Truth Bomb by OVD : USMC birthday, Veterans Day and Otto update

 Hey Everyone,

  So the USMC birthday is Nov 10th followed by Veterans Day on the 11th. It's common on the Marine Corps birthday to wish marines a happy birthday. I get a few calls and texts that day saying as much. Veterans Day is supposedly a day to recognize Veterans. There used to be all kinds of free stuff for us and parades/events. Now the veterans "deals" are scams....buy a full meal and get a free kids sized ice cream...stuff like that. So I don't go anywhere. The parades are also few and mostly an excuse for the Fascists to wave flags and say they support the troops...they don't. Every time the republicans take over veterans suffer. The VA is gutted and we don't get increases keeping up with the cost of living. The opposite is true now under the Democrats. The VA is up and running much better and we've received decent cost of living increases to our retirement/disability checks the last 2 years. 

  I said this last year but will remind folks...don't say "Thank you for your service" it has become an insult to us active duty Military and Veterans. It's a hollow phrase to show you care when you don't. You may even anger or upset a Veteran by saying it. It's the equivalent of saying "Have a nice day" to a rude customer. 

  If you really care then actually help a Veteran in your life. Take them out to diner. Stock their fridge. Get them some clothes. Get them something nice to increase their quality of life. Disabled Veterans are on a fixed income and live with starvation and lack of resources. 

  If you don't know any Veterans volunteer at a Veterans group. There are many. Do some research as some are scams and others really good. Generally speaking if the CEO is paid, it's a scam. 

  As for me, the weather here in Oakland has turned cold and rainy. So I'm dealing with increased pain. Also food went back up so this will be a lean month for me food wise. On top of that PG&E(our Northern California power company) has been price gouging and passing on it's carbon taxes directly to us. I had $300 taken out of my account by them last month for that tax, not power use. Another $200 for power. It crushed me financially. I still have a GoFundMe up and running so if you can help that would be great. here's the link :

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bills-and-food-help-for-disabled-veteran  

  I was hoping to be doing good enough to ask for help raising money for a PS5(they cost about $550) as the PS4 I'm using is obsolete and they intend on cutting off service to them early next year. This will leave me with no entertainment or human interaction. But I can't do that in good conscious while I'm also asking for help with food and bills. So my quality of life is just about to sink to an all time low. I'm playing Neverwinter these days. A Dungeons & Dragons online game where I get to hang out and play with people all over the world. It's been keeping me sane. It will be devastating when I'm cut off. but that's what I get for serving this country.

  Health wise I'm also not doing well. My organs are starting to fail. They have given me the "Get your affairs in order" speech a few times in the last few months but I'm still breathing. The pain is excruciating but the pot cookies help enough to keep me going. My liver is shot so I can't drink anymore or take the pain pills the VA gives out. I haven't been drinking much anyways so I can deal with that and I have pot cookies instead of those pain pills. I feel for those that don't have that access like I do to edibles. I get mine for free from some old Dead Head friends. There are gaps but I've muddled through or had other friends come to the rescue and supply me during those gaps. Thank you, you know who you are. 

 Lastly I want to shout out to my Twitter friends who have really helped me get through this year. Both mentally and financially. Even though I was kicked off Twitter for being against Nazis, they have stuck with me and share this blog on Twitter. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

  I have no plans for the Marine Bday or Veterans day, so if you want to visit give me a heads up.

-Otto Von Danger

SGT/USMC and Artist at Large

Semper Fidelis