Oh, What A Miserable Three Days

 The good news is that I still have insurance covering my counselor.

How I got there was a misery.

Wednesday, I had asked CC if she could get me around. I found out she sprained her ankle. We worked until 2 pm. I caught the 2:30 bus to the courthouse and did my stuff with the sheriff. I walked up to Family Services wanting to get back the old insurance plan. Very nice people there. They listened to my story, they gave me a number to call. I thought I could catch the 3:30 bus downtown, except it did not show. The school schedule affected the route. I walked over to Tillotson and Memorial and caught the #17 on the way back from the courthouse. I got home close to 5 pm.

I worked on getting out my fiction. Then I was just to make my daily report.

Thursday, I got home around 3 pm. I snacked and drank some Diet Coke and made my call. I spent about an hour on the phone with HIP and then Anthem. It wore me out more than did work. I laid down for an hour. I tried Anthem one more time. They sent me back to Family Services – Anthem could not change my network. I felt worn out. Light-headed. Angry. I called CC, she said she could get me around on Friday.

Friday, we left work early. The machinery for the line broke down. I called CC, no answer. I caught the 10:30 #2 out to Family Services. They could do nothing. I walked over to Tillotson and Memorial thinking to catch the #17, I grabbed two sandwiches and a fountain Coke Zero before I realized I had time to catch the #12. Well, not that much time. I had to run the last block – old fat man with COPD running. I had to give the bus driver a good laugh. I was bound for Meridian Health. For this I needed the #1. Meridian Health people were completely mystified – insurance was paying. That was good news – that I had the insurance, not that they were mystified. I waled down the street, caught the #2 heading west. I decided to get groceries then instead of later, as had been my plan. Food stamps balance is now nil. I was heading back downtown at 1:15. This gave me time to get the rent in cash from the bank. The Whitely/Morning side bus got me back here around 2 pm. The day was not bad.

I worked on some posts, then in submitting my stories. I talked to CC. I have to wash my hands of her. The drugs have not only raddled her brain, she is turning into a pathological liar. Where I thought there was a native shrewdness, is just desperate game-playing. I finally let her know I would be out of Muncie. Done. The best thing for her will be to go to prison. She thinks she knows too much, that we are all fools, but not her. My choices are she fooled me for years, 13 years of drug abuse and bad health have ruined her, or both. My only course of action is to treat her as dead.

I reworked the dinner section of “Road Tripping”. I decided to omit Poe and Ahab and Omar. I also edited the original section while I put my new version into a separate file. It went to Long River Review as “America Eats at The Old National Road Diner and Truck Stop”.

Other submissions made last night: “Their Bright Future” and “Blue Eyes Flashing Doom” and “Vision of Colonel Tom” to Bridge - Bridge Journal - Literary Fiction - V24 N1; “Reunion” to Thirteen Bridges Review; and “Second Chances, Last Chances” to Hudson Review.

This morning I ran over my “Dead and Dying” stories. I found a misspelling in one. Of Course, I sent the story out already. I do not understand how I missed it.

I have laundry to do, and a trip to Fishers for the St. George's festival.

Oh, yeah, one more thing from this morning: TRUDEAU SUMMONS GROCERY STORE GIANTS TO OTTAWA TO "STABILIZE" PRICES. And we think we alone have problems.

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