The American Red Cross called me a couple weeks ago and said they understand I had some damage from the storm.

"Ummmm, what storm???"

The lady said, "From Hurricane Irma!"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, but that was TWO frigging years ago!"

"Yes sir, but we have some funds that have been released to help you out."

I then went on to ask the lady a string of questions and was told, she's simply a volunteer and doesn't know the answer to questions like that, so she gave me the number for the Red Cross Headquarters, then told me to contact them with any questions.

We hung up and I called the Red Cross National Headquarters. I spoke with a woman who said she had no idea what I was talking about, then she put me on hold while she talked with a supervisor. She came back and said she'd consulted with her supervisor as well as some mucky-muck above him, and nobody has a clue about anything I said. She then told me I may want to contact my LOCAL Red Cross and maybe they would know something about it, then gave me the number for the Red Cross in a neighboring town. I called and THE SAME LADY ANSWERED ... from the Red Cross National Headquarters! I told her I called the number she gave me and she's the one who answered. She double checked the number and it was correct. Needless to say, she was baffled. She then said she'd have a meeting with ALL of the brass and promised to get back with me by the end of the day.

As promised, she called me back that evening. She said a representative would be contacting me within a couple of days. Sure enough, a couple days later, a young gal called and said she'd like to stop by the house at 11:30 am the next day, if ok with me. I told her I'd be here. About 11:00 I was going to run to the pharmacy (2-blocks away) to pick up a Rx they had ready. As I was getting into my truck, the gal pulls up in the driveway (1/2 hr. early). We never even went into the house, I simply pointed out where some trees USED to be, where my pool/patio USED to be and to some new fencing where my OLD fence USED to be. We chatted a bit and she asked if I wanted a check or direct deposit. I told her direct deposit is fine, but I'd have to go inside to get my account number. She said, "No problem, I'll just call and get it later." She was here maybe 15 mins. and most of that time we were just b/s'ing. Once she left, I realized I didn't even realize what had just happened! Direct deposit? What deposit? Anyway, I went on to the store to pick up my Rx and continued with my day.

In the meantime, I haven't heard back from anybody and pretty much forgot about it. Yesterday, I pulled my mail out of the box and there's a check from the Red Cross for $6500.00!! WTF just happened?


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