Meet Marie Dorigny
Written by TJ and Jaime
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14 June 2010
This is one if those stories that is hard to write completely out because it has a thousand branches. I'll try and stick with the trunk of the story so it won't turn into a novel.
Jaime and I got on one of those Nora should be covered by Medicaid regardless of our income kicks. We have often explored this, and it always ends with some angry calls and tears [Jaime] and swear words [Me]. This was no exception. So I called this Tennessee law support number someone gave us on another call. It's usually handed off like "call this number...they will help" which incidentally is what we were told about the first number...that didn't. Anyway, the TN law lady immediately said "how many people are in your household? .... their ages" and the usual "what is the last name if your baby Mr. Gooden". I answered them all and then she said "what is your gross monthly income?" I explained that I just had a question so can you just answer it for me? She said "not without your income". I said "what is the number that is the maximum I can say and still get my question answered?" She said "$2140 per month". I explained that I was over that amount and she said "well. then I cannot help you". So I got a little pissed and spit "you mean I make too much to even get a question answered!" She said "Yes". So *super pissed now* I said that I would call her back once I smoke a bunch of meth and lose my job". She asked if I was done venting and I hung up.
I called TN Justice League next. That said oddly enough that there was a National Geographic photographer there and is doing a story on middle class and health-care. Basically how many services the middle class cannot use since they are mostly all income restricted. It is kind of an anti Tea party article showing how the middle class would actually benefit by this new health-care plan in this respect
Long story longer, Marie Dorigny showed up on Saturday to spend the day with us and take pictures. She's a French free-lance photographer working on the story which will actually appear in the foreign issues of GEO magazine. Marie is a wonderful woman! Having her for the day was an amazing experience. She has so many stories mostly because she's been everywhere taking photos. She recently was in Iceland and before that Afghanistan! Click on her picture and you can see some of her portfolio. Meeting her was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It seemed ridiculous that a woman who took a back-alley photo of a child making a Nike Soccer ball in India, is now in our living room. We would have loved to keep her for weeks just for the conversation. I think her being French actually added to the experience as well since she had such a different perspective.... and pronounced Kentucky - Kent-a-Key. She told us so much about the fantastic national health-care system in her country (which didn't sound at all like the negative spin we've heard in the states). We don't know if our part will make it in the magazine but we really don't care, since it was totally worth every second. Oh, and she even gave us some pictures.
