Monday, December 11, 2023

A Great Weekend

 Ok campers, we'll start with a little bit of humor.  You see, I had to revisit the County Clerk's office this past week.  As most of you are aware, my Sister passed in June intestate. The word means "Without having made a valid will; without a will."1

As such, I had to go to the County Judge and get appointed as the "He who be" to handle her affairs.  One of the first things I learned is that intestate also means I am not the executor of the estate, rather I'm the administrator.  I was told it's basically the same thing.

Except it's not.

Now, one of the first things I tried to do was set up a bank account for the estate assets.  Since both She and I are USAA members, I decided to use their bank.  Mrs J. and I have only done that for 40+ years, we kinda knew what we were getting in to.  

So, I contacted them and they sent me a form to fill out and requested her Death Certificate and my letter of Testamentary, my appointment letter.  That's when the fun started.  A month or more passed and I'd heard nothing from USAA.  Of course, this is when Mrs. J got diagnosed, so I was a bit distracted.  

Finally, I got back around to that task.  Called the bank.  They said it had been sent up and gave me the login information.  It was named "Estate of Juvat's Sister" juvat executor.  I told them that was incorrect I was the Administrator and I'd told them that when I had them set it up. 

So, back to ground zero.  New Paperwork, but when I went to look at the Letter of Testamentary, I noticed it said I was executor.  Hmmm.

So, I went back to the County Clerk's office and explained what I thought was the problem.  They allowed that the didn't get many Administrators in asking for a letter, they just assumed it was Executor.  I politely asked them to redo it for me.  They said OK, but it would take a few minutes.  So I kinda wandered around the room looking at things on the wall.  

Came upon this.


The first thing I noticed was the title.  The part where it says "...declaring results of Stock Law Election...", I thought that might be interesting.  Got to the purpose of the election, and got totally hung up on "...determining whether horses, mules, jacks, jennets, cattle hogs, sheep and goats shall be permitted to run at Large in Gillespie County, Texas..."

1168 votes were FOR the proposition with 956 Against,   The proposition passed.

I'm truly sorry, but my first thought was "Heck why not let them run (for office my mind thought) most of those animals are a heckuva lot smarter than our current politicians, if it was good enough in the 1930's, why not now?"

I chuckled at the thought, which caught the attention of the clerk that had helped me earlier.  She said "No such luck, they were voting on allowing animals to range and graze without any fences."

So...just like modern politicians then?

On a lighter note, Little J, LJW and Miss B are reunited.



The astute among you may recognize a change.  Apparently, he had an accident with a razor and his much renowned beard is no more.

Miss B's Baptism about a year ago.

 


Course, Miss B didn't really recognize him at first. 



 And finally, y'all know the Austin, TX motto, right?

"Keep Austin Weird!"

On the way home we encountered an interesting sight.


Who drives a motorcycle with a Jedi Knight Yoda doll strapped behind him?  

To be honest, that's low level "weird" for Austin.  Let's not delve into that subject deeper.

But given that Little J had flown non-stop from Honk Honk to SFO then on to Austin, and it's a 14 hour time difference (Basically his day is our night and vice versa), he spent Friday night in the old 12AF HQ building, now a Hilton Hotel.  Have I mentioned that my father was the lead engineer for the project to build the HQ?  

One final photo taken Sunday after Mass at our local regular restaurant.  


All in All, a very nice weekend and a needed respite from "Things".

Peace out, y'all!

1. Merriam Webster Dictionary

40 comments:

  1. Excellent news on the reunion. As to that cycle rider, the Strange runs deep in some....... :) Words can get butchered in a bureaucracy juvat, hope no examples of that pop up.

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    Replies
    1. Nylon, Agreed about words being butchered. One must wonder if that is by accident, ignorance or malice. I'm voting a substantial portion of them is the last.
      Thanks.
      juvat

      Delete
  2. Most excellent family news for you and the look on the little one's face is priceless!
    Ref USAA, you have more fun coming your way. I've been with them for over 40 years and was quite satisfied until last year dealing with a death in our family.
    Darren (son) died intestate. He, too, was a USAA member. The "Survivor Assistance Team" was anything but until the letter of Administration was obtained six months after Darren's death. The final straw was when we attempted to set up an "Estate of Darren..." account. Details required that were completely unknown and could not be known but were mandatory to set up the account. We both got so frustrated that we said "eff it" and set up an "Estate of Darren..." account at a local credit union in about 15 minutes using the death certificate and letter of administration.
    Since USAA locked down his accounts and would not/could not communicate anything to us, we had to wait until dunning letters arrived so we would know who or what needed to be paid each month. Pay current and past due, communicate notice of his death so we could work out payments and prepare for name changes on accounts, etc. And, where the heck are his car titles? And please explain again how the estate administrator signs the documents. (Side note: the folks at the Texas DMV were extremely helpful.)
    I understand why some families sell the house of the deceased cheap; if one does not have the money available to cover two mortgages, the house cannot be kept. In our case, we carried the note until title transfer could be made and installed Darren's older brother into the house where he now pays the mortgage and insurance.
    My spreadsheet tally shows we expended approximately $20,000 in the first year paying Darren's expenses until we could access his accounts with a letter of administration. I recommend to family and friends that they find a good estate lawyer and set up an account accessible by a trusted person (two nieces in our case) to cover expenses as the estate is settled. And even with a will, best to have as much as possible of the estate distributed before death.
    The thing that sucks about getting old is friends and family die off...
    Enough of my early morning rant. I have a circuit to finish for the new split system heat pump out in the garage.
    -Barry

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    1. Barry,
      Your description sounds depressingly familiar. Going to readdress USAA again in the next day or so. Hopefully...
      I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you really dislike your family and want to make their life a living hell...Die without a will. They will remember you forever.
      Not in a good way though.
      juvat

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  3. This warms my heart, Juvat. Thanks for sharing. Prayers up for both Little J's next assignment and Mrs. Juvat.

    Livestock could pretty much not do worse at governing, at this point. Perhaps Animal Farm was a vision of a future where the animals really did run everything.

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    Replies
    1. THBB,
      Thanks, Prayers are much appreciated. Seeing her kids and grand kids helps quite a bit also.
      I agree with your second para, although I'd modify the first sentence to start with "Earthworms..." Other than that, you're spot on.
      juvat

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  4. Farm animals already produce political promises prodigiously. That's 99% of the battle. Since they can't write or make laws, it would be the best of both worlds. All the promises with none of the legally binding ass-wipery aftertaste.

    CHECK YOUR EMAIL!!!! IMPORTANT INFO FROM 180° TRUE!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. STxAR,
      I admit your first sentence took a second to understand, but...Brilliant, My Friend, Brilliant!

      I checked my email, didn't see anything.
      juvat

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    2. Got the full inbox error. "Over quota". Reattempting.

      Delete
    3. STxAR,
      Which email? Outlook or Gmail?
      Still nothing.
      juvat

      Delete
    4. outlook I think. I may not have the gmail. But the data is not on the bar now. I hate when grid squares go public.

      Delete
    5. STxAR,
      I emailed my address to the address on your blog.
      Looking forward to hearing from you.
      juvat

      Delete
  5. (DANG IT! I double tapped the "Enter" instat of "shift" and posted before I was ready)
    Had to look it up: "Nunc pro tunc is a Latin term meaning "now for then." Generally, this refers to an action taken by a court that applies retroactively to correct an earlier ruling."

    Nothing at all weird about that motorcyclist. Of course, I've seen a half dozen SCA Viking arrive at an event on their bikes wearing their armor, and their pole axes strapped upright with their pennants flying, so I may have a slightly different view of what's strange or weird.

    Re the suspicious look at the freshly shaved: The Orthodox Church has many evening services, especially during Lent. In some of them we make prostrations, on our knees, head to the ground. One evening I was near a guy with his two little girls. Both of us had on plaid shirts, One of his daughters, maybe 3 or 4 years old, draped herself over my back thinking it was her dad. When we rose from our prostrations the look of her face was shocked to the point of paralysis. "WHO IS THIS AND WHAT DID HE DO TO MY DAD?"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joe,
      Now, that's funny, I don't care who you are!
      juvat

      Delete
  6. I had heard that life is exciting in Texas, but Yoda? Man, you have it all

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    1. Sarge,
      Unfortunately, in the Austin Area, it's sadly true. The rest of the state, it's true and exciting.
      juvat

      Delete
  7. Stock elections. The corner of the world where Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming meet was home to range wars where several people died. Fences vs Open Range and sheep vs cattle. Guess things were more civilized in Texas circa 1930's. In one area of Moffat County, CO a steep bluff was used by the natives who would stampede Bison over it. Later, a herd of sheep was chased over the bluff. The area is known as Skull Creek and once had a post office. My father's home of record when he was in WWII was Skull Creek, CO.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WSF,
      Some of that I knew from Texas History in Junior High and High School, both the range wars and the stampede over cliff. Hadn't known about Skull Creek though, Might have to put that on my Bucket list.
      juvat

      Delete
    2. Ah, Buffalo Jumps. A wonderful way to kill a thousand to get a hundreds worth, if that many, of good meat. That's about as political as I'll get on that issue.

      First learned about BufJumps from the Holling-Clancy-Holling book "The Indians." Good book telling the stories based on many of the tribes, and gorgeously illustrated, of course, being that HCH were the brains and talent that created "Pagoo" and "Paddle-to-the-Sea" and so many other 'children's' books that were full of really good information (also where I learned to cut up and boil down a whale for oil...)

      Delete
    3. If you have never been and are somewhere in the vicinity, First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park near Great Falls, MT. is a good one. Nice museum and you can drive up to the top and look over the edge (also, a highly entertaining prairie dog population).

      Delete
    4. Beans,
      Does seem kinda wasteful doesn't it? But, not making excuses, I'm not sure the Natives had many other ways to harvest meat and therefore feed the tribe. I could be wrong.
      juvat

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    5. THBB,
      That's a bit of a hike from here, but sounds interesting. What's the window of opportunity for visiting when the temperature is not close to absolute zero. Asking for a Friend.
      :-)
      juvat

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    6. Juvat, June through August are quite pleasant and manageable there. And there is a great Lewis and Clark museum in Great Falls.

      Delete
    7. THBB, Thanks sounds interesting.
      juvat

      Delete
  8. Well, so Little Juvat will not be identified as a member of Duck Dynasty or as a prelate in a Greek Orthodox Church. There's a story behind it, and it's your mission whether you choose to accept it or not, juvat, to get the aforementioned story.

    Glad your clan is gathering.

    As to Austin, well, yeah, we have that here in Gainesville, FL, also known as 'Berkeley of the South.' The place where John (f-ing) Kerry, the Lurchmeister himself, was booed for being too right wing. So we see stupid stuff closer to the center of evil. Not as bad as Orlando, but close. We haven't actually reached Austin-level of stupidity, not for lack of trying. Should have moved when we had a chance...

    How is Mrs. Juvat's throat doing? Oftentimes the drug cocktails thrash one's voice and such, and if so, some doctors actually 'prescribe' an actual cocktail, that being a hot toddy (spirits (rum, brandy, etc) with honey and orange juice, warmed of course.) That is if she is allowed to have any alcohol or does alcohol (hot toddys are one of the few alcoholic drinks I'll do, for it's medicinal purposes only, seriously, I'm a lightweight regarding alcohol.)

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    1. Beans,
      She's had a couple of bouts with Thrush, but the medicine she takes for it seems to get rid of it fairly quickly. We'll be done with round two before Christmas and the powers that be have said we'll hold off the next round til after the New Year. That should give her a bit longer R&R and hopefully get her strength back even more. She's pretty religious about a daily nap for a couple of hours (in fact is doing so right now), so we're optimistic.
      juvat

      Delete
  9. Good news, especially since none of it is medical! Prayers still up.

    Weirdness- Yesterday drove past a Christmas tree lot, where they have Santa and a few reindeer, or some sort of horned critter- reindeer, deer, elk, moose all kinda look alike to me. Middle of the afternoon so business was slow, and Santa was nowhere in sight. Well, it turns out that he and a reindeer were across the road at a restaurant chatting with families and kids coming out of a restaurant. Cute as could be! But, still kinda weird.
    JB

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    Replies
    1. JB,
      Interesting. On our way back from picking Little J up at the airport, we stopped at an excellent BBQ joint (Leroy's) for lunch. They had a North Pole Land thing going on. Lots of kids with their parents. Santa, The Snowman, an Elf and , of course, The Grinch also were there. It was kinda fun enjoying a pulled smoked pork sandwich and a glass of wine while watching the kids interact with the characters.
      juvat

      Delete
    2. There was one story (probably in Reader's Digest) some years ago about a lower 48 elementary schoolteacher in far north Alaska trying to stage a Christmas play with Santa & Reindeer. The guide told her to use tree branches to simulate "antlers" on the children playing reindeer. Problem was no trees or even bushes. Then one child noted "We have plenty of shed reindeer antlers laying around".

      Delete
    3. Don,
      But were the Kids strong enough to support them without breaking their necks?
      Just sayin'
      juvat

      Delete
  10. Juvat, congratulations to all with Little J being back from HK.
    Relative to the stock law ruling. We moved to Gillespie County from a "Free Range County" meaning that a property owner has to "Fence Out" free grazing livestock from his property and that was the first thing I checked on with the County Attorney. He explained the election in 1933 and the potential issues surrounding that law although I don't recall him mentioning the action taken by the 1969 Commissioners Court. I chuckled and wondered what would happen had I brought my goats, duly marked them and registered the mark in the county and turned 'em loose in the "hood"...some of our neighbors own significant unfenced acreage. After considering whether we should buy more goats, it came back clearly to me why we exited that particular segment of the Ag. Business.
    To rehash the subject at hand, there may be some issues with the actions taken by the Commissioners in 1933 and in 1969. So I'll continue to sit back and wonder when this entire legal issue boils over....and I'm pretty sure it will at some point, although I may not live to see it.
    Cletus

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    1. Cletus,
      I'm completely fenced, so not so much of a problem down here. Although there are some sections the wire cutting deer manage to get through, especially this time of year and I'm sure you know why they want to migrate around.
      juvat

      Delete
  11. Is Miss B all sans tubes these days? Other than the ones God gave her of course. She looks great!

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    1. Tuna,
      Unfortunately, no. Most of her nutrition is delivered via a Gastro-Intestinal tube. She's making slow progress eating via the mouth, but isn't there (or fairly close) yet.
      Other than that, she's making pretty good progress on all the other Premie concerns.
      juvat

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    2. Brisket or Cheesecake might speed up that progress! Heaven on the tongue! haha.

      Delete
    3. Indeed, a Mesquite smoked slice of Brisket is one of the Lord's most exquisite meats. Meat so tender she may not need her opposing teeth, which, BTW, are just starting to come in. Little J found out the hard way when we were coming home from picking him up.
      juvat

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    4. Or a nice heavy real Italian lasagna... mmmm... gonna have lasagna in a few days... mmmmm....

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    5. Beans, Real Italian Lasagna. Like my Italian born great grandmother used to make for Christmas Eve? Now, THAT’S a recipe I’d like to find! Man was it good and I was only 5 or so!
      juvat

      Delete
  12. Yay for reuniting! And sorry he 'lost' the beard... That's at least a year of work right there!

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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