I don't know if it's in the stars.....

or what.....but this picture describes pretty much how I feel about now. It seems like every time I turn around I'm spending money for necessary things that have to be done.....like repairs.

Last week I had plumbers here. They did manage to get the kitchen sink fixed, but the bathroom drains are still clogged. They are no better than they were before the visit....matter of fact, they may be a bit worse.

So I called them and they are coming back today. I let them know that I did not plan on paying them again because it was not fixed the first time they were here. I'm not trying to be difficult.....but I just want to get what I pay for.

On Sunday my daughter mentioned to me that I was losing cold air from around my freezer door. Well, I had thought that too but was also thinking that perhaps something wasn't sitting on the shelf right, not allowing the door to completely close. I had fooled around with moving stuff in there and thought I had the problem solved, but I guess it wasn't. I don't know if the hinge has gone bad or the seal.....but the refrigerator seems to be running constantly. The food is frozen, but the ice cream is not rock hard, which I think is a good thing....but definitely shows there is a problem with losing cold air.

I have an appliance insurance plan through my gas company. At only $9. a month, it has paid for itself a couple of times through the years. I called and YES, that problem is covered so they are supposed to be here today to work on it. At least this won't cost me anything more than I've already paid. But it did remind me that my refrigerator is getting old and is probably giving me warning signs that I'm going to need another one soon.

My small circulation fan I keep in the bedroom quit and I had to buy another one. During the hottest days of summer.....you know I paid an inflated price for the replacement, but I needed it. It just seems like a bunch of little things....a ripped screen, a broken downspout, a warped garage service door that will no longer close properly and lock.....just a bunch of "irritants" and all of them mean money flying out the window.

I think the fates felt sorry for me and gave me a small something to keep my spirits up. I checked my bank statement the other day and I had an extra deposit of $89 from social security. When I called to find out about what it was, cause I had no idea.....I was informed that it was some sort of back money owed to me. Its a one-time payment, but better than a kick in the teeth. Today in the mail I get a bill from my doctor.....$140....charges from over a year ago that my insurance didn't pay for some reason. I will be calling them today to find out what that is all about. Sigh.....win some, lose some.

And how is YOUR summer going? Just remember to keep smilin'.....it keeps people confused and off-guard, if nothing else. LOL

I was hoping for.....

a Cha- chingle......but instead it was a CHA-CHING!

Ahhhhh yes.....two plumbers in my tub. And why YES, you DO see lip-prints on his boxers. I was hoping for Spongebob boxers to make me giggle....but I guess the lip prints are a close second.

They work in teams. This team snaked my drains. $162.50, thank you very much. The second team responded about an hour after the first team left and repaired the kitchen sink....it needed two new drains that attach to the sink. They put new washers in my faucet to prevent it from dripping and wrote out the bill; $160, thank you very much again. CHA-CHING.

Even though the boxers did give me a chuckle, it didn't crack me up.....so it wasn't worth $322.50 in my opinion. If you really think about it.....with the time involved, these guys make more than doctors!

It's never a good time.....

for a leaky pipe. I just have to keep reminding myself that it could have been worse. At least the dishes were all done.

My niece and her son were here from Arkansas so I had a family get together on Saturday. Late at night after everyone had left, I didn't notice the puddle on my kitchen floor until after I noticed that my kitchen drain seemed to be clogged. The dishwater from earlier still hadn't completely drained out. I put some Drano in it and when I came back to check, it hadn't done a bit of good, which is unusual. I then noticed there was a puddle in front of the sink. (hey....I had a lot of my mind that day...lol) I opened the cupboard under the sink and water was all inside there and was overflowing out onto the floor. I could feel it coming rather rapidly from the sink pipe.

I ran to get a bucket and hand-dipped the water out of the sink (cursing). I kept hoping that the Drano was mixed with enough water that it wouldn't burn my hands off. And I also wondered if maybe putting the Drano in there had caused the problem...I have PVC pipe under there. Since Drano comes in a plastic container.....I kinda doubt that it eats plastic. But when you're stressed, you think of all kinds of weird scenarios.

So today I made the call to the plumber that we use and asked the answering service if they could call me tomorrow so I could make an appointment with them. I can get by without my kitchen sink for a couple days. This month I have extra bills due and its a tight month. Of course.....it would happen at this time. But then again.....its never a good time to have plumbing woes. $$$$$

Never brag........

only show gratitude. The picture is exactly what it looked like yesterday afternoon as we peered out of the office building window. In all my years I really don't remember seeing such black clouds envelope an area the way these did. I was reminded of the movie, Independence Day, where the alien ship slowly takes over the entire sky over the city.

It was in the 90's and miserable. A nice rain was needed....but not a storm. As soon as the black clouds were visible from the windows, we started trying to get to the Internet to see what was going on weather-wise. Over the fire radio, we could hear the fire departments west of us going out on run after run for downed wires, trees, etc. We knew we were in for it.....yet there was this faint glimmer of hope that it may miss us. We've been fortunate in the fact that a lot of storms go south of us. Something had happened because we were not able to get to the Internet....probably lines down somewhere. So we just had to depend on our own eyes and listen to emergency services do their thing.

Within minutes it was as dark as night even though it was only about 3 in the afternoon. Then the winds and the rain came......it poured so hard that cars were pulling off the roadway. The phones started ringing with people asking if we were under tornado warnings. What? People still haven't learned to tune in to their TV or radio for up-to-the-minute notices. I didn't know much more than they did.....that it was raining and dark. And yes.....frightful looking. Now here is where the selfishness creeps into my being. In the back of my mind I was hoping desperately that I would not lose power. I have a freezer nearly full of food, plus that.....its NINETY SOME degrees out and I love....LOVE my central AC.

The storm whipped through in about 10 minutes or so.....just long enough to cause havoc in some areas. The sun was coming out as I dialed my home phone number. If my answering machine picked up, then I would know that I still had power. We had heard on the radio that a major intersection a little over a mile from me was down due to a tree on a transformer. YES! I silently yelled to myself....the answering machine picked up. I had POWER! I was already thinking of sleeping in comfort during this hot spell.

Through-out the afternoon I heard from several co-workers.....a lot of them were going home to no power. One lived about 2 miles from me. Just before I left for home, I called my house again and heard my own voice answer as the machine picked up. I had a smile on my face. I was lucky! But I know not to brag. I've lived long enough to know what happens when you brag.

It only takes me 11 minutes to drive home. I saw evidence in that 6 mile drive of the storm's fury. Lots of branches and traffic lights out. I pulled into my driveway, got the mail, and hit the remote to open the garage door as I got back in the car. Nothing. I hit it again. Still nothing.

You know us humans are funny that way. When something won't work, we just can't seem to give up. We always have to keep trying it....3 or 4 times before we finally accept the inevitable.

Needless to say.....since my garage would not open, that meant that I had no power. I parked outside my garage door and came into my house. It was still cool inside but I knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Thinking about all the power outages in the area, it could be days before I would be restored. What about my food in the freezer. I do have a generator, but haven't the strength to operate it any longer....if it still works. Its been a long time since I've fired that puppy up.

I came inside and laid across my bed.....ticked off. Yes, ticked off. I could hear my neighbor's generator running. I could probably get him to help me, even though I really hate bothering people. All of a sudden the power came back on and I felt truly blessed. So far, it has stayed on but.....nothing would surprise me. Its going to be in the mid-90's again today, tomorrow and over 100 the next day. I hope the storms stay away but we all know.....extremely hot weather and electrical storms just seem to go together. They are predicting strong storms again on Friday.

Good news.....

I went to the eye doctor yesterday and my eye is improving nicely. The vision has improved remarkably. He was extremely happy about it....(not as happy as I was though). The very best thing was that I did NOT have to have another injection. That truly made my day.

So.....I go back in 3 months unless something unusual happens....then he wants to see me right away. I left there in a fog....for real because my eyes were dilated.....but I did notice a little jaunt in my 'get along'. I hope that I never have to go through that eye problem again.....and also hope that it never happens to anyone I know....or know of.

So today is Friday and its going to be a beautiful day. Tomorrow they are predicting the high's in the 90's again but its better than a blizzard any day of the week. Have a wonderful weekend.

I put it off as long as possible.....

but I finally had no choice but to go grocery shopping. I was out of bread, milk and (gasp) dogfood! So after work, I trudged to the grocery store in 87 degree heat.....walking uphill 20 miles. No....wait....just kidding about that last part. Even though I felt like I'd done that.

Now I am able to walk.....I just no longer do it well. With my bad knee and my bad hip (I know I sound like Grandpa McCoy) I cannot walk for long periods of time. So I opt for the riding grocery buggy. When these things work well, they are fantastic! I can get my shopping done twice as fast because they move faster than I can walk. That's when they work well.

Most stores only have 2 or 3 of them available. Some of them have definitely seen better days. A lot of stores have a problem with PARENTS letting their kids play with them (take them for a ride through-out the store, terrorizing small children and seniors on foot.) So, the problem with going shopping late in the day is that the buggies are basically pooped. You may walk in and find them all neatly lined up with their cords plugged in getting charged, but that doesn't mean that they have been sitting there more than 5 minutes. It seems like I have a greatest knack for picking the buggy that will die halfway through the store at the farthest point from help. I will usually have a full basket when this happens. One time a checker rescued me by bringing me another cart and we swapped out the groceries from my totally dead buggy to the other one.

Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to ride one of these things when its nearly dead? A snail moves faster. I'm serious. They barely move and you inch your way toward the front of the store so you can unload your groceries. Grass grows faster than these things move. But.....ahhhh when they are working well and fully charged.....you breeze down the aisles, the wind whipping your hair back as scenery of cereal boxes and canned goods whiz by. Why....just the joy of it makes you forget about all the high prices of the items being offered.

Unfortunately, today was another day in which I chose the buggy that died within minutes of me taking it. Since I wasn't getting a lot, I continued to use it and inched my way through shopping. The red light blinking and the beep beep signal convinced me I'd better forget the last few things and head for the check out. I must have been a pretty pitiful sight. No wonder that 3 year old was looking at me strangely. I don't want to think about it.

Ahhhh.....

my day off and I could sleep in a bit. I looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand and it said 8:45, which meant it was actually 8:15 because I have my clock set 30 minutes fast so I won't be late. (don't think about that statement too much, ok?) I stretched and decided that I would sleep in a bit longer.....after all, it was my day off and I had no plans.

I turned over and snuggled against the pillows and started to drift off again. At this point I heard a firecracker so loud and powerful that it actually shook the house. I mumbled to myself, shaking my head. Some people have no sense, I thought. Here it is, not even 9 in the morning and they are already shooting off fireworks. I hoped that it was going to be the only one for a while and then I drifted off to sleep. I awoke about 45 minutes later. I'm not quite sure of the time because when I looked at my clock, the face was dark. I knew in an instant what had happened. I put things together immediately..........I'm quick like that. The loud noise I'd heard a while before.....it was no firecracker, it was the transformer again and guess what? I had no power! And.....there was for sure a fried squirrel laying on the ground at the back of my or the neighbor's yard.

This is a never-ending war between us, the power lines and the squirrels in our neighborhood. The squirrels are always the loser,but we end up suffering because it knocks out our power. Sometimes the power company is not busy and they can get us up and running again within a couple hours......sometimes, its 5 hours. This time it was 2 hours.

You know when you are without power......it seems like everything you want to do involves electricity. I ended up reading a book without my morning coffee.

You can understand why none of us around here are fond of squirrels.....even if they do have those huge brown eyes and that cute fluffy tail.

Dana's been hacked.....

If any of you are followers of Dana of LIFE IS GOOD, I'd like to tell you that her blog, her Facebook account and her yahoo email address were all hacked into. She was able to get her email back, but the Facebook and Blog are history at this point. The passwords have been changed and she can no longer post.

Yes....she suspects it was done by the same people who have been terrorizing her.....unfortunately, they are family members or ex-family members. Right now she's trying to figure out what to do. So please, if you know anyone who follows her, pass on this info.

You know Dana.....SHE WILL BE BACK!!!

Also, if you have any ideas on how she can protect herself in the future and still post a blog (which she enjoys immensely), please let her know. Thanks to all of you.

Update: Go into the comments section of Dana's last post for a message from Joe.

Some days work is actually fun.....

The other day, in the afternoon, this guy comes into the building carrying a bucket, some bottles and a small hose. He stands in the hallway looking a bit lost, looks up at the sign above the door that says "Supervisor's Office" and walks in. He looks at me and asks if this is the Supervisor's Office.

Now, the corner of my mouth twitched but I managed to hold it together as my mind was saying, "not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are ya?" I nodded solemnly that it was indeed the Supervisor's office. He then proceeded to tell me that he was going to be spraying for ants around the offices and the perimeter of the building. I let my eyes drift down to his shirt, which has his name embroidered on one side and the name of the pest control company on the other. I state to him that we usually have a different company do that and asked him if he was new. (since I only work part-time I don't know everything that goes on) He said he was and left to go about his job.

A little bit later he came back and handed me one of those digital receipt thingies where you sign with a special pen and it looks all shakey. I start to sign and then noticed that the address on the invoice was that of the library, which is the building on the other side of the parking lot from ours. I tell him about this and his reply.............are you ready? Here it comes.............
He says....."Oh....ya know, I was kinda wondering where all the books were."

I swear.....this is a true story. I figure it's one of the rewards you get once in a while to make up for the fact that you have to work. The maintenance man and I had a good laugh about it after the guy left, headed toward the library. LOLOLOLOL Keep Smilin'

A problem solved.....

My daughter's refrigerator quit working. It's never a convenient time for something like that to happen. Thank goodness she hadn't just shopped, but she still had substantial food in it that had to be thrown away.....which she can't afford to do.

I've been working a lot more than usual lately and she wanted me along....more for moral support than anything else because I really don't know anything about refrigerators....other than I hate to clean them out. Of course it's not as bad as it used to be before frost-free ones came out.

Anyway, her kitchen is very small and the space for the refrigerator is also very small. She was going to have to measure carefully because a regular sized one just would not fit. So, armed with said measurements, we decided to make it a fun day and we picked Thursday because its the only day off I have this week. The only things I could tell her was to make sure it was frost-free.....and I guess they all are now....and to make sure the store would take away the old one. Free delivery would be great but not every place would offer it. An ice-maker would be wonderful if it doesn't cost too much extra.

So we had breakfast first and enjoyed that. Then we set off to store #1. We've had a couple of bad experiences with this store before.....the salespeople there seem to be uncaring and rude. But we had been told it was a good place to purchase a refrigerator, so we decided to check it out. We were treated the same way as before. Once they found out that she wasn't going to be spending a sinful amount of money on one of those refrigerators that do everything but balance your checkbook, the salesmen were uncaring and lost interest. When they found out that she needed a particular size......they implied that no such size was available and she'd have to settle for a tiny dorm sized one that was ridiculous. One was even suggesting she rip out her cupboards to make a bigger one fit. She was upset and getting stressed and looked at me with a "what do I do?" look on her face. One thing about getting old.....you can say what you feel and get away with it. I simply said "let's go someplace else.....I'm sure we can find something better elsewhere" and I said it loud enough for the salesmen to hear it. We promptly left.

She sadly said that we'd probably have to go to this one store that boasted of their low low prices. She was sad about it because this store is located in a not very desirable part of town and being two women and a child.....we felt quite vulnerable. I didn't want to go there either. We started to head in that direction when I said....."you know, I just don't want to go there, let's go to this other place right here around the bend and see what they have and if they say the same thing, then we'll have to make some phone calls". She said ok and actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Store #2 had friendly employees and the salesman who took care of us was knowledgeable and low pressure. He had exactly what she needed.....the size was perfect; the same size as the one in her kitchen right now. To top it off, it was on sale, they will take the old one away free of charge and delivery is free, free, free. The only thing she did that I really didn't agree with is that she wanted it in black, like the one pictured. Since her kitchen is so small, I'm afraid that black fridge is just going to leap out like a big black bear.....but it's her kitchen......so I didn't say too much. The only thing that matters is that it will be delivered by next Tuesday and this is one major problem solved. Oh and by the way.....it rained all day long.....sometimes it poured rain, so it was not exactly a perfect day for shopping, but it ended well and we made a memory.

Update: Well by popular demand.....the name of the store where everyone was so friendly, courteous and knowledgeable.....and where we made the purchase.......none other than HOME DEPOT. Great Store!! I would not be afraid to recommend them to anyone. Never have I seen so many smiling faces under one roof. Good Job, Home Depot Employees! We'll be back.

There is something very wrong here.....

Before I start on my rant.....something right happened. My FOLLOWERS are back! Just as mysteriously as they disappeared, (way back in January, I think) they are now back. So I'm happy about that!

Now back to the scheduled post ......
I took my ONE dog to the vet for her annual check-up and shots. I had already purchased her license in January. She is healthy....although not feeling very well today. I think its because of the shots yesterday. If she's not herself by tomorrow I'll have to give them a call.

Anyway, this visit set me back $325.....it was more than last year because she was due for booster shots on two different 3-year shots. The actual office call was $42 and the rest was for tests and preventive medicine.

How many times do we see ads on TV and in the mail BEGGING people to PLEASE adopt a pet. I want to know.....how in the world can the average person AFFORD to have a pet with prices like this. According to the news media, The Humane Society is being criticized right now for putting down so many cats and dogs here lately. I guess just too many people no longer can afford their beloved pets and have left them off in hopes that they will find good homes.....causing serious over-crowding. The Humane Society states that they find homes for 100% of the animals left with them who are healthy.....but only 40% of those left with them ARE healthy. The other 60% are animals with health issues......and medicine is expensive. This is accounting for the pets left off with them....it does not take into account the unbelievable amount of cats and dogs abandoned on the streets and left to fend for themselves. It's truly heartbreaking.

I know that I absolutely cannot afford to have more than one pet. Additionally, I feel bad because I can't really give her all of what she needs. Although they are not horrible, she needs to have her teeth cleaned before they DO get horrible..... and the vet charges $331 for this. Right now I'm brushing her teeth with (ugh) Chicken flavored toothpaste. She's really very good about me messing around with her mouth but it doesn't do the thorough job a professional cleaning would do.....however, its about $315 cheaper, so that's what I do. I know people who have 3 and 4 dogs......I just wonder how in the world they can afford them!

So right now I feel like I'm sitting on top of a mountain and just throwing money up in the air to watch it fly. It seems like every time I turn around here lately.....I'm having to pay out something big. The upgrading of my computer and a new battery backup was $250; fixing the back-room computer (older one for the grandkids) $150; the vet bill $325. Homeowner's insurance renewal payment $250. Retina doctor's payment; $150. My daughter's refrigerator quit on her and since she has NO money.....three guesses who will probably have to help her. And that also makes me think about my OWN refrigerator.....I can't really remember how old it is. (sending tiny prayers upward for its continued good working condition)

But I'm getting off track......back to the issue of homeless pets. I think we need to work on some sort of plan NATIONALLY to assure that people can have pets (a huge joy in my life, and I know a huge joy in the lives of so many others) without it costing them a small fortune. Adoptions are just not going to happen when people know that mandatory vet visits and shots are so expensive. I'm not looking for a hand-out.....I would volunteer some time to help out in exchange for getting a discount on the vet bill and required shots. What do you think? Does your state have organizations where pets can be taken for their shots at a much more reasonable price? The Humane Society here is supposed to be cheaper, but my daughter didn't think there was that much difference; it was still expensive.

I think a program should be set up where you can get a coupon for a discount at your regular vet's office. If you have to go to a different location, you know as well as I do that it will be crowded and long lines with pets in tow is not a good thing.....not to mention all the paperwork and medical histories on each pet. A nightmare! Make it available to anyone willing to give their own time, thus avoiding the cost of checking out financial history on each individual. I would be willing to volunteer my time doing something for so many hours to ensure that I could afford to get my pet all she needs. Now I just have to think of what jobs could be done on a volunteer basis with minimal supervision and no training required (which would be costly).....jobs that would save the state money, so they could justify paying toward your vet bill.

Hmmmm.....you know what? My ex-boss is now a Senator. I think I will write him and ask him to think about this. Please offer me some suggestions that I can put in my letter to him. Who knows....maybe Michigan can be the first state to start something that will become a National program, allowing many families the option of keeping their beloved pets instead of having to give them away because they can no longer afford them. The more hours you volunteer, the more coupons you get toward your vet bill. Please get your thinking caps on......and thank you.

Have you ever wondered.....

about your thought processes? In other words, you're sitting there thinking about something and all of a sudden you think.....now WHY in the world am I thinking about this, of all things. So you start to put your thoughts in reverse and figure out how one thought leads to another and so on. It actually shows you how amazing our brains are.....and there really IS some reasoning to our thought processes. Sometimes, I get lost and I'm not able to take it all the way back....but its good exercise for the brain nevertheless. However, you can save yourself all that reversing if you wake up thinking of something and from there it just leads you off onto some path down memory lane.

I woke up this morning humming "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley. I can remember when that song first came out and my mother thought it was absolutely ridiculous and said it made no sense at all. Of course it went on to be a chart buster and helped push Elvis to the top and secured his title as "The King" forever-more. However, I also felt that the song really made no sense as well, but I was a "tween" at the time and I would have never admitted it, especially to my mom cause that would mean I was agreeing that she was right; plus that..... it really didn't matter. Songs didn't HAVE to make sense. I accepted that and, accordingly, the song has never made sense to me all these years.....until today.

Well, this morning I was thinking about that and also thinking about the lyrics. "You ain't never caught a rabbit, so you ain't no friend o' mine". All of a sudden, a light bulb went off. As I mentioned before, I loved to date boys from the south and did end up marrying one. He was from a poor family in the deep south. He told me many stories of his childhood and also about his dog, Charlie. Charlie was a big dog (think mix between shepherd, spaniel and coon hound....and lord only knows what else). The dog pictured, although not Charlie, is as close as I could find to what he looked like from photos I've seen. He was a typical southern sharecropper's dog, laying under the porch for coolness, chasing coons, keeping foxes out of the chicken house and following the kids around. Lots of different jobs: Protector of the house, snake killer and squirrel hunter......and also a good buddy.

My future husband (youngest boy out of family of 15), who I shall refer to as J.R., was about 9 or 10 at the time and his dad (who was SO very strict) gave him 4 shotgun shells and told him to go shoot some squirrels for supper. Now he knew that if he came home with all 4 shells gone, he had BETTER have 4 dead somethings to show for it. There was no such thing as wasting ammo.....it was expensive and they didn't have extra money to throw away. If he couldn't account for 4 shells being gone, he got a whipping.....a good hard one.

So he and Charlie went off into the woods to hunt. He had been shooting since he was old enough to pick up the shotgun and was a good shot, as most southern boys are. You can imagine the fear in his little heart when he missed a shot and the squirrel got away. He sat, leaned against a tree, 3 dead squirrels by his side, no shotgun shells left and Charlie sitting on his haunches facing him. The tears were flowing as he confessed to Charlie a whipping was surely waiting for him. He said that Charlie trotted off and came back in just a little while and dropped a dead rabbit next to him. He said that dog was a life saver that day. He had gone out and killed a rabbit and brought it back, just like he understood what J.R.'s fate was going to be. The boys always took their game home and, after showing it to their pa just so he could confirm the amount (if you only have 2 dead somethings you damn well better have 2 shells left), they gave it to their mama, who cleaned it and fixed it up for supper. He knew she would never tell on him, that there were no shotgun pellets in the rabbit because she hated to see her boys whipped for something like that.

Anyway.....the line about not catching a rabbit in Elvis's song, suddenly made sense to me. It had probably made sense to every southern boy in the world....but now it was clear to me. And that was my thought processes upon waking, this beautiful morning. Rest in peace, Charlie, wherever you're buried....you were a good dog and a true "friend" to a scared little boy. I'm wondering if Elvis had ever had the same experience. What do you think?

A learning experience.....

for me. I know you all have been waiting with bated breath to hear the ending in reference to poor Mr. M and his SS number plastered on the $20 bill.

I finally found the time to stop at my own bank (credit union) tonight after work. I walked in and asked for the manager and got the runaround so I figured he/she had left for the day. The teller who helped me asked if she could be of assistance rather than the manager. So I explained to her that I had received the 20 from their ATM machine in the lobby and what was written on it as I handed it over to her.

The nosy teller in the next window piped up and said that it was probably counterfeit as that's how they (the banks) mark counterfeit bills. My teller retorted "then how did it get back in circulation if it was turned in as counterfeit" as she tested it with her counterfeit detector pen. She then announced to the other teller that it was a good bill. The other teller then said a bunch of stuff to her, most of it I couldn't hear....but I did hear "because of that new ruling, we can't do anything about it; she'll have to send it in to the government herself and wait for them to make a decision on giving her another bill".

Thank goodness......some people still have compassion. My teller took another 20 out of her drawer and handed it to me. She said....."You shouldn't have to be out the money....after all, you got it from our machine. I'll figure out a way to take care of this, don't worry". And I'm not worrying about it because I know that she doesn't want Mr. M's info to get out there either. I thanked her sincerely.....for caring, as I gave the other teller the evil eye. (as only a post-menopausal mother can successfully accomplish)

This tells me.....and now I'm telling you......be careful about the bills you accept. Looks like if you get stuck with a bad bill.....you're exactly that....STUCK. ATM's are another story; I guess you're taking a chance every time you use one. The banks don't seem to care anymore unless you find that rare gem of a credit union employee, like I did. I hope she doesn't get in trouble with her boss for what she did. She did do the right thing.....you know it and I know it. Rest easy, Mr. M.

I am appalled.....

at how uncaring our society has become.

Saturday I stopped at an ATM and withdrew some money as I was meeting a friend for breakfast. One of the twenties I received had a man's name and full social security number written on it. Not once, but twice; once on each side of the bill in dark bold ink. I folded the bill and put it separate so I wouldn't spend it. I decided to act on this poor man's behalf when the banks were open on Monday.

Today I had to stop at the grocery store and inside the store is a branch of a bank. It is not my bank but I figured any bank would do for my purpose.

I went up to the counter and took out the bill. I explained to several of the tellers (who were getting ready to leave for the day as the bank was now closed) how I had received the bill and showed them the information it contained. I asked if they would take the bill when they reopened and send it in for destruction so as to protect this man's identity from thieves. She informed me that they could do that but that they could not give me another $20 in exchange for it. I guess my shocked look said it all. She stated that I should just go ahead and spend it....maybe I could try and scribble the information out if I wanted to.

Doesn't anyone care anymore? I bet you that if it had been HER information on that bill, she would have been more than happy to have exchanged it. I know banks submit worn out and partially destroyed bills all the time so they can be chopped up into confetti. Heck, the Feds even make money on selling little bags of that confetti.

Now I don't know if this man who's name is on the bill is a hateful soul or if his ex-wife or girlfriend just wants to cause him grief. I know nothing about him except for his name and social security number. I am going to go to my own bank and see what they say. If they give me the same answer.....then maybe I will just go to the news media with this. I think its disgraceful that human beings care so less about each other that they would let this valuable information float around out there.....free for the taking. Especially since the federal government has guidelines in place to deal with the disposal of money. You can be assured that the BANK doesn't take a loss.....they would get reimbursement by the government for the destroyed bill.

Stay tuned for the ending of this one. And Mr. M......you can rest assured that I will protect your information.....even if I have no other recourse than to mark it up so badly its absolutely impossible to read, which may make it non-negotiable. I just hope there aren't any more bills out there with your info on them.

Anyone have any ideas? Any bank tellers out there? Tell me what to do. I can't afford to lose $20 myself or I'd just destroy it and be done with it.