She Was Somebody

Does anyone really want or need to see this?

There are no stupid questions only stupid answers, what moron said that? I want porn but do I really need it? ... of course I do duh!

This post is about wants and needs. If you find yourself in it then that is a testament to my skill as a righter. I updated this to include a friend recently lost who would not have listened anyways, she'll be missed.
 

Olive Cooke was one of Britain's oldest poppy sellers being aged 92. She devoted 76 years of her life selling them. In 1939 when she was 16 she sold some because her father was a member of the British Legion having served in WWI. Selling them became even more personal when her first husband was killed in action during WWII.

Olive with her husband Leslie Hussey-Yeo.

A familiar face in Bristol she helped in numerous fund raisers and has been given medals and awards for her selfless acts working in charity. 

When Olive was diagnosed with cancer she had to stop some of her direct debits to the various charities, you know the type of organization, not content with 50p in a jar they stop you in the street and try to guilt you into donating just £3 a month .... those things really bend my shite. That's £36 a year. Does that sound as if charities are grateful that you donated no matter how small or does that sound very self entitled and taking the piss? 

In one month she got 267 pieces of begging mail. 

Olive would get about 6 begging letters from charities that she had never even donated to and that amount would rise to about 10 around Christmas, phone calls too. He speculated that they had to have passed her details around.

Her state pension didn't go far and she needed the money if she was going to beat her cancer, she also suffered from depression and her sleep was affected. This normally fun loving woman could only see gloom. The arrival of the post in the morning became a time of dread for her and though it wasn't the cause of her death it certainly was a factor.

"I open and read every single one of them but my problem is I've always been one that reads about the cause then I can't say no. The stories play on people's generosity. I have always donated to charity and I only use my post office pension for my water bills and all of my direct debits to charity but as I am getting older, I have been told I need to start cutting back."

Olive jumped into Avon gorge near the Clifton Suspension Bridge and died from her multiple injuries, 2 days before the anniversary of VE day. 

She kept giving and giving, she made it her life. I'm sure she felt guilt at not being able to help all those charities and even more when she had to cancel her ongoing payments. Yes those big business charities don't have much of a soul and just think how much money they waste on printing letters. If yer charity has a CEO and a board of directors who drive flashy cars then yer doing it wrong. 

Olive didn't think that her own needs were important, maybe she felt she was being selfish if she could afford an extra can of cat food to eat every week. 

Her needs were important, you can't rely on anyone else to make sure yer needs are being met because things and people change. Sacrifice is noble and a positive trait at times but if you make it a constant habit then you become that person whose happiness depends on pleasing others and guess what? You can't please everyone and it will never be enough. 

Because Olive let her issues build and focused on her works as a distraction her own needs remained unfulfilled. Those kind of needs, sorrows and losses creep up on you and twist yer thoughts in the quiet moments and the conclusion you come up with is that you are worthless and the world is better off without you. 

If depression hadn't made Olive its bitch she'd have laughed at it and said, 'the past is done with, can't change it, I'm as good as anyone and I deserve to be looked after so fuck off depression, I matter and I'm smarter than that.'

You can't save the world and fix everything but you can be responsible for what you do and you can be the best you that you can be, not perfect, everyone has their faults, just do good and keep trying. You have no control over what others do, say or think so don't let it get to you, you aren't their therapist so they can go and fuck off and project their issues elsewhere. When someone gives you hassle it is usually their own issues that are speaking and you just happen to be the person to hear it.

Olive didn't look after herself, now her children grieve, the world is one good person less and the charities get the lump sum of fuck all. 

Learn from Olive, make her death count.  

 

          

In Memory Of Tachaé Matkovčík.