By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
In all the years of my writings I have failed to match one of the shortest written items as far as its meaningfulness to me. Over the years I have created quite a few “Signature Files.” Before my last one I was always trying to be cute, humorous, or scholarly sounding. One day several years ago when discussing a poem that I had written, someone asked me why I enjoyed writing so much. I responded with the comment: “I write to share what my eyes see and my heart feels.” At that moment, I knew, that in 14 words I had totally summarized who I was and why I write.
After a couple of my typical “Wramblings”, I will describe and write about another such inspiration received from a friend who is no stranger to most who read my articles, the Olean Times Herald, or more recently a frequent contributor to the area “Sun” as it, and they, shine through his photography.
Recent Scanner Calls:
- A recent domestic disturbance call cited an angry spouse running their vehicle into a tree as retribution.
- A recent I86 accident where bystanders were trying to hold off the tow vehicle from departing prior to a response from law enforcement personnel.
- A recent late afternoon emergency LifeNet response to a nearby landing zone had to be interrupted before the arrival of the ambulance with patient, as one helicopter pilot, after landing, had to be replaced by another who was flown to the landing zone. Presumably it was due to timing. I should note that there was no resultant delay or disruption of service.
- Domestic dispute calls are numerous, most, likely leading to the “non-emergency” 911 calls. Still, they must be taken seriously. They do often result in a chuckle or two however as the reason for the dispute is passed on through the emergency dispatch system. Some are truly “head shakers.
- Here are a couple of “Googled” Humorous 911 calls: These were not witnessed by me so I cannot vouch for their validity.
- One youngster called in to report that his brother would not share the Legos stating that “…his brother was a liar, a jerk, and a turd and they needed to come and arrest him.
- One man called in to seek assistance for a dislocated shoulder suffered when pulling on his tight Under Armor insulated shirt. He could have driven himself to the ER but would have to drive with his arm out the window.
- One lady called to report her 6-year-old was on the roof and she couldn’t get him down. She stressed that her request to expedite wasn’t out of fear, as he had done it before and had peed in the air vents.
- Another six year old called in himself as he didn’t have any friends and he needed someone to play with.
Wrocketing back to wramblings, recent local government boards have been discussing the problem of “horse droppings” in the roadways. This has been an ongoing problem for quite a while. In certain areas where there is a concentration of “One Horsepower Vehicles” it has gotten much worse. Droppings themselves are a nuisance but the entire situation needs to be studied from a safety standpoint. As are bicycles, this means of conveyance is allowable by law. Regular motor vehicle operators need to be especially vigilant in areas where these modes of transportation are common. On the other hand, the users of these alternate modes of transportation need to be extremely conscientious as to their actions and road use habits as they could be victims or the actual cause of the problem themselves.
It seems like nearly every week I have concerns with, and thus discuss, my interactions with the health care industry. As a frequenter of URMC Medical services I have been forced to deal with MyChart which for those not so lucky, is similar to previous such documentation “portals” as used by Jones Memorial Hospital (JMH) and Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport. More and more we are being driven toward, and forced to handle, most of our communications and transactions through “online access” to MyChart. There are conveniences but there are also some significant flaws in the entire process. You are expected to keep your own records on file and updated on a continual basis and communicate with the medical profession via this online mechanism.
JMH has recently come under the MyChart umbrella or smothered by its blanket if you ask many of those affected. Many in that institution are as unhappy, or maybe more so, than I. I had a very heated discussion with one such professional who was so irritated and upset that they shared their frustrated inclination to leave the area if things didn’t get better.
My most recent interaction with the “System” dealt with my failure to pay the exorbitant bill of $5.86 over the period of several months. Based on previous problems resulting from having received hospital billings while insurance payments were still in process, only to discover that I had been billed for things ultimately covered by insurance or Medicare, I typically now wait a few to several months before paying the bill. I say months as, on a few occasions I have had to dispute claim denials when incorrect billing codes had been used resulting in refusal by the insurance company to pay.
A couple of months ago I received another follow-up on my late bill, so I called JMH, and my call was put through to what turned out to be, unknown by me, the billing “agency” handling the JMH billings. The representative I talked to, checked my account, and advised that I had a “Zero Balance,” not owing anything. Last week I received another bill for that whopping $5.86 but this one included a notice that it was being sent to a collection agency. I was very upset.
At this point, I would like to go on record as complaining that you cannot call into JMH and talk to a real person despite listening to “their new menu of options” and finally selecting one that, supposedly, would take you to a real representative. I’m pretty sure that there are staffing issues which I believe to be a combination of staff cutbacks and an inability to hire, or properly train competent workers. I am nothing, if not persistent.
Making a several hours in the making story, shorter, the bottom line was that when JMH switched to the MyChart business protocol it switched as well to an agency that handles their billing. As of the day I was told I had a Zero balance, the representative was from the new billing agency and in their books, I had no balance. The “Old” billing office wasn’t going to give up on their $5.86 and so continued to bill me and also, send it to a collection agency. When I talked to a real person at JMH after resolving the issue, I was told that it would be OK for me to vent my spleen in this week’s Sun article as they agreed with my frustrations and shared them, but don’t use their name.
BTW, I am now all paid up, in full, and owe “Nuttin to no-one.”
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Bit Coins and Cryptocurrency never imagining that I would personally encounter them. The ammunition that I use for varmint control is nearly nonexistent in this area, so I searched for it online. I managed to find some and tried to order it. Upon starting the payment process I discovered that their only form of acceptable payment was in Cryptocurrency. Disappointed, I sent them an email stating that disappointment and they responded that if I sent them a screengrab of my purchase bill they would take care of the cryptocurrency thing and give me an account where I could pay. I emailed them the requested information and in setting up the details they advised that they could not ship to New York State. I later learned that they were likely a bogus seller anyway and I was better off not dealing with them. I was given a different, legitimate seller and upon getting to the payment stage found out that they couldn’t ship to New York either. I have been in this situation before so I guess I’m going to have to lean on a friend in Genesee, PA. and have the shipment sent to him.
On to a better, recent, inspiration. I have shared here before, that I am a big fan of three photographic individuals who choose social media and/or the Wellsville Sun and the Hornell Sun to share their pictorial skills, and, who all have inspired many of my previous poems. Craig Braack, Dan Jordan, and John Kucko have all been inspiring me with their nature photos either of natural habitat and visual wonders, or of their wildlife sightings. Most recently, Dan Jordan shared a photo of one of his “frequent photo subject eagle pair”, who were facing each other with heads bowed. I sent a message to Dan and mentioned that I could envision that pair as if they were praying or in tears and thought it would look great with a United States flag as a backdrop. Dan thought it was a great idea and posted said picture with his version of my suggestion. I am using that picture at the heading of this week’s column. I asked Dan if he could also do that pair, in color, with the flag in the background. Given that “solemn” inspiration I was going to write a poem that reflected a couple of events in history that might even cause eagles to cry.
Upon completion of the poem and sharing it with Dan, I asked if he could also add a subtle background to the poem as well. Despite mumbling something about “needing to rest his back as it was tiring carrying me” he added those extra touches and I share with you now a combination of Dan’s inspirational photography and the humble words they inspired. I share with you “what my eyes saw and my heart feels.” “The Eagles Cried”.