Yes, it absolutely raised my eyebrows that there's no indication Sal requested -- or needed! -- the money. Maybe they did, but maybe they've been trying to cut ties with granny, or maybe they had excellent insurance, or one of the roommates has rich parents or a lucrative meth business and they just don't need it. Maybe Sal's is furious that granny told all of facebook their personal business without clearing it with them. Maybe one of the donors Sal is expected to thank is someone with whom they have toxic history. There's just so much missing here.

Gran should not be keeping the money if she's not giving it to Sal. If she wants to punish her grandchild for setting a boundary, then she should return the money, not sit on it and keep it for herself.

Man, I totally missed that. You're 100% right, and almost any other columnist would have pointed that out.