Things to watch out for.

Be careful with paper checks. My wife paid the property tax bill with a check in the provided envelope, which signals that a check is enclosed. We dropped the payment in a mailbox outside the local post office. Somewhere the check fell into nefarious hands and was modified to 4,900.00, which was deposited in an ATM and cleared and found by my wife on her online banking. I received a call from her where she said, "we've been robbed." I spent the next hours at three different banks accumulating documents and advice. The amount was returned, and the account was closed. I thought the anxiety was subsiding until a catastrophic tornado headed our way. I picked my granddaughter up from school and drove head-on toward the rapidly approaching monster. We arrived home just as the storm ripped a twenty-mile path of destruction through Central Arkansas. The tornado missed my studio by one block; however, my youngest son's house received some minor damage. He was at work, and his wife and three-month-old son were with other family members. So a stressful day was survived. I feel guilty for thinking myself lucky or "protected."