Looking A Gift Horse In The Mouth



So in January I get this letter informing me that a financial institution is holding some unclaimed funds for me which will be turned over to Missouri if the don't hear from me soon (there was a specific date all that much closer because it had taken some time for the letter to reach me.)

 As a child of the Nigeria hoaxes I approached it very cautiously. First I called the number on the letter. They answered appropriately. Then I looked up the company on the internet. Highly respected and having the same number as on the letter. I called back with my questions. They were going to give me information before I gave them any.

 To this point all was in a prior name at a prior addresses in regard to pension funds with a company I used to work for. They seemed to have more past information on me than I did. I just had to verify I was that person. Do not ever throw your old passports away. I got reacquainted with the box which holds "important" documents.

I do not know how their unclaimed funds department got from Bernhart in Lee's Summit, MO. To Binford-Bell in Ocate, NM. The route would take me through four states, a marriage, two divorces, and the death of an ex-husband, not necessarily in that order. And several long expired mail forwarding orders not to mention at least one move with no forwarding. And the company which funded the annuity has been sold and name changed. 

 A friend and I were discussing yesterday how much information is available on the internet. Before I ever had a blog or a Facebook page I googled my "new" name and was shocked at the number of entries for me. Google informs me I am the only Jacqui Binford-Bell in the world. I googled Bernhart since this whole thing began and was rather stunned because that incarnation never was on the internet. 

 So for those of you who stay off the internet platforms because of information you will "give away" let me say you already have. Not to worry. There are times all that "public" information can work in your favor.

Comments

Post a Comment

I write for me but I care what my readers think. Please be polite and no scamming.

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming

Image
For much of my college career my fitness workout was swimming on the B squad of the swim team. I remember it as the days before heated pools and women coaches. I also remember being so exhausted and cold I could only lean against the shower wall and throw up. Not exactly warm fuzzy images but I was in awesome shape. Needless to say it did not leave me with a overpowering desire to swim laps. Point of fact for years my swimming became really informal: Swimming to shore after the canoe tipped over, challenging my sister once a summer to across the lake and back, seeing how long I could back float without moving a muscle, and a scuba course. I also played around with other ways of staying fit: aerobics, bicycling, jogging, skiing and dance classes. All of which seem to be bad for the knees, back or feet. After my ski accident my physical therapist steered me back to the pool. Damn if I was going to swim laps! However, aqua fit was just getting rather seriously taken so I took it. It r
Read more

The Pruning the Crown of Thorns

Image
Crown of Thorns Before I am a lover of Euphorbias . They are from the deserts of Southern Africa and Madagascar. They have evolved physical characteristics and forms similar to cacti of North and South America and are often incorrectly referred to as cacti. My big Crown of Thorns was one of my first of a growing collection of these succulents from the spurge family of Euphorbiaceae. I picked it up as a 6 inch plant in a New Iberia nursery when my sister and I were touring the northern gulf coast. I believe that was 15 years ago. I made an attempt at limiting its height a few years back to allow it to devote more energy to the new branches and make it a denser plant. That failed. And the height of the plant continued to challenge the window space and soon the long branches were leaning over and leaning against the window. I googled and found the proper way to prune this treasured plant. Still it was very difficult to cut off the four longer branches. Even with a plan. The f
Read more

Eagle Nest Dam

Image
Tour of Eagle Nest Dam Eagle Nest Dam is the largest privately built dam in the United States. It was begun by the Springer family in 1917 and completed in 1920. It and the reservoir beyond it one was privately owned by the CS Ranch which recently sold it to the state of New Mexico. Eagle Nest Lake is now a state park, but the dam and the waters in the lake are another matter all together. Water is well regulated in New Mexico especially during a drought. The lake is now at 25% of its normal capacity, and the water in the lake are water right lease holds of Raton, Cimarron, and historic ranches in the area like the UU Bar and the CS Ranch. Game and Fish department also get involved because the Cimarron River is an active fishery of the state. Our guide was a state engineer and the Gateway Museum secured permission of the land owners below the dam for us to gain access to the area. Some 100 locals and tourists attended this rare event. I have lived here almost twenty years and th
Read more