spellbound.....

Does anyone out there like Harper's Island, the TV show of last summer (CBS)??    I completely stumbled onto the show by accident. I really love this song by Civil Twilight called Letters from the Sky. You should check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wa7dFR09vU

There was a reference to this TV show, and when I was reading about the unreal plot line, I became more and more curious. The plots, the deaths involved were absolutely, positively spellbinding!!!!!! Has anyone ever seen this show?

Thankfully, I saw the more important parts of the show on YouTube. I saved money by not having to buy the DVD. I don't want to get to wrapped up in the show by spending that kind of money, especially since I don't usually like those kind of TV shows or movies. If you're curious, just see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Island  or the official website to the show, http://www.cbs.com/primetime/harpers_island/

wow, a new Title

In Chicago, the fire fighters make a very big deal out of fire drills in skyscrapers.  Our building was built in 1923 and is 46 stories tall.  No one wants to see gruesome deaths by fire, because fire is a very painful way to die, and it's really bad publicity, and, of course, we really  hate when people die premature deaths. 

For instance, in the past, it was standard in the skyscrapers to lock the doors of the stairwells.  Companies, businesses, and law firms  were afraid that criminals, people intent on stealing things, violent people would come up to their  floor from the stairs and do terrible things.  Therefore, they locked the doors.  However, there was a fire in a Chicago skyscraper about 7 years ago.  Since the doors were locked, people inside the stairs couldn't go to floors where there wasn't a fire and they either suffocated or burned to death.  Therefore, the City of Chicago banned locking stair doors. 

When you're in a skyscraper and there's a fire drill, you don't have to walk from your floor all the way down to the 1st floor.  In many cases that would be walking thousands of steps and going down 20 or more floors.  Basically, you go several floors down and the fire fighter supervising the drill tells you how you did.  Today, they lectured 2 people NOT to carry their coffee or favorite beverage with them if there's a fire, because first, you can buy another beverage after successfully surviving the fire, and more importantly, you may spill your drink and slow down people walking downstairs.

Before today's fire drill, I was formally given the title, ELEVATOR MONITOR. I am to guard against anyone taking an elevator down to the 1st floor either during a drill or an actual fire.  Obviously, if there's a fire, an elevator is one of the last places you would want to be especially when it breaks down or ceases to function due to the fire.  So, my office manager exhorted me to be an intimidating presence making sure no one thinks of getting on an elevator (yeah, RIGHT).  Then, I am one of the last people to leave the floor (to prevent stragglers from using elevator). 

It was pretty funny, because before the fire drill, they gave handbooks out and spelled out the titles of those people who were to help insure a safe fire drill or safe evacuation if there was a fire.  & there I was Vince __, ELEVATOR MONITOR.  They even listed who my subsitute was if I wasn't lucky enough to be around during a fire or a drill.  They even wrote a paragraph with bullet points on what I was to do.  I feel so official now  (not!). 

2 VERY SHORT stories

I want to share two stories about government. One is the federal government, and one is Illinois government. They both relate to taxes. Taxes are a very impassioned, visceral subject. To me, it almost seems like the Republican Party exists just to fight taxes, particularly fight taxes for the rich. Well, the last thing I want to do is issue a diatribe so let’s get on with the two stories.

I filed my federal taxes with 1040 EZ. That is the simplest tax form to use. I checked my income figures at least 3 times. I checked the amount of tax I owed 3 times also. I was pleased to be getting a pretty large tax refund, and I filed extra early, about a week before January 31.

When the federal government, particularly the notorious IRS (Internal Revenue Service) reviewed my very simple, filled-out 1040 EZ, they intervened, but not in a sinister fashion; this is not a story about their sinister ways. They intervened by stating that I forgot to claim my Earned Income Credit. Therefore, my refund was $400 more than I thought it would be.  Later, they sent a letter explaining what they did. 

In one respect, the IRS didn’t have to do that. If they had not intervened, I would have never known the difference. I would have been happy with my tax refund and never gave it a second thought. There have been other stories that I listened to on TV where the IRS has given money to citizens who forget or don’t even know about the Earned Income Credit.

The second story involves an even bigger error that I made. This spring I thought that I filed both my federal and state tax forms. When I prepared my state tax form, I was to get a refund of $4. The problem was that I forgot to file it. With it being well beyond April 15, I am nearly a month late filing my taxes. I went to the Illinois Department of Revenue, in person, and told them about my error. I let them know what I did. I laugh, recalling how they treated me. It reminded me of a little boy going up to a grocery store manager and, in a very ill-at-ease manner, admitting that he stole a peanut. Two of the people in the Revenue Department simply smiled, almost laughed about it. I said if the penalty is giving up the $4 refund that’s fine. The woman looked me in the eyes and said, “oh, you’ll get your refund!” Wow, that is one less thing to worry about.

      One other thing to note: Normally, when I file taxes (& I have done so for the last 25 years), I don’t make any errors, so I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a bumbling idiot when it comes to taxes. I even remember back in the 1990s helping Maribeth with her taxes.

These are not stories you are used to hearing when we think about our government. Indeed, there are true stories of government causing an inordinate amount of grief, even injustice to people. This is one time they treated a citizen like me was treated not only with respect but in a kind manner.