Tuesday Adventure

     There’s been a question hovering about my Social Security benefit. With nothing scheduled for this Tuesday...the joys of retirement...it seemed a good time to visit the local Social Security Office in downtown St. Paul. Thereby hangs a tale.

    Once, during Advent, this blog was about being a co-creator in the world we inhabit. Trying to practice what I preach it seemed well to image this trip as an adventure. Casting it as adventure triggers patient responses. Since the summer of 1967, when I worked a bit in downtown St. Paul, I’ve been a very occasional visitor. The SS Office is in a downtown bank building. Doing due diligence two things were learned: 1. That parking can be an issue, and 2. That 10:00 am Tuesday has the longest wait time. That’s the time I would arrive. So, what did I do? I went anyway.

   The trusty GPS led to a parking ramp about four blocks from the SS Office. Arrival a the offfice was at exactly 10:00 am. Sitting down to wait I read the morning papers on my phone and at exactly 11:00 I was summoned to a window. Question answered in 5 minutes it was back to the parking ramp, where my car was nowhere in sight. Up the elevator to the first floor of Union Depot the security person directed me to the next parking garage where my car magically appeared.

   Here are some observations of that little adventure. GPS is amazing. There were two armed security officers, males, 30ish, on duty in the SS waiting room. Based on an hour’s observation of their behavior they were; always polite, friendly, cheerful and helpful. At the front of the waiting room was a large monitor that displayed the numbers being served. Also on this monitor were rotating messages in English, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese...what a great country! Humorously it also displayed information for the blind. In downtown St. Paul the streets and sidewalk are cleared of snow but not the street crossings for pedestrians. Walking 8 blocks two pedestrians were met and very few cars seen.

    So that’s today’s adventure. The OFH raised rents for 2023, 4%, a very modest increase. Social Security benefits went up 8.7%. This discrepancy, another blessing in my life....

Takk for alt,

Al

                                      USMC Boot Camp graduation (file photo).