FLAG DAY-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER

My mother, Marian Catherine Holmes Starcevic, would have been 91 today.

Happy Birthday Mother

Mother died in 1984. I still miss her terribly.

Mother told me that when she was growing up in Greenfield Ill, population 1200, she thought everyone flew the flag for her on her Birthday. Since her father owned a grocery store and therefore was one of the important members of the community, her assumption was not that far fetched. However, of course, the flags were for Flag Day, not Mother's birthday.

Still, every Flag Day, for that one day only, when I look upon the Stars and Stripes waving in the breeze, I remember Mother.

A TRIBUTE TO HENRY FORD AND JUDY

More particularly, this is a tribute to Judy. Judy is a nurse at Henry Ford Jefferson Clinic.

I sent in a request on Wednesday, via e-mail for a referral to my Chiropractor. First of all, I had been told my insurance did not cover chiropractor, so had never asked before, but the billing clerk in Dr. Kay's office said my insurance told her I was covered. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes.

I sent the request on Wednesday, but first of all, expected the e-mail to go ignored or be miss filed with someone who was never in the office, or even misrouted by the Henry Ford server to an entirely unrelated clinic or specialty. All of which have happened in the past when trying to use their e-mail system. But to my surprise, amazement and gratitude, my request got to Judy, who called me the first thing Thursday morning and said she was getting the referral I asked for processed, but needed to know why I was seeing a Chiropractor. I told her. Even then, I expected to either never hear of this again, or get a rejection several months from now.

However, on Friday, Judy called again. Not only had she submitted the referral request, but it had been approved starting the day she asked for it, Thursday. She also said she had faxed the completed referral to Dr. Kay's office, but was going to call and make sure they got it. She would also mail me a copy of the referral for my records.

I got the copy on Monday. Hurrah for Judy! Hurrah for Henry Ford Health System!

I was so encouraged by Judy's prompt actions, I decided to try the e-mail prescription renewal option on the Henry Ford Health System web site. A process that failed me more than once in the past. Maybe it will work this time.

Check out Henry Ford Health System by clicking on the title above. Check out Dr. Kay's practice by clicking here--> Yellow Pages Web Site (pay no attention to the pictures, no one from Dr. Kay's office is in them)

Again, HURRAH FOR JUDY!! Thank you for the prompt attention to my e-mail request.

MY DADDY CAME TO SEE ME THIS MORNING

My Dad, looking much like the picture here, taken in the late 1930's or 1940's, came to visit me this morning, though he has been gone from this earth for over two years. I know I was not dreaming. I know it was him. He was watching me in bed. Maybe he has done that all along, however, today, I caught him. My husband and I were lying in bed sort of watching morning TV. I was on my left side facing my husband's back, when I felt someone watching me from behind. I turned over and there was Daddy, standing there looking down at me and smiling. Then he must have realized I saw him too, he turned quickly, and left the room, swinging the door open as he left. I swear!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAFETINSPECTOR

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU----AND MANY MORE----

Ah, I remember the day you were born. I was there you know. I remember it like it was yesterday and not ______ years ago. Did you know you could have been born in Grandma's convertible? And that after you finally made up your mind that it was time for your appearance, you were pretty fast getting here. Typical of you ah? Grandma had come from Michigan to be with me and help me when you were born. You started and stopped many many times in the two weeks leading to your birth. I guess you just could not pay attention even then. But on the morning of June 7th, I knew it was time. I told Grandma that we were going to the hospital. I said it calmly. Grandma was sometimes known to get flustered when pressured. She said something like-- "That's nice" and just kept cleaning out a closet in my apartment where her cloths were. I waited patiently, but contractions were already 5 minutes apart. Finally I said, "Mother, we need to get into the car now." She replied. "Really, I thought you were in false labor again" So, we finally got in Grandma's 1961 Impala convertible and drove from Granite City to Alton to the hospital. I was amazed and relieved that Mother had driven so calmly on the way to the hospital. She started up the winding hill to Alton Memorial Hospital, drove sedately around the curve to the Emergency entrance, then floored the accelerator instead of putting on the break and almost crashed into the back of an ambulance. If she had I probably would have had you there and then. As it was you came 2 hours and 45 minutes after I told Grandma it was time to get in the car. In a hurry even then. When I first laid eyes on you, you had a huge red and blue bump on the left side of your head. I got hysterical-- "Who dropped my baby?" I screamed at your father. He hurried off to find out. The doctor came right away to explain that no one had dropped my baby. You had just been in so much of a hurry to be born you had not waited until there was room in the birth canal and had bumped your head on my pelvic bone. Yes that was you my boy, my 9 lb baby boy who was in such a hurry to be born. At least you were not the twins or 12 pound monster the doctor predicted in the delivery room, or the fried egg in an incubator I dreamed you were a few weeks before your birth. Just my active Joey who has been a joy, a trial, and a blessing for over a third of a century. I am so proud of you the adult Joe. You are a fine man, husband, father and son, but I remember. Would you believe you were less then 6 months old in the picture above?

Happy Birthday from your MaMa

06/06/06

The sign of the beast. Well, I do not know about that. I am Christian, but Revelations always stymied me. It makes about as much sense as a Nostradamus quatrain. However, yesterday, 06/06/06 was not my best day, at least technically. To begin with, I was awakened by a phone call from the Marina. Jim was calling to apologize for sending me a harsh e-mail. He said he had been reading the e-mail I sent him about the blog I set up for our Marina. He clicked on a hot link in the e-mail which lead to the blog, and at the blog, had clicked on an e-mail link and found himself inside his marina e-mail box. He did not know how I had gotten access to his marina e-mail box, but somehow he thought I had the expertise to do this, until---- his son's girlfriend, a more PC savvy person, told him that since he was already in his marina email box when he clicked on the link, of course it took him back to his marina email box. Hence his apology for the harsh e-mail to me. That's nice, but I am retired. A call later in the day would have done just fine.

The second thing that happened was that a Buy It Now eBay Buyer e-mailed me that the checkbook cover and FREE bookmark she had paid for had never arrived. I had mailed it to her on May 25th. It surely should have been there. The US Post Office web site says first class mail is suppose to arrive within 2-3 days. Even allowing for Memorial Day, it was now way over 2-3 mail days.

I immediately made plans to replace the items. In fact, I made the inserts, put them in the vinyl covers, and even produced a new receipt and printed the address on an envelope. The ironic thing was that this buyer lived within 25 miles of my home. If gas were not so expensive, I could have just driven the item to the buyers door. Because of the closeness, the buyer, at first agreed to pick up her replacement at my son Joe's, aka SafeTinspector, store, Auction It Today on eBayIII. But in a subsequent e-mail, my buyer decided she would rather just have a refund.

I immediately sent a refund. Almost immediately she sent an e-mail stating her mail had been delivered and the checkbook cover had arrived. Where that envelope with the buyers purchase had been for 12 days (another two 6's) is beyond me. I mailed one of my checkbook covers to England once. It got there in less time then this envelope took to go 25 miles. Weird but true. Now I have to wait for her to pay me again for the checkbook cover and FREE matching bookmark.

But, oh no, that was not the end of the weirdness on 06/06/06. Another buyer had ordered a Sunflower checkbook cover. The one with a very vivid yellow sunflower against a bright blue background. I sent the command from my PC to my HP printer to print out this checkbook cover. Freakishly, the printer added a wide lilac stripe in the middle of the sunflower checkbook cover. Had to print it over. It printed perfectly the second time----------------------

The mistake, however, was pretty enough, so trying to salvage my cost at least, I decided to scan it into the computer and put it on eBay for sale. I started scanning it. In the middle of the operation, it just stopped. The software being used to scan seemed to freeze, I could not get it to close even. I used Ctrl Alt Delete and told my computer to end the non responding program. Even though the window indicated it had closed, it had not. I tried to use the shut down choice on my start menu. I got a message that the PC could not shut down as it was still scanning. By this time, I had even turned off my scanner. I was forced to reboot with the little reset button.

I tried scanning it again. The scanner and the software worked perfectly now. Next I set about printing another checkbook cover insert which another buyer had won on one of my auctions. The printing was fine, but when I went to put the insert in the vinyl cover, I noticed a small hole in the cardstock, which must have been a manufacturing defect. Problem was it was right in the middle of the checkbook cover insert, making it unusable. Had to print that one out again too.

Then, when I went to print the buyers address on an envelope, my computer decided to send the instructions to the wrong printer, where the address was printed on a plain piece of paper instead of an envelope. So had to do that one over again too. By now, these tasks which would have normally taken maybe an hour or so, had eaten up over 3 hours of my time. It was time for a break. Shut down the computer and did not go back to it until 11:30 PM.

Amazingly, the lady to whom I had given a refund just as her checkbook cover was delivered- late- by the mailman, had e-mailed me to complain about my shipping and handling charges. Could not understand why it only cost me $.63 to mail the checkbook cover and bookmark, but I had charged $4.00 shipping and handling. I am afraid I lost it. I sent her a rather harsh e-mail about what I saw as ingratitude on her part. I had bent over backwards to accommodate her when we both thought the item she had ordered had been lost by the USPS. Now she was begrudging me my shipping and handling charges. I wanted to challenge her to find as unique a checkbook cover at a lower price. I have done my research. There are a few folks selling clear vinyl checkbook covers with homemade inserts on eBay, but in general, these others are commercial patterns either cut from paper or cloth and glued on a cardstock insert, with an asking price of $8.00 and up before adding mailing charges, and not unique or original designs.

Currently the most one pays for a checkbook cover with a unique computer graphic insert, designed by me alone or with my husbands artistry, is $7.89, and for that one receives a FREE matching bookmark. Without the bookmark for Buying It Now, one of my checkbook covers can be won for as little as $4.99 including shipping and handling. A bargain either way, I think.

Thus ended 06/06/06. I was gratified today, my son's birthday, by the way, to find my buyer with the late checkbook cover had left a positive feedback for me saying she liked my product and my thorough e-mail communication. I also found out from my son, SafeTinspector, that I could have refunded through the original Pay Pal payment from my buyer and saved myself $.53. Well, I guess my missing this opportunity on the Pay Pal payment record was just part of the 06/06/06 techno curse. I could swear I looked all over that entry on Pay Pal and saw nothing about refunding, though when I looked today, it was plainly there.

I do know one thing though, if any buyer ever says they have not received their checkbook cover in the future, I will ask them to wait at least three weeks before I refund their money. And I am glad that to date, not one of my checkbook covers have gotten lost in the mail.

This rant is now done. Amen