no, really, it is me

I've spent the last two days mostly dealing with FEMA, all of whose personnel I will say have been very pleasant and helpful. Last Wednesday it was two weeks since I went to the Civic Center and checked on my application when they told me an inspector had been appointed and would call within a week to set up an appointment for the inspection. So I went back last Wednesday since it had been two weeks and no call to learn that they couldn't verify my identity and so no progress had been made and they sent me to another table where I was told that specifically, they couldn't verify my ownership of the property. The name on the title besides Marc's is 'Ellen Abbott', my most common use of my name and signature. My application to FEMA is in the name 'Edith Leva', 'Edith' being my first name that I have never in my life used or been addressed as except by teachers on the first day of school that didn't know me and assumed every kid was called by their first name. 'Leva' is my married name and although that is the one on my driver's license and SS card and is my legal last name, it's one I only use under certain circumstances. So legally, my first name is Edith and my last name is Leva and that is how the application to FEMA was made out even though I told the agent on the phone who was helping me, that I didn't use it. No matter. That was the one they wanted. I suppose I could have just reversed it like I often do on forms, or depending on the form, drop it altogether using Abbott as the middle name or initial but this was an agency I wanted money from, hence...Edith Leva.

So, after I explained all this, Katie, the very nice and helpful agent on the other side of the table, said, “no problem, this can be easily fixed”. Did I have my SS card? No, lost long ago. I have utility bills in my name. I have my driver's license. I'm on SS. Did I have a payment stub? No, direct deposit. Property tax bill? In my husband's name 'and wife'. No legal document with the name Edith on it? Nope. “Well”, she says, “the best thing is to get a replacement SS card, they won't charge you a fee if you lost it in a disaster, and they will give you a receipt and we can use that. What we can do now is have you write a statement explaining the name thing and signing it with picture ID, but really best is to get another SS card.”

On the way home, I remembered my tax return which I still file in my maiden name so Thursday morning I went back with last year's copy and this time sat across from Sue, also nice and helpful, who copied that and added it to my file to be faxed to the central command, and who also urged me to get a new SS card. So I left there and drove the hour to Victoria, waited until my number was called, and requested a new card to replace the one I lost back in my 20s when my house flooded and “please make sure all four of my names are on it”, and drove the hour back to Wharton and back to the Civic Center and back across the table from Katie again.

“So I was here yesterday”, I started. “I remember”, she says, “the name thing.” “Well, I drove to Victoria and back today and here is the receipt for a new card with all four of my names on it”. “Perfect”, she says.

So now I am waiting to have my identity verified and a call from the inspector...again.

Since they didn't bother to inform me that there had been a problem the first time, I plan on going back early next week just to make sure.

“Any questions?”, she asked as we were about done. “How difficult would it be to change the application from my name to my husband's name, you know, just in case?”

“Very.”