Happened to log on because I'm waiting for Norton's Speed Disk to optimize my Dell.
Took so long that I bet my son that I could power up this large Macintosh, optimize it, and be done before the Dell. The Dell was 48% finished after about 50 minutes. The Mac just finished and the Dell is only 62% complete.....been 70 minutes now. PCs stink.
Speaking of which, while doing this I decided to clear out my library of old computer books and found Norton Utilities for The Macintosh, Version 1.0; Peter Norton looks older in the photo on the back of the book than I do now. The guy must be using a walker by now.
Along with that I found some old comic books from when I used to collect them. I thought I got rid of all of them but I have three left....two Classics Illustrated (remember those?) and the Superman comic where he was killed off. I imagine in a hundred years I might get a quarter for that one.
No one would pay for the two Classics, one is the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the other is Rip Van Winkle. Odd that should be next to Peter Norton's picture.
So anyway I'm heading South to see my brother early Tuesday. That was quite a circumstance, I imagine his son-in-law must work on the floor with the father of the family. He mentioned they were friends.
The home front gets more difficult each passing day. While she has been in the hospital I have come to the conclusion that she shall never recover. Primarily due to the drugs, I would guess. These people that run these places hack me off. I tried to meet with the Social Worker who heads up the place several times about her finances. I wanted to know how to move her to Medicaid. This SW never returned my messages.
Then yesterday, I get a call which ostensibly was returning my call. He stressed, though, that her Medicare was up yesterday and that today she was on Private Pay.
I telya, Nemer, you have to be all over these people. I was scammed when we went through this last summer and was not able to focus because of the untimely passing of my eldest brother. Now the kids are trying to pick our pockets again.
Here is a synopsis of the conversation....(recall that we are paying $4500 a month to keep a room open in an Assisted Living Home)
In Private Pay your bill is $6,000 a month.
Hmm. I do not have that. Why not call me once I get back from Florida and I'll see what I can do.
But, how did she pay for Assisted Living?
She didn't. I did. She has about $2800 in the bank, and some furniture that I bought for her.
Without Private Pay, I have no beds for her. You can put her in our facility in Irvington (read Newark)
I do not wish to place her into Irvington, unless you can assure me that she will get the identical care there.
----
Side note. That part of the conversation went absolutely no place. Further conversation convinced me that he was laying the problem off to an inferior facility.
----
I felt like a mick horsetrading with a rabbi. The guy tried guilt to the point where I was tempted to say, "Hey, I had to deal with her for fifty years, now it's your problem."
I would have given the Mercenary lockjaw on that line, of that I am certain. I was reading in this week's US News and World Report that people are concerned that a tax cut shall reduce Social Programs. What damn Social Programs? The woman was badly operated on last summer, was placed in a poorly staffed rehab unit and we paid for everything once she got out.
Now it comes to light that the operation was botched, I make certain that she goes to the best hospital and rehab and guess what? Medicare tells me to go take a swan dive off the GWB.
So Social Programs are okay as long as the level of care isn't what you would entrust your parakeet with.
And you know, the $6K per month is cheap. A few weeks ago I went to a place nearby that wants $18K up front. Not as a deposit, as a sort of Initiation Fee. You would think that you were joining a Country Club.
Hi! I would like to sponsor my mother into Baltustrol (Winged Foot, Butler, whatever). Here is her $18,000 now what are my recurring bills?
Well, Mr. Slevin. Thanks for asking and thank you in particular for this gift of $18 thousand dollars. Now the costs are $6,000 a month. (get the feeling everything is $6,000 a month around here?) Plus, the incidental of $180 a day for a nurse.
Yes. $180 a DAY!
So, my fingers get tired quickly as I add that up. On top of the non-refundable $18,000 just to walk in the door we have $6K x 12 months plus $180 times 365.25 days each year.
Or, a recurring charge of $137,745 annually plus....
get this....
....
Expenses.
Now, I may not be from Paris, Texas, but even I have to wonder Expenses!?! What #$%#@%^ expenses?????
Well anyway that's what I've been doing. Dealing with Bureaucrats used to milking the system. It's positively feudal. People who pay the freight get their elderly in nice places. People who look to Medicaid/Medicare end up in substandard places.
In a way, she did it to herself. All these years she insisted on paying her own way, and when that way required health care she ended up having an operation that was not well performed. That in turn shunted her into a lower class of rehabilitation. Now that the family is taking over the direction of her care it is too late. She probably shall never recover mentally.
Eh. If anything good comes out of this it may be that my wife and I have made a deal that neither of us shall ever allow the other to have sub-standard care.
Speaking of that, I have no idea how her mother is. I imagine not well but not terribly bad. I sent her a rose which was red and white for Valentine's.
Yeah, you don't have to tell me. Patrick sent one lousy rose, big spender.
Okay now that I have unloaded my day on you, how have you been? Seems Norton finally finished my Dell, so I'll catch you in a few. Hopefully before I head downtown next week. |
