The Rest Of the Story

 If you have been keeping up with my saga on stress I will now bring you up to date.  You may recall that I had been charged for a bill that belonged to another customer of Dish Network.   Unraveling this error turned out to be more time consuming and frustrating than I imaged it would.  After I faxed my response letter back I heard nothing more so I called them again.  This time I got an investigator who assured me that my case would stay open and get priority attention.  I don't know if he was incompetent, lazy, or just didn't give a fig, but nothing had been done.

More Stress:

After waiting for days I called customer care (?) again and got a representative that treated me like the village idiot.  I went through my long tale of woe and told her that I had been assured that the case would be reopened and put on priority by the last person I talked to.  Nothing had been done.  She told me I had to send another letter to reopen the case explaining why I did not think this was my obligation.   Tearing my hair out clump by clump I explained very patiently that they already had a letter with all that information that had been faxed to them days ago.    You could almost hear her sigh as she told me that this was the way it worked.  I had to send another letter and to expect it to take 10 to 14 days to get there.  I argued that this was completely unnecessary as it was just duplicating what they already had.  She insisted and, giving up in defeat because I was too tired to argue further I said, "All right I'll send another stupid lettter."   I asked her if I could fax it and she gave me a new fax number.  

Busy Work:

I wrote the whole scenario over once more and sent it to my friend over the Internet so he could fax it on his machine.  I wasn't thinking very clearly and after I sent it I realized that it had not been signed because it was all done in the computer.  I Emailed my friend and told him I would print a copy,  sign it, scan the signed copy and send it to him the next day.

Additional Stress:

The next morning I booted up my computer, got to the desk top, clicked on an icon and everything disappeared.  I had a major computer crash.  I booted up in 4 different options and was only able to get as far as "please wait".   This was in 'system restore' because nothing else got my desktop back.  I would be waiting until hell freezes over because that's as far as I can get.  My guru tells me my hard drive has crashed.  Do I opt for a new computer or a new hard drive?  Decisions, decisions.

Customer Care person #4.

I finally did what I should have done in the beginning.  I called and told the new girl that I wanted her to pull up my account and then connect me to a supervisor.  She wanted to know why.  By this time I had my story memorized and didn't even need to have Cliff notes written in my palm.  (I would apologize to Sarah Palin, but she doesn't deserve it.)  After I explained that I had talked to three investigators about this and gotten three different stories I wanted someone who knew what they were doing (Am I a mama grizzly?).

The Senior supervisor came on and I repeated my litany and told her that if the first investigator had bothered to look at the papers he would have noticed that the name, address, and zip code on the papers provided by Dish to prove their assertion that the charge was valid were all for a different customer.  I should not have had to go through the stress I endured if he had done his job.  

Is it fraud?

I had, at long last, reached someone who listened to me and she said it sounded like fraud to her.  She asked me to please hold (again ) while she contacted someone in the fraud department.   Eventually I was put in touch with another investigator who assured me that he could, and would, handle my case in 2 business days.  At the end of the conversation he assured me I would not have to pay late charges if the amount was not paid by my due date.   Then he worried me again by saying it would be handled in FOUR business days.  What happened to TWO?  This was Thursday.  The charge is still on my Visa statement.  Guilty until proven innocent, I guess. 

Wise Decision:

After this is resolved, if it ever is, I am going to get a new credit card number and never allow automatic charges to my account again.  During this unpleasant experience I thought, "What if I had met the grim reaper before I insisted that someone in authority look at the error?   My kids would not have known it was not my obligation and would have paid it without question.  Dish would have gotten away with their scam error.

I am probably boring you with my long saga, but if, in telling it, I can prevent someone else from making the mistakes I made it will be worth it.

Stress Multiplied

Have you missed me?  I have not been around very much lately.  Life has a way of interfering with the best of intentions.  I have kept up with my e-mail and replies to the comments on my post and read some of your good posts, but I have not had time to reply to all of them.  I make no promises for the near future, but will try to do better soon.  

I'll bet that most of you have had a billing problem or some other problem with a big corporation recently.  That seems to be very common occurrence these days.  Is it because we are turning out a generation of office workers that can't spell, add, or use sound judgment?  I don't ever remember having trouble with billing when I was young.    Or am I guilty of selective memory?  

One of the things that has taken my time and concentration was a business situation that has my blood pressure soaring through the roof.  It involves Dish Network and Capital One Visa card.   That scream you heard a few days ago was me.

Sometime near the end of last year I changed my TV service from Dish Network to a bundle with Cox cable.  I tried to make the transition with the least cost to me.  It didn't work out that way.  I tried canceling Dish on the day that Cox was to be installed only to find out that I only had a 3 day window to cancel Dish before paying for another month.  I had gone beyond that window.  When Dish installed my system  a local man brought the box and remotes to my house, but when I canceled they told me I had to ship the equipment back to the company headquarters at my expense.  There was to be no RMA number or shipping box provided.   It cost me $26 + to return the equipment. 

Fast forward to September of this year.   A mysterious charge from Dish for $40 appeared on my credit card statement.   I called Dish customer service and was told to protest the charge to my credit card company.  The Rep didn't even know what the charge  was for.  I immediately wrote the letter protesting this charge.  It was reversed on my statement and on the same statement a charge of $425 was debited to my account by Dish.  I wrote another letter of protest and that charge was reversed.  Fine; all is well.

Last week I received a telephone call from my Chase Visa  customer care person.  Dish had sent a bunch of papers proving I owed the $425.  I told him this was not true and he said he would send the papers to me.  On Wednesday I received a Fed Ex letter with the papers inside.   There was also a cover letter from Visa saying that if they didn't hear from me by the 10th of this month (giving me 4 days to return proof )

the case would be considered closed.

By the time I read the letter I was shaking and in such turmoil I couldn't think straight.  (Isn't that a peachy keen excuse?).  My BP must have been nearing the top level.  I do not handle stress well and, as noted on other blogs, I avoid it whenever possible.

I spent hours searching for documentation to prove my innocence.  I was unable to find the UPS receipt and decided that I had thrown it away after they reversed the charge the first time.  I decided to scan my copies of my credit card statements proving when I stopped using Dish and started using Cox.   Then I couldn't get my scanner to work.  In desperation I  wrote a letter of explanation as to why this charge could not logically be mine after 9 or 10 months.  I gathered up my papers and only then did I notice that in my frantic state I neglected to see the name on the papers that Dish had sent.  The name and address from the accounting dept. was not mine, nor was it my address.  Dish had charged me for another woman's bill.  

I then called my Visa rep telling him of the mix up and was told to Fax the papers to them immediately to avoid closing the case on the 10th.  In the event that you have not faxed something recently the charge is $2 per page.  I had 6 pages to fax.  Thank goodness for good friends.   My savior arrived that afternoon and took my papers home and faxed them for me.  

Two days passed without hearing from my credit card company.  I just called them as tomorrow is the deadline for closing the case.  They had not even looked at the papers yet and the case has now been reopened.  I spent 30 minutes with the representative; most of it listening to Musak.    What a fun way to spend the morning.  

I will get more papers in the mail I am told.  Stay tuned.

I had never thought about what happens to your credit card number after you close an account.  Apparently, the card number is kept on file forever.  Do we have to cancel our credit cards every time we close an account that we have been using to avoid this kind of hassle?  I asked my credit card representative about this and he said they couldn't come between the merchant and the customer.  

Many things about the 'good old days' weren't really good, but I wish we could restore trust when a handshake was as good as your word.  Do we have to start building an extra room on our houses to store every scrap of paper we use that my be needed in a dispute?  Gotta stop; I feel my blood pressure rising again.

Big Trouble

If you don't think we are in trouble, read this. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/opinion/04krugman.html

I am so frightened for my country.  At no time since the Great Depression has good leadership been more important than right now.   And who are the leaders that the tea party are fronting?  Blithering idiots without a clue as to how to govern.  They are the puppets of big business.  Pretty women whose elevators don't go all the way to the top and who are so ideologically twisted that they would take us over the cliff if they get the chance.  Add men candidates who think the unconstitutional Arizona law is great and that privatizing everything is the way to go and these numbskulls  candidates are the ones that big business want you to vote for. 

Our country is in big trouble on all fronts.   We were once the undisputed leader in the world and now China is about to clean our clock.  The things that will save us all run counter to the interests of big business.  Now that the Supreme Court has, in it's infinite stupidity, opened the floodgates to the money that big business can pour into our elections (and that will influence the outcome in their favor), we are fighting an uphill battle against the oil and coal companies, the insurance industry, and Wall Street.  

The people could have stopped Hitler if they had acted soon enough and Rome might have survived if the populace had not become complacent.  We must not let our country go the way of other civilizations.  

(I am aware that there were other factors involved in the 'take over' of Germany and the decline and fall of the Roman empire, but the people were complicit in both instances and could have made a difference.) 

I hope you're mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore.  Educate everyone you know and drag them to the polls, if necessary.  Only the people can stop this take over of our country by a few extremely wealthy individuals.  

Democrats Unite

Election Day is coming soon.  Before it's too late lets look at some facts. 

Forget the past;  lets look at the future under the Republicans if they gain control again.  First, be prepared to be lied to when black will be white and up will be down.  Demagoguery will be rampant and they will try to make you afraid; very afraid.   Reality will disappear and  ideology will replace common sense. 

You think I exaggerate?  Please listen to Keith Olbernamm as he tells you who those small businessmen really are.  You know, they're the ones who will be hurt if the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% are cut according to John Boehner and his brethren.

Do you know the definition of 'small businessmen'?  I didn't either until Keith explained it.    Here  is part of the explanation:

Firms like the billionaire Koch Brothers who are backers of the Tea Party are small businessmen.  You think I am kidding?  No way would I mislead you.  Do you know the reason they are classified as small businessmen?  Because their company  operates as either an S Corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership or a limited liability company.  The companies pass the profits directly to the owners who pay taxes on the profits.  They are, by definition, classified as small businesses because the owners are small in number.  In the case of S corporations the number of owners can be 100.   The term small business has nothing at all to do with the size of the business or the profit it makes.  These so called 'small businesses' earn millions and sometimes billions each year.   Poor babies, they really need that tax cut.

And those, my friend, are the small businesses that the Republicans want to save the tax breaks for.  A lie, by any other name, still smells as bad.

Now if you didn't have to hold your nose after reading the explanation of a small business here is a list of what the Republicans will try to do if they gain control of our government again.  After reading them, if you agree with me that this is a disaster waiting to happen, please   help get out the vote.  This could be the most important vote anyone makes.  Tell your friends that those small businesses are spending billions trying to defeat the Democrats  and we need to stir up the base again.  

As an aside, the Republican deep pocket is paying for an ad against my wonderful Representative, Gabrielle Giffords, and it is repeated endlessly on all of the channels while I have only seen one of her ads.  Her opponent, a real whacko named Kelly, sponsored by the Tea Party, wants to privatize Social Security and Medicare for starters.  He must not be elected.

Now on to an abbreviated list  taken from the  Alter Net and written by Devona Walker.

•  1.   Shut down the government to stop the Health Care bill.  They have a plan to not fund it.  Senator Coburn and Rep. Mike Pence have already made it clear that this is the  plan.
•  
•  2.   Attempt to privatize Social Security and Medicare.   For those of us on Social Security, this would have been a total disaster when the stock market lost 40% of its value during the financial crisis.
• 
  
• 3.   Spend every walking hour investigating the Obama administration.  Michelle Bachmann is proposing issuing subpoena after subpoena and have one hearing after another.   Is this what you want your government to spend their time on?  Remember when nothing got done while they impeached Clinton for a sex act that should have been nobodies business other than Hillary's.  (Before some righteous individual rises up in anger at the statement I will remind the person that one of the leaders in promoting the impeachment is a thrice married man who asked his hospitalized wife for a divorce while she was in treatment for cancer so he could marry his mistress.)  Oh yeah, I mean the loud mouthed Newt Gingrich.
• 
  
• 4.   Repeal the 14th amendment - divest immigrants' children of citizenship.
• 
  
• 5.   Forget Cap and Trade.   Those small business men, the Koch Bros., have already donated 1 million to suspend the Global Warming legislation in California.  They are oil men, after all.   
• 
  
• 6.  Return to the disastrous economic policies that got us in the financial crisis in the first place.  Rep. Darrell Issa wants finance reform repealed. 

• 7.   Kill or drastically slash the Food Stamp Program.  Let them eat cake I guess.
•  
• 8.   Roll back and repeal equal rights for gays.   The party platform has not changed and the Montana GOP platform now calls for making homosexuality illegal.
•  
• 9.   Abandon the unemployed.   During one week 2 million unemployed lost their benefits while the Republicans filibustered the extension of unemployment benefits. 

•  10. Paralyze one branch of our government.   The Republicans will continue to obstruct anything the Democrats do because that is the way they hope to take back the White House.

If you think I am making all of this up, let me assure you that I wish I were.  Those facts have come from statements made by the Republicans who are now in your Congress and Senate.  Unless you agree with the Republican doctrine, please go vote and urge all of your Democratic friends to do likewise.    

I wrote this yesterday and today's NYT had the following editorial which is a very good read on this subject.   Please click on the link.   (You may have to click a second time.  When I tested it an ad came up the first time)

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/opinion/26sun1.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&th&emc=th

The Travel Bug

Is a travel bug a virus that you can't shake or an insect that gets under your skin and leaves a longing for which there is no cure? Either way, it is an obsession that will never leave you once you are infected. I was bitten by the bug when I made my first train trip as a child. I know of two other people who were victims of the bug. One is Vagabonde who writes a beautiful post on her travels complete with great photography. The other is a friend who is returning from a cruise today and is close to his goal of visiting 100 different countries. I envy them being able to continue their dreams.

My bucket list was long. I never managed to see half of the places on my list and I never made it to the one that always headed the list (Egypt) , but I am grateful for the wonderful places I did see.

Like many travelers I had "the trip from hell" along the way. Here is my story.

I signed up for a trip with Grand Circle Travel, to go to Morocco and Spain. I extended my trip for an extra week in Spain as an add-on option. I didn't want to miss a thing. I was so excited before leaving home that I felt like a child on Christmas Eve.

Being on a tight budget I wanted to avoid having to stay overnight in NYC and I scheduled a plane trip that gave me 3 hours between my connecting flight at JFK airport. That seemed like a safe window in the event that my plane was delayed. I now advise anyone to stay overnight at the connecting airport to give yourself plenty of time to relax before continuing on and to avoid missing your connecting flight. Seasoned travelers already know that this is wise.

I arranged for a shuttle service to pick me up at my home at 4 am for my 6 o'clock flight to Phoenix where my first change of planes was to occur. I was afraid I wouldn't hear the alarm clock and would not be ready when the shuttle van arrived and I am overly cautious in such situations. Because I lived alone, I decided to be ready for the van before I went to sleep. This meant that I needed to be fully dressed with my luggage at the door. I slept sitting up on the couch. At least, that was the plan. I was so nervous with excitement that I only dozed for short periods. Not to worry, I told myself, I will sleep on the plane.

The first leg of my journey was so short that I didn't dare doze. I was on an America West plane and their concourse in Phoenix is spread out in a very long T shape. My arrival gate was at the very bottom end of the T and my departure gate was at one end of the short top of the T. When I got to my departure gate I sighed with relief thinking it would be a piece of cake from then on. Panic struck when I looked at the departure sign and, instead of NYC, the destination was Seattle. I went up to the desk and asked what happened. I was told that my plane was delayed so they were letting another plane come in to that gate first.

Being afraid I might miss my connection at JFK, I walked back up the long concourse to customer service to check on the situation. They called JFK and informed me there should be no problem. Yeah, right! I toted my heavy overnight back to the departure gate only to see that the sign now read Denver. Upon questioning this I was told that my departure gate had been changed. You will never guess where. Since this is the trip from hell, I, of course, had to go back to the first gate; the one that I arrived at.

By this time I was becoming very tense when, at last, I boarded my cross country flight much later. I was so fearful that I would miss my connection that even a nap was impossible. Still, an overnight flight was ahead and I would be able to sleep at last.

We were so late reaching JFK that they were already boarding my plane to Spain. I was on Iberia Air and the Spanish people at the gate were laughing at me when they checked me in. In a great rush I asked for a non-smoking seat and they gave me my seat number and told me the gate was upstairs. I literally ran up the stairs and down the concourse, arriving just as they were about to shut the gate. I guess that is one part of my trip that I can say was very lucky because 3 seconds later I would have been stranded and probably would have missed the first week of the trip. (Another woman who missed her connecting flight did lose about 5 days of the trip.)

I settled in my seat with great relief to have this first harrowing part of my trip behind me. I would sleep as soon as the plane was airborne. Then I found out why the Spaniards were laughing ; they had seated me in the smoking section. (That item alone will tell you how many years ago this all happened). I asked a flight attendant to move me and she told me that if I could find a vacant seat up front to take it. The only vacant seat available was right across the aisle from the galley. I didn't want to smell like a smoke factory so I took it and moved. That row was 3 seats wide due to being next to the galley and the other two seats were occupied by a young Spanish couple who wanted to practice their English on me. Since my Spanish is limited to a few words (some of them unprintable) and their English wasn't much better we had a lot of laughs trying to converse. Dinner was served after we were airborne and I put the open packet of oily salad dressing on the side of my tray which immediately tilted spilling the dressing on my skirt.

Now I am starting my trip with a big oil spot on my skirt and no sleep. Ah well, I can soon make up for the latter problem, think I. He He !! They put the movie on and the sound was so loud (this was before individual speakers) that sleep was not to be. At last they dimmed the lights for the night; all lights except those in the galley. Guess where the flight attendants spent their leisure time now that their duties were over. Why, in the galley next to me. Their chatter kept me awake all night. Heck, not speaking Spanish I couldn't even understand the juicy stories they were probably telling.

When we arrived in Madrid for another change of planes I had probably had a total of 3 hours sleep in the past 48. It was afternoon in Spain when I finally arrived at my final destination, Malaga. A feeling of relief was soon dispelled when I discovered that I had finally made it, but my suitcase hadn't.

After the group was assembled at the hotel we were told to be ready at 4 the next morning for a bus ride to the port where we would board the ferry for Morocco. Of course, this meant that I would not be able to make up for my lost sleep that night. At least I didn't have jet lag .

When I came down to dinner in my hot pink travel dress with the oily stain on the skirt the people in my group complimented me on my attire for the evening. It became a nightly joke that was a great ice breaker. As I entered the dining room someone would say, "Oh, Darlene, I love the dress that you are wearing this evening." Believe it or not, I was able to laugh.

A few kind people loaned me bits and pieces of clothing to supplement my pink dress and I had to make do for ten days until we returned to Spain where my suitcase was patiently waiting minus some things that had been removed. (I am sure a man took the stuff because the only things missing were sex neutral, such as a box of instant coffee. a bottle and can opener, etc.)

The tour included a stay in a former palace in Fez and it was fantastic, but, being the trip from hell, nothing could go smoothly for long. I was careful to use bottled water for brushing my teeth and taking the usual precautions to avoid traveler's complaint. In spite of my care, I unwisely ate a salad even though I had noticed that the squash had not been fully peeled and I ended up with many trips to the loo.

The morning we left I made the stupid (I know you are going to say so and I am beating you to it) mistake of leaving my purse in my room when I went to breakfast. Since I only had a carry on, my purse was large and heavy with travel necessities that I had purchased and was a nuisance to hold on my lap when eating. I foolishly decided that since I wouldn't be gone long there was no danger. That was a huge mistake. When I returned to my room I opened my purse to get the money for the tip to the maid. Alas, I had been robbed. My American $1 bills that I used for tips was gone. The $300 worth of pesetas and the remainder of my Moroccan money was gone. You could say I had some good luck there, too, because I had my passport, credit card and traveler's checks in a neck safe. The thief could have taken my airline tickets, but I guess he decided that he would not be able to cash them in without being caught so I did have some resources left.

After we returned to Spain all went well until I pulled a shoulder muscle going up a steep step in the beautiful Generlife gardens of the Alhambra . After many of the group departed for the U. S. I came down with a miserable cold and spent most of my time watching old movies in the hotel recreation room.

During that period of my life I was a collector of David Winter and Lilliput Lane cottages . While in Gibraltar I bought four of them because they were so much cheaper than in the U. S. If you are familiar with them you know that the cottages are small, but the boxes are not. I was afraid to have them shipped home because I had heard of disasters when the 'paid for' purchases in Europe never arrived. By this time I had gotten the message that Murphy's Law was alive and well on this trip; what ever could go wrong, would go wrong. I was taking no chances.

At last it was time to bid adios to Spain. I now had a very large bag with four cottages to take on the plane in addition to my carry on and my purse. That totals 3 items and you are only allowed 2. When I started to board the plane a man standing at the door told me to step aside. He informed me that I was not getting on the plane. And he was adamant. When I asked why , he pointed to my 3 carry on pieces. I was nearly in tears when an American woman who had been on my tour started to board the plane and asked me what was wrong. Her husband had handled their carry luggage so she only had her purse. When I explained the situation she said, "Give me that." and took my bag of cottages. We both quickly got on the aircraft and I thought the man was going to have a stroke. He got red in the face and almost jumped up and down like Rumpelstiltskin when the princess guessed his name. He had been thwarted and I am sure he wanted to kill me. Only later did it dawn on me that if I had handed him my last $20 he would have let me on with no further hassle. I don't think fast when upset. (Sometimes I don't think fast when calm, either).

You may think this was the end of my trip to hell. Au contraire, it was not to be. When we reached Madrid and a change of planes the fog had settled in and all planes were grounded. There was not a chair left to sit on by the time our plane arrived and we had to stand for 3 hours until the fog lifted and we could be airborne once more. I was once again in possession of my 3 pieces of luggage and standing was not fun. However, another kind man took my cottages when we boarded the next time.

Because our plane was also fighting a headwind we were so late in arriving back in the U. S. that nearly everyone missed their connecting flights. We were all lined up at the Iberia counter trying to get chits for an overnight hotel room. There were two lines and I stood in the short line. After they cleared that line they stopped helping when they got to me and they all started attending to the long line while I stood there waiting. I was ignored until a representative from Grand Circle travel came up to check on me. She asked me if they had served me yet. My reply of "no" had her slam her fist on the counter and in her best Brooklyn voice loudly say, "Lets have some action here." I was speedily given a chit for dinner, a room and breakfast. They wanted to kill me too.

I requested that they call my daughter who was meeting my plane to tell her that I was not coming that night. That request, like the 'non smoking' request was ignored, also. By this time I was wondering what I did to Spain that they wanted to punish me for. I always thought I loved the Spanish people, but they were making it hard.

Now I can assure you that all went very well from that point on. Because I did not have an assigned seat on the morning flight I was in the last row in the plane. A tall handsome young flight attendant came rushing down the aisle when he saw me board and he carried my overnight to the back of the plane. After he was through with his flight check duties he asked me if I would like coffee or juice. I had never had so much personal attention before and was happy that my trip was ending on a high note. Later when I got out my my pre-purchased ear buds t0 watch the movie I discovered that they had gotten broken in my carry on. The flight attendant noticed and brought me a new pair. After the movie he sat on the arm of my seat and chatted. Then I found out why I gotten so much attention. He told me that I looked just like his mother. After I wrote a letter to America West telling of the good service he gave me, he wrote thanking me and we exchanged Christmas cards for years.

After telling you my tale of woe, are you wondering if I was sorry I went? The answer is a resounding NO. I would do it all over again exactly the same way, glitches included, if I had the opportunity. After all, you can expect some things to go wrong on a trip, can't you? And, remember, I was bitten by the travel bug. Beside, it has provided me with material to fill up this space.

A Funny Thing Happened To Me On -----

By now anyone who has read my posts, or seen my comments on other blogs, know that I have a hearing loss and had a cochlear implant several years ago. It has been suggested to me that I write about being deaf and how it impacts my life.

My hearing loss was sudden and frightening and occurred in middle age. Prior to that time I had perfect hearing and perfect pitch (for those who might not know, perfect pitch means that I knew the pitch of a note and never failed to get it right. For example, I would hum G, go to the piano and hit G and I was always 'right on.') Now music is no longer pleasurable. It's getting better, however.

Meniere's disease in both ears appeared suddenly with almost total deafness. Through the following months some of my hearing returned, but it was never as good as before. I was able to function for many years without any help other than a supportive family that told me what was said when I had that 'deer in the headlights' look on my face. In time I got a hearing aid and was thrilled to be able to hear the refrigerator run. The next help was a Princess phone with an amplified hand set. That was followed in a few years by a desk phone with stronger amplification in the hand set. A few years later I resorted to a speaker phone as my hearing further deteriorated. Now I have a closed captioning phone and get captions when I am called as well as when I call out. If you telephone me, I might be slow to answer because I need to read the captions. If anyone needs information about this wonderful phone. go to: www.CapTel.com

My Phone.

By the time I was in my 50's I was having a lot of trouble understanding people and I began retreating from going places where I would be embarrassed. No more parties or meetings for me. I didn't deal with the situation forcefully enough and would ask people to repeat; and when I still couldn't understand I would ask for a third repeat. Of course, if I didn't understand the first time, I wasn't going to be able to do so the third time if they said the same thing the same way. By that time, this became embarrassing for both of us and I would wanly smile and pretend I heard.

I struggled through life this way and stayed close to someone who would make sure I understood what was being said correctly. My husband became my second pair of ears during all those years. After he died I had to get 2 digital hearing aids to continue to function in a hearing world. My hearing loss was becoming severe. Eventually, it became profound and that was when I got a cochlear implant.

And now for the funny thing that happened to me on the way to DEAFNESS. I made many mistakes that caused me great distress during those years, but some of them were just plain funny.

I was working as a secretary for a Real Estate company and, as such, I had to call the ads in to the newspaper representative. The newspaper gave a party for the newsmen and their counterparts in the corporate world. I had to represent the agency at this party. It was a cocktail party with hor's doeuvres being served at round tables that seated 8 people. The conversation that flowed between the people at my table was just noise to me. It was impossible for me to understand a thing that was being said. Nearing tears, I retreated to the only place I could have privacy; the loo. There was no one in there and, as I walked in, my frustration led to me talk out loud. To my dead husband I said, "Oh Honey, it's no good without you." Then I noticed a pair of feet under one of the stalls. With a very red face I quickly retreated to the other stall and stayed there until I heard her leave. I do hope she didn't notice my tell-tale shoes later.

My son and daughter were visiting me after their father's death. I had a breakfast bar on one side of my kitchen counter and the kids were seated waiting for me to serve them. I made BLT's and handed one to my son. I turned my back to get my daughter's and heard my son whisper to his sister., "Is this all the bacon we get?" I whirled around and asked, "Oh, you want more?" He was so startled that I will never forget the look on his face. Incredulous, comes to mind.
Hearing loss can sometimes do funny things.

My worst faux paux occurred when I was an officer in the Women's group at the church I used to belong to. Once a year we had Women's Day and, as VP, it was my duty to do the part of the service that the minister usually did (sans Sermon, of course). We had two services at that time; a nine o'clock and an 11 o'clock. I had to take the early service. I went into the office prior to going into the sanctuary to get the announcements that I had to give. While I was there the President came in and was teasing me about taking the later service as well since I would be experienced by then. We were in the back of the room and as we talked the office filled up with lots of people. I left and as I went out the front door the president yelled something at me. I assumed (always a big mistake) that she was teasing me again. I threw up my hands and said, "Oh no" and promptly left. The next day the president came to see me and asked me if I heard what she had said. I confessed that I hadn't, but thought she was teasing me again. She informed me that what she had actually said was, "Will you take Rusty (her small son) home with you after you are through?" She told me that everyone turned to her and asked her what was the matter with Rusty? Oh No!!!!

Finally, there was the terrible time that should certainly have taught me to never pretend to hear when I did not. You may have read my previous post for a birthday wish for my granddaughter, Rachel. She was about 3 years old and I was talking to her on the phone. She was telling me a long story, of which I understood nothing. I kept saying, "That's nice Honey. Oh I am so happy, Honey. Wow,that's great Honey." When my daughter took the phone back she asked me if I knew what Rachel was telling me. I told her I didn't have a clue. Rachel had been telling me she had been sick. Well, as you can tell, assume-ing made and ass our of you and and ass out of me again.

I'm sure there have been many times that my misunderstandings have been funny or disastrous, but my friends and family have been too kind to tell me. I doubt that it will stop, because I still have trouble hearing in a noisy place, but I do fairly well when it's quiet and, believe me, that's an improvement. I have also stopped pretending to hear when I don't.

For those of you who may live with a hearing impaired person, or have contact with one, I will pass on some tips to help you make them hear. Do not yell; that makes it worse. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Face them so the sound of your voice is directed toward them. And, most important, if they did not understand what you said, please try to phrase it in a different way. Change a few words in your sentence, if possible. 'Store' might become a 'market'. You get the idea.

And have patience with the hearing impaired and make sure they hear you. They really do want to.

Rachel Becomes Seventeen

Happy Birthday Rachel

You have become such a lovely young lady. Seventeen is such a nice age. This is your last year in High School and College looms ahead. Incredible to me that I once watched you emerge into this chaotic world. I know it's trite, but it really does seem like a very short time ago.

Now you are driving and seem so very grown up. I am so proud of all you have accomplished and I know you will continue to make me proud as the years go by, my bright pretty granddaughter. I love you and hope for a happy and successful life for you. I love you so very much.

Rachel Christine

September in Arizona

This is why Jan Brewer will not drive me out of Arizona. These are the scenes that greeted me this week. This is a Mexican Bird Of Paradise. It blooms all summer long.

I was told that this is Forsythia. If you know otherwise, please let me know.

These are blossoms on a Barrel Cactus. See the bee enjoying the nectar?

In a May blog I posted photos of the yellow blooms on a Prickley Pear cactus. This is the fruit that some use for making candy, jam and wine. My late husband made wine once and it was undrinkable.

The color on this tree is not good, but it is covered in pink blossoms. I do not know what it is.

This is a Texas Ranger in my backyard.

A typical sunset.

Another sunset. Not as colorful, but pastel sunsets are nice, too.

A large Barrel Cactus blossom.

Four blossoms have opened. More to come.

Arizona In the Spotlight

Arizona is making headlines again and they are not good. Our dimwit governor, Jan Brewer, embarrassed herself by giggling through a senior moment and by using bad grammar. Will that turn the voters off? Probably not. Given the fact that voters have the attention span of a flea, it will be forgotten by election day. Gov. Brewer will not make that mistake again because she has refused Terry Goddard's repeated request for more debates. The lady knows her brain is on hold.

Here are a few things going on in my State that I wish were not happening, but remember we have the Grand Canyon and the Sonora Desert. Please don't write us off because of a few nutcases in our government.

Excerpts from the Gail Collins op-ed piece in this morning's NYTimes:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The evening ended when she stomped away from reporters who were yelling: “Governor, please answer the question about the headless bodies.”

Brewer is an unelected governor, a Republican who moved into the job when Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, was named secretary of homeland security.

The governor has been on national programs on Fox 20 times since April to talk about illegal immigration, but she has been generally unavailable to the Arizona reporters.

Inquiring minds wanted to know about the beheading part. “Oh, our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert — either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded,” she said in an interview. This was both memorable and untrue.

Politicians, in search of a winning issue, created the fear all by themselves. During John McCain’s sterling performance in his primary campaign this summer, he contended that cars full of illegal immigrants “are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway.”

The nonexistent beheadings and alleged drive-by assaults are being brought up at a time when, as Goddard (Democratic candidate for governor) points out, “violent crime is at the lowest level it’s been since 1983 and crime along the border is at least at a 10-year-low.”

Goddard, who is the state attorney general, is absolutely passionate on this subject. He can go on for hours about the Treasury Department’s failure to follow the dirty money. He worked with Western Union to stop the smugglers’ ability to receive payments by wire for their human cargo. He’s outraged about the way our laws limiting the amount of cash people can carry across the border haven’t kept up with the modern methods of transferring money.

Brewer also said that the difference between her and her opponent was that “I’ve done something. Terry hasn’t did anything.” one of these issues, alas, are nearly as exciting as headless bodies or demonic drivers.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy Collins is an Arizona resident and she had this to say as posted on Truthout.:

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm only assuming that Brewer's community college radiological technician training, which makes up the sum of her formal education, did not likely include debate as part of its curriculum.

A recent report by the Pew Hispanic Trust shows that illegal immigration numbers are down by over two-thirds, and recent reports by the FBI have indicated that crime is significantly down in Arizona. Another government report shows that undocumented immigrants actually improve the economy and boost wages and jobs. The drumming up of fear tactics on the part of Brewer, has now revealed to be the only ace she is holding to guarantee her election bid. Her mendacity about balancing the state budget, an inability to articulate how she plans to bring jobs to the state and her sidestepping the fact that her top advisers have well-publicized ties to prison corporations - prisons that are now shown to be unsafe to the general public - all added up to show a woman who is sadly out of her depth and is clutching the life preserver of the "immigration problem" as her only hope.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More news from the state of the weirdos. Arizona may finally get justice. The sadistic sheriff, Joe Arpaio is being sued again. This time the DOJ is not headed by a Republican administration that turned a blind eye to his shenanigans. From Truthout, Nadia Prupis writes:

The US Justice Department (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday for alleged civil rights violations and refusal to cooperate with a federal probe.

"The actions of the sheriff's office are unprecedented," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. "It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities."

Tthe DOJ has attempted to investigate Arpaio for a litany of alleged civil rights abuses, including racial profiling, unconstitutional searches and seizures and enforcement of English-only policies in his jails.

A separate probe launched this year by a grand jury is looking into abuse of power charges against Arpaio after he conducted baseless prosecutions of political opponents. In 1997, the DOJ also investigated Arpaio for civil rights abuses within his jails, alleging that he deliberately failed to discipline guards who subjected inmates to excessive use of force. Arpaio's compliance in that case led to the implementation of more humane jail policies, including the limited use of pepper spray, stun guns and restraint chairs.

Arpaio expressed disappointment in the ongoing investigation. Arpaio said. d to proceed with "I'm going to continue, maybe tomorrow, to enforce all the illegal immigration laws ... As [State Senator Russell Pearce] always says, 'Take the handcuffs off the cops.' I'm not going to be intimidated by the federal government going to court against us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lest you forget, the same Russell Pearce is the one responsible for that unconstitutional law, SB1070.

Helen and Contest Winners

Instead of writing my blog I am directing you to one of my favorite blogs. If you want to read a really good post from a funny lady go to this link.

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/100-grand-bore/#comment-45468

Helen is so very funny that it is no wonder that she has so many followers. I envy her and admire her and wish I had her talent. Unless you think Sarah Palin has a brain you will love her post.


I just had to share this.

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

The winners are:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

9. Karmageddon (n): Its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:

16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Made you laugh, didn't I?

Saturday's Rally by Glenn Oafish

I tried to embed the funny video on Colbert Nation about Glenn Beck's Saturday Rally. I'm sorry that I was unable to do so. If you go to that Web Site you can watch it and I think you would agree it's worth a little effort. Here's the link.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/351602/august-26-2010/glenn-livid?xrs=eml_col

I find it obscene that Beck is using the same steps on the same monument on the same day as the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech. Lest we forget the difference between a man of love, compassion and intellect and a buffoon like Glenn Beck, following are two quotes from Dr. King's speech.

"A myth that gets around is the idea that legislation cannot really solve the problem and that it has no great role to play in this period of social change because you've got to change the heart and you can't change the heart through legislation. You can't legislate morals. The job must be done through education and religion. Well, there's half-truth involved here. Certainly, if the problem is to be solved then in the final sense, hearts must be changed. Religion and education must play a great role in changing the heart. But we must go on to say that while it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also. So there is a need for executive orders. There is a need for judicial decrees. There is a need for civil rights legislation on the local scale within states and on the national scale from the federal government."

"In spite of the difficulties of this hour, I am convinced that we have the resources to make the American Dream a reality. I am convinced of this because I believe Carlyle is right: "No lie can live forever." I am convinced of this because I believe William Cullen Bryant is right: "Truth pressed to earth will rise again." I am convinced of this because I think James Russell Lowell is right: "Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne; Yet that scaffold sways the future, And behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above His own." Somehow with this faith, we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new life into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation to a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. This will be a great day. This will be the day when all of God's children, black [people] and white [people], Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God, Almighty, we are free at last!'"

Carrie

Carrie Amanda Norris
1864 - 1943

I recently wrote that I had been in touch with a relative who found me via the Internet. I have been filling her in on information about our family members. Rather than go into lengthy repeats about relatives that I had already written about, I referred her to the Story Telling Place on the wonderful blog, Time Goes By by Ronni Bennett. I had stories published about my cantankerous great-grandmother, her son, (my grandfather), and his daughter, (my mother).

When I told her to read these stories it dawned on me that I had not written a story about the woman who was the most influential person in my life, my maternal grandmother, Carrie Norris. And Now I intend to remedy that omission. This is for you, Judy.

Carrie was the oldest of 5 children born to an Ohio Civil War Veteran, George Clark, and his wife, Janette. Because Carrie's father had been severely wounded during the war he was never well after he returned. He had been taken prisoner by the Rebels and they thought he would not live so they turned him over to the Yankees.

George Clark had a hard time making a living because of his lingering weakness. To say that they were poor was probably an understatement. In spite of that, money was found to give Carrie piano lessons. When Carrie's 13Th birthday arrived she was given a choice of presents. She could have a new dress or another series of music lessons. She chose the lessons.

Carrie chose wisely because the money she made giving lessons and playing in the orchestra in later years provided the means to buy a very large tract of land on which 4 houses, a restaurant building and some cabins had been erected. The property was at the mouth of a canyon known as Red Rock Canyon. The frontage was on the main street, Colorado Avenue, on which tourists drove to get to Manitou Springs and to Pikes Peak. It was near the Garden of the Gods. You get the picture; it was strategically positioned to be a perfect place for a cottage court catering to tourists. This was a very farsighted purchase.

The property was further divided by railroad tracks that, at one time, went to the gold mines. When the mines closed the tracks were left in place. The houses were located between the tracks and the mouth of the canyon. The lower half of the property was divided by a creek that ran through the middle. A bridge connected the two properties. There was an additional side acreage that was undeveloped and could only be reached through the cottage court. Through the years this area was rented to various men who planted vegetable gardens. At one time the grocery store owner across the avenue pastured his goat there.

Carrie moved her family into the largest of the houses and intended to develop the land when the crash of 1929 occurred. She was devastated and didn't know how she could get the money to improve the property. In desperation she rented the front half of the property to a man who assured her he could make a go of it. Instead he built a lodge building and skipped town owing everyone for the materials. Carrie had no choice but to move into the lodge, a building she hated to her dying day, and take over once more.

I call Carrie a Renaissance woman. She not only took over a hopeless situation, but made a successful business of it. More cabins were built, the restaurant was leased out and a camp ground was established on the back half of the property. This later evolved into a trailer park. (See my story on James Jones in the Story Telling Place on Time Goes By.)

I entered the world while all this was transpiring. I lived on that property until I was married and even lived in two of the houses for a short time in later years.

This is Carrie's story and now it becomes mine as well. Therefore, from now on I will refer to Carrie as Nama, a name I gave her. I can't explain why I named her Nama. Possibly, because I had 2 living grandmothers and 2 living great grandmothers when I was a toddler. Too many women called 'grandma' became confusing. Perhaps I heard a child call their grandmother Nana and I misunderstood and thought they said Nama. Or it is possible that Nama was an easier word to say than grandma. I will never know, but she was Nama to me until her dying day.

When my mother was 2 years old the family followed one of Nama's brothers to Colorado. He was tubercular and had to leave Ohio for a dry climate. Colorado Springs had a hospital for TB patients.

After arriving, Nama played the organ, leading an orchestra with her head, for the background music for the silent movies. She continued giving piano lessons and raising her two children, eventually buying the cottage court.

Nama was an avid rock collector and had such an extensive collection of fossils and semi-precious stones that my mother donated her collection to the Geology department of Colorado College after her death. I can remember listening for hours as she explained her collection to tourists who came in to register and ended up spending fascinated hours listening to her. One favorite rock in her collection was a very large smokey quartz crystal. It looked purple in some lights and everyone seemed to be entranced by it.

My father was an irresponsible playboy and Nama ended up supporting Mom and me. My grandparents bought a tour car to set him up in the business of driving tourists up Pikes Peak. He sold the car and left my mother for another woman when I was three years old. As a result, Mom and I moved in with my grandparents in the Lodge building. And that is where I grew up. Nama was more mother to me than my Mom. Mom fell apart after my Dad left and I had to turn to Nama. Then Nama set my Mom up in business and I was still dependent on Nama for attention. Until I was ten years old I really felt like Nama was my mother and my mother was like a big sister.

I digress. This is Carrie's story. The Great Depression hit when Carrie was trying to save her property. Colorado was the pathway for the dust bowl farmers leaving their destroyed farms for California. Colorado Springs was in the middle of that migration. The back half of the cottage court became a sea of tents. Some were only there for a night as the families pushed on, but others were there for weeks as the men hunted for work to provide the funds to continue on to California. Many families did not have money to pay for their tent spots and my grandmother never pressed them for payment. She told them that when they got to California and back on their feet they could send the money. I honestly don't believe that a single person failed to send the money back. My mother was still getting cards from the people Nama befriended long after her death.

While we were better off than many families, I never felt that we were. Nama knew that many of our neighbors were hungry and she gave parties in the lodge every Saturday night. They were always potluck and people brought what they could. If they could not contribute anything they were always welcomed and never made to feel guilty. The parties had different themes. A costume party was called a 'tacky party' because no one had money for costumes. They all had old clothes, so there was a surfeit of hobos at those parties. There was always dancing after dinner and Nama was the pianist accompanied by anyone who could play an instrument. This was probably the best meal that some of them had all week and the only entertainment for most of them.

To say that Nama was beloved by all who knew her would not be an exaggeration. There were two exception's, because no one is perfect. My father and step-father were not her best fans. I know it was because she provided for their families and their guilt was responsible for their resentment. Funny how that so often happens.

Carrie Norris, was a remarkable woman and I was so lucky to have her for my grandmother, mentor, and comforter. Thank you, Nama, for your loving care.