US POST OFFICE

So we sold our house--and furniture--and moved. The house closed earlier than expected but I'd put in an address change the week before. We'd already rented a post office box in our new city so we'd have a forwarding address and thought we were all prepared.

The nice people at our island post office took my address change card and stopped delivering mail as per my request. (This happened two or three days before closing.) We assumed in a week or so, we'd be getting our forwarded mail in our new post office box.

Not so.

A week passed. No mail. Then ten days. No mail.

I went to the post office branch where we had our box and inquired.

Seems for some reason, a hold had been put on our mail. A hold? What kind of hold? Why? Was it because of my Indivisible activity?

Everyone denied responsibility. We were advised to wait a few more days and see if it showed up.

After two weeks, we inquired again. Nope. Still no mail, they said. Sometimes it takes a while.

I had gotten a couple of emails saying they'd sent confirmation of our address change to our old address and our new address. Then I got an email saying my online account was locked, but if I'd put in the confirmation code listed in the letter, I  could access it again.

By this time, I was getting paranoid. I went back to the post office and complained that our mail was being held and told them about the email saying I had to put in a code that I wasn't able to get. A visiting supervisor promised she'd look into it and call me no matter what she found out.

After a few more days, I printed out the email and took it to the post office, telling them that I'd be happy to put in the confirmation code except that the letter sent to the old address had probably been forwarded to the new address.

And I couldn't get mail at the new address because someone had put a hold on our box.

Maybe I came across as a little unhinged. Anyway, the clerk looked a little alarmed. He sent me to the main post office but promised he'd look in the back and if he found our mail, he'd personally put it into our box. I believed him.

The supervisor at the main office was the same one I'd encountered a few days before at the branch. She said there was nothing she could do, that our mail hadn't shown up, and suggested I call the old post office and make sure they were doing their job.

I knew they'd done their job but I called. It was so nice to hear a friendly voice! Yes, he said, the address change was in the computer. He took several minutes to go to the back and check the carrier's mail. No, he said, there was no mail in it for us. Our mail was being forwarded as per my instructions.

On the off-chance the branch clerk had found our mail, we went by the next morning and checked our box. And there it was! A big wad of junk mail, bills, and two refund checks from utilities we no longer use.

We're still expecting a couple more checks and a car title, but at least we have hope they'll eventually show up.

I hate complaining about the post office--this president's as likely as not to cut its funds out of the budget and I do use it a lot. But some branches go out of their way to help while others...

I LIKE YOUR SHIRT

I first wore this shirt for a reenactment weekend and a fiftyish woman trailing after a man, maybe her husband, sidled up to me and murmured, "I like your shirt," before going on. I barely managed a quick acknowledgement. Maybe her husband/significant other had different political opinions?

Then in the Village, a fortyish woman came up to me and said with a smile, "I like your shirt!" I was enthusiastic in my thanks.

I've had a few more women approach, read what's on the shirt, and say exactly the same thing. "I like your shirt." Some are like the first lady, speaking softly as if afraid to be overheard. Others are bold and outspoken.

Resisting is hard and sometimes lonely. It's easier when we can connect with others who are frightened at changes relating to the environment, healthcare, personal freedoms, and future military adventures. I never paid much attention to politics until now, but the election made me look closer at what's happening and I don't like it. Evidently, more people than I expected, feel the same way.

I bought the shirt online through Teesprings. I don't usually pay so much for a tee shirt, but profits from sales of this one go to support the ACLU. Teesprings has other shirts that benefit other charities, too. An easy way to support your cause.

PS - The shirt is resting on our new sofa. We now have a bed, washer, dryer, TV, and sofa. We're getting there in our move!

WOMENS PURSES

(We are still moving so I am reverting to a blog written some time back.)

I have a hard time buying purses. Years ago, a relative told me to look in the luggage department. I did and found the most wonderful bag from Swiss Army. You know. The knife people. Only they also make little bags for travelers.

Like this one. See? Two zippered pockets on the front. Two slide in pockets on the back for cell and business cards or loose dollars. And inside, all kinds of places for paperwork, credit cards, pens, driving license... I loved it. So much that I've had three in the past fifteen years.

.

After I went to Washington and stuffed it with crackers and energy bars and even a bottle of water, this one was on its last legs. The strap was beginning to fray and some of the stitches were coming loose. So I looked for a replacement. And guess what? Evidently, Swiss Army no longer makes this kind of bag. I searched the stores where I'd found the others I'd bought, but no bag. I Googled them. No bag. Not even on the Swiss Army site. Just like a bra! You find one you like and they stop making it!

So after a few weeks of searching, I ended up buying this one:

Nice plain bag. Soft leather. Looks good, doesn't it? And sure, it's got a couple of zippers on the front, and some compartments on the inside. It would actually work just fine if it were about two inches taller. As it is, stuff kept falling out.

So after nearly losing my sunglasses one time and my billfold another, I started searching for a purse again. I found this one. I don't particularly like it, but it holds my stuff. Unfortunately, it has three compartments besides the one on the front that holds my phone. All are deep and roomy and unorganized. I can never find anything.

I'm beginning to hate it. Guess I'll have to start looking again.

CRIME SCENE

Just a short blog today because I'm in the middle of moving. Yes, we are going back up to a new area in North Georgia. It'll be closer to relatives and my doctors. Much as we love our island, we're tired of 6 hour trips each way, every two or three months to get my eyes attended to. So we're moving closer.

The local paper had a few interesting items this week, besides people getting picked up for DUI or outstanding warrants.

A woman got bit on her finger when she tried to pull an attacking pit bull off her dog. Neighbors intervened and held the pit bull until Animal Control arrived.  Brave neighbors!

People called police when they saw a man punching a pregnant woman in the face. Police arrived but the woman was uncooperative. Police found she had a Florida arrest warrant out on her and would have taken her to jail except she complained of stomach pains. I'd take a hospital to jail any time!

Someone reported a man riding a lawn mower and wielding a shotgun. He was also throwing rocks. And he was drunk. He got carted off for disorderly conduct. I can't help wondering how he managed to wield a shotgun and throw rocks at the same time. 

A woman called police when she saw a man lying in her front yard. Police determined he was unconscious and intoxicated. Since he was too drunk to walk, they gave him a ride home. Hmmm. Easier for him than calling a taxi, I guess!

A man called police when he heard a loud bang. Police discovered the cause: another man was crashing his bicycle into a parked vehicle. He got arrested for DUI. So he thought he was sober enough to ride a bicycle, huh? Guess he learned different. Don't know if he got a ride home, too.

A family dispute "got physical." One sister was hitting her mother; the other sister called police. One sister was taken to jail. No problem figuring out which!

A naked man was sitting in a car in the parking lot of the local Walmart. He gave the police a false name. Unfortunately, that person was wanted for arrest by the city. His real name had no better history; it sent him to jail because of an outstanding warrant from Florida for drugs. Should have picked a better person to impersonate! 

Finally, an inmate of the jail was caught with two kinds of illegal drugs. He was in jail for felony theft and violating probation. Now added to those charges are two counts of giving drugs to inmates without the consent of the warden. Boy, he's determined to spend his life in jail, isn't he? And now I'm wondering: if the warden gives his consent, does that make dispensing drugs legal?

So that's all I have to share this week about the people I'll never understand.

MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD

The exclusive island next to us hosts an annual conference for the American Enterprise Institute, a collection of billionaires and millionaires and other well-heeled right-wing people. Current or former members include Newt Gingrich, Betsy DeVos (no longer listed on the board), Dick Cheney, et cetera. There are also business officials from such companies as Coors, International Paper, American Express, Dell and others. People attending this year possibly included (they are very secretive) Mitch McConnell, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, George W. Bush, the Koch brothers, Paul Ryan and other government officials.

Anyway, there were over a hundred corporate or private jets parked at our little airport. Here's a photo of the ones parked on the back runway.

The bunch of conservative attendees came to the attention of a new resistance group I've joined. The island they met on is private, so on the last day, our leaders set up a protest at the airport gates where limousines enter to drop off passengers. A young relative helped make my sign:

Since our area is mostly conservative, we were unsure of the turnout but eighty to a hundred protesters showed up, some for a few minutes, others staying for over two hours. We were thrilled, especially since we had little time to let people know. Here's a picture taken before the limos started arriving:

After a few SUV limos went in, they stopped coming.

Ah, but we had someone following them out from the exclusive island who tipped us off: the limos were detouring to another entrance to the airport.

So a few of us ambled down about half a mile down the road to that gate. Here we are with our signs:

When we got there, a guard in a truck got on his phone and soon the limos stopped coming in there, too. So we went back up to the front for a while. Ended up coming back to the second gate. Finally had to give up about two or so hours.

Drivers in passing cars didn't know what to make of us. We had several go by shouting "Trump!" or "Make America Great!" or "Go home!" The nicer people among us called back "Thank you!" to every one of the jeers. I just hid behind my sign. One diesel pickup got up close to us and revved his engine, sending black smoke all over white outfits. But we persisted. And then people started driving by honking horns and giving us thumbs up. I didn't know we had so many sympathizers on our island!

I'm sure the bigwigs took little notice of us, but we got to voice our disapproval of what's going on in our government. And that's democracy, isn't it? That's what truly makes America great!

CHILI COOK-OFF

So the local Rotary Club had its annual chili cook-off last weekend. This is kind of like our annual Brunswick Stewbilee except we eat chili instead of Brunswick Stew.

This is the entrance. The group of young men on the right gave out sampling packets to those who had tickets and made anyone without tickets go back and buy one.




Then we head for the street lined with booths where, with our paid stickers slapped on our chests and armed with napkins and spoons, we begin our sampling.



Working our way through people clustered around each booth, we grab more samples and continue eating.



Finally, filled to bursting with chili (and a few corn muffins and oysterette crackers), we leave to gaze back beyond the lonely cedar barely saved when the park was renovated.



The chili samples were off this year. If the chili wasn't way too spicy-hot, it was way too bland. We ate and ate and never did find the perfect mix. In fact, we were a little sick because we ate so much.

But the corn muffins were good.

CRIME BLOTTER ITEMS

Oh my! This week had some doozies in the local newspaper. There were the usual DUIs, outstanding warrants, and shoplifting charges the police dealt with, but among the more interesting items:

A "lousy" thief broke into an apartment and stole $230 made from sales of Girl Scout cookies.

Well! That...that... LOUSY thief!

A resident woke up in the middle of the night and went into his kitchen to find... A stranger was sitting at the table eating a pot pie from the freezer. Police were called and the intruder taken away,

The paper didn't say whether the pot pie had been cooked or was still frozen. I'm strangely reluctant to ask.

Someone called the police saying a couple under the bridge were "making whoopee" under a blanket. Police arrived but decided they were only huddled together under the blanket to keep warm.

??? And they decided this how???

A quick mart clerk called police about a customer who, after heating a sandwich in the microwave, left without paying for it. Police caught the suspect but watched a store videotape to find... The man had brought his own sandwich in and heated it in the store's microwave. He didn't get arrested.

And just who's going to pay for all that electricity used?

A teenager didn't like the shirt his mother put out for him to wear to school. (He let his mother choose his clothes?) Police were called as the argument got out of hand. The policeman calmed both parties down and gave the boy a ride to school.

Well. Wasn't that kid special?

Another woman called police about her son stealing her necklace. Seems he even posted pictures of himself wearing the necklace on FaceBook.

That's right. Let your close friends AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD see you wearing a stolen necklace. From your mother! Have you no shame? Or is it good sense you're lacking?

Sometimes the stories in these short paragraphs amaze me. Makes me glad I'm not the subject of one of them!