#BernieReim #Fundraiser update

by Keith Launchbury
Organizer, 8/21/2025

"This is a photo of Bernie sitting up and using a wheelchair yesterday. Today he is being discharged from the Rehabilitation hospital in Portland and he is moving into an assisted living center in Kennebunk. He enjoys having visitors as he continues his recovery process.

"He is very grateful to everyone of you who have donated to help him offset some of the medical expenses he has already incurred, and the towards the monthly cost of the assisted living facility."

To donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bernie-recover-from-his-car-accident/update/36859301/gallery/0

#Stargazing #Stargazers #WMPG #WMPGScience #Astronomy #Astronomers #StarfieldObservatory #Teacher #Volunteer #GoodHuman #MutualAid

Dear @starrytimepod , could you spread the word about one of my favorite teachers, #BernieReim? He was in a bad car accident and needs help paying for rehabilitation. The #Maine #Stargazing community adores Bernie and wishes him a speedy recovery! TY!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bernie-recover-from-his-car-accident

#GoFundMe #Stargazers #Astronomy #Space #Astronomers #GoodHuman

So, I mentioned #BernieReim's situation to one of my former teachers (the faculty did not know about it), and she spread the word. I saw that a lot of faculty donated soon afterwards. I love the #USM / #WMPG community! It's truly a community!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bernie-recover-from-his-car-accident

So, knowing I had a fixation on the #TarantulaNebula, #BernieReim let me turn in a painting of the nebula as my final project! I incorporated a lot of what I learned about telescopes and refraction (the cross shaped light patterns), and also how one can perceive every color EXCEPT green! (Including some spots that appear brown to the human eye). He really appreciated my level of detail, even if my painting skills weren't the best (and my canvas was a paper box cover)...

#Astronomy #ArtByHumans #HandPainted #Stargazing #SpaceArt

So, I had a long talk with my supervisor about Medicare (what happened to #BernieReim being the trigger). Apparently, to have FULL Medicare coverage (that would have covered Bernie's rehab) would cost $2,000 a month!!! WTF! What middle or lower-income senior has an extra $2K a month! (I know I sure won't...) My supervisor is seriously considering moving to Denmark because her mother was a Danish citizen. In Denmark, seniors are covered!!! For everything! Not the kind of BS you see here in the US. Ugh!

https://healthcaredenmark.dk/news-publications/publications/a-dignified-elderly-care-in-denmark/

#ElderCare #MedicareSucks #HealthcareForAll

One of my high points from #BernieReim's #Astronomy lab... He appreciated my methodology!

"Almost finished with this week's Astronomy homework. Managed to calculate the distance to the #HerculesCluster to within 100 million light years! I came up with 410 million LY using a old photograph from the 1950's (Palomar Survey) and a ruler, whereas the actual estimated distance - using modern methods - is 500 million LY!"

@actuallyautistic

#YesICalculatedThat #NoAIInvolved #NoComputerInvolved #Astronomy

So, one of my favorite teachers, #BernieReim, was in a terrible car accident. He is on #Medicare, and, well, he has a long way to go to recover, and Medicare isn't going to cover a lot of the costs.

As an instructor, Bernie let me do all my team exercises solo (I didn't want the jocks I had been paired with to bring my grade down, and didn't want to do all the work for them), listened to my sharing about the math involved in astrology (which is how I learned to hand-calculate logarithms), and also let me submit a painting of a galaxy as a final project! In addition to teaching #Astronomy, Bernie is a regular on WMPG, and also volunteers at the local observatory.

Please share and donate if you can. Bernie is a good human, and only has his friends and community for support!

IG Post from #WMPGScience

"Hi friends!

For those who have been long time listeners, your beloved co-host Bernie has been in a terrible car accident that almost cost his life. He is now looking at several months of recovery and his dear friend has started a gofundme to support his rehab journey. Sharing this news for those who are wondering where we are on the airwaves. Dm me if you would like to visit, he loves visitors!"

cc: @actuallyautistic

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bernie-recover-from-his-car-accident

#Stargazers #MutualAid #GoFundMe #GFM #Fundraiser #GoodHumans