Roy D Perkins

Bureaucracy Run Amok Roy D Perkins

This is the story of two brothers, one battling illnesses and the other battling the authorities in their later years. The narrative is based on a true story. One of them, Roger, is assigned as an advocate for his brother. The other, George, has severe physical and mental issues that are taking their toll on the both of them. There are five main characters: Roger, George, three unnamed characters, Roger's daughter, the lady liaison in the business office at the convalescent home, and George's ex-wife.



As George can no longer take care of his financial affairs, Roger becomes the power of attorney for his brother, George. Not only can George not take care of his finances, he can no longer take care of his physical and mental health. Roger is obviously not a caregiver and really cannot attend to the needs of George's health.



George rejects Roger's attempts to get him to eat right and to exercise regularly. George is fighting Roger all the away.



In advocating for George, Roger is met with flak from the state social services department, the state personnel who are working to put George in a convalescent home, the local police, the Visiting Nurse Association, a car dealership, lawyers, physicians, convalescent homes, local banks, the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and George himself.



It seems to Roger that as power of attorney, he is fighting everybody. The problem is that Roger is a novice when it comes to being a power of attorney. No one can inform him how to circumvent all the "roadblocks." So he goes about accomplishing this task via "trial and error."



It's a story of love, hatred, heartache, regret, contention, despair, deceit, ignorance, compassion, and bureaucracy run amok. Roger is definitely "powerless of attorney."