Blog: quo vadis America?

On January 15^th I incurred a flat tire thanks to the inefficiencies of Public Works that had stranded the street with tools or equipment, I don’t remember which. In the process of having the spare tire put in, my purse was stolen, with all vital information in it, except for my car keys and cell telephone. There was a spare car key in my purse, checkbook, driv er’s license and several other credit cards, and money of course, including money paid to me for two books sold that week. Three days later another purse was stolen again from my car, obviously because the thief had the key.

For the last eight months I have lived in a nightmare, beyond the confines of the identity theft. I have had problems with the telephone company, the cell company, the car insurance company, the car agency that put the most expensive tires on my car, claimed that a replacement key would cost $1200.00 and I had no other options etc. The list goes on. It has become a nightmare to re-set my recurring automatic payments and check my bank statements to weed out unauthorized or missed payments. About the only people who have not tried to rob me out of my breath were the bank people who have been very cooperative.

Eventually my car key was re-programmed for $200.00 by another agency. Otherwise I am still battling with inefficiencies, oversights,  and greed, “everybody out to get you” type of greed, or derailing information on the pretext of selling something for free, which , of course, ends up “not so free”.

 I am surprised at how much America has changed. It is no longer a “neighbor caring for neighbor” attitude that you encounter, with few exceptions, but a conglomeration of predators who are “out to get” your blood.  Most companies demand a penalty for delayed transactions, but who pays the consumer for her /his time due to disorientation with “identity theft?

As for the time “stolen” from me, yes, “stolen”, because I’m a writer and have spent hundreds of hours to right the wrongs, who will pay for these, and the extra expenses incurred to return to a normal life: the Public Works, the insurance companies, the telephone companies who messed my system or the IRS?  Even cockroaches have taken the liberty to walk into my abode uninvited, as if a zombie is living there. Do I have to fight all the way down to these creatures, despite all the defenses I have set up, including a home security notice next to my entrance door?  

Quo Vadis America? Life has become a battlefield. Whatever happened to pride, honor, integrity and all other attributes that make of a human being a worthwhile person? We don’t live in our houses any more, we just barricade ourselves within.