Problems… *

This morning, according to my usual habits, I went on line to check, among other things, my bank accounts. And, to my surprise, the automatic telephone payment had jumped from a little over $40 a month to well over three times that much.  So, of course, I called Fairpoint.

Well, it was a very long and convoluted call but the bottom line is this. The phone was in Fred’s name. I was aware of this but didn’t realize that he was getting a very good price because his insulin was subsidized by the State of Vermont. {This basically means he was classified as a person who was financially a certain amount below the poverty line} He paid the state $35 a month and for that, they covered the cost of his insulin. That is an excellent subsidy since insulin was well over a $100 a small vial last time I checked. SO, because of this subsidy and because we seldom used the telephone, Fairpoint {formerly Verizon}  had him in a "low user" program. But this doesn’t cover me so this month, Fairpoint added back to this months bill five months of the subsidy they were giving Fred. Oh, great, just what I need this month–a huge phone bill… I can have the phone account cancelled because the owner is dead, but if I opted for a new account in my name, it would be at a much higher rate since I am not eligible for the lower rate.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the land line phone will be unusable after the 29th of this month. I opted not to get one in my name for various reasons not the least being the price. I have a pay-as-you-go cell phone which at the moment, suffices for my needs. HOWEVER, {you knew there was one of these coming up, right?} since the access to the Internet account is covered by the same people, Fairpoint} and was in Fred’s name and bundled with the phone, it went too. I was offered various choices and the best one moneywise was a contract for four years! I asked about cancelling it if I moved, and basically got told there would be a pretty high charge in the contract for this. So, eventually, since someday I know I am going to have to move, I opted for a month-to-month account which I will pay each month as they send me the bill. It is higher than the one we had before but financially doable if I squeeze the pennies a bit more. The original Internet account will end on the 29th along with the phone account, and the new one { in my name}  is scheduled to start on the same day.

Those of you who have been reading me for over six years will know exactly what is worrying me. Six years ago, Fred and I moved from the upstairs apartment in the building to the downstairs apartment in the SAME building. Same address, same building. Back then our provider was Verizon and it took them SIX weeks to get our DSL back. Eventually, Fred called the State Attorney General and complained, and I am convinced this was the only reason we got help. We were given the name of a woman from the SAG’s office who us called up every couple of days to ask if we has the connection yet and since the answer was no every time she called, she told us what she had done, what she was going to do and who she was going to call next. Eventually we got a phone call from the Verizon help desk that one gets if one is a business and pays a premium!  The problem was solved very quickly. Now, Verizon was sold to Fairpoint and so far, I have to say that any time I have had to call them, I was helped quickly and politely and by someone who didn’t sound if he or she was in India and flipping the pages of a "How-to" book. So, perhaps I am worrying unduly. But if I disappear from OD in a week’s time, you will know what has happened, or, rather, NOT happened…

If you are someone who has my land line number and I haven’t given you my cell phone number, leave me a private note and I will give it to you.

Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone. ~Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)

“As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” -Steve Maraboli