I was unaware that we had anything between us...

**shudders**

And I though your inauguration photos were so cute.

You are done but you went back and did all that cutting and pasting...are u satisfied now?

Effin cold. I'd say average is between 10 and 20, though it seems we've been in the low double digits to single digits most of this winter. They said we'd have an Indian winter. Where is it?

Don't think we have ConEd around here, and I'm not sure that Michigan has this law or program. I wish they did though. It really hurts thinking about this man and him sitting there so helpless. I really wish he had passed naturally and that's maybe why he didn't try calling for help or anything, and that he didn't suffer.

And I deleted it. It was too self absorbed for the topic of the thread.

If you made much effort to actually read what people actually posted, you could probably avoid 75% of the crappy exchanges that no one else wants to read.

I apologize, other readers, for getting sucked in.

Once I'm in my 80s, I want to be in a swanky retirement home, with lots of HEAT.

Yeah, whatever it program we try to use, this outcome is unacceptable.

The moral that I'm taking from this story is that I should have kids and treat them well because one day they'll be the thing that keeps me from freezing to death in my house.

I guess this appeal is dependent on the homes that you've been to. My husband's grandmother was in a place so nice we envied her, but it was expensive.

As someone else, Kevin and KSigKid maybe, pointed out, it's a hard issue to deal with. Unless you have some sort of mandatory program to check up on people who say they don't want to be checked up on, I don't know how we can make sure that we take good care of the elderly.

It seems like the best bet is just doing unto others. . . I'll look in on my elderly neighbor because I would want others to do the same for my parents or me.

True. I can't help but wonder if he had any family and if so, where they were.

There is no way in the world I (or my parents/aunts/uncles) could know that my grandma or grandpa didn't have heat and not do something about it.

1. Right....once he lost power...with the avg temps being as cold, he was going to quickly freeze to death

2. The point of his passing naturally...you hit the nail on the head. Most older folks tend to have a decrease in their overall body temps and sometimes can't tell how cold it is and sometimes can't even call for help...

All things considered, even if we can say that he did feel how cold it was, AND CONSIDERING that he was behind on the bill, I am willing ot bet he probably dind't have access to a phone either.

If we can stop mucking over the limiter, we can move onto the social aspect of it all which is more important right now...the gent probably didn't have a dependable social network to help him in this time of need.

90 something years old...he needed someone to make the calls for him or visit the places which could have helped him. He needed assistance of someone to also do whatever paperwork that probably is required to get the waiver needed to keep his power on.

let's look at it folks, $1000 is a lot of money to ask a 93 year old to play for power and I am willing to bet the farm that as more details come out, he had nowhere near that kind of income to cover.

PM...question...in the past few years, have you all experienced a rate hike in the gas and eletrcity in your area and by how much?

Maryland has experienced an increase by almost 50%....people damn near rioted.

Point is sweetie, there was enough info in the article to fairly lead you to a conclusion as to how it worked...but I don't think the limiter alone was the whole point.

That is where you are letting yourself get stuck...step away from that.

Kind of a digression from the thread or even your point, but it seems like out culture has gotten away from the idea that it's the obligation of children to care for their parents. It seems like it's kind of acceptable to strip your parents assets if it means that you can then have state programs take care of them.

I suspect that we can all think of people we know who when their parents care level hit a certain point, they basically decided that the best call was to sell stuff off or transfer possession so the parent could then qualify for more state help.

I'm not saying it's completely typically, but I think it's at least as common as the examples we can think of in which a family took an elderly relative into their home and cared for the person until death.

Right now I'm too lazy to go back and look but I think someone said that he didn't have kids, and being 94 he probably didn't have any living family left.

If I don't have kids, my brother better have a lot of kids so I have nieces and nephews to take care of me.

Not that I'm thinking I'm going to make it much past 60.

To the OP: It is unfortunate the the 93 y/o man was so alienated that he did not have the wherewithal to either have his heating bills paid or some kind determination made.

After visiting Hospice today, and personal knowledge of Nursing care facilities and care facilities, my parents decision to not choose that option is good to know.

Some of us all have anecdotal stories of close loved ones, but to some level, there can be resolution with an elder.