When you reach my age (83) and don\u2019t hear from friends for a long time, you don\u2019t assume they\u2019re just too busy to get in touch. You wonder if they\u2019ve died.<\/p>\n
Apparently, I\u2019m not the only one who is sometimes unsure who\u2019s still alive and who isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The other day I received a check from the company that provides my long-term-care insurance. The check was for almost $1,000.<\/p>\n
A windfall! But not so fast. The accompanying, very short letter said that my insurer was sending the money “as per your request.” I hadn’t made any request.<\/p>\n
I called the company and negotiated a phone maze that included every choice imaginable except “mystery check.\u201d When I finally got a human being on the phone, she explained that if a customer dies and has already paid the premium for the following year, the insurer refunds part of it.<\/p>\n
“But I’m not dead,” I objected. She should have been able to figure that out since I was talking to her on the phone.<\/p>\n
“Aren’t you Beth Davis?” she asked.<\/p>\n
It turns out that Beth Davis died, but her policy is still alive while mine has been terminated.<\/p>\n
The woman promised to get that straightened out.<\/p>\n
To paraphrase Mark Twain, \u201cReports of my death were grossly exaggerated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you reach my age (83) and don\u2019t hear from friends for a long time, you don\u2019t assume they\u2019re just too busy to get in touch. You wonder if they\u2019ve died.<\/p>\n