Geezers take heart. I bring good tidings

I am rapidly closing in on my 65th birthday which is astonishing to me. When I was young, those who were 65 seemed ancient. But, there is no denying it, I am almost there.All the old sayings about aging are true.’˜If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.’ Check. ‘˜The older you get, the colder you get.’ Check. ‘˜The older you get, the faster time goes by.’ Check. ‘˜Growing old is not for sissies.’ Check! They go on, ad infinitum.Thus far, I have been able to open my eyes each morning (though much earlier now), put one foot in front of the other and I recognize every day north of the dirt is a good day.For years, I had health insurance and rarely used it. Then, I got real sick and used a lot of it. Then came Obamacare and I had a very expensive insurance card but the policy behind it paid for nothing. There is no question in my mind the insurance industry was much more efficient and much better managed before Barack and his minions meddled with it. Though I am sure Bernie, The Squad and their fellow communists will disagree, insurance companies making a profit is not a bad thing if they earn it.I have been waiting patiently for Medicare eligibility and now it is almost here. It was hard to miss its approach. All the insurance companies who wanted nothing to do with me in the aftermath of acute kidney failure suddenly wanted to sell me policies to supplement Medicare. The e-mails and snail mails were relentless.As recommended, I started trying to sign up online 90 days before the big 65. Of course, there was a glitch with my Social Security (SS) account. I tried several more times and encountered more trouble.Finally, as a last resort, I called the SS helpline, expecting to listen to music all afternoon. But, after only a few minutes, I got a nice woman who spoke perfect English who informed me there was some kind of issue with my middle initial in the SS database and she could not fix it.I explained to her I had had my middle initial for almost 65 years and she actually apologized. I was shocked!She suggested I call the Griffin SS office so I did. Again, I got an American female speaking English who solved the middle initial issue almost immediately.She also said I did not have to make the office visit I was dreading in order to sign up for Medicare and they could do a phone interview. She set that up for two weeks later and I waited.On the appointed day, another American female called six minutes early. She asked a few questions, made me swear under penalty of perjury the information I had given was true and bingo. It was over in seven minutes.I was absolutely amazed and told her so, thanking her profusely. I still can’t quite believe it was so easy. I had set aside four hours to handle it all.Now, I am just waiting for my card to arrive in the mail. I hope it works as well as the fine people at the SS office I had the pleasure of dealing with.So fellow geezers to be, worry about old age all you want but signing up for Medicare is a snap.