Never Before

Yesterday morning as I was checking on for my medical procedure, an experience happened that has never happened to me before at a reception desk.

I was asked to sign a paper.  I picked up a pen at the counter and then actually looked at the paper.  At the top on the left hand side was my name, birth date, Mayo number and address.  On the right hand top was the amount this procedure would cost: $4,830.00.  Wow.

The form went on and I had three options.  One option was for Mayo to turn the amount into our insurance, the second option was to agree to pay the amount in installments.  The third option was to cancel the procedure.  WTF!  Of course I checked the box for the first option.

Was this form a sign of what is yet to come?  Would that amount change is the nurse accidently dropped the IV needle?  It reminded me of the chart at the Jiffy Lube in Mankato . . . a set price for each of the services you are seeking.

Why can I continually be surprised as to what the world is coming to.

I was again surprised when I went to the grocery store here in town this forenoon.  I had put all of my choices on the conveyor belt.  The very young gal had not even rung up a total when she assumed I would be carrying out the four plastic bags myself as she pushed them along.  I paid for my groceries.  The four bags remained on the end of her counter and I remained standing in front of her while there were people waiting to be rung up.  When she finally looked up at me with questioning eyes, I asked her to please find a carryout person for me.  Dah.

Oh well, life remains to be sweet as I drove home.  It does cause a chuckle when purchasing groceries has become a social outing for me.

The chit chat in the grocer’s was the talk of the rain we had being at close to five inches.  It came down slow enough to soak in to really make a difference.

Dennis is not taking any chances of his two patio plants being hit by frost.  Both are now sitting in their individual sow pans in the patio porch.  The pans will catch whatever water soaks through the dirt too fast while watering.  In that event, they eventually do soak it all up.  Both plants have been around since before I retired, and that was in 2009.  He doles out a trim every once in awhile with a treat of Miracle Grow once in a while.

Do you remember items that have never happened to you before?  Actually, they are bound to be more than can be counted.