Story of teh Day 1/ 12/ 2018

Yesterday, I drove to southern Indiana to pick up Sarah's friend, who will be visiting over the weekend. Driving back. I started to sing along to one of the songs on the radio. I stopped myself, and then signed to her, "Are you wearing your cochlear implant?"

She responded, "No."

I signed, "Good, because I am singing along with the radio, and I sing REALLY badly. "

This got me a raised eyebrow. After all, most deaf people won't care if am singing along, whether or not they have their cochlear implant or hearing aids on.

So, I explained, "When my deaf son was about 7, we were driving home . He was in the backseat and I was singing along to the radio.

Aaron, who was wearing his hearing aids, told me, "Please don't sign. It sounds awful!"

Now there are bad singers out there.
And there are really bad singers, but how many have had a deaf person ask them to not sing?

Story of the Day 10/ 18/ 2017 - The Saga of the car - part 2

I was at home, sitting at the computer and calling stores to find out where I could get a new battery put into Aaron's key fob.
Auto Zone. And they would do it for me, with a smile.

But, before I even had my purse in hand, the phone rang.
it was Aaron. he is in the parking lot at the dentist's office, and the car alarm is blaring. He turns it off, but wants to know what to do.
He doesn't want to sit down in the dentist's chair, and then have the car alarm go off , again.
I tell him that he needs to go into the dentist's office , that the world will ignore the car alarm for 15 minutes.
But he decides that he will leave the car door slightly ajar, to ward off the bad car-alarm fairy.

He also wants me to hurry and meet him at the dentist's to trade cars.
He is mortified that the car alarm will keep going off while he is working his shift at the movie theater.

I tell him, "No!"
Not because I have something against the patrons of the movie theater, but because it will take me to long to get to the dentist's office, and Aaron will end up late to work.
I tell him that I will meet him at the parking lot of the movie theater, before his shift, to trade cars.

Twenty-five minutes later, we trade cars and I take the noisy vehicle, which is being quiet, at the moment, and drop it off at John's.

John is our wonderful auto mechanic. He is wonderful for several reasons.
First , he is nearby.
This is important when you need your car towed from your driveway. It is also important , if you want your neighbor to give you a lift to go pick up your car, or from leaving it to be repaired.
Second, he is honest. He will tell you , if he can't figure something out. He will also tell you , if something is not worth repairing.
And, third , he stands by his repairs.

I should also add that he is pleasant, but that is really just a bonus item.

I drop the car off, even though John's is closed ( he is closed on Sundays and Mondays), on the street just north of his lost ( which is gated and locked) and leave the car doors unlocked and the key under the same mat that AAA had used to hide it , previously.
I am also nice enough to let John know exactly where the car and the key are. I also explain ( he does tend to answer his cell phone, when he is closed) what the car is doing to misbehave.

We are still sans one car. We are still not sure what is wrong with the car.
We are , however, sure where the car is, where the key is; and, at least, it is with someone we know will do a good job.

I am , in the meanwhile, fervently hoping that there is no Part 3 to the Saga of the Car.

Story of the Day- October 16, 2017- The Saga of the Car part 2

So, it is Monday morning, and we are back to the saga of the car battery and AAA.

My son called AAA, at 7:35, this morning, to arrange to have them come out and check his battery and replace it, if needed. And I had arranged to pick him up, at 7:40, so that we could drive over to the place they had towed the car to, and that would be open at 8.

By the time I arrived to get Aaron, AAA had called him to let him know that they would be where his car was, in about 15 minutes.
So, we headed out , per the map quest instructions...and proceeded to get lost.
The place to which they had towed the car was the wrong direction and a block past the street address. I am not joking.

I followed Aaron into the business and the receptionist told me that no one can find them.
We beat the beat the AAA truck there by about ten minutes, despite our delay. That is because he was also having trouble finding them.

Aaron asked the woman for the keys to his car and she reacted in a very confused manner.
He explained that the car had been towed to them, on Sunday, and that the key had been put in the drop box. He explained that his car was the 2009 Honda in their parking lot.
This didn’t seem to help .
You see, they do not have a drop box.

She suggested that we check and see if any of the neighboring businesses had a drop box where the key could have been left, by mistake….but there were none by the nearby businesses.

While we have an extra key for the car, I had left it at home.
Why bring it, if AAA insisted that we had to wait until this business opened up, and needed to get the key that had been left with them, anyhow?
Except that it hadn't been.

My son goes out to check his car, and it is unlocked.
He then checks the glove compartment, the coin compartment and the compartment between the seats, but there is no key.
There is also no key in the car’s trunk.

He does not have the number for the place that towed him.
Yes, he had called them on his phone, yesterday, to get the name and address to where they had towed his car, but he had deleted the call history, since then.
This is the same son who leaves his bank statements and Facebook account open on my computer, all the time……

The woman from the business ( we had gone back inside for the warmth and the quiet- as this was near a busy road) told him that , even if he deleted it, he can retrieve it from the net...which produced a very blank look from both of us.

I then had to explain to her that we are dinosaurs and do not have smart phones.

Also, I am wondering why my son deletes his call history.......but that is for another story.

Shortly after this, the AAA truck arrived. Don, the very nice older man driving the truck, said that eh had no way to figure out who had towed the car, but said he would look for the key.

A few minutes later, he holds it up. He found it under one of the floor mats.

Don then tests the battery. It is still under warranty. That is good.
But it is not the problem. It seems to be in fine shape. He then asks Aaron what the problem was. Aaron explains it, and Don says that it sounds like it might be the battery in the key fob.
We thank him, and drive home, where Aaron gets the other key.Then Don from AAA arrived. We explained the missing key problem, and asked if he could find out the number for the towing service that AAA had called. Instead, he starts going through the car and locates the key under the floor mat.

Great. So they left it unlocked and with the key in it, although well hidden- at least from us.

Turns out, the car's battery ( which I bought from AAA- since this is the car I drove until we passed it down to Aaron) was installed by AAA and under warranty...
but it isn't the problem.
Don said it is probably the battery in the key fob, and we are going to stop and home, so Aaron can get the other fob, before going to his dental appointment and then to work.

And I will take this one to have the battery changed.

Sigh.

Story of the Day 10/15/2017

I have two sons. One is deaf and the other isn't.
Last night, which would have been Saturday night, but , as it was past midnight, it was Sunday , my son was disturbed, four times, by an alarm. Not his smoke detector, which has been in a state of disrepair for close to a month (and about which he has repeatedly notified his apartment complex's office), but his car alarm. Obviously , it is rather loud alarm, since he could hear it from his apartment.

Let me get back to the fact that I have two sons. The one in this story is the DEAF one.
So, maybe , this is more statement about the quality of the walls and the windows in his apartment complex....the same apartment complex that has left him with a broken smoke detector in his apartment.....


He told this to my husband, this morning ( Sarah and I were not home), and my husband had the exact same response that I did, when he repeated it to me., "What car alarm?"
My son drives our old 2009 Honda Civic. It never had a car alarm, while we had it; and we couldn't imagine him, in his very subsistence-style of living, having one installed in his car .

My husband explained that it was the car alarm that goes off when you push the panic button.
Oh, that car alarm.
No wonder he heard it.

And, each time, he pressed the button on the fob, and the alarm stopped.
But, at 2 AM, having done this for the 4th time, he decided to call AAA.

He described the problem to the woman from AAA, on the phone, and she told him that it was probably because of a low car battery; and that he would need to have his car towed to a place that could install a battery for him.

She asked him , if he had a place he preferred. He didn't, so, the AAA truck towed him to a place that is several miles away. And for which he had to pay the additional towing mileage.

When my son called my husband, this morning,- not at 2:300AM, when the car was towed, but after 8 AM, he explained that he was going to need to come over to figure out exactly where the car was ( to Google the address), and a ride to go get the car.

My daughter drove over and picked him up from his apartment, and he spent several minutes realizing that he had both the name of the place, as he remembered it, and the address wrong.
Fortunately, he had the receipt for the towing, and he called that place.

Turns out, they towed him to a place that isn't open on Sunday.
So much for getting his battery replaced and having his car to get to work, tomorrow.

At this point, my son's obnoxious mother suggested that he call AAA, and ask them to meet us where the car had been left, and have AAA change the battery. Afterall, the last few times, Ive had batteries die, AAA came out and changed them for us...making me wonder why they had towed him, last night...especially since the place they picked meant he had to pay a towing charge.....
But, as it turns out, they do not change batteries until after 6 AM, so instead of explaining that to him, as an option, last night, they towed his car to a place ( for a fee) that will not be open , until tomorrow.

And, they will not meet us there to change his car's battery,; not today, at any rate.
You see, they will not make another call out for him, for another 24 hours, because they dropped it at a repair place that is not open ( they informed him that they put the key in the drop box)...even though they dropped it ( the place that they picked) at place that is not open on Sundays.
They will not even do it for us, knowing that my son has ( not in his car, but in his possession) both the title to the car, and the extra key.

And I am ....not feeling very happy with AAA .

Story of the Day 6/ 28/ 2017

My son and I got to spend some quality time together, today. In our family, quality time can be translated as " time in the car."

Aaron's car had those nasty airbags that can explode with shrapnel, so , it was included in round 3 or 4 or 16 of the recalls; and today was the day for his car's airbags to be replaced. As a result, I got to drive him home, and then back to the dealership, today. Hey, it beats sitting there and watching really bad, uncaptioned TV for 4 hours.

On the way back to pick up his car, this afternoon, Aaron mentions that a friend of his told him that Gal Gadot, the actress playing Wonder Woman in the new movie, has a slight Israeli accent; and , as a result, the director had all of the actresses playing the roles of Amazons speak with similar Israeli accents. According to this friend, these fake accents were truly hideous.

My son, who works at a movie theater and has seen the film upwards of a dozen times, although, mostly in parts, told me that he had never noticed that she had any accent.

I managed to not choke for laughing; and I advised that the next time someone mentions it, he should respond that he hadn't noticed the subtleties of the accents, due to being deaf.

Story of the Day 12/29/2016 - the suspended driver's license saga....an update

Thursday.
Today is Thursday.
Yesterday, I received an email that the police department's records have been corrected. I am no longer down last eh drive roof the car that I wasn't even in.

I was given phone number to call to check and see when my license is no longer suspended. They were not sure how long it would take for the record at the BMV to be corrected, but my hope was that it would be within 24 hours.

The number I was given to call is automated. You call and then put in your license number, part of your social security and your zip code, then it tells you the status of your driver's license.
My desire was not too become too familiar with that automated voice.
Yes, I am filled with hope.
Than and a desire to not hav to place another order for grocery delivery on-line.

I haven't yet mentioned it, but the emails from the police department came compleste with large font red letters wishing me a "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

I didn't really mind that, it was cheerful, even if Ia bit Christian themed for a public agency.....
it was the smaller font red letters at the bottom that got me .
My public agency thought it important to send me Bible verses:


Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a savior, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11


Ugh. My tax dollars at work promoting Christianity as the official religion of Indiana,
or , at least, Indianapolis.
I wish that people had some idea of what the constitution says.

But, at least she was helpful.

Addendum :

The representative's office did call back, but after I was already dealing with the police department to get it resolved.
And as of early this afternoon, it is official, I have a valid driver's license.

Story of the Day 12/27/2016 - the saga of the suspended driver's license, continued

On Saturday night, I realized I had to start canceling appointments. I had been under the mistaken impression that, when the weekend ended , I would be able to start working on getting my license back, and that there was a chance I could get to my Tuesday appointments. But I had not taken into account the fact that Xmas was on Sunday, meaning that government offices would be closed on Monday. The soonest I could, again, start working on this, would be Tuesday morning.

So, I called and left a message on the phone at one office, knowing they would not get it, until that day, and that I might be subject to a fee for not cancelling my appointment in at timely manner. The other, luckily, was with someone who is a friend on FB, so I sent a message.

Then I took a break from dealing with it, if only because I had no other option.

But, bright and early on Tuesday morning, I was, once again, making phone calls.

What ensued were a few calls with the woman at the insurance agent’s office who has always been both pleasant and helpful . Connie went over what had happened, and contacted the BMV.
Fortunately, they were willing to speak with her.

Unfortunately, they can’t help.

They can’t help because the driver in the accident is listed as me.

Now, that Thursday evening, in November, not only was I not driving the car, but I was not even in it.
It was my son who was driving and whose car was rear-ended.

The police officer, however, put down that it was me. He entered my driver’s license number and not Aaron’s.

I can see how that would happen.

I am 5’4”,
a chubby, almost senior (just over 3 yearss to that milestone) woman.
My son is a 6’3’, very muscular guy.
Yeah, I can see how that might happen.

We also have different last names.

We do, however, have the same first initial.

And the first part of Aaron’s very long last name is the same as my last name. The second part of it is my husband’s last name.
You see, we share very nicely.

Regardless as to how he made the error, the police officer who entered it is where the problem occurred.
And the BMV cannot change that information.

Connie explained to me that I would now have to contact the police to get this changed.
Okay, fine, I like clear instructions on what to do.
She also gave me a piece of advice, she told me to make sure that Aaron carries a copy of the COC in his car.

I like how she thinks. Considering how this has been going, I consider that good advice.

So, this morning, I got to make a few calls to the police department. Three, so far.
The first one made the second necessary, because the recorded message was too fast for someone with hearing loss to get on the first try. I did, however, leave a message with my phone numbers and the nature of the problem.
I also tried a second number that I had located on an Internet file.
This number’s recorded message let me know that , if I really wanted a response, I needed to send an email.
Which I did.

A few hours later, I actually had a response.
The woman seemed to think that the error had been an easy one to make and now wanted my son’s information: his name, DOB, etc. etc. etc. , and his license number.

I sent those back, hoping that they can change the information that they sent to the BMV, and then let the BMV know of the change.

I can see that what this translates into is, now, trying to get the BMV to respond, so I know that they have received it, and then to try to get them to lift the suspension……

I had thought that those things would constitute the next parts of this saga, but I was wrong.

The next part came in the mail, this evening.

This evening’s mail brought something that I thought was junk mail and almost tossed into the recycling bag before even opening.

It was an envelope from State Farm, addressed to “Kassia Margolis”.

I am sure that you also get a lot of unsolicited appeals from insurance companies about how they can save you money.
We do.
Recycling.

But it wasn’t.
It was a note from a claim’s adjustor for one of the other drivers’ insurance companies.
A note for me, the listed “driver” in the accident.