File this under frustrations you might share
By Bill Fox/Columnist
It has been a very challenging month, having my younger brother pass away from cancer in California. As mentioned in an earlier column, he had no family there. He also has a house that another brother and myself, along with one of his dear friends, had to prepare to sell so we could settle his estate. Luckily, we were given a name of a Bay Area realtor from our local ReMax professional, and that has really eased our frustration.
However, there has been some trying times lately, some of which have nothing to do with my brother’s earlier-than-expected death. It helps me to vent these out and perhaps offer some guidance down the road when you might be faced with these circumstances.
- I have been an asthmatic since the age of 7, but this last month has been my worst in memory, starting with a cold, then bronchitis, and progressing to asthma. On the other few occasions in the past 15 years when this has happened, I had to use the dreaded drug Prednisone with all its side effects. For the first time, I had to strengthen and lengthen the dose in order to get down to California after having changed my flight twice. I did not get medical insurance because of my “pre-existing condition.” Prednisone is also given to cancer patients, and insurance companies are really only there for financial gain, not to help you with your problems. My experience is that like some drug companies, the insurance industry relies on and promotes fear. This can be very frustrating!
- I recently went up to Orillia on a beautiful day. Most of the trip up Highway 12 was very enjoyable and quite speedy. I have it on good authority that while travelling major highways like the 400 series, you will usually not get pulled over for speeding 15 km/h faster than the limit, and that has been my custom, taking into consideration road conditions and traffic. So twice on my trip there, I got behind growing convoys of 15 or more cars, following someone struggling to the do the limit of 80km/h! Frustrating! In one incidence, it was someone pulling a house trailer, and in the other it was an elderly driver (more elderly than me). The polite thing to do, at least at one time, was for slower drivers to pull over every so often to the shoulder to allow the increasing traffic behind you, to pass, but that seems to be a forgotten courtesy. Frustrating!
- While in California driving the major highways there, I noticed the speed limit was faster than Ontario, and there seemed to be much less changing of lanes. People kept up and the traffic moved well, with no need to change the lane that met your comfort level. While back home here, I have often seen someone entering the express lanes and immediately going to the passing lane, and from there create their own convoy for the next 10 miles. Often on my trips out to Bowmanville to my dad’s home, I find a slower car in the passing lane, not passing anyone with a clear highway ahead. Frustrating.
- I can only assume that there was a recent vehicle recall in both California and Ontario for all the cars that have no turn signals or rear view mirrors. Do you ever wait to make a right turn onto a road, and you find the car you were waiting to follow behind is turning into your street, and forgot to signal? Frustrating.
- Finally, I’m tired of dealing with people who are serving the public but won’t admit they don’t know answers to questions. I have had this experience with Turbo Tax and recently with an American credit union that would not accept my Ontario-issued power of attorney for my 94-year-old father without his photo ID. Dad still has the old red and white health card. His license was taken when he failed the eye test as he entered his 80s. His 20 year old passport and work ID were considered outdated. Frustrating.