A day of progress followed by a day of frustration. Stephen told me that Office Max is going out of business. He bought a computer desk for very little. It's a real sale! I am tired of using a sheet of plywood on top of saw horses and calling it a desk. A fast trip to Office Max and I, too, have a computer desk loaded onto my truck. At home, Andy helps me unload the desk, take the makeshift desk apart and put the computer on the new desk. There is a lot of mess made...plants on the floor, dust bunnies appear in corners, piles of paper and CDs are all over the living room. Andy is trying hard to not laugh as I figure out how to get the CPU on the desk without unplugging all those wires. I get it all put together, except I have an extra wire that I don't know where it is supposed to go. I think it is part of the printer, as the computer works fine. I'll let this connection sit until Stephen comes over and figures it out. Where are the computer nerds in my family when I need them? (They'll be here at the reunion)
The second trip of the day is to the mall. Jame cuts my hair. I badly needed a cut. She is a lovely lady from Korea, trying hard to master English. We communicate in short cut language. the result is a very good haircut. I tip her generously. She loves to see me come in. I enjoy our visit, talking about our families, how well her children are doing. Her husband is a contractor. She cannot think of the word, "contractor", substituting instead that He is a carpenter. As she describes what He does, I realize she means "contractor". She is charming as she struggles with English.
At the other end of the mall is the Sears store. The Sunday paper said they had a sale on Craftmen tool chests. I have tools from Richard, from Bob, from his father and grandfather. I have tools of my own. They need a place....and everything in their place. A Craftsman tool chest, two tier, on wheels is loaded onto the back of my truck. Driving home is easy, Getting the darn thing out and into the basement is another thing. This is a two man job. Andy and Stephen can move this for me. I call Stephen. Sure, Gramma. I bring Stephen over. The two brothers move the boxes into the basement and set up the tool chest. The bottom drawer needs to come out in order to attach the wheels. I did not know the drawer needed to come out, but Stephen did. He has a similar tool chest at work. The chests are assembled, packing thrown out and it is now dinner time. To say "thank you", I invite my two grandsons to dinner. Stephen and Andy want Chinese. There is an excellent restaurant near where Stephen lives. I had never been there, but it was excellent. I ate a fisherman's bowl of lobster, giant scallops and shrimp with vegetables. It was delicious!
Three blessings came on one day: a new computer table, the Craftsman tool chests and the discovery of a new and excellent restaurant.
What I did not know was I would pay for this the next day. My accountant called. My income tax is ready to sign, and by the way, I had a huge capital gains and I owe a lot to the IRS. Additionally, He increased my quarterly estimated payments. I owe my soul to the tax man.
Then in the mail is a dividend check. No problem. To the bank to make a deposit. The teller is the mayor's wife and a friend of mine. Exchange of hellos. Just a minute. She disappears and has a conversation with the bank manager, holding my check. What in the world could be the matter? I have been depositing a similar check for once a month for a long while. It isn't a big check, either.
Teller comes back and tells me I have to open a new account to deposit this check, as it is from a trust. The new account has to be in the name of the trust. Furthermore, she wants to copy my trust papers to open the account. This time, I know the bank is wrong.
I have an excellent financial advisor who helped me set up this trust. I am the trustee of the trust. The papers that set up the trust are not public documents. I think the bank is wrong. Could a bank ever be wrong? Back home , with endorsed check in hand, I call the mutual fund issueing the check. They verify that all they required to put the mutual fund into the trust, was the title page showing the date that the trust was formed and the signature page. They agree to write a letter to me stating this. Ah ha! The bank is wrong. But do they have a policy, anyways, that requires me to bring my entire document? Second call to my accountant. He explains that the check is FROM the trust, not TO the trust. To take money from a trust and put it back in a trust makes no sense. I probably do not have to open a special savings account for my trust checks. I have to explain this to the bank in the morning to the bank.