IN SEARCH OF DAY 4

I can't tell you how much easier it is to talk to people when you first give them a compliment. It seems like people just aren't used to hearing, "happy new year" or some other statement as long as it's sincere.

I told Mary the manager at Customer Communications that the form that was needed is done and over with. She said she would double check to see if that was the case. What surprised me was that she was still aware of the car tax refund. Maybe there were other people in my situation?

Mary asked me specific questions. Do you remember how much the check was for? Did you receive it because you were charged too much or because your car was wrecked? When did you receive the check? After all this, she said this was like looking for a needle in a haystack (her words, not mine) because there was no database she could just look at to determine what to do. She then asked me for the license plate number of my vehicle.

After holding, she discovered there was some record of a VLF rebate that was issued in 2001. I was surprised to hear that I've been flaking that long. But she said the rebate was just $49. It's both funny and troubling to me how much money comes and goes in our lifetimes and how certain amounts seem a lot or a little depending on the context.

She told me she would need to ask accounting what to do to request a new check. She asked for my cell and told me she would call me back sometime today. She never did.