Early sunsets...

15AUG2024; 2142, THU– Baltimore, MD, USA

Blessed evening to any and all; except for those who are just fessing whilst thieving (i.e.– majority of our elected "representatives"). You lot can eat hefty sandwiches; from someone's backyard somewhere, please and thank you.

I beg the rest of y'all's pardon for the visual; as well as for my general disdain of this country's "leadership", if you will. Formal motion to henceforth refer to America's officials as Corruption Liaisons; if there be a seconding, and/or a vote?

A guy can certainly dream; I reckon. In any event, the following is a brief and lightly/slightly edited culmination of my frustrations with the Department of Veteran Affairs, as well as the Veterans Administration; in the form of a militant missive.

A few housekeeping notes: 1.) The recipient's name is redacted, by myself, to protect her and her innocence. 2.) This is likely imprudent in some respects; though, I believe that red blooded Americans need to be informed in order to make better decisions.

And, 3.) [Expletive] pols (aka politicians); except several select anomalous individuals, including my eldest Brother. Simple and plain; full stop.

Without further ado; and here's to you, the reader:

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9MAY2024; 1811, THU– Baltimore, MD, USA

Greetings, Ms. [Redacted],

Peace and blessings, Ma'am. I am writing to you about my board of appeals claim. I have a docket number; and a letter stating that my claim has been placed on a direct review docket.

I kindly request that I be able to check the status of my claim in some capacity; as I had to call to get the claim letter emailed to me. As it stands  now, I have a tech support ticket for the wonderful website that is VA(dot)gov; wherein I may have to callback on the 23rd of this month just for an update on that.

Please advise at your earliest convenience as to why the Vets of this seemingly Godforsaken country must jump through moving, flaming, and bladed hoops just to get compensation for breathing in toxic burn pits. I'm only inquiring so that I know what to tell my Princesses, and someday my newborn, when they ask why does America hate its Vets.

Just for context: My claim was originally denied because of a lack of evidence that the VA refused to pursue; despite my repeated requests, as well as expert/professional recommendations. Secondly, once I appealed and received the testing, it was determined that I couldn't have had these problems in the Service; as there was no record of such.

Conversely, here's a novel notion: What if U.S. Army Grunts are highly expected to, "embrace the suck"; as we used to say? In short, if life as a Grunt isn't miserable; then you're likely doing it wrong.

Clarification: We were extremely disparaged, if not outright discouraged and discriminated against for attempting to seek medical attention in anything other than lifesaving treatment. That being the case, how can there feasibly be documentation of said life altering effects from burning toxic chemicals in my file?

"The math isn't mathing", as the colloquialism goes. Especially considering that I could be waiting upwards of another year for my decision on the matter from the board of appeals now.

"Good times." In all seriousness, please make this make sense for me, Ms. [Redacted].

I can't for the life of me; and please believe that I have a lot of living which I'd very much like to do. If for no other reasons than the aforementioned Princesses.

Newsflash: Raising biracial Princesses in this "incredulously pro-Family society" is not easy; especially when everything under the sun requires the almighty dollar in some capacity or another. "Does not compute."

In any event, as we used to say back when I was in, I will "stand by to standby, Ma'am." Or, if you prefer, I will "hurry up and wait."

Prayers up that you will get back to me at your earliest convenience with some sort of clarity on the matter at hand. Either which way, please be blessed; stay blessed; and pray for America, if I may.

Godspeed, Ms. [Redacted]. Godspeed indeed.

Peace out,

D. Dickerson,

Sgt., U.S. Army (Ret.)

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Prayerfully, you gained something pertinent (re: useful) from this post. If so, then please think about considering a show of support; however you may see fit.

Additionally, I'm easily reachable via Twitter. That's for private and/or public convos on the works written by me, my fav writers, as well as my other influences too.

The link in my bio will "counterintuitively" have that unmistakable tab in its footer menu. Invariably, there's a tab in the very main menu; cyclically returning you to my profile on this unfathomably superb site for writers.

Shoutout to all Vocal's inventors/staff/readers/writers. "[Y'all] the real MVP."

Lastly, if you're in the market for an incredulously original article of clothing or such: There's copious amounts at the aforementioned link in bio. Please don't believe for a NY minute that I'll be even remotely unappreciative of any all who "look out for the cookout".

Peace; blessings; and much Love, even. *Salute*.

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