Mystery Solved

In yesterday’s blog, I told you that we had an unexpected deposit from Social Security into our checking account for a rather large sum of money and that we had no idea why because it wasn’t the time of the month we usually get our direct deposits.

So yesterday morning I called the Social Security office in nearby Port Orange, Florida, setting off a multi-hour frustrating ordeal on the telephone. The first time I was on hold for 25 minutes listening to a recording telling me over and over again how they were looking forward to serving me before someone finally answered and said, “Please hold” and promptly disconnected the call. I called back again, and this time it only took 20 minutes for someone to answer. When I explained why I was calling, she said, “Oh, you definitely need to get that cleared up or you will be getting penalties and interest on the overpayment.”

My first thought was that they goofed and sent me an overpayment and I’ve got to pay penalties and interest on it? I asked how I got the problem resolved and she said to hold on and she would transfer me to somebody, and then she disconnected the call!

Not one to give up easily, especially when someone was talking about charging me penalties and interest, I called back a third time and got a recording saying that the Port Orange office was unable to take telephone calls or in-person visits and to call the nationwide toll free Social Security helpline.

So I did that and spent another two hours and 51 minutes listening to yet another recording telling me how important I was to them and how they were looking forward to serving me before a real person answered the phone. But I guess it was worth all the frustration because it was good news.

The deposit was an adjustment because they never increased my monthly payment to reflect the money I have been making and paying into the system for 2019 and 2020. I had been asking my accountant why I was still paying more money into the system but never getting an increase. As it turns out, besides the adjustment made this week, my monthly Social Security deposit will increase by $124. Mystery solved and a happy ending for all. Well, at least for me.

I also told you in yesterday’s blog that I had formatted and uploaded the print edition of Ka-Bar Karma, and I had an e-mail waiting for me yesterday morning saying that it is now available on Amazon.

Add to all that the fact that our friends Jesse and Jennifer from across the street took us to dinner at Goodrich Seafood yesterday, and all in all, it was a very good day. I’d take days like that five or six times a week if I could.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of The Driving Lesson by my friend Ben Rehder. While Ben writes some excellent mysteries, including the wildly popular Blanco County series, this tale of a boy and his grandfather on an unplanned road trip across the country is a coming of age story that will tug at your heartstrings. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – We all know mirrors don’t lie. I’m just grateful that they don’t laugh.