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Protect The Old Ones
By http://www.mysportsbookonline.info/

The door to a ground floor apartment opens. Framed in the doorway is Carla Simmons, her head bent forward, her shoulders slightly hunched, her back bent from years of wear. There is a glint in her right eye from the lens implant as it catches the sunlight. Hanging on her left wrist is her handbag which she has chosen to match her shoes. Her left hand grasps a black wooden cane.

With her right hand she holds the knob on the front hall closet door to steady herself as she steps down onto the cement walk. Once through the door she moves forward. Her gait is slow and shuffling. She transfers the cane to her right hand as with her left hand she reaches out for a stronger arm to give her support. She never leaves her apartment alone. She doesn’t drive; her license was taken away a long time ago. Transportation to and from her doctor’s appointments is taken care of by a friend living near by.

Carla’s memory stretches back through a life lived alone for twelve years, the fifty five years spent with her husband, the times she lived with her mother, father, five brothers, and three sisters in Chicago and before that in rural Pennsylvania. She is ninety five years old, and will probably reach one hundred if only to show the naysayers of the world that she can do it.

Her time is spent on what she calls her ‘projects’. What is going on deals with junk mail. Carla considers these mass-produced advertisements to be personal mail since her name appears at the beginning of the letters and also it is also interspersed throughout. Not comprehending the concept of computer generated mailing lists and prepared form letters, she had been astounded to hear from psychics, mediums, astrologers, and mentalists who claim to see great things, a complete return to health, and windfalls of great wealth for her.

“Me!” She exclaims excitedly, “Me! They did research on me and write these long letters telling me all these wonderful things!” These ‘gentlemen’ contacted her and she believes they have her best interest at heart. She calls them her ‘scientists’, believes in their claims to be world famous, and especially in one man’s naming himself the ‘Nostradamus of the North’. After sending the money they say is necessary so they can process the forecasts, profiles, tarot interpretations, and other readings, she receives folder after folder, getting different copies of similar reports, and in many cases, multiple copies of such reports. Since each report comes with another advertisement, she automatically returns the envelope (with money of course) and receives multiple copies of sets of cassette tapes with their accompanying books. Every report sent to her contains such a return envelope and she always feels that she needs to send more cash.

Carla had once believed that people should never stop learning. At one time she read extensively; magazines and books on a wide variety of subjects were always in her hands and she could converse easily about a great range of things. Self-improvement, exercise, and health through the use of natural, organic supplements were things she also believed in. She had always loved traveling; expanding her horizons by meeting new people, seeing places where history happened, and experiencing first hand this wonderful country of ours. However, due to the massive influx of junk mail into her home, her self-improvement and reading has become solely the reams of advice issued from her ‘scientists’.

Her mail includes the temptations of sweepstakes entry forms, and the repeated reminders from each prize give-away entity. “My scientist is Canada predicted wealth and look…here’s a letter saying that someone in my town with my initials is going to win a million dollars!” She faithfully reads every

word of every entry, noting on envelopes the prize amount. Unfortunately, she also notes the amount of money that she sends back with the entry forms. Because she does send it--$20 here, $40 there…to the tune of $500 to $1000 every week. Trying to tell her that legitimate contests do not require fees to enter does no good. She persists, claiming that she has been promised substantial prizes by continuing to return the legal-looking forms.

Carla is very trusting and has bright visions of tomorrow. She would love to have millions of dollars so she can donate good sums to worthy causes as well as provide generous gifts for her family. She believes that these sweepstakes will pay off. For years she has been following their instructions—initialing, signing, returning the proper forms with the proper fees.

The volume of mail keeps growing. For hours every day she sits and reads every word of every form. There ceased to be any other activity for her. She doesn’t travel to visit family anymore because she might miss an important mailing or not be there for a shipment of some prize. She doesn’t even go about the city she lives in. Being taken out to dinner by visiting family prompts her to comment, “It’s been years since I’ve been here!” Just driving around the area she looks and says, “I don’t remember that”, “I don’t know how to get there”, and “I’m a stranger in my own town!”

Being fixated on winning those million dollar giveaways limits Carla’s life. Every day she waits at the mailbox and is rewarded with at least twenty contest entries, several of which are usually duplicated—and she will open and read each one. At least five hours every day is spent doing this. She watches no TV, listens to no music, reads no books or magazines, spends no time with family or friends unless they come to her and even then, they need to wait until she is finished with her mail. There are times when she puts off eating her lunch because she is too busy with her ‘projects’. This is detrimental due to her need for nourishment; also because lunch time is when she takes her medications.

Use of the U.S. Mail system to advertise and sell products is a privilege that many upright and outstanding companies use for profit. This is a convenience that many people appreciate. What is not appreciated are those unscrupulous entities that bilk unsuspecting people of their hard-earned savings. In the minds of those folk raised in a time when trust in government agencies was simply the way it was, it is their idea that if the U.S. Mail delivers letters, forms, and advertisements to their homes all of it must be completely legal. They are wrong. Carla has been scammed by at least two ‘sweepstakes’ and by a man ‘up north’. Her bank account has been frozen until investigators can clear up what has happened.

This is not the quality of life our elders should have. This is not what we should have our parents, grandparents, great grandparents subjected to. What they deserve is to live out their years in security and in the love of their families. We need to protect them and ensure that their remaining years aren’t ripped away from them because they have had to be declared incompetent to handle their own money and required to change not only their established and comfortable routines, but also their living arrangements.

I advise everyone with elderly and possibly gullible loved ones to be aware of what is coming to them through the mail. Check out what is being pitched to them, sold, and resold. Save them from throwing away money earned through a lifetime of hard work and wise investments. Save them from disaster. Show them you care and throw out all those advertisements and contest entries with the rest of the garbage.

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