Surprises At the VA Hospital

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Yesterday I had to go to the VA hospital to turn in some paperwork for reimbursement for a bill I paid that was the VA’s responsibility. I got two pretty big surprises while I was there. The first one was the empty entrances. No COVID guards. No nurses asking the questions. There was even a sign proclaiming that masks are optional. (No thanks, I’ll wear mine still around all those sick people. One of the best things, in my opinion, to come from the last two years is mask wearing in medical settings, where you’re 100 times more likely to run into someone sick.) Wow. The big government building isn’t enforcing covid rules anymore? The other big surprise came when I was at the travel office window. I heard a voice behind me tell the clerk, “Don’t believe a word she says.” I didn’t have to turn around. I knew who it was. I pointed in his direction and said, “Don’t believe a word he says!” Small Navy, isn’t it? My brother was there, too! He was having his annual eye examination. He went to get a “tell the director” form so he could pay high compliments to the optometry department (and, I’ll tell you, they are very good there, so much better than the “civilian” doctors they’ve been sending us to). After that we chatted for a few minutes while we walked to his car. He complimented me on my weight loss. When I got home I sent him a text that I was done and said that I’d seen someone who looked a little like him up at the VA. He replied, “I saw someone who looked like you, but she was way too thin.” Will the VA pay me back? Who knows. The reason I paid the bill instead of turning it in to them to pay is I know how quickly they pay (sarcasm there). If they don’t pay a bill that’s in my name for six months, that’s going on MY FICO score, not the VA’s. Next time — assuming there is one (I hope I’m getting over these panic attacks that are so severe they send me to the ER) — I’ll know and list the VA as my primary insurance. That was my happy day at the VA. Here’s a song stereotyping sailors from 1946….written by a sailor