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February 28, 2025

 

Hello Facebook Friends

 

We hope this finds you well and happy. 

 

We expected to be enjoying "retirement" by now, spending time in the garden, seeing old friends, laughing a lot and  maybe doing some traveling.  But things have not turned out that way.

 

Possibly you are aware that we have been struggling financially.    We are in deep trouble, worse than ever before.  A few weeks ago we were accepted to a rent-subsidy program for LGBT seniors, partially government-financed.  It would have relieved the pressure we’ve been under and covered the rent for several months, giving us time to plot a course through what is sure to be a difficult few years.   Trump/Musk just killed the funding for it last week, and although the courts put a temporary hold on it, the program was shut down this week, leaving us in the lurch.

 

Because the rent subsidy program was cut, we do not have the March rent, and our landlady is eager to kick us out of our home of 38 years.  If she succeeds, the impact on our lives would be devastating – a massive black hole on the horizon we can’t even imagine. We would literally have trouble surviving. Trump and Musk are now aiming for HUD, Social Security and Medicare, on which we depend.   

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On the upside, our podcast, OURGENPOD.com, recently won the Discover Pods Award in the “Society and Culture” category. That should give us a big boost in securing a major sponsor.  But it’s hard to rejoice; as you may know, last week we lost our dear little cat, Emma.  She was like our child.  That, and years of bad luck, have made producing our podcast almost impossible. We’ve relied on donations to stay afloat, but digging our way out of this money pit has worn us down. Work opportunities have pretty much dried up; once young executives realize we could be their grandfathers, it’s over.

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We can’t entirely blame the fascists in the White House.  I have made some bad decisions that have brought us to this precipice.   There is a precis of our road to ruin attached,  if you want to know how we got here.  We’ve kept trying, seeking sponsors for the podcast, working on three books, and applying to any jobs we see, but as soon as the young executives realize we could be their grandfathers, it’s over.  And frankly, after years of mounting debts, months trying to get Emma well, and rising stress, we are both exhausted.

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SO … reluctantly and with great humility, we are asking you and other old friends to save us.  If just 26 friends donate $100 by Sunday, we can pay our rent. (I know this is absurdly  last minute;  we just heard about the closing of the rent-subsidy program on Tuesday, then for the past three days PayPal’s servers were down and our donor link was broken.  It was just fixed yesterday). 

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If we can persuade 26 old friends to help us raise the money to pay the rent on Monday (which is $2,615,  We have $ 777 to go),  that will give us some breathing room to plot a course through what are sure to be difficult times. We are at work on three books as well as OURGENPOD and working on a business plan for the podcast to pitch to prospective sponsors (like Annenberg, where I worked for 9 years, until my spinal surgery in 2018, then the pandemic. ) We even did a podcast episode on Wallis’ latest project, GENSPACE, which we found extremely impressive.  Her Mission Statement is remarkably similar to our own) )  

If we are successful in securing  a sponsor like Annenberg, that will mean long-term support and enormous relief. I really hate asking repeatedly to help us cope with our personal crises. This is not me.  I know that this is eroding friendships; two of  my multi-millionare  friends of more than 50 years  have point-blank refused, or stayed silent.  So I have to beg, again:  Please…please help if you are able.   Donations can go through PayPal at the link below, or Zelle at (818) 667-0452, or Venmo at @Rob-Wilson-7. 

 

If you cant manage this, are using up all your disposable income donating to efforts to topple the tyrant, or are disinclined on principal ("Neither a borrower nor a lender be”),  please consider passing  this along to anyone you think would be responsive to this appeal.  If you would like to discuss this just message Rob. 
 

Thank you, from the depths of our souls.  This is the link to donate via PayPal:                             

With Love and Gratitude,

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Julian and Rob