New Guy on the Block plus Random Guilty Feelings

Here’s a new milblog that is much, much more than worth your time to read: This Veteran’s Life. Written anonymously by a guy who goes by the nom-de-plume of @WR, it’s an insider’s tale of life as an outpatient at Walter Reed. An ounce of eyewitness commentary is worth SO much more than a pound of MSM writing. Do go.

(h/t: Kris, in New England…posting at The Flight Deck.)

So. Back from the the Big(ger) City^TM. Mission accomplished, and it was as painless as painless can be. Absolutely NO hassles what-so-ever. None. My first geezer check should be deposited in my bank account on May 23^rd. Social Security is paid in arrears, and you must be 62 years of age for the full month to receive benefits. And that’s OK with me.

So, again. I received a piece of startling news during the application process. Our Dear Uncle Sam is a generous man, indeed. It turns out that SN3, by virtue of his age and parentage (that would be a reference to me) is entitled to something known as the “Auxiliary Child Benefit,” which means: money. To the tune of approximately $900.00 per month. The very act of my drawing SS benefits is all that is needed for SN3 to qualify for his benefit. Assuming TSMP applies, of course. And she will. We’ve already exchanged e-mails on the subject.

I have mixed emotions about this. On the one hand: “free” money. I use scare quotes for many reasons, and I’ll assume you understand. No one turns down free money, and this amount of money is not inconsequential. On the other hand, is it moral to take money when one is not in need of…um…assistance? One can say “you earned it,” and that may (or may not) be true. But, there’s still this nagging thought that isn’t quite fully-formed as I write. And it’s not a good thought.

And now I must install a new external hard-drive and back-up software I bought while I was over in the Big(ger) City^TM. This ought to be fun…