Got medical bills? Organize your own benefit!

[MineralDiva]

I had to laugh at the part of the application that asks if you have any jewelry worth over $100.  I wrote that I had a "loose stone" worth about $7000!  LOL (And they were welcome to it, if they wanted it in trade for my bill!)

[nutraxfornerves]

An anonymous letter to the Editor is a lovely fantasy.  Unfortunately, she won't print anonymous letters.  Believe me, I would be tempted to do just THAT otherwise

Ah, but there is the anonymous letter to the reporter who wrote the story or,  if there was no byline, to the editorm but not for publication.

Dear Reporter
I saw your recent article on Benefit Boy. I know Benefit Boy and his situation and it appears to me that you were not informed of certain facts concerning the situtation. I am afraid I must send this anonymously and I understand that you have no way of knowing if I am being truthful or have some sort of axe to grind. But I would like to suggest that as a followup, you look into some aspects of Benefit Boy's situation that perhaps were not previoulsy known to you. These include blah, blah and blah.

[MineralDiva]

Honestly, I have a real problem with so-called "anonymous letters" of this nature.  If the person is going to write a letter to give (supposed) facts about a situation that should be considered, and expect it to be published (or investigated further), then they should put their name to it.

Otherwise, it looks like they really DO have an axe to grind...and it destroys their credibility.

This is a very small town.  I doubt the "facts" of the situation will be quiet for long.  With or without an anonymous letter to the Editor.

I'm interested to see if there are any signed letters in the next paper, objecting to this "benefit" fiasco. As evidenced by the responses in this thread, there have to be more minds blown by this than my own!

[sammycat]

Could the fact that BenefitBoy is returning items and money and didn't mention anything about the benefit when he saw your DH in the PO, mean that they are realising the error of their ways?  Perhaps the benefit might not go ahead?  (Long stretch I know, but just maybe?). 

Do you think the cheque might bounce?  (Hope not).

[MineralDiva]

Could the fact that BenefitBoy is returning items and money and didn't mention anything about the benefit when he saw your DH in the PO, mean that they are realising the error of their ways?

One can only hope!!  (But I doubt it.)  Honestly, how thoroughly embarrassing for him to have allowed EntitlementGirl to make him look like an bacon-fed knave, in front of the whole town, with this!

As for the check...I will be depositing it in the morning.  It's made out to our theatre company, but drawn out of EntitlementGirl's account.  As long as it's good (and I expect it should be, with no problem), I don't care if their cat wrote it!

[Tabris]

MineralDiva, I think you would be justified to get on the phone with the reporter who reported the story.

I believe marriage licenses and titles to houses are public record, and as such, the reporter can be directed to check on both those things. You can also speak to anyone in the news room and explain the same things.

I think you would be justified in using your name and explaining the 501c application and how you're worried that your theater company will be sullied by this "production" these two are making about their unpayable bills. You don't need to mention the guns or anything, but once the newspaper has two clearly disproven facts on their hands, they may go digging further to make a real story out of it in order to fill the news hole.

You can request that if they quote you, it only be on condition of anonymity when printed in the paper, but you yourself are not an anonymous source. And the two things you'd be pointing them toward are verifiable facts. Explain to them that when the full story does eventually come out, and it certainly will, that the paper will look bad for not having checked its facts in the first place.

Most papers have a huge "news hole" this time of year, and they'll be eager to fill it with something. Give them something. 

[MineralDiva]

MineralDiva, I think you would be justified to get on the phone with the reporter who reported the story.

I believe marriage licenses and titles to houses are public record, and as such, the reporter can be directed to check on both those things. You can also speak to anyone in the news room and explain the same things.

I think you would be justified in using your name and explaining the 501c application and how you're worried that your theater company will be sullied by this "production" these two are making about their unpayable bills. You don't need to mention the guns or anything, but once the newspaper has two clearly disproven facts on their hands, they may go digging further to make a real story out of it in order to fill the news hole.

You can request that if they quote you, it only be on condition of anonymity when printed in the paper, but you yourself are not an anonymous source. And the two things you'd be pointing them toward are verifiable facts. Explain to them that when the full story does eventually come out, and it certainly will, that the paper will look bad for not having checked its facts in the first place.

Most papers have a huge "news hole" this time of year, and they'll be eager to fill it with something. Give them something. 

Yes, I would be justified, Tabris.  Unfortunately, it's not quite as easy as it seems.  I happen to know this reporter.  And he is well aware of our theatre company's current status.  He was the former attorney who while on our original Board of Directors, wrote our initial paperwork to file for corporate status.

He is no longer a member of our Board, as he was asked to resign over something that happened during a production that he was instrumental in having cancelled...three days before we opened.  He was not a reporter for the paper at the time.  That happened subsequently.

BenefitBoy was in the cast of that cancelled production. (He did not join our board, with EntitlementGirl, until much later...and had nothing to do with the cancellation.)

In light of this fact, and several others that are technically un-related to the thread subject, I would not be the ideal candidate to bring the truth of the matter to the paper...particularly this reporter.

The best thing I can do, is keep my opinions out of print...except for venting them here! 

[Tabris]

Ugh, that does complicate matters. 

It still seems to me that there should be a way of alerting the paper to the fact that BenefitBoy is a fraud. I wonder if someone could tip off EntitlementGirl's ex-husband, assuming he's embittered and meddlesome.  {just kidding}

[jaxsue]

IndianInLaw - Thanks for that info. We'll need that info for when he is out of school and into the workforce.

[MineralDiva]

Hopefully, Tabris, there will be a letter in the next issue...from someone else.  I'm kind of anxious to see if this thing comes off, or falls as flat as it should!

It's supposed to be next Saturday...according to the paper.  I can't imagine the timing being any worse, on the heels of the Christmas/New Year's holidays!  People are too busy worrying about their OWN bills at this time of year.

[gjcva1]

Diva, i've read this entire thread, and i'm sorry this is going on.  and i definitely am ready for the whole kidnapping of Mr Diva to keep him from performing! if you want him across the continent, you can use my place.

look, i do know just how fortunate i am in two ways:  we have good health care, and i have had no serious health issues.  but, and here's what really burns my biscuits in this, if i DID have health issues without the insurance to take care of the costs, i'd tighten my belt, stop buying the little nice extras in life, take another job if need be, and pay the dingdangity bills myself.  i wouldn't expect anyone else to pay my costs.

i do have a question.  you stated that they also have a theater company.  are they taking the steps to incorporate it as you are?

[MineralDiva]

Can I come too, gjcva1?  lol 

As to their theatre company:  I don't believe they are taking the steps to incorporate it as we have.  Their last production cost BenefitBoy a cool $5000.  And they didn't make much, if anything.  SHE just wanted to do something...and get her mother to direct it....without paying her dues as Mr. Diva has.  (And get BenefitBoy to bankroll her....which he did.)

The fact that this "company" exists, has created some confusion.  Particularly since they're on OUR board!  But that will be remedied soon!

[gjcva1]

Can I come too, gjcva1?  lol 

As to their theatre company:  I don't believe they are taking the steps to incorporate it as we have.  Their last production cost BenefitBoy a cool $5000.  And they didn't make much, if anything.  SHE just wanted to do something...and get her mother to direct it....without paying her dues as Mr. Diva has.  (And get BenefitBoy to bankroll her....which he did.)

The fact that this "company" exists, has created some confusion.  Particularly since they're on OUR board!  But that will be remedied soon!

come on ahead honey, i can hide you both, and we have a spare bed.  of course, i can't tell you it will be nice and quiet here, as i will be in the last week of my leave between contracts.  i've already been crazy nuts pulling stuff apart and cleaning and pitching.  you might both be pressed into service for that! of course, no one will challenge you to conjure up snow for grandchildren if you come to the East Coast!

i'm glad you're getting these two off of your board.  it sounds to me like you and Mr. Diva have your *ehem* stuff together, and they don't. and i totally agree that you don't want them associated with your company in any way!  they just sound like really bad news.  they don't know how to work for what they want.  you two do.  of course you KNOW who's side i'm on!  and how lame that suddenly they are honoring their contract to you with the check for the renting of your platform, and returning the borrowed tux.  that's just a little convenient to me.  you too, right?

[MineralDiva]

It is rather convenient.  Considering that our show closed on Halloween night (when the tux was last used) and theirs closed two weeks afterward (when they were using our platforms.)

The thing that REALLY cheesed me about the platform thing, was that BenefitBoy returned the platforms without telling us he was bringing them back.  We never heard from him.

Our set from the Halloween show, is stored in a locked building.  He would have had to let us know he was bringing them over, so we could unlock the building to let him place them back inside.

What did he do?  Never called...and layed the platforms outside, AGAINST the building, without telling us...and it RAINED between when he returned them, and when I happened to discover that they were there! (And we're not taling overnight...it was a couple of WEEKS!)

I was furious!  We'd spent $300 refurbishing them for our own show...and now they'd been rained on!

Thankfully, they don't seem to be any worse for it.  But that will be the last time ANYBODY uses ANYTHING that belongs to our theatre company, for their own purposes.  And I don't care who they are!

We cut him a break on the amount of rent, since he and EntitlementGirl are Board members.  And we RENTED them to these people, because we didn't want to set a precedent for others who happen to need something and figure they could just "borrow" it from us for nothing...after we go through the expense of keeping them in useable condition.

A simple phone call to ask us to meet him at the storage area, because he was bringing the platforms back...was all that was necessary.  But we got no such call.  He just dropped them off and left them, without letting us know they were there.  They could have even been stolen!

When I discovered that they were against the building, I made Mr. Diva call him, on the pretext of asking when he wanted to return them so we could arrange to unlock the storage building.  They're waaay to heavy to move by just Mr. Diva and I.  (So someone wanting to steal them, would have probably gotten a hernia...but that's beside the point.)

He told Mr. Diva that they'd already been left against the building.  Mr. Diva told him that he and I were not able to move them inside ourselves, and he (BenefitBoy) needed to bring back whomever put them there in the first place, to move them where they belonged. 

He did...and they're back with the rest of our stuff.  But NEVER again!

[Sandi Papaya]

Oy, poor Diva - these people are a bloody nightmare! The more I read, the more I feel compelled to fish a big trout out of the Delta, drive it down to you and smack them with it when we've given it a couple days to get nice and smelly. But that would be really, really mean to the poor trout involved.

How do you plan to get them off your Board of Directors? Or have they already been let go?

I'm really, really hoping this "benefit" falls completely flat and/or blows up in their faces. You're in a pretty small town, so it's bound to get out that these people are a complete and utter fraud, without you even having to do anything. Let's hope so, anyway.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Keep us posted on what happens.