Rant #3,280: That's the Way I Always Heard It Should Be

One day after we finally were able to move on from the mess thst we were given to clean up, we had a pretty quiet day yesterday ...

Or at least I did.

Not much doing, not much happening, and honestly, I thought that in retirement, that's the way I always thought it should be.

But today, we get back to full reality.

Life goes on, and I have an eye doctor appointment later this morning.

And since I am actually semi-retired, and not fully retired, per se, I have to do some work, and later today, I have to cover a seminar that will take up the restiof the day--and some of the early evening--for me.

And then on Thursday, I have an appointment with my doctor/surgeon, who will tell me what the next step is in my rehabilitation.

I believe I will now have to go to physical therapy outside of the house, and it is something that I really am looking forward to--both the visit to the doctor and his recommendations.

So Tuesday was just a little blip on the calendar, something of a pause before everything revs up again.

And again, I will wonder what real retirement is, because honestly, I have never experienced it during the past four-plus years.

Days like Tuesday give me a taste--albeit briefly--of what I should be experiencing right now in my life.

And honestly, not being used to such a feeling of not being overly busy on mostly nonsense, Tuesday went by kind of slowly for me.

Times during the day when I am normally busy I was abnormally not busy on Tuesday, and since I really can't do much but sit around and watch TV to bide my time, I couldn't even find much to watch to engage myself.

I pretty much used the TV as white noise, as I wasn't paying attention to it very much.

I was on my phone, which is nothing to brag about, but it did eat up time, which for the first time in a long time, I had plenty of.

The day went on, I got through it, and day turned to night, and I eventually conked out.

And today, I am more than ready to go, as I know I won't have a day like Tuesday ... and I won't have another day like Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

So you have to cherish days like this when you get them--

But it is time to move on, and get back to my current reality.

Rant #3,279: The End

DONE!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, at long last, it finally happened.

We have sold the house!

It happened yesterday afternoon, and while it seemed to take forever--and my bad leg got stiffer by the minute as the proceedings moved along at less than a snail's pace--it finally got done.

My sister and I split the proceeds right down the middle, and while we certainly did not make a killing--not with the house being in a reverse mortgage situation--we both realized a little bit of money.

The way I figured it, we got about 12 percent of what we should have received if the house was sold outright. 

But OK, I guess I can live with that ... I don't have much of a choice, do I?

There might be some residual money coming in--over-payments of various services that we already paid for while this process played out--but we got what we got, and the other money is nothing more than pin money.

I hope you have learned one thing from.my nightmare: NEVER, EVER, EVER put your home in a reverse mortgage--

No matter what Tom Selleck says, they not only aren't "for everyone," but they are really not good "for everyone."

And in my case, really, it didn't have to be the way it turned out, but that is all water under the bridge now.

My tenure as a homeowner was absolutely horrid, and other than the fact that my LP collection is in storage, my family and I are better off where we are, in a nice apartment in a good area.

I truly wish we could have stayed in that house forever, but it just was not meant to be.

When all the paperwork was done being signed--and let me tell you, there was enough paperwork to sign to fill several file cabinets--I wished the new owners good luck, 50 years of happiness as I experienced there. 

And when it was all over, I got up from the chair I was sitting in, and my left leg was as stiff as a board.

I made it this far, so I made it to the elevator--the elevator door would have closed on me if not for the efforts of my wife to keep the door open--made it into her car, made it up the stairs to our apartment, and made it into my bed.

My leg was stiff, but at the same time, I felt a load being lifted off my shoulders.

Now I can fully focus on getting better, and not have to worry about this nonsense anymore.

I heard that the new owners would be getting rid of the pool, and that is their choice--

Right now, I am swimming in a sense of satisfaction, and I don't need a body of water to help me float all the way to the top.

The end ... but really, it is the beginning.

Rant #3,278: Today's the Day

The day has finally come.

At long last, barring anything unforeseen, the house is being sold today.

And all I can say is thank goodness!

Our original meeting was put off until 2 p.m. because the future owner wants to take one last walk through of the house.

I am sure they will find something minor that needs to be taken care of, but then, they just have to sign their name on the dotted line, and they will be the proud new owner of a new residence.

I will shake their hands, wish them luck, and take my cut of the proceeds--very little. I'm afraid, due to the reverse mortgage- and then, get the heck out of there.

The house, and the process of selling the house, has been as unpleasant as it it possibly could have been for myself and my family.

If it hasn't been one thing, it has been another, and the stench of unburdening the house has stretched to our new residence, where not much has gone right for us.

We can't really have a full-blown "new start" for us until we get rid of this house, and the day has finally come to do this.

I spent roughly 50 yesrs of my life in that house, and most of thst time was pleasurable, but the past four years have been nothing but horrid.

And the psst couple of months have Bern worse than horrid. I cant even think.of the right word to describe what we went through since my mom's death in early September.

If nothing else, the burden of the house prevented me from grieving for my mother in the proper way, because when she passed, we had to go right into selling mode.

That is not the right way to grieve, and it is time we can never get back.

But in just a few hours, the burden of the.sale of the house will finally be completed, and maybe my family and I can breathe again.

"Maybe" is the operative word here, because I cannot speak for anyone else, but this entire episode has damaged me forever--beyond my bum left leg--and I don't know if I will ever be the same person that I was before all.of this happened.

Let's hope thst I am wrong about all of this, and my life can be returned to me, in full, when the new owner puts his John Hancock on the bottom line today.

Rant #3,277: Bits and Pieces

Yes, today's entry marks the re-emergence of "Bits and Pieces," where I talk about several different topics in a single Rant--topics that might not deserve an entire column devoted to them, but certainly need to be spoken about.

So let's dive right into it:

Netflix To Carry WWE "Monday Night Raw" in 2025: Don't turn away if you don't like pro wrestling, because this deal signals just so much more ... how we are going to watch television in the future.

This is a multi-billion, multi-year contract the two entities have, and if a streaming service can do it with pro wrestling, you just know that the dam is overflowing, and a deal like this can be done with any sports or entertainment entity.

More and more people are streaming such programming into their homes every year, and where we once lauded cable and satellite as the next TV frontier, they are now old hat.

Streaming is the way to go now, giving us ways to watch our favorite shows wherever we are.

The problem for viewers is that for every show or sporting event you want, there appears to be another streaming service you have to subscribe to ...

And the $6.99 here and the $10.99 there all adds up, and when you add it all.up, it is going to become a financial nuisance.

What I feel will happen is that streaming services will have to provide bundles, with one price paid for maybe five or six of these services.

The availability of streaming services offering programming that people want to watch is already getting out of hand, and with this WWE deal, don't you think.other sports leagues are looking for what else they can stream, beyond what they are already making available only via streaming?

Can the eventual streaming of the Super Bowl be far behind?

Melanie Passes: I liked Melanie, I really did  The singer/songwriter, who passed away pretty much unexpectantly the other day, was as unique as one could be during her time in the spotlight.

Some of her songs, like "Brand New Key," were almost hypnotic, and she was the hippie flower child of her era.

She didn't like her marketing as that flower child, and for the past nearly 50 years, she rebelled against that tag, but never ascended to the level that she was at when she appeared at Woodstock.

I would say the modern equivalent of Melanie is Billie Eillish, another independent soul who rails against her marketing while she sells millions of records.

House Sale: Nothing is final until the name is signed on the dotted line, but I do believe this long, seemingly never-ending odyssey is just about over, and we will be rid of this house in just a few days.

Again, nothing is final yet, but let's just say that it looks pretty good at this point--

But I don't want to give it a "kinahura"--Yiddish for a "whammy"--right now, so let's cross all our fingers as the potential buyer prepares to dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's" when he signs the papers.

I Have "The Doctor Blues": As you know, for the second time in my.life, I need to look for a general practitioner due to improprieties thst have shut down the doctor's entire practice.

The latest reports are that there were some problems related to staff salaries, meaning that those who worked there were not getting paid.

This story is becoming weirder by the day, and here is a link to the latest on this story, which I do believe has tentacles.

Anyway, have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

https://longisland.news12.com/former-employees-of-blueprint-md-say-they-werent-paid-for-months-ahead-of-medical-companys-closure

Rant #3,276: Just Cant Wait

The day appears to finally be in reach!

On Monday, January 29 at 2 p.m., my wife and I have been asked to attend a meeting at a lawyer's office where the house closing sale to the new owner will finally be consummated.

With everything happening around me and to me, I never thought this day would come, but it appears that it finally is right around the corner.

A few weeks back, when I was not feeling as well as I do now, we had to sign some papers where I gave my wife power of attorney to handle my affairs pertaining to this situation, but now that I am so much better, I plan on being there, with my wife, and I will be able to handle this from my family's end.

This all is a dream come true, because since my mother passed away in early September, the house has been a very heavy millstone around our necks, primarily because we were in a reverse mortgage situation.

This situation forced my family and I to vacate the premises as quickly as possible, and this led to a domino effect of one unforeseen problem after another.

The house became a never-ending nightmare, and now it appears that we are just days away from the end of all of this nonsense.

I could not be happier.

The lawyer has to be paid, the broker has to get his cut,  and the reverse mortgage company gets theirs, so my sister and I aren't going to realize much of anything from this sale, but even if we get next to nothing, getting rid of this house will be a relief to all of us.

It is no fun paying for a house you no longer are living in, but that is what we have been doing for a long time now.

You buy a house, you have to take care of the responsibilities of the house, and quite frankly, we have burned through thousands of dollars to keep this house up to snuff while the buying party got its own affairs in order.

And it appears that in just a couple if days, that scenario will finally be over.

I wish the new owner the best of luck, and I hope that they have 50 years of pleasure living at that residence.

But we have to move on from this debacle, and live our lives apart from this home where I spent about a good half century.

That is the way it has to be, and in just a few days, we can finally get out from under the shadow of this place ... and finally move on with our lives.

I just can't wait.

Rant #3,275: inside and Out

Yesterday was a somewhat interesting day for me, as I actually ventured outside not once, but twice.

In the morning. I had to go to the dermatologist, and everything went pretty well there.

They snipped off two minor growths, nothing with nothing, they send them out to the lab, and I am sure they will come back as what they are, non-cancerous warts.

Then in the afternoon. I had to go to the local Department of Motor Vehicles, to update my license to reflect my new address.

I was supposed to do this 10 days after we moved in, but with all the health problems that I had, this was an impossible thing to do.

I tried to do this task online, but for some reason, while the online form accepted my information, it would not let me go to the next step, so I had to make the change in person.

My wife and son made their changes--my wife was able to do it online--so when it was all over, it was a fruitful day.

For me, I am really.moving around a bit better, and I can certainly do more things than I could even a month ago.

I was uncomfortable here and there, but generally, I held up pretty well.

And I went up and down our stairs--twice--without any incident.

So I am doing much, much better, but I still.have a long road ahead if me.

I have nothing new to report about the doctor incident I told you about yesterday, and I probably won't have much to report in the near future, because it is what it is, and the onus is on patients to find another doctor.

This is unsettling, but my family and I are waiting for some material to come to us in the mail from.our health insurance company about local doctors who are on.our plan.

Otherwise, Tuesday was just another day, and with everything seemingly happening all at once, it was nice to have a day that I could say was productive, not perjorative.

About the sale of the house?

You know as much as I do about it, and yes, that really is unsettling at this point in time.

Rant #3,274: Doctor My Eyes

I kind of thought 2024 would be a better year than 2023 was, but I am starting to doubt myself.

Physically, I am doing great, but there are outside forces that are beginning to make me NUTS!!!!

Long-time readers of this column know the saga of my former doctor, the one who had to close his practice and was jailed for selling drugs to students at Massapequa High School.

Well, what comes around goes around, and while the latest episode may not exactly resemble that debacle, it puts my family and I in the same place: without a doctor.

I had been calling my doctor for about two weeks to get two of my prescriptions filled, and all I got was a constant busy signal, no matter what office of his that I called.

My wife had an appointment early yesterday morning for some tests, and the local location was closed when she arrived..

Not knowing what to do, I called the hospital where the doctor is affiliated, and another group, where he also has an affiliation, to no avail.

I was wondering if his practice went out of business or is simply closed for some type of emergency, but then I knew something was really awry, because I called a doctors' association, and I found out that my doctor pulled all his credentials with them about a month ago.

What I later found out was when the doctor called me himself through the hospital.

All he said is that they were forced to close all.of their establishments due to an administrative manner, which he did not get into, and that they were in legal limbo right now.

in other words, we should look for another doctor. He said he was blocked from seeing his patients or contacting them about the situation, and that is why we never heard from him. He gave me a couple of other doctors he would recommend. The bottom line is thst his office is closed indefinitely, and if he is your doctor, find another one.

Heaven knows what this is all about, but once again, my doctor has failed me and failed his other patients.

I was able to get my prescription filled through my health care provider, but my wife needs to get those tests done.

I have no idea if I can get our medical records from the doctor, but remembering what I went through the last time--where I never could get those records even though my doctor was in jail--I just know that there is going to be a problem with this.

Goodness, what else can go wrong?

This is retirement?

Read more about this story at https://longisland.news12.com/patients-of-blueprint-md-scramble-to-find-new-doctors-as-medical-company-appears-to-have-suddenly-shut-down?fbclid=IwAR1a2i-jT1o4Yb2jdZ748WdpwUQ9trB1dtUAnQu9KDAwWs4cERjHAdG0TVQ.