He's Number One!

 Our grandson, Bryce Robinson, and his beautiful wife, Courtney, are expecting their first in February.  They held a gender reveal party last weekend and we learned that our first great-grandchild will be a boy.

Ms. Orlando

 A couple weeks ago, I posted about a couple of folks in Florida, a woman calling herself Tracy Orlando and a man claiming to be Me.  They opened a joint checking account at a Chase bank, and started transferring all the money out of our accounts here in Texas.  

A Chase computer detected something fishy and Chase Security froze all of the accounts - theirs and ours - until they could figure out what had happened. 

Well, halleluiah!  They got it right, and all of our funds have now been restored.  

We had to set up new accounts with new account numbers, get new debit cards, and notify everybody who sent us money by direct deposit or charged us via automatic drafts.  We also had to do an identity theft report with the Harris County Sheriff's office and deliver a copy of that report to the bank.

I ought to be happy, and I guess I am, but I've learned that the culprits will not be charged! 

I had hoped they would be flayed, drawn and quartered, boiled in oil, but they won't even get a slap on the wrist.  I can't charge them because I got my money back, and the bank will not. I think if the modern equivalent of the Daltons or the James gang cleaned them out, they wouldn't even put together a posse.

You see, banks work hard at portraying themselves as places you can feel safe and confident storing your assets.  They would rather take a loss than suffer the bad publicity.  

Nicholas

 

Ever since Imelda, Honey gets very worried whenever there is any sort of tropical activity in the gulf, so back when it was just a tropical wave we started preparing for Nicholas.  We ordered propane for the generator, and piled sand bags around it to keep it dry, removed files from the lower cabinets and put them on top, etc.

Then the hurricane hit and it was, for us, practically a non-event.  The wind never got particularly strong and we only had a total of two and a half inches of rain.

Then several hours after everything seemed to be over, our lights went out and the generator failed to start!  It had started on  Sunday for its weekly exercise run, but when we needed it, it did not come on. The battery was not only dead, it had a big crack down one side.

I went and got an new battery, but had to wait for almost half an hour while neighbors with chain saws and tractors removed a big tree from the road.  That tree was the reason the lights were out; the huge tree had fallen all the way across the road and taken down power lines on the opposite side of the street.

I got the battery installed and the generator fired up.  About six hours later, the lights came back on and everything was back to normal.

9-11

 boggy thicket: Remembering Nine-Eleven

It's Coming!

 

Your Prayers Worked - Mostly

 For those of you who have been wondering about my prayer request - especially those who offered one - they are working!  We're not all the way there, but we're getting close.

Here's what it was all about:

When I logged on Saturday morning, I had an email telling me to contact the Security office at Chase bank, and when I went to my account on line it was locked!

When I got hold of Chase Security, they told me that someone claiming to be me had walked into a Chase bank in Florida and opened a new joint checking account with a woman named Tracy Orlando.  They then began to transfer all the funds from our checking and savings accounts into theirs.

At that point, a Chase computer sent up a red flag, and all of the accounts - theirs and ours - were frozen.  

On the advice of Chase Security, I called the Sheriff's office and filed an identity theft report, but there was nothing else we could do until Tuesday.  I was amazed how long it takes to get a copy of the incident report - Chase Security wants it, but the clerk at the Sheriff's office says it may take up to two weeks.

We were at the bank shortly after they opened on Tuesday and the bank officer who helped us was able to free up most of our money, and assured us that we would get the rest after the investigation is complete.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that we had to get a new account number and have to notify everyone who did drafts from or direct deposit into our account.  She was able to do some of that at the bank, and we spent six hours on line, on phone and fax doing the rest yesterday.

We also had to get new debit cards which we'll receive in the mail.  I am so used to using mine that I feel strangely naked walking around without one.

In a really ironic twist, when we got home from the bank on Tuesday, I found this email waiting in my in box:

Dear Robert Couch,

Thank you for being a valued Chase customer. Would you please tell us about your recent banking experience?

Your three minutes answering our survey will help us make lasting improvements for you and other Chase customers.

Within the last week did you visit the Bryan Dairy and Starkey branch at 10755 Starkey Rd in Largo?

Yes

No

 

 

Thank you,

Joseph A. Garcia

Director, Customer Experience

I haven't replied.  I afraid my opinion might melt the world wide web.

Prayer Request

I get a lot of prayer requests on Facebook.  The ones I really hate are the ones that don't specify who or what they want me to pray for.

I never thought I would be asking for one like that, but Honey has specifically prohibited me from explaining the situation, so here we are.

Both of us are fine, and the problem is not insurmountable, but today is not a good day.

Five Lined Visitor

 

Lately, we have been seeing a new sort of lizard here at the Boggy Thicket.  

Known either as a five-lined skink or a blue-tailed skink, they are fairly large in comparison to the other lizards that live around here, about 8 to 10 inches tip to tail and they are surprisingly heavy.  Information on line says they are common throughout the Eastern US and into Canada and apparently they are expanding their territory into Eastern Texas.

Yesterday, we spotted one in our living room, and the chase was on.  The on line writeup does not tell you how fast they are, but they are quick.  It also doesn't mention that if you catch one, he will bite.  It didn't break the skin, but it did leave a triangular mark on my finger that was visible several hours later.