FERS Disability

Last Updated on September 14, 2021 by FERS Disability Attorney

It is the collective organism reflecting the individual, somewhat like the tripartite division of Plato’s theory of the soul; the neighborhood, filled with noises differentiated by weekdays, Fridays and weekends, reflects the character of the separate families who congregate to make up the entirety.  And, like Plato’s argument against appearances versus the reality of the essence of a thing, the façade of a neighborhood – the architectural structures, the number of bedrooms in each, the style of the roofs and the slope, grade and colors of the tile; no, not merely the presentation from an outsider’s perspective, but the noises which emanate – if one pauses and listens, they depict the very essence of who and for what the aggregate is comprised.

The noisy neighborhood represents the lifeblood of the community; of garbage and recycling trucks weaving through on designated days; of the banging of trashcans and plastic bins; of barking dogs, muffled voices as neighbors stop to exchange the tidbits of the day, the week and months past; and the creaking sounds of the swing’s friction against the metal cylinders repeating day after day, month after month, always accompanying the laughter of children who never seem to cease being amused, bemused and entertained by the monotonous repetition of an activity that is nothing more than an eternal pendulum in a timeless motion, except when the rains come, the howling winds shudder and push them into homes with warm hearths and glowing hearts, leaving the creaking swings to emit sounds in the night that awaken only the insomniacs who could not sleep anyway for fear of nightmares and goblins abounding.

Sounds, like the aroma of baking bread rising in an oven of a constant temperature, reflects the content and context of a greater world and an unseen universe.

There are many and varied kinds, of course; of places where tragedy has stricken and there is a collective mourning for the injury or death of a loved one; of people growing older in aggregate, and moving – awaiting the day and time until a new lifeline enters, often unaware and indifferent to the history of its people, and replacing and renewing with fresh laughter and gaiety; or the signs of dilapidation, where lawns are left uncut, the familiar refrains of “Hello, how are you!?” are but silent echoes in memories long forgotten.

Then, there are noisy “neighborhoods” – of office collectives that operate like one; and, at least in a figurative sense, garbage and recycling trucks winding their way through such places as well.  In such places, however, the “garbage” trucks dump things and fail to take away; and the “recycling” trucks try and replace perfectly usable human beings.

That is how the Federal or Postal employee feels when a medical condition hits them to the extent that the medical conditions and issues prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of the position occupied.  Suddenly, the quietude of one’s own familiar neighborhood becomes noisy with alien voices and sounds no longer comforting, as a contentiousness develops, an adversarial atmosphere arises, and a disturbing sense of disconcerting conditions begins to prevail upon a once-tranquil community.  And, in a larger sense, the workplace is a “community” — one wherein work productivity and advancement can occur only within the context of a caring aggregation of individuals.

Medical conditions can suddenly bring out the worst in others – whether because they just don’t want to have to “deal” with it (whatever the “it” is), or they are just too wrapped up in their own lives to consider the essence of man’s inner goodness, of empathy and caring for others, and thus try and ignore duty, responsibility and obligation to others.  That is the time to begin boxing up one’s possessions and consider moving out of that neighborhood, by beginning to prepare, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be submitted to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In the end, the noisy neighborhood sometimes turns from the sounds of comfort to the blare of disquietude, and that is when it is time to move to a more amenable community and the next phase of one’s life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire