Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. First off, if my timing is correct, the wearing of the green and drinking green beer happened this week. Hope you did something special to celebrate the day. I used to wear some Irish buttons…like “Kiss Me I’m Irish”, or “Pinch Me for Luck,” which are a no-no these days, but I do have a cute pair of oversized green glasses with fake side burns to wear. Who knows, it might bring me luck! I could use it for sure. So, what else is going on? Oh yes, I don’t know about you, but when I get a bill in the mail, I try to get it paid in short order because I am afraid it will get buried in a pile of papers and I will get that “your bill is past due” letter. I had my teeth cleaned last week, and I got the resulting bill in the mail a few days after the visit. Now, my teeth cleaning is supposed to be free through my insurance, but for some reason, I never get away from not having to pay something. I look at the bill. There is the cleaning part, $70, then there was the oral exam (dentist comes in and looks at your teeth in the hopes of finding future dollars for his bank account) for which I am charged another $40, then they asked me if I wanted the fluoride treatment, which amounts to them putting some gel on my teeth and I swirl it around my teeth for complete coverage, and this adds another $40. Anyway, I dutifully write the check, put in an envelope, and the next day I drop it off at the post office. Interestingly enough, I get a phone call from my dentist. She starts off telling me that she got my check for $150 and sounded puzzle over this. Hmmmm? I asked her if this was a problem. She told me that this was not a bill. What? She proceeded to tell me that they have not sent the billing to the insurance company yet. They gather them up and send them out once a month, and when the insurance company comes back with what it will cover, the dentist sends out a new bill. So, I am not sure why they bother sending the first billing. Sounds like unnecessary duplicity to me, but it is not my business to run. We end the call with this question: “Would like your check back or do you want us to wait and apply it to any balance as a credit?” I told her to keep my check with my blessings, I rather have the bill covered than wait for it to reappear in my mailbox. I get enough bills without getting recycled bills.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but good things come through your door.” Irish blessing
SMILES
Little Emily, the minister’s daughter, ran into the house, crying as though her heart would break. “What’s wrong, dear?” asked the pastor. “My doll! Billy broke it!” she sobbed. “How did he break it, Emily?” “I hit him over the head with it.”
A new mother went to the psychiatrist worried. “Doctor,” she said, “Since I had the baby I can’t sleep at night. When I’m in the next room, I have this dreadful fear that I won’t hear the baby if he falls out of the crib at night. What should I do?”
“Easy,” said the doctor. “Just take the carpet off the floor.”
That is all I have for today. As always, be good, do good, play safe and remember that we all need to do something good every day.
JR
