September 27, 2009

Happy Autumn Everyone!


Just wanted to thank everyone who has donated and thank you all for the well wishes.

My health has been weird....just found out I have a blood disease that’s pretty damn fatal...and very rare and hard to cure.  I’m gonna have to see some expensive doctors....so I do need your help!

Why do I not sound so urgent?  Because I am so thankful for all your help and lovely messages.  And because you guys got me Jett....which has made Scooter and I very happy, and is bringing smiles to sick folks at the hospital.  Big smiles.  Today, I snuck Jett in in Scooter’s bag, and showed him to certain really sick patients, who found real pain cures in puppy licks.  I can’t thank you enough!!!

Here is a pic taken last week of my friend and drummer, Michael, from Furious George, with his new son, James!!!!  That’s me, all anemic looking ‘cause I am.  Scooter and Jett even made the baby smile!

So Thank You!  Thank You and Bless You for helping me help others.  Your donations are still really needed as whatever credit cards I was able to obtain are now maxed out with medical debt.
So any help would be great.

Again, Thank You and Bless You!!

Love,
George

Arrrrrrgh!

It’s September, which means 9/11, which means I gotta try and not think to hard about what happened in 2001 or I’m gonna end up back on the mental ward somewhere.

It’s tough.  It’s hard not to think about what happened back then, and it’s certainly no fun being reminded of the carnage because jerks on television keep showing what I’ve tried to block out of my mind.  The bodies falling, the tears, the streets literally running red with blood.  Just writing this is making me feel queasy.  I hate it.

But there is that saying, “When they came for so and so, I didn’t stand up because I wasn’t like that person.....finally when they came for me there was no one left.”  So I will stand up and keep talking about this and keep fighting for the right of NOT JUST US at this point, but everyone who needs decent healthcare.  So far, I’ve gone bankrupt trying to even stay alive.  I still need to see NEW doctors who are very expensive to SAVE MY OWN LIFE!!!  And do the insurance companies care?  Yeah, right.




My status right now is that I’ve got very bad things growing inside of me that need to be monitored most of the time.  That means lots of invasive surgeries.  I just had a couple.  More hospital time.  Fun.  I also have some NEW diseases since last month because, as I have said, this toxic poison kills one’s immune system so you get everything.  And you better believe I am very aware of the H1NI pandemic to come.  Very scary...but I tell you what..it’s NOT going to stop me from going to the hospital with my dog, Scooter, a therapy dog to see patients and make them feel better.  Even if it puts me at more risk of, well, you know.  It’s the one thing in my life I have control of...and makes me feel great.  Helping other people. 

In fact, I love doing it so much I got a teacher’s license to train therapy dogs - now, if only the red tape wasn’t so thick - we could have a lot more people who WANT TO HELP be able to.  So I’m working on that as well...opening the doors to help others help others!!!  It’s insane that that has to be done in the first place!!!!  But I stand up for what’s right.  That’s just me.  A woman just now called me and told me that she wanted her dog trained and I had to explain the red-tape bullshit I’m trying to cut through to get her and her dog t help people.  She just lost her son and her husband died a few years back.  And she WANTS to help!!!!!  But political struggles and bullshit is holding her back.  This is SO wrong!!!

Anyway, I still really need YOUR help!  I’m broker than broke...with less than one hundred dollars in the bank...and it’s Scooter’s birthday, he’s 13, so I’ve got to get him something yummy...and there goes even more money!  I’m supposed to see a new specialist in RARE blood diseases I’ve contracted over the last few years and they just discovered...and he takes no insurance..so I need to raise money for that.  I really wish I could just fucking work...but every time I even try to do something that’s a little too much, I end up in the fucking hospital.

There is good news, however....because of your help I have a NEW therapy dog and brother to Scooter.  More on him very soon, but now I can do double the amount of good because OF YOU!!!  BLESS YOU AND THANK YOU!!!!

Again, if you can just paypal or send me whatever you can, that would be wonderful.  I feel like shit taking money and begging for it over the internet.  I never had to ask for help in my life....but now things have changed.  And like that Beatles tune, I need HELP!
I just reread those lyrics and they are so true...”When I was younger so much younger than today, I never needed anybody’s help in anyway (I just helped everyone else), But now those days are gone and I’m not so self assured,  Now I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors”.




Please give what you can and know this WILL be over when I win my Social Security Disability case which should happen within the next 16 months.  I wish it would happen tomorrow...but the government works in strange and bad ways at times, hoping some of us will just drop dead so they don’t have to pay out a dime.

Healthcare for everyone, and I wouldn’t even have this problem.  No one would.  Sometimes we get things SO WRONG in America. 
Let’s start making it right.

Thank You and God Bless You!!!
Love,
George

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&bID=508702573

I am very sorry I have not been on in a long time and have been unable to
answer a lot of your mail.  I've been hospitalized a couple of times in the last month
and am really sick.

I appreciate your continued support...Please.....it really helps!!  I'm too weak to write
more now but will later.

Thank you and God Bless You.

Love,
George

Arrrgh!

These past couple of months have been very very hard and your help would be nothing less than life saving.  I’m not kidding.  I’ve been struggling with the idea of whether or not it’s even worth it to continue living.  The pain is incredible every morning.....and finances are tougher than ever.  As of writing this blog, I have sixty-five dollars in the bank!  Your donation will help SO MUCH!!!

The thing is, because I see you can believe in me, it helps me believe in myself.  I feel like I’m in my darkest hours, and there are tiny bits of light beaming through.  And those lights are you.  It is so fucking awful the government is covering all this up.....and I have had some friends die recently from this stuff.  And it’s not just me.  This stuff tears apart families and friends alike.  Some people say, “if it was real, I’d have heard about it on the news!”  It makes me want to jump off a bridge. 

So to make my life better, I’m going to try and save up (no matter how fucked I am) and get a baby Yorkie like Scooter (I’m allergic to all other dogs) and keep doing the dog therapy thing.  If I can train a baby from 10 weeks old....he’ll be the best therapy dog, ever. For others AND for me!!! Like Scooter.

Plus, Scooter is gonna be thirteen in two months!!!!  By helping others who are sick like myself, it just makes me feel better, and them better, too!  So your donation will really help a lot more people than me!  Also, I will continue to shout at the top of my lungs about how the HEROES of 9/11 are dying in poverty and shame.  It’s not fair.  And it’s soul crushing.


Please try to help out.  I really appreciate any help I can get!  I got rejected from SSI/SSD two weeks go which is a huge blow.  No one wants to admit people are sick from 9/11, nevermind help pay any medical bills or anything, not matter what propaganda the government or Mayor puts out!!  These lies (like the NYC subway ads) are KILLING PEOPLE!!!

Bless you and please know you are helping keep me alive, and by doing that, you will be helping others both victims of 9/11, and people who really do feel better from the simple touch and lick of a sweet dog.

Scooter woke two people up from comas at St. Vincent’s Hospital.  It’s been logged into their records.  If I can continue to help make these MIRACLES happen, maybe I’ll feel like my life’s worth something.  And by you donating, you are making that happen.

These days I’m really too sick to do much of anything else besides help others who are down on their health as well when I’m strong enough.

Please help me continue that - and BLESS YOU!!!!
And please pass this around, if you can.
Thank you.
Love,
George

Help!

I don't know what to do!   Just got off the phone with Social Security who said I am not able to get any funds.  This sucks!

Now I have to go through an appeals process that will take many months! 

Please...donate whatever you can!  I was counting on that money to pay my doctor bills and stay alive....I don't know what to do now......I got the letter today saying I can't get it and got off the phone with them saying I can't get it and I feel like I"m drowning!!!

Thank you and Bless you with whatever help you can give me.
I really am having trouble understanding how a volunteer at Ground Zero can be left to die while lots of other people get help just to buy beer and lottery tickets.

This is so fucked.

Love,
George

From The Help George Tabb Blog:

March 2, 2009

Hey Everyone!

First of all, Thank You and Bless You to all that have helped to date!  You have been my lifeline, and in no way am I kidding.  Without your help, I wouldn't be here.

I know the economy sucks, and a lot of you are losing a lot of your hard earned cash, and I'm sorry.  I fuckin' hate these rich corporate CEO's ripping off our country.  It's no less than treason.

Actually, in an interview in "PUNK GLOBE", I talk about that and so much more.  Check it out  HERE!

Or at :

http://punkglobe.com/georgetabb309.html

Thank you so much to Ginger and Tyler for doing this.  You guys are my heroes!

What I need is donations.  I have had some surgery thanks to you guys, and need to have the rest (hopefully).  I AM doing better, and while it's "2 steps forward, one step back", I think and hope I'm getting there!  There are bills before the Senate about 9/11 health stuff that you guys have helped get into place..and who knows..we have a new president...maybe things WILL get better!  So far, working as a worldwide team, we HAVE made things better, and for that, I could not be prouder of the great people I've met here from all around the world!!!!

So Please, continue to donate and help and let's take this thing all the way to the goal line.  We've come a long way....because of YOU I was on CNN (see clip above)...now let's save us all.  And get that touchdown.

Also, please pass this note along to anyone you think might be able to help!  I've got to get better so I can continue to help others.  I've been losing a lot of blood lately, so have been very weak, but I'm trying the best I can.

Thank You and Bless You.  And Special Thanks to the PUNK ROCK world....you ARE my family!

Love,
George






http://punkglobe.com/georgetabb309.html

George Tabb & Dr. Scooter on CNN: 911/08




You know, a man famous in punk rock circles for his connection with the band, The Ramones, and his own band, Roach Motel, was one of the folks living in lower Manhattan during the September 11th attacks. George Tabb ran from his TriBeCa apartment just four blocks away with his wife and dog and saw all of the carnage that day. People jumping out of windows. His apartment condemned because it was so full of dust and debris. A day that has permanently affected his life and his health in many ways. He joins us now with his dog.

Because the dog, named Scooter, there he is, is a big part of his story and he can't go anywhere without him.

GEORGE TABB, PTSD PATIENT AFTER SEPTEMBER 11TH: Absolutely.

HARRIS: George, maybe let's start there.

Hey, Scooter, good to see you.

You literally can't go anywhere without Scooter?

TABB: I can go other places without Scooter, but I like to go everywhere with Scooter and that's why he's here today actually.

HARRIS: Well, George, tell us why he's so important to you.

TABB: Well, scooter is very important because we both escaped 9/11 together from that fiery mess that the terrorists brought in. It was horrible. And I had been sick with different diseases, beside PTSD, that we'll talk about. I got a bunch of other illnesses, physical illnesses.

HARRIS: But the point about -- that's important to make about Scooter is that he was helpful to your recovery and he was coming back from --

TABB: Yes, he was. Yes, he did. He was very helpful to my recovery. Being sick a lot, being in the hospital a lot with different surgeries for different genetic diseases that I've got from 9/11, Scooter was there and helped me feel better because he knew where the pain would be and licked there. And I found that to be so helpful that I wanted to share that with others.

HARRIS: Nice.

TABB: And through the St. Vincent's Hospital here in New York City, through my friend and therapist Bob Kupferman (ph), and my shrink, David Gordon (ph), they got me involved with the pet therapy program, where I bring Scooter to visit sick patients.

HARRIS: Well, Scooter couldn't be cuter.

Let's talk for a moment about the post-traumatic stress disorder. We most often associate that with people who come back from war. Describe the symptoms you were living with and to the extent that you're still living with symptoms.

TABB: I'm still living with symptom. I still have the nightmares, you know, which are terrible. Like giant buildings chasing me or monsters or . . .

HARRIS: Giant buildings actually chasing you? You see that sometimes?

TABB: Yes, I do. And I had nightmares of the carnage and different things representing those buildings. And I wake up screaming. I still wake up scared out of my mind. When I hear airplanes, I'm very -- I get very nervous. Helicopters. Police sirens.

But through the help of St. Vincent's and through their PTSD health program -- which was funded by "The New York Times," by the way, did a great thing by funding them I learned -- it is behavioral therapy. They taught me to listen to sirens, not as a sound of danger, but the sound of people helping each other.

HARRIS: Right. And, George, what do you think about on a day like today? Another anniversary?

TABB: I think it's sad that Americans don't know the extent of how much still downtown people are still sick. How many people downtown are still affected by the events of that day. How many people are poisoned. How many people are dealing with terrible, terrible illnesses. How police and firefighters cannot talk about it because their pensions are being threatened, who want to talk about this and how sick they are but can't get their pensions.

HARRIS: But, George, what about your emotions? Are you -- seven years later, are you angry? Are you -- have you made some kind of peace with this?

TABB: I was very angry for a long time and very depressed and even locked up a couple times for being so depressed about it. But now, with the help of the pet therapy program and just myself and my friend, Monica, which her and I are starting an organization called the Whirlwind Condition, which is online, where we're trying to raise awareness of people being sick from 9/11.

By being an activist and by doing all this stuff, I'm feeling a lot better. I feel like I'm taking control of the situation. I'm able to fight back. To sort of say, and make things better for the world. And that way the PTSD doesn't get me as bad. I found that sitting around idly and just worrying about it and not doing anything was the worst thing for it.

But by taking action, with my dog, Scooter, here, and I'm doing something good for -- giving back. Like John McCain said in his speech, although I'm voting for Obama, McCain said that when young people, when they become part of something bigger than themselves, it brings a lot of joy. And that's absolutely the truth.

HARRIS: Well, George, thanks for sharing the story. Your amazing story.

TABB: Thank you.

HARRIS: And our thanks to Scooter there.

TABB: Oh, thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: And, George, we wish you all the best.

TABB: Thank you. You too.

HARRIS: Thank you.

TABB: Thank you. Bye-bye.

(Please donate what you can at http://www.myspace.com/helpgeorgetabb)

Hi Everyone!

Ever wonder what it would be like if your high school tracked you down after 26 years to interview you because they thought you were a "celebrity?"

It happened to me a couple of months back and the article just came out in the Leon High School newspaper in Tallahassee, Floriduh!

When they contacted me I begged them to interview my brothers, who have done some pretty inspiring things that have helped change the world. But they wanted me. Because, according to them, I'm "on their Wickpedia page"! And "I'm famous!" Doh!

So they emailed me an interview and I'll copy and paste it below. Then you can see the article they actually ran. It just goes to show how things taken out of context change their meaning.

So beware the media. Even if they are High School Students! ;)
***************************************************************************

>>What year did you graduate from Leon?<<

Good question! I'm not quite sure about that myself! I was supposed to graduate in 1980...but I left early. 1979. Yet, for some technical reason, I didn't get my diploma until ten years later! See, I already started college at The University of Florida for the spring quarter of 1980 when the school contacted me and told me I still need a few more credits to graduate high school! I figured, hey, I'm in college....and they aren't throwing me out, so to hell with it. Turns out Leon was serious and it took them ten years to straighten out their books and send me my diploma. Doh!

>>Who was principal then?<<

I really can't remember. All I remember is these horrible race riots and terrible things written in graffiti when we all came to school one morning. Shocking!

>>What clubs/organizations were you involved with while at Leon?<<

Let's see:

1. The Freak Club - hung out on the hill
2. The Toke Club - smoked pot in my friend Pete's van
3. The Leather Jacket Club - unfortunately, I was the only member
4. The "Rocky Horror Picture Show Club" - we had three members!!!

>>What college did you go to?<<

I went to the great and mighty University Of Floriduh! There I learned to ignore the man behind the curtain, and that the college could give me a heart, courage, and even a brain. Although I'd debate that last one.

>>What did you major in?<<

Film. Although it later turned into an English major since they dropped the film program underneath me like a hangman's door. But I really liked the Dean's black hood!

>>What career do you have?<<

While at the University of Floriduh, I started the states' first punk rock band, Roach Motel. From there, it sky rocketed to rock n' roll heaven. Limos, groupies, fans of white power, errrr, powder, and the like. With all that fame, I went into television, like many of the greats before me. And then I ended up writing for magazines - which led me to where I am now, writing books. Two of them out in the United States so far - "Playing Right Field" and "Surfing Armageddon" - all about my wonderful years at Leon! Go Lions!!!

>>What is your greatest accomplishment?<<

I'd have to say, after thinking about this for a very long time, leaving the state of Florida was my greatest accomplishment. The energy and might it took to leave the land of sunshine to purse my career was a very tough call. Florida has it all. A great educational system, beautiful women, and an strong economy built on free trade with South America.

>>What are you working on in that career?<<

Right now I am working on my third book, and I do still record albums when I feel the need. And still do some film. Did Spike Lee's "Summer Of Sam" like ten years ago with Adrian Brody and Mira Servino. Man, she's hot!

>>Do you a family? (Names/ages of any kids)<<

Yes! I have my wife, Carol, and my sons, Greg, Peter, and Bobby. Plus my lovely daughters, Marsha, Jan and Cindy. Wait...that's The Brady Bunch. Sorry. I get confused. The only kid I have can lick his rear end and wag his tail, but he's great!

>>Have you had anything published?<

If you count over a thousand magazine articles and a few books published, then yeah, I guess the answer would be yes.

>>Who was your favorite teacher/class? Why?<<

Mrs. Deal - the accounting teacher. Believe it or not, she was the only one who understood my teenage angst, and told me to snap out of it. She actually taught me logic - which is something we all could use! Also Mr. Lott - my Sociology teacher. Great guy!!! Best ever!!!

>>Who was your least favorite teacher/class? Why<<

I swear all the teachers at Leon where pretty wonderful. I can't think of a bad one. Maybe one of the coaches. Or that marching band instructor who threw me out of the band because he realized I was "faking" trumpet all those years. Wait!!! I liked him for that! I didn't have to carry the damn thing to school anymore. I guess liked them all. But the guidance counselor? I HATED her. Read the book to find out why.

>>What was your favorite thing about Leon?<<

That I was the first "Jew" most kids had ever met! To think, I was like an astronaut planting a flag on the moon. Or Jacque Coustou finding a rare breed of fish at the bottom of the sea!!!

>>Any advice for students still at Leon?<<

Leave Tallahassee. It's a graveyard. Those jocks are gonna end up being construction workers and those hot chicks will work at the local liqueur lounge stripping. Run far away. Please!


>>Any other information you feel is pertinent.<<

Buy my 2 books, please. Learn that things weren't always the same at Leon. Or where they? Hmmm...

************************************************************************

As some of you may know, especially those of you who listened that last podcast I did, I’ve only been out of the house to see doctors at St. Vincents and take Scooter to training lessons there as well. Well, today is the day he got his official badge! Dr. Scooter, TD!



St. Vincents hospital has been helping me out with the mental side of dealing with the after effects of 9/11, and they are wonderful. That is the one part of this whole thing the government got right. So now I get to give back by taking my dog to visit sick people and make them happy! I can’t wait to see their smiling faces as Scooter licks them and does tricks and gets pet and stuff. He loves people! We both do! So it will be great! Especially visiting those with PTSD like myself. There is nothing like a wagging tail to tell you the world is alright. God Bless St. Vincents Hospital. I can’t wait to start - and am honored they’d have me there as a volunteer. I will get stronger - and with your help - I’ll help make others stronger. So Bless you all as well!
Love,
George