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Show 101 Shouting Hy has brought my mail to the hospital and there is a letter from Social Security that is shouting at me in capital letters: "YOU HAVE BEEN OVERPAID ..." It is a long letter, a long shouting, as if this sending of too much money was our mistake (thieves that we are!) and not theirs, which it was. As if we understood at any time that a mistake had been made. As if we had simply prudently saved the money they sent us four months ago instead of frivolously spending it on food and housing. As if this money was discretionary income, income to merely supplement an already rich source. I am required to pay for this mistake of theirs with money that I do not have. I am expected to do so immediately or I will face dire consequences. There is a small whispering of potential for appeal at the end of this shouting and as I point out this small print to Hy, he reminds me that I must personally be present, since my name is on such things. Of course, I am still in the hospital. Hy will call and beg and plead our case, he is telling me. He will explain my absence, and hope for the best. Maybe the person on the phone will be compassionate. Life weighs heavily on Hy these days, I am thinking, watching him sit with his chin in his hands, his brow furrowed with worry. He works full time, he fathers full time, he mothers full time |