February was a good month and a sad month. Mom-In-Law passed as she had
enough of dialysis and quit going. My better half bailed off to MI to see her
Mom and during that time period, our first grandbaby was born in Okinawa. Mom
then passed leaving another estate to close out. I had closed my parent’s
estate in 2011/2012.
I flew to MI on the 16th to meet with my brother-in-law so
that we could empty the attic, meet contractors, meet estate sales people, and
get with a realtor. Normally this would fall to my wife as it is her mother and
estate. To say that she and her brother do not get along would be huge
understatement. I ended up playing mediator as he will work with me if remember
to be polite and don’t tell him what I really think. I would not care to be
here again.
It would normally be closer to fly into Toledo but there was an airshow
going on that weekend and decided to fly into Detroit. I hate flying in/out of
Detroit as you always have to add time for the “Detroit Factor”. I do not know
if the whole darn place is unionized or just slow on purpose. On arrival, I
took the shuttle to the Avis Rental. I needed to go to the counter as I had a
fistful of corporate free days. There were about 15 people ahead of me and
three people manning the counters. Oops, make that two as one just left. It
must have been his end of shift. The keys to a vehicle were finally in my hands
about 1 ½ hours later. Detroit Factor!
My in-laws lived in the same place for about 60 years. The attic was
impressive in the ingenuity required to load all the historic treasures stored
there. I don’t think anything was ever thrown away as it might come in handy
later. We took about 5 hours unloading the attic. There was no organizing of
anything at this time. It’s hot so just get the stuff down for organizing
later.
A few items, that were carefully selected, were tossed out the bedroom
window down to the driveway so that they could immediately make their way to
trash. I organized a bit later so that I could vacuum up a bit. All those old
plastic storage bags disintegrated upon touching them.
Through the week I sorted out what wife and brother-in-law might desire
and cleaned up. I met with contractors etc. Finally, it was time to leave. I went
to the airport extra early on the 23rd to account for the Detroit
Factor. They could not close out the vehicle at the return lane. The note said
to go to the counter. So off I go to the counter to see one person working and
five people in line ahead of me. Detroit Factor. When I finally get to the
counter, they cannot close it out either. A manager will be required who is not
present. Detroit Factor. Took a copy of my return receipts and left to go to
the airport. I still had adequate time as amazing as that seems.
I got on the plane and was waiting for the barbarian hordes to get
settled in. Looking around, I could feel my IQ dropping. Have you ever gotten
that feeling that you accidentally got on the short plane reserved for those who
recently escaped the institution? Here comes one really, really obese lady down
the aisle counting as she looks at the row numbers. You can hear her say, “sixteen,
seventeen, and eighteen”, while bouncing her fat ass off of everyone in the
aisle seats. She then loudly complains, “Where the hell is row 24?” Yep, I am definitely
on the short plane. Thank heaven I was in the exit row and the obese one was
not next to me. As I gaze around at my fellow passengers, I realize that this
is the homeliest most overweight bunch that I have ever had the misfortune of
being near. I was happy to see DFW to shed myself of that particular group. I
picked up something to eat and then finally Tucson. Yeah! Home again.
But Detroit Factor! My Avis bill is still not closed out. I contacted
our corporate representative and he is still trying to get Detroit to respond.
I suggested a Taser to get their attention or at least the one still standing.
He has now opened a case number with customer support to try to get Detroit’s
attention. I wonder if Avis is headquartered in Detroit!
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