The Specialist
by Wendy Wilson
Even though I was her first customer of the day, the Specialist behind window 22 was already annoyed. Curt replies to my questions, such as “I dunno” followed by “your Medicare benefits haven’t been adjudicated” or “Call the Baltimore office” were all she would offer.
“Look Miss, I’ve already called the Baltimore Office every day this month and they told me to come here to the Hackensack Office. What good is our government if someone turning 65 can't access benefits they’ve already paid for? Can you please help me?”
Her expression turned darker. She removed her glasses, placed them on the counter and looked me straight in the eye.
“If you don’t like the way things are done in this country why don’t you move to the Amazon? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other customers. Ticket 003 proceed to window 22!.”
As I stood up to leave, I began to imagine life in the Amazon. Was it a dream of hers to move there? If I followed her advice would we bump into each other and become friends? Soak our tired feet in the river while dodging giant centipedes, anacondas, panthers and blue poison dart frogs? Sleep in the trees with a family of sloths after sipping Ayahuasca with the local shamans? Would we develop a brand of skincare scraped from the muddy banks of the river, making us tons of money and attracting seekers from all over the planet to our newly built riverside spa?
I returned home that day and spent another two weeks on hold with the Baltimore Office. On the morning of September 20, 2023, I got a call confirming that my account had been adjudicated. I had Medicare. I didn’t understand how understaffed the Social Security workforce was at the time and that the Specialist might have been cranky for a reason.
These days when I read about how Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies are raiding the government agencies I wonder if I should have taken The Specialist’s advice. No matter how rude she was, the memory still makes me smile. I feel compassion for her, stuck behind that window, in a severely understaffed office. In previous years Congress has had every opportunity to allocate more money to Social Security and Medicare by removing the cap so that the ultra rich pay their fair share. I fear it may be too late. As Musk decimates the federal/civil workforce, I envision the Specialist calmly boarding the first plane to the Amazon after accepting her severance package.
story and image © Wendy Wilson
20” x 16”
Digital/ProCreate
Gicleé Print Available
2024