“Do you think this is all just part of the bigger bureaucracy?” he asked me.
“I’m sure it is. Absolutely. Just one more government line to wait in.” I said to him.
We stood there, quietly, shifting our weight from foot to foot, waiting. Wondering just how long this was all going to take. More people entered the building and stood in line behind us.
“Look, there are even more people now. Do you think they only have one person working for a reason?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It could be that it’s five minutes until they close and everyone else left early.”
“I’m from Africa,” he said. “This is all seems to take so much time from a person’s life.”
“Yes,” I replied. “But I think they figure we’ve got no where else we need to be today.”
He sighed. “Every time I come here, I have to wait and wait and wait. That woman over there is particularly mean.”
“I’ve never had anyone here be anything but nice to me,” I told him. “But then, I’m usually just trying to get them to stop sending me checks.”
“She points her finger and screams!”
“Well, that isn’t nice for anyone. But especially here.”
Even more people had come in and were now stacked up behind us. He gazed back to the end of the line.
“There are even more now. Do you think they’ll see everyone today?”
“I don’t know. Certainly not if they don’t get more people at the desk. You could sell your place at the front of the line!”
That made him chuckle.
“My name is Evan.”
“My name is Jennifer.” I took his hand and shook it.
And then from behind door number three, there appeared two more caseworkers. I turned to Evan.
“You’re going to be next.”
“Well, we’ll see. I do like her, though; she’s the nicest one of all the people here. Quiet and just does her job.”
“Yes, I like her, too. She’s always been very kind to me.”
The kind woman yelled, “Next in line?” And with that Evan went to her window. But all she did was take his Social Security number and reason for his visit and sent him to off to take a seat. Then she was asking me the exact same questions. So I gave her the number and the reason and then took a seat next to Evan.
We chatted while we waited for anyone to call our name. He was born in the Sudan, but had lived in Greece most of his life. He had been in the United States for nearly 30 years. And he had even been a member of our Armed Forces. I didn’t ask what branch of service. I realized while sitting there that I was actually in the Social Security Office and as I no longer have a Social Security card this would be a prime opportunity to get one. I ran over to a counter and grabbed an application.
I started to fill it out. Evan noticed that I was born in Washington, D.C.
“Washington, D.C.! The center of bureaucracy. You were right in the boiler plate.”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s the reason I love Santa Cruz so much. Lots less bureaucracy. Unless of course, you’re at the Social Security Office.”
“Are you always this cheerful? Do you always smile so much?” Evan asked me.
“Well, yes. I do smile all the time. I’m a very optimistic person.”
“I could use a friend like you. Someone who is always smiling.”
“I’ll be your friend,” I told him. And I meant it.
So then the very nice lady called Evan again and he was off to figure out why they were withholding so much from his monthly checks. In a few minutes the “mean” lady called me. I told her that I was there to reinstate my Medicare Benefits. She looked at me over the top of her glasses and asked, “How old are you?”
“I’ll be 40 in three weeks, but I’m on permanent disability.”
“Hold on.”
She typed a few things into her computer and then printed out page after page of what must have been my Social Security Historical File. And then she sat and tried very hard to decipher what it all meant. Then she looked at me and said, “Are you ready to file again for disability?”
“No. I don’t think I have to go through all of that again. I think I can just reinstate my Medicare coverage.”
“Nope. You can’t. You stopped paying for it. Now you have to reapply for disability and wait two years before you’ll get coverage.”
“I don’t want to argue with you, but I think you’re mistaken. I stopped because Medicare told me not to carry it while I had insurance from my job.”
“Look, the rules are that if you stop coverage and go off of disability you have to reapply and get reinstated and….wait a minute.”
She disappeared behind Door Number 3. I stood there wondering about all of it and if I really would have to reapply for disability. I thought about LaVonne and all she goes through in this challenge. I heard the woman at the caseworker next to me sobbing because she had tried to get disability and had been denied and couldn’t possibly face going through all that trauma again. I felt so bad for these people. I know how hard it is to get the “brass ring” and it made me angry that I live in the richest nation in the world and yet I have to beg to get proper medical care. It shouldn’t be this way. Not for me, but especially not for all those who unlike me don’t have the will to fight for their rights. What kind of nation are we that we can’t take care of our sick and disabled and dying? What monsters have we all become?
Those were my thoughts.
And then the “mean” lady returned. And said, “Everyone back there remembers who you are. Turns out you’re a special case!”
I almost laughed out loud. Almost. When have I not been told that I am a special case?
So she then told me that for reasons she doesn’t quite understand, I actually can just reinstate my Medicare coverage, but to do so, I need to have a face-to-face appointment with one of the benefits counselors just to make sure we cross all the right “t’s” and dot all the right “i’s” and everything is as it should be so the whole bureaucracy does not crumbling down around us.
“The earliest appointment I have is January 29th. Do you want morning or afternoon?”
“Afternoon, please. I don’t do mornings.”
And with that, I suddenly had my paperwork for an appointment for January 29 at 2:15 p.m. I was on my way. When I got outside, there was Evan. He asked me if I wanted his phone number. He told me he didn’t want mine because he respected the fact that I was a lady and that it wouldn’t be proper. So I told him that of course I wanted his phone number and I would gladly call him. He gave it to me and I promised to call him to go for a walk or to get some tea. We hugged goodbye.
It’s funny whom you’ll meet while standing in line. It always helps if you smile.
