Could It Be?

Could it be?

Could it be that the IRS which is an acronym for the Internal Revenue Service, could actually be an acronym for the I'm Rude Syndrome?

I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to make a phone call to the IRS ( you decide which one it stands for) yesterday. It seems that when we got our letter stating how much $ we would get from the stimulus package---which, like George Bush or not---its non-taxable money in your pocket--Thank you President Bush. Anyway, they forgot to recognize Madie as a dependent. I thought that $300 was worth the call. Not only to make sure that Madie was recognized as a person--but to also see if we qualified for the extra $300.

It turn out it was an error on there part and we do indeed qualify for the additional $300. When I made the call it was 27 minutes before I got a live person on the phone. Then, once I had someone on the phone I think I got the rudest person on the planet. She was so upset and sounded so bothered that I had called to inquire about our stimulus benefit. I could tell that she might not be having the best day so I tried to cheer her up by being very pleasant and telling her how much I appreciate her help---only to get a response like "it's my job!" She also let me know that she would be glad when this year was over and that she would be writing her congressman and asking him to never allow another stimulus program (i.e. create more work for her).

After 15 minutes on the phone with her I was about to die because of her negativity and ranting. All I wanted to know is if I should be getting an extra $300, which she thought was a ridiculous reason for calling. Anyway, at the end of our conversion I told her thank you for her help and told her to have a good day. She replied with a sarcastic "Oh, I will."

I got off the phone feeling depressed and guilty. Shouldn't I have been happy because of their error. All I could do was worry that this woman that I spoke with was so disgruntled that she would flag our tax return because of my phone call and have us audited.

I prayed for her last night.....Mrs. Tidwell...wherever you are....I hope you find some sunshine.