What Can You Learn at the Social Security Office?

For some reason, I have this idea that a blog was originally to be an opinion piece, for which there might be some disagreement. This piece I am writing is my opinion and there are definitely persons who disagree.

When we went to the Social Security office, we learned that since I am drawing social security payments, any children that I have that are still in elementary through high school (not older than 19) could be drawing monthly social security payments equal to half of what I am getting. That means that if Taylor were my daughter, then she would get these payments until she graduates from high school, or drops out of school. Now you can see where this is going. Be and I reasoned that Taylor has already lost over $10,000 because we did not know this fact. We cannot explain why this is the law -- it just is. So the very night we learned this we went to see Guinn and Callie and proposed that we adopt Taylor. We assured them that this would be a "paper" transition only, and our relationship with them, and Gordon, and Lenna would not change. Taylor could even keep her last name. You could see in Callie's face that this was not going to fly, and she said that they would need to talk to Gordon about it. I asked if it could be done quickly because money was flying out the window by the hour.

Two days went by, so I called. I was informed that Gordon had heard of some new GI benefit that "would be even better for Taylor." So I urged them to encourage him to look into this as quickly as possible. No word. Well, of all things, finally on Taylor's birthday, Gordon called her. Fancy that! I do no know how long it had been since she had heard from him, but now he is the "good daddy." I asked to talk to him, and he said that he had an appointment with an adviser the next day. Sure enough, the next day, Guinn was to pick up Taylor for the week-end, so he and Callie came together. With great flourish and smugness, she gave me a sheet of paper that was supposed to settle the question once and for all. Indeed, there is a new law that will take effect August 1, 2009, that will pay increased benefits to children of military personnel who meet certain requirements. Gordon meets all of the requirements.

The short version of it is that if Taylor goes to college (or trade school, or any other such higher education) following high school, she will be eligible for benefits through Gordon. It was too complicated to digest on the spot, so I told Guinn and Callie that I would look at the numbers and see what I found.

But the thing that made me so upset that I have had trouble sleeping, and have sometimes been a bear to live with (just ask Be) is this. Callie said that no matter what I determined, Gordon was not going to agree to our adopting Taylor. Then she went over to Taylor and got really close to her and said, "Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you too much to let you be adopted. You are worth more than $40,000 to him." At this point, Be said, "What does that mean?" Callie said something of the form that she is worth more to him than any amount of money. Be reasoned that it would be Taylor's money - not his. He wasn't giving up anything. I said that if she meant that much to him, then HE could just give here the money and everything would be settled. She said that was not possible.

Then we got the story of Callie's background. Her parents split, and her mom remarried. The step-dad wanted to adopt Callie when she was 11, and apparently they told her that her dad did not love her, and that was why he was agreeing to the adoption. At this point her tears were flowing, and she reported that an uncle saved her from that disaster, and she quoted the words that he used to describe the step-dad. I will not repeat them. Callie said that she did not want Taylor to go through the trauma that she had to endure. We claimed that the cases were as different as black and white - we were not saying anything about any parents, no relationships would change, and we could get some money for Taylor that she was eligible for. But Callie clearly indicated that she did not trust us. I said, "Callie, you know us better than that." She said, "I think so, but . . ."

Now for the numbers. I calculate that if we could adopt Taylor by January of 2009, and if she finishes high school, then with 5% interest calculated, she would have about $59,000 when she graduates from high school. If she goes for the GI benefits, then she gets nothing if she does no more schooling. The GI bill will pay approximately $8430 per year for tuition after high school, plus $1000 per year for books and supplies, plus a housing allowance equal to a military E-5 category. I made what I consider to be a generous estimate of that figure, $725 per month. At the highest, I calculate that she could be awarded $72, 520 for schooling if she goes four years. I am assuming that they pay the housing in the summer whether she is in school or not.

So it is clear, is it not? The choice is $59,000 for sure which will be Taylor's to use any way she desires, or the potential of $72,000 paid to someone else if things work out right.

My opinion is that I am old enough to know that this world does not run on logic and wise choices. Rather it appears to me that most of the choices people make are based on emotion and self-serving interests. But I cannot seem to learn that, so I keep trying to use what I consider to be logical arguments, and only get frustrated and angry. As an example, consider the kind of "sound bites" that we get from politicians. Is there any logic in most of it? I do not think so - it is mostly emotion and self-serving platitudes.

Well, the end result is that some people are idiots. I leave it to you to decide who they are. Aren't you glad that you do not live with me? Isn't Be Green the best in the world? Yes, and AMEN.

Six Families. Huge!

The advertisement in the newspaper said, "Six families. Huge."
Here is how you count the "families." First, our family. That is, Taylor's stuff and our junk.
Second, the leftovers from a garage sale in the Canterbury Trails area. We do not even know the name of the people, but there were at least two families involved in that sale.
Third, a whole van load of leftovers from the Willingham's estate sale.
Fourth, some things from Lenna and Jade.
Fifth, some really nice things from Steve and Carin Ezzell.
Finally, some things from Gene and Jeanette Linder.

All of these things (except Taylor's) were donated to help Taylor raise money for her trip to Washington, DC, which is to happen in March. These pictures were made during the sale. The recliner in the first picture was for sale but didn't sell. Nothing sold for more than $10, and there were only two of those items. But the quantity of stuff that was sold is indicated by the fact that Taylor cleared $350 in the sale. That was well beyond our expectations. By the way, we sold our dining room table--the only one our kids have ever known at our house. There was a bit of nostalgia in that.

After the sale, we took three wheelbarrows full to the dumpster. Yesterday we took several boxes of items to Goodwill. And we have a stack of stuff to take to the Christian Service Center. Be worked like you cannot imagine on this sale. Taylor owes her -- bigtime!

Bad News and Good News

First the good news. I had the stitches removed yesterday and my toe is doing great.

Now the bad news. The foot doctor has decided to go on vacation during the time when I should have had the pin removed and had the second toe work done. He neglected to tell me about this. I found out when we went to the scheduler to get an appointment to have the pin removed. She started scheduling me for a week later than it should be. Needless to say, I became an unhappy camper since I would be wearing the boot for an extra unnecessary week. Be was with me, so calmer heads prevailed. She suggested we just wait there at the Dr.'s office and talk to him to see if he would let someone else pull the pin at the proper time. So we waited--thirty minutes. When we were called in, we got to see his wife instead, who is also a podiatrist, and was actually the first one I saw when this ordeal started. She was sympathetic with my dilemma, but was unwilling to turn the task over to another doctor in their office. Three of the four doctors were to be gone at the same time, and the one remaining was going to be swamped.

Now some more good news. She inspected my foot and decided on an alternative action. She got a "splint" ready, and then went ahead and pulled the pin from my foot. With the splint on, I can wear the boot for the originally scheduled time, and then get rid of it. But I also can now get my toe wet, so tonight I can TAKE A SHOWER! Everyone here is happy about that.

Now some more bad news. I still have to wait until later to get my second surgery, so I will have to be wearing the boot when school starts.

Now a little good news. My second surgery would have been two weeks later than I was originally to have it, but Mrs. Dr. has started back to doing some surgery also. She had cut back her schedule because of her three young children. But she said that she could do the surgery a week before Mr. Dr. could, if that was okay with me. I readily agreed because I like her better than him. The end of the story is that I appear to be scheduled for the second surgery only a week later than originally planned.

We shall see. One thing I know. One week from the day after tomorrow, I am taking the boot OFF, and then I can drive again.

$50 an Hour

One way to think of it is that one hour cost us $50 this past Saturday. Another way to think of it is that a certain person earned more than 6000% interest from us on Tuesday of this week. Here is the story.

At the Willingham's estate sale on Saturday we looked at their dining room table and 8 chairs. It had originally been priced at $200 and was marked down to $100. The chair cushions will have to be replaced, and one of the chairs has tape holding the arm rest together. Also the finish is becoming "alligator skinned" on the table top so the whole set needs to be reworked. The table is oval-shaped and is 66 inches long and 45 inches wide. There are two leaves, each 16 inches wide. Be was concerned about my ever getting around to reworking the set, and where we would store it in the meantime. There was also concern about whether the table would sag in the middle when the leaves were put in it. So we decided to pass on it, and came home. While eating lunch we discussed how the table would fit in our room and how nice the set will look when it is refinished. Be finally decided that she could live with the table as it is until I can work on it. So we went back to the Willingham's. As we arrived, we saw one of the chairs on the front porch and we got this sinking feeling. Sure enough, Bonnie told us that a dealer had bought a whole bunch of the furniture (very cheaply) and was in the process of moving it. She seemed very sorry that it had been sold before we came back, and she said she would find out who bought it.

On Monday, while we were loading all the items they gave to us for Taylor's garage sale, I asked Bonnie again about the dealer. She did not know much information, but said the place was on Butternut near 1st street, and had a white fence in front of the "store." Tuesday morning, about 11:30, we finished a visit to the Social Security Office and drove to Butternut. We had not realized how many resale shops there are on that street. At the third one where we stopped, the lady owner knew of the Willingham sale and told us how to find the place where the dining room set would be. Then she said, "It may have already been sold because I did not see it still there this morning." Our hearts were sinking again as we drove several blocks and found the resale place. There WAS a fence, but is was not white, and all the goods for sale seemed to be outside.

We entered the sale lot and a quick look told us that the table and chairs were not there. There was a lady and a young man trying to wash a bed frame, but they mostly ignored us. I saw a shed off to the side which had a tarp covering the top half of the wide opening into the shed. I walked over and peeked under the tarp, and called to Be, "Here it is." That got the lady's attention, so she asked if we needed any help. I explained that we had seen the table and chairs at the Willingham's and that we were interested in possibly buying them. We went inside the shed, and there was a sign on the table, $400 -- with 8 chairs. So I started running down the set, telling all the things that were wrong with it, and she just looked at me like a tree full of owls. Finally we told her that we had come back to the Willingham's just after she had bought the furniture, so we knew the price that was posted there. I think Be almost fainted when she heard me say it, but I said, "Well, I will get the process started. We will give you $100 and write you a check right now. After a moment she said she would take $200. I said a few more bad things about it, and offered $130. She said good things about it and finally said $150. I hmmm'ed and haww'd a bit, and I could tell that she had reached her limit. So we accepted the bid. After we had given her the check, she said that someone earlier had agreed to pay her $350, but they did not show up to get it. She said she does not hold anything without a deposit. We went back that afternoon in the van and picked it up. You can see a picture of the table with one leaf in, and another picture of one of the chairs.

We are enjoying the table already, and we plan to sell our old table Saturday it we can. However, there is a great deal of nostalgia associated with that table. It is the only table our children have ever known, since we bought it after we had lived in Missouri only one year.




















Okay, here is the teaser. What was the occasion for our visit to the Social Security Office, and what did we learn there?

Garage Sale Countdown

Taylor has signed up for a trip to Washington, DC, in March of 2009. We agreed to pay half of her fee, but she must raise the other half. So there is to be a "benefit" garage sale to raise funds for her trip this Saturday. She has cleaned a lot of stuff out of her room to sell, and we have contributed some of our junk. But the organizers of the DC trip suggested that students go to other garage sales and offer to collect all items that do not sell, with the hope of selling them at their own sale.

This past Saturday Be and I and Jade went to some garage sales and at a few of them we mentioned about Taylor's fund raising effort. (Taylor was over at the Cooper's for the weekend. If you question why we would make this effort to help her, I think you can figure out where the money will come from if she does not raise it!) One lady took Be's telephone number and said she might call. Sure enough, about 2:00 that afternoon she called and said the items were stacked on the driveway and we could come get them. We took the GMC van and filled it about 2/3 full through the back seat. The people were very nice and helped us load the van. I think they felt sorry for me since I was wearing the boot.

We had also gone to an estate sale at the Roy Willingham house just down the street from us. Roy was a medical doctor and an elder at the University Church of Christ. We mentioned Taylor's situation to our friend Bonnie Willingham, and she asked Be to call her the following Monday to see if there was anything left Taylor could use. It turns out that there were a LOT of items, some of them very nice, left for us to choose from. This time we did not have to take everything, only the things we thought would sell. So Taylor, Be, and I loaded stuff from 4:30 to about 7:00 Monday evening. The van was FULL through the back seat. When I say full, many of you know my reputation for being able to pack, and I had one of my better days! I was exhausted that night, and this flurry of loading and unloading the van is why my post about Eddie Sharp was delayed.

So all of these items are now in our house ready to be sorted and labeled. Want to come help? I have been spending a fair amount of my time repairing some things in order to make them sell better. Some of that I can do with my foot up, but not much.

The pictures show the current state of our house. What a mess!

There is another interesting aspect regarding the sale at the Willingham's. That story will come in my next post.

Sad Sunday

At the end of the worship service Sunday morning, Eddie Sharp announced that he is leaving UCC to begin preaching at the University Church of Christ in Austin. It is near the University of Texas. I always thought he would be here long enough to preach my funeral.

The auditorium was very quiet during his announcement, and you could see people crying. After the announcement as he was sitting down, the congregation gave him a standing ovation. I am sure he will joke that we were so glad to see him go that we stood and applauded when he told us. He has been here 28 years. He gave several reasons, and tried valiantly to explain that he was not upset about anything, and that the elders were not upset with him about anything. One of the factors is that he has a grandson living there. Also, he says that people need a new beginning every so often, and in the past he has been able to do that while remaining at UCC. But this time, he was struggling with finding a renewed energy.

Dickie Hill, the current chairman of the elders, gave a very good response. (The elders had known this was coming for a few days.) He said that the Sharps are now a part of our family, and always will be. He said it is hard when a family member leaves home, and we will be grieving for a while. He encouraged the congregation to be patient with the elders, because no one should make an important decision while they are still grieving. Very well stated. He had a hard time getting through his prepared notes.

In the near future, one of our members, Bill Young, will do most of the preaching, with others pitching in about once a month. Bill is a very good speaker, and he will do some of the office work that Eddie had been doing. We will hire a couple of part time people for a while to do some of the other things, and to help our current staff not be overburdened. Here is a link to a newspaper article about Eddie's announcement.

Well, that's the news from desert Abilene, where all the men are bow legged, all the women are good cooks, and all the children are mutant ninja turtles.

In my next posting, I will tell you why this one was a day late. Things are popping around here.

Recuperation

You see in the picture the way I look much of the time now. I try to keep my foot elevated as much as possible. When the Olympics begin, I may not have much trouble staying in this pose.

Regarding my surgery, the doctor said that my toe was a "classic" illustration of the ravages of arthritis. He did the same surgery on a woman right after he did mine, and her surgery took 30 minutes less time. Usually the procedure goes through well-defined steps: First peel back the skin, then move out the muscles and ligaments, then the nerves, and finally you are at the bone. In my case, when the skin was pulled back, it was a tangle of bone spurs, scar tissue, and all the other. He had to be very careful not to mistake a nerve for a blood vessel, so he had to let more bleeding occur just to be sure. To indicate how good a job he did, he lightly rubbed various parts of my toe (during my check-up five days after the surgery) and I had feeling in all the places. He was very pleased.

In most people, the piece of the bone that gets sawed off comes out in one piece. In my case he had to chisel it up into several smaller pieces to get it out. Therefore I think that no-one should question that my surgery was needed.

It is now a week and 4 days after the surgery, and I am having to hold myself back because I am feeling so good. I went to church today, both class and worship, and made it fine. I took a folding chair from home and propped my foot up both in the Bible class and in the worship.

As a preview of coming news, I will say that my next posting will be about something that happened during the worship assembly today. Happy speculating!

Fix That Toe

I have got some pressing issues out of the way and am ready to start being more regular in posting some daily life details. So I will start with my recent surgery. Arthritis has destroyed both of my big toe joints. I am getting my toes so they will move again via a type of surgery called a Keller bunionectomy. The surgeon has to open up the toe joint, clean off all the bone spurs (which were on top, bottom, and both sides), then saw off a part of one bone. As you probably know, a joint consists of a convex part on one bone and a concave part on the other bone. The part that is sawed off is the concave part from the smaller bone. Then some of the natural encapsulating tissue around the joint is stuffed into the gap and sewed in place. The joint is then held rigid with a pin for 4 weeks while scar tissue and whatever else fills in the gap so the toe will heal in the correct place. To keep from bending and hitting the pin, I have to wear a boot, which is really a cast that I can take off for a little bit if things get itchy or hurting. But I cannot let my toe get wet for the entire 4 weeks to keep from getting an infection.

My blood work indicated that I might have a higher-than-normal chance of getting an infection, so he has put me on two weeks of a very expensive anti-biotic medication. The photos show me pre-surgery, post surgery, and (do not look if you have a queasy stomach) the PIN!




I will give some more details in the next issue of the News From Bo.

Love to all.