Some things just aren't like they were a decade ago ...

Back in '00 when Lori and I bought our first house, the biggest blip in the armor was when we were closing and the "closer" said, "Mr. Heitmeyer, you can't sign that 'r heitmeyer,' you must use your full signature, 'richard c heitmeyer.'" I said, "But, I've signed like this for years. This is my signature." It was voted unacceptable, I had to change, and then sign an affidavit that stated the forms I already had signed with the "real" signature were, in fact, a "real signature." [Hey, I couldn't have made that up if I tried!] 

"But, I've signed like this for years. This is my signature."

Actually, an even bigger blip was when we were driving to Grand Rapids to the title office. You know where the Hot 'N' Now is on Alpine, right in front of the Menard's next to Sam's ... we were stopped at a stop light when I looked in the rearview mirror and tried to say, "Ha ..." hang on, but I couldn't get the words out fast enough when a car driving at least 45 MPH slammed into the back of my one year old '99 GMC Sierra pick–up. The car caught on fire, the police came, they were issued a ticket, etc. It added to my stress, though. 

Now, back to the story. We're in the process of buying a house that's being built in Buckley. It's nearly done. Heck, for all practical purposes it is done. But, it's an FHA loan and — due to the housing and mortgage crisis created when an unnamed former President insisted that all Americans must own a house — there has been paper work upon paper work that has had to be adjusted, resubmitted, readjusted, etc. Then, the other day, the builder found out he had to get a lead test in the water that had already been tested once or twice. That's hopefully the final piece of the puzzle. Originally, we had hoped to close on June 25, but it'll be a few days after now.