People in the AARP Tax Preparing Waiting Room

I took this picture from the front entrance of the Central library in Marietta. You can see the new Cobb County Courthouse on the right side. While I was taking a few pictures from the top steps, a guy came from inside who looked homeless. Every time I go to the Central library I see homeless people. It is a public place where people go out of the weather when they have nowhere else to go. This guy was smoking and was asking me about my camera, which made me nervous. I went back inside.

We took my mother-in-law to the Marietta Central Library to have her taxes done by a trained AARP volunteer. I went to the GA Room to research genealogy for a while and then returned to people watch. I overheard an elderly gentlemen telling somebody that his Marine unit was in China during a big part of World War II. He went on to say his poor wife, “bless her heart”, had a stroke several years ago which paralyzed her left side. She has a hard time speaking where you could understand her except when she is on the phone. She can speak perfectly while on the phone so he said he was going to get her a phone to hold when she is speaking to him.

There were two young ladies in their early 20s that appeared to be identical twins. One of them had swirling designs and green letters on her face. The old man carried on a conversation with them until he asked what was on her face. She explained it was makeup left from Saint Patrick’s day celebrations. He laughed and said when she came in he thought, “that poor girl was all messed up, bless her heart.”

Speaking of twins -

Another 69 year old man told me he retired from the Naval Air Base. His job on the base was spraying for bugs. He said he was “the bug man”. I told him I heard about him. He looked puzzled. I explained that my wife worked on the base and when management wanted to let the office off early for the day, they would say “the Bug Man” was coming, so they had to vacate, “wink, wink”. He said he didn’t know he had so much prestige. He is a father of two sets of twin girls. The oldest two are identical twins but the youngest two were not identical. His wife left shortly after the youngest pair were born so he had to raise them by himself. His name was called so he left with his well organized forms, receipts, statements, etc. in a neat folder ready to work on his taxes with the AARP volunteer.

Then I turned to my left. The young man sitting there was very tall. He said he graduated from Marietta High School last year and is now going to a two year college in town. He told me he did not qualify for the Hope Scholarship but did receive money from a grant, going on to say his mother is a Native of Nassau, Bahamas. He has been to the Caribbean with his family several times to visit his grandmother. I noticed a skateboard was on the floor by him. He said it was his only mode of transportation. He lives over a mile from downtown Marietta, probably 2 miles to Marietta High, and probably 3 or 4 miles to college. He also had a backpack and an I-pod. . Imagine him skateboarding down the road with his I-pod and backpack. His name was called and he left only to return in a short time. As he was picking up his skateboard I said, “That was quick.” He politely said, “Yes, the guy told me I had to bring my earnings statement.” Then he shook hands and said it was nice to meet me. Wonder if he only dates girls with skateboards.

After about 3 hours, we were ready to go. The AARP volunteer tax service is free, except for your time waiting. Since we are retired, our time is free anyway.