.

The above picture was taken about 10 to 12 years ago, perhaps more.  The tree is a Banyan tree and they are native to India.  This one is located on the grounds of Thomas Edison’s winter home/estate in Ft. Myers, Florida. 

This week I have had my 2^nd experience with Social Security and wasn’t any better than my 1^st experience.  The first turned out to be a lot of nothing, with no results.  Then yesterday, Thursday, I tried calling them and the on-hold wait time was 55 minutes.  So, I waited and waited and finally spoke to a person.  Answered a lot of questions for verification purposes and turns out my current address didn’t match what their system showed, and they said I would need to go to the local office to get it straightened out.   I checked online and found the location and hours of the local office.  This morning I made it to the local office just minutes after they opened for the day.  The line to get into the building extended all the way to the corner of the block.  There was security near the doors and letting 6 people in at a time.  Guess the elevators won’t hold more than 6 (?).  I waited again and finally made it into the elevator.  Didn’t have to select a floor as all but one person was going to the floor where Social Security was located.  Once in the room I needed to be in I had to stand in yet another line, one that ran nearly all around the exterior of the room.  Each person has to sign in using a touchscreen monitor and get a printed ticket/number.  They had just one touchscreen monitor in the room.  Again, I waited and in line until my turn to sign in.  Sadly, the touchscreen (in plain sight) required each person to key in their social security number.  When I had my number, I found a place to sit, and waited another 2 ½ hours before my number was called.  Finally, went to the designated/numbered booth/desk/person.  Provided my ID and explained the situation.  The employee looked up my information and told me the address they had for me.  Turns out it wasn’t an address I’ve lived at, or an address that I’ve even been to.  Asked if I should be concerned about this (identity theft came to mind) and the response was “I honestly don’t know”.  The employee corrected my address and gave me some paperwork and I was done.  All that waiting and for about 10 minutes of actual face time.  All I can say is its typical government. Just wish I had eaten breakfast before leaving.