You can't always get what you want..

but if you raise hell you might get what you need.

Your birth and death certificates are all that your decendants will ever know of you. It is important that they have the correct information on them. If there is an error then you hae to deal with it everytime you have to present a certificate. It is a major hassle.

When you lose your mate you have to have a birth and marriage certificate to create a death certificate. Then you have to present one, usually an original, for Social Security, Taxes, the bank and any loans you have, the Secretary of State, their employer, the insurance companies each need one and the mortgage company. That is at least 7 so you have one to file. Don't get less than five or you have to wait and pray that wherever you sent it last returns it to you in a timely fashion.

My poor funeral director/mortician! There was incorrect info on the death certificate her helper typed up. I went over the corrections and she notified the county she would be correcting the death certificate. All good. It would be fixed the next day.

You don't just correct death certificates, they are supposed to be perfect originals with the info on the deceased above and the Medical Examiner's verdict and signature below. They use special ink and a special correction tape to type over what they are removing and then you pull the tape and the ink comes off, except when you mash on the tape too much when you place it and it tears the form. Which the girl at the Clerk's office did. They called and told the FD she would have to create another original certificate.

So you get another blank, go back to the ME's office, get them to fill in their part, go back to your office, type in the correct info and then drive back to the county seat and refile the death certificate. My FD is right in the middle of doing this then they tell her they have to send it in right away that morning, no they couldn't wait till 2 when you were bringing the corrected one.......

And the poor Funeral Director had to call me and tell me they filed an incorrect death certificate and that to get it changed at the state level will cost $75.00.......she really didn't want to tell me that. I came up like an old warrior hearing orks at the door with my mace swinging and pulling my sword while I called out the troops.

I explained to her that they could not charge me for filing an incorrect form with a hole in it that they had screwed up. I told her to go right to the county clerk and tell her I wanted an explanation of why we were not made aware of the dead line and why I would be paying to fix something that was THEIR error. I wanted it in writing and in triplicate, one for my lawyer and one for each reporter at the State Journal and the GR Press.

The FD was so upset that they had not let her lift the inks herself, the other girl there was new, and she was appalled they had sent the messy one through. And now she had to bother the ME again and so on......I just told her that I didn't care who was annoyed, I wanted it corrected and I would not be paying for their error. Even if that date was a deadline for turning in d.c.'s that they could have waited as late as 11:59 to mail it over. If they gave her any trouble then just explain the widow would be in to straighten it all out in the morning - with a lawyer!

I was ready for war! I would have gone through every certificate issued in Ionia County and verified them with the survivors, checked for corrections and just in general made the clerks office miserable.

But darn, when they call the state and explained and some nice person said they would send it right back. The FD has the corrected one signed by doc and just needs to type it up with the right info and refiled. So I have no where to rage.

I was almost looking forward to it. I haven't decided if I want to be a country music star or take over the government yet, it would have killed time until I make up my mind.

I just gave myself another million brownie points for doing really well with everything last week, my moon time came on me today. It means I went through all this pms-ing and no one got hurt. I am always really edgy the week before and can't believe I made it with no screaming or ranting about anything major.