Amber, I have three abdominal hernias (the by-product of surgery for an exploded appendix some years ago). It's very hard for me to walk more than, say, a quarter of a mile without the hernias giving me issues. Standing OR sitting for too long a stretch also makes things difficult. I also have a cataract in one eye (and state-sponsored insurance that won't cover surgery until I am practically blind).

Basically, Social Security told me that I need to just "go get" some other job, because the jobs I used to do (security and bus driving, both of which, in my areas, require lifting of dead weight and of course sharp eyesight) I just can no longer do.

Sure... in our economy, I can just "GO GET" a job that doesn't exist, like, in their words, a "sitting down security guard".

Really. That's what they actually said in a letter to me denying my claim.

Obviously, since the people handling my case have no practical or empirical knowledge of the fields I worked in, they can't possibly speak to whether I am able to do these jobs or not, or whether some "modified work conditions" in those jobs are even possible.

On top of it all, you have to be able to FIND a ruddy job before you can be offered modified conditions. There's the real rub: I walk in, they see my hernias (which are obvious), and/or I have to tell them about the condition (because one job had to fire/re-hire me under the Americans with Disabilities Act), and then they freak and the job offers suddenly dry up and disappear.

Hence, the fire sale and the scrabbling for gigs, guitar students, whatever I can find.

Several people have very kindly offered their help and encouragement in various ways, and for that, I am grateful to my core.