Aug 09 2003
Small Town
These two things could only have happened in a small town.
1. Megan went to the bank to ask about adding herself to Mom?s account. Though we have had Power of Attorney for a year or so, if the account is joint with one of us, it will pass directly to that person without passing Go and going through probate, a thing to be avoided if at all possible, even if one?s assets are on the dainty to non-existent side, as they are in this case.
The bank manager said that Mom would have to come in, and Meg explained that this wasn?t possible due to Mom?s health. The manager thought for a minute, and then said she would call Mom and if Mom agreed to it, the manager would bring the paperwork to Megan?s house herself, and help us fill it out. Megan explained the isolation of her house and the manager was cheerfully undeterred.
So not only was she willing to go way above and beyond the call of duty, she wanted to make absolutely sure that Mom wasn?t being taken advantage of or talked into something she didn?t want to do. Talk about admirable!
2. We went to the funeral home to make arrangements. It was so terrible making those decisions when Dad suddenly died and we were in a state of shock and grief that we wanted to avoid it this time. We had no warning with Dad, we have plenty with Mom. And I guess it?s one way of controlling an uncontrollable situation, or giving oneself the illusion of controlling it.
When we got there, Megan recognized the funeral director as a guy she had treated recently in her capacity as EMT. She asked him if he had experienced extreme dental pain at 3 am a few weeks ago, and he laughed and said, ?That?s where I know you from! You sure helped me – how can I help you?? And with that, he proceeded to give us exactly what we wanted, and nothing we didn?t. He didn?t try to sell us a bunch of fancy, pointless crap, and was very helpful and considerate, telling us what would be legally required (Dad died in England, where the laws are different than they are in California). It was as pleasant as such a transaction can ever be.