OPM Disability Retirement Benefits under FERS: Ballast for the soul
It is a plagiarized phrase, from a short story written by Brazil’s (often-considered) greatest writer, Machado de Assis. It is that heavy material, where a large quantity of gravel, iron, metals, etc., placed low in a vessel in order to provide stability; the weight itself is what “grounds” the vessel so that the torrents of waves and storms of fury will not topple it. Or, it can refer to the coarse gravel used in order to set railroad tracks, again allowing for stability of a foundation to prevent shifting, sinking or damaging movement. […]