The good news is however, that her and I have keep frequent contact via SKYPE.COM video calls.(thank God 4 skype!) She is in the same position as I am, realizing that she too cannot find closure to our love, and therefore we have decided that we want to be together, except forever this time. So I decided to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina indefinitely to be with the only girl for me.

However it is not enough for me to just get a plane ticket and rush over to South America and live happily ever after, I will also need a job, as well as a room or a hostel to stay in while I job hunt. ( Quite frankly, I am not trying to be unemployed,broke, and living in her mother's house in S. America, no thanks!) Therefore I am also hoping to earn/receive enough money to enroll in a program called ITTO or (International Teachers Training Organization) in Guadalajara, Mexico to receive my license to teach English as a second language(TESL) before going to live in Buenos Aires.

Target date you ask? I am trying to get out of here by early september or october of 2011. As it stands I am basically homeless, out of school for vacation, (meaning no financial aid) and have been doing temporary labor jobs which barely keeps me fed on the weekly basis, let alone permit me to save money for the provisions necessary to go on this life altering journey to find the truth of true love.

All together, I estimate with the cost of a round trip ticket to Argentina ( round trip, because non- citizens are not permitted with one way tickets) as well as the cost of the fore mentioned ITTO course and travel to and from Mexico from Colorado, plus the survival money I will need once ( god willing) I arrived in B's A's, I stand in a financial need of about $5,000.00 or slightly more.

I realize there are people with more important matters that can use money, and I truly hope they receive charity just as I would like to. However this is a petition for those who understand what it is like to let the perfect one get away and could do little or nothing about it, like a child who drops their ice cream off the cone and sadly watches as it melts on the side walk. By donating to this cause, you can be the "adult" who walks up to that kid, fumbles in his pocket for some spare change to present that poor kid with a new ice cream that takes the tears from their eyes. She is my ice cream, and I don't want another flavor for my whole life. You can help make this possible, by aiding me with an airline ticket, or even check out the ITTO website and if you feel generous enough and pay the tuition of the program. I would be more than happy to correspond with each and every donor to update you on this story with letters and even pictures of what became of your generosity.

I'd like to thank any donors in advance, as well as any one who took the time to read my story and had it in their heart to give but wasn't able. Together we can prove that there is a such things as second chances at a good thing, chivalry is certainly not dead, and love stories aren't just for the story books, in fact...it can happen to you!

Thanks and warm regards,

James McDonald

Do you believe in true love? I do, and I may always believe if bestowed the proper provisions.

She was the only thing that saved me from a life of crime and possibly worse, and she came all the way from Argentina to do so. I was, as I am now, a poor student in Colorado and a "lucky bum" who finally got a break by love finding him. Currently I study foreign language, ie; Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Latin. As impressively smart as one would assume i'd have to be to study so many languages at once, to the contrary I was terribly stupid where it matters most, which is at romance. In short because of being a total " fat -head" and ingrate, I let her get on a plane out of my life without saying goodbye. Its been over a year.

Since then, my nights have been like torture without her, and each new romantic fling has been as hollow and meaningless as the preceding. The good news is however, that her and I have keep frequent contact via SKYPE.COM video calls.(thank God 4 skype!) She is in the same position as I am, realizing that she too cannot find closure to our love, and therefore we have decided that we want to be together, except forever this time. So I decided to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina indefinitely to be with the only girl for me.

However it is not enough for me to just get a plane ticket and rush over to South America and live happily ever after, I will also need a job, as well as a room or a hostel to stay in while I job hunt. ( Quite frankly, I am not trying to be unemployed,broke, and living in her mother's house in S. America, no thanks!) Therefore I am also hoping to earn/receive enough money to enroll in a program called ITTO or (International Teachers Training Organization) in Guadalajara, Mexico to receive my license to teach English as a second language(TESL) before going to live in Buenos Aires.

Target date you ask? I am trying to get out of here by early september or october of 2011. As it stands I am basically homeless, out of school for vacation, (meaning no financial aid) and have been doing temporary labor jobs which barely keeps me fed on the weekly basis, let alone permit me to save money for the provisions necessary to go on this life altering journey to find the truth of true love.

All together, I estimate with the cost of a round trip ticket to Argentina ( round trip, because non- citizens are not permitted with one way tickets) as well as the cost of the fore mentioned ITTO course and travel to and from Mexico from Colorado, plus the survival money I will need once ( god willing) I arrived in B's A's, I stand in a financial need of about $5,000.00 or slightly more.

I realize there are people with more important matters that can use money, and I truly hope they receive charity just as I would like to. However this is a petition for those who understand what it is like to let the perfect one get away and could do little or nothing about it, like a child who drops their ice cream off the cone and sadly watches as it melts on the side walk. By donating to this cause, you can be the "adult" who walks up to that kid, fumbles in his pocket for some spare change to present that poor kid with a new ice cream that takes the tears from their eyes. She is my ice cream, and I don't want another flavor for my whole life. You can help make this possible, by aiding me with an airline ticket, or even check out the ITTO website and if you feel generous enough and pay the tuition of the program. I would be more than happy to correspond with each and every donor to update you on this story with letters and even pictures of what became of your generosity.

I'd like to thank any donors in advance, as well as any one who took the time to read my story and had it in their heart to give but wasn't able. Together we can prove that there is a such things as second chances at a good thing, chivalry is certainly not dead, and love stories aren't just for the story books, in fact...it can happen to you!

Thanks and warm regards,

James McDonald

My husband and I have a 9 month old, and I am 5 months pregnant with our 2nd child. We just found out that the place where my husband works is shutting down right after labor day. We both have been endlessly looking for jobs while his mom watches our daughter. We take Kim to his mom at 8 am and pick her up at 4 pm. We are trying to make looking for work just like a job. So far we have had no luck. I am desperate. Our rent is due on the 1st of September. We pay $600 a month. If anyone could send anything it would help so much. We don't have any extra ammenities like cable or a computer. If you would like to help out, please send anything to Beth and Jason
208 Florence Ave. Apt. 2 Downstairs
Carolina Beach, NC 28428
As soon as we get back up on our feet, we will pay everything back or forward, whichever you wish...
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and may God bless you.