Dialing the wrong number is something we’ve probably all done at one time or another, but I’ve received an inordinate amount of wrong number calls since I moved into this place, especially the first two years. There are not as many of these calls now, but they are at times interesting.
Some callers immediately realize they have erred in dialing when they hear my croaking attempts [vocal cord problem] to say hello, apologize and hang up. There is probably a similarity in numbers, when I get calls for the local fire department, demolition bowl, and a few other local businesses. Others have dialed the number correctly; I’m just not the person they expected at the other end of the line.
Yet, why so many people dial correctly and ask for so many and varied persons, I can’t quite figure out. One woman called, asking for a male by name. Caller I.D. showed the call to be from a local labor union office. At first I gave her the standard, “You have the wrong number” line. She related my number and asked if she had that number. I told her that she did, but I had had the number for more than two years at that time, and assured her there was no one living here, but me. She replied, “That’s interesting.” Now why would anyone, hoping for work, give a phone number at which they can’t be reached!
For quite some time I got frequent calls from what seemed like attempts to collect debts. They wouldn’t settle for being told they had the wrong number, but persisted, giving the impression they thought I was deliberately misleading them in their attempts to reap financial justice. More recently someone called and asked for “Mr. Someone.” When I did the wrong number spiel, he came back with “It is Mr. Specific Someone I want to talk to.” Again with the implied tone and attitude that they knew the person was here, if they could just get me to admit it.
This number belonged to a mobile home sales office before I got it. I believe that it is possible there are people who think it is a mobile home park where people live, but how it will help anyone to give a phone number for which they have no access, frankly baffles me!
On the lighter side of wrong numbers there was the woman who, when I said, “Hello,” immediately demanded “ Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for an hour and I’ve been trying to call you! {I’ll bet she had} In this case, she believed my wrong number speech, sputtered a bit, instantly apologetic and promptly hung up the phone. I would be willing to bet, that whether spouse or child, someone was in a bunch of trouble, when they finally showed up!
Then there was this morning, which is responsible for this blog. A woman called and asked, “Is this the Adrenaline Zone?” Hey, I couldn’t help it, it was as automatic as jerking back your finger when you unexpectedly touch something that is too hot. I burst into laughter. I think she had a sense of humor because she didn’t sound annoyed as she said, “No, I guess it isn’t. I have the wrong number,” and then hung up the phone.
The situation with this so very senior citizen is about as much of a no-adrenaline-zone as you could find. My sojourn in a going on two years after-shingles-pain episode is beginning to wear me down, so the words truck me as funny. At this point I’ll take any laugh I can get, so thank God for this morning’s wrong number. That’s something I never thought I’d say!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
A Story of the Heart
The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser
Paper Back 442 pages – For those with good sight that's okay. My eyes would like a little larger font. I need lots of light to read paper backs. For me, some are almost impossible.
I’ve just finished reading this book and I’m not sure how to tell you about it. So, I’ll just list some of the things you will encounter. Atlanta, Georgia – time period early 1960s: a devastating plane crash; the privileged and unprivileged; wealth and poverty; prejudice and understanding;reaching out in hatefulness and in helpfullness; Christianity, an involved, personal relationship vs going through the motions; artistic talent, depression, yearning and learning youth. It is a beautiful story, haunting in its sadness and uplifting in its hope.
Paper Back 442 pages – For those with good sight that's okay. My eyes would like a little larger font. I need lots of light to read paper backs. For me, some are almost impossible.
I’ve just finished reading this book and I’m not sure how to tell you about it. So, I’ll just list some of the things you will encounter. Atlanta, Georgia – time period early 1960s: a devastating plane crash; the privileged and unprivileged; wealth and poverty; prejudice and understanding;reaching out in hatefulness and in helpfullness; Christianity, an involved, personal relationship vs going through the motions; artistic talent, depression, yearning and learning youth. It is a beautiful story, haunting in its sadness and uplifting in its hope.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Television Golf Fan
I am not a big sports fan, but I do enjoy watching golf on television. I have several favorite players. They don’t always win, but they play well and rank rather high in the standings fairly frequently. Except for those occasions when nothing works and they just can’t make the vital cut, or keep dropping down the list as the play continues. Sometimes they end up in the top spot as Ernie Els did last weekend. It was good to see him with the win.
This past weekend in the Transitions tournament, Steve Stricker, high on my favorites list started out pretty well, but slipped a bit as the tournament continued. I don’t feel too badly about that because he has had his share of wins in recent months and neeless to say added considerably to his financial status.
As Stricker slipped, who went up the leader board? Another favorite, Jim Furyk, made his way to the top of the list on Saturday, and managed to hold on to the lead. Although he did make me a bit nervous the last few holes, when he gained and dropped a point a couple of times. I think they said he had had something like 52 starts without a win, but he has ended up with some good spots on the standings a number of times. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him make the top spot.
I heard an interesting sidelight about another golfer: I didn’t catch his name, but he thought he hadn’t made the cut after Friday’s play. He grabbed his clubs and headed to the airport and home. While waiting for departure, he received a phone call telling him he had made the cut after all and was expected to play on Saturday. He had no problem leaving himself, but wouldn’t have been able to get his clubs from the plane. Rather than play with a make-do set, he chose to fly on home, retrieve his golf clubs and take a charter flight back to the tournament. By then there was only minimal time for sleep, and with only an hour or so of sleep, he went out and played a round of 67. Sorry I still can’t tell you his name, so I don’t know how he made out in the final standings.
There are other golfers I like to watch play as well, but these are some of the ones I’ve seen most recently.
This past weekend in the Transitions tournament, Steve Stricker, high on my favorites list started out pretty well, but slipped a bit as the tournament continued. I don’t feel too badly about that because he has had his share of wins in recent months and neeless to say added considerably to his financial status.
As Stricker slipped, who went up the leader board? Another favorite, Jim Furyk, made his way to the top of the list on Saturday, and managed to hold on to the lead. Although he did make me a bit nervous the last few holes, when he gained and dropped a point a couple of times. I think they said he had had something like 52 starts without a win, but he has ended up with some good spots on the standings a number of times. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him make the top spot.
I heard an interesting sidelight about another golfer: I didn’t catch his name, but he thought he hadn’t made the cut after Friday’s play. He grabbed his clubs and headed to the airport and home. While waiting for departure, he received a phone call telling him he had made the cut after all and was expected to play on Saturday. He had no problem leaving himself, but wouldn’t have been able to get his clubs from the plane. Rather than play with a make-do set, he chose to fly on home, retrieve his golf clubs and take a charter flight back to the tournament. By then there was only minimal time for sleep, and with only an hour or so of sleep, he went out and played a round of 67. Sorry I still can’t tell you his name, so I don’t know how he made out in the final standings.
There are other golfers I like to watch play as well, but these are some of the ones I’ve seen most recently.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
What’s New
This morning I saw a segment on the Today Show where they showed various new items on the market. I think it was called "Jill’s Fun Finds." There were several items shown, but two in particular caught my eye.
Monopoly has come up with a digitalized version of their game. I never really liked Monopoly, but a lot of people do, and fans of the game will probably love it.
The item that really intrigued me was a new “party” camera. It sets on its own little lazy-susan-like stand, where I assume it is plugged in and turned on. The stand rotates to cover the party area. And here is the unusual bit: a smiling face activates the camera. The camera stops and takes a picture of the smiler.
Your party album will be filled with happy looking faces only. No bored or disgruntled seeming faces. A smile will get your picture taken. If you don’t want to be a part of the party shoot, just keep a straight face, or frown— if you must. If you like having your picture taken, or want to be included in the album, smile for the camera.
It’s as simple as that. This seems to fall into the what will they think of next category. We don’t know, but we do know that new ideas will continue to surprise us from time to time. I didn't catch the cost of either, but it will be easy to find out.
Monopoly has come up with a digitalized version of their game. I never really liked Monopoly, but a lot of people do, and fans of the game will probably love it.
The item that really intrigued me was a new “party” camera. It sets on its own little lazy-susan-like stand, where I assume it is plugged in and turned on. The stand rotates to cover the party area. And here is the unusual bit: a smiling face activates the camera. The camera stops and takes a picture of the smiler.
Your party album will be filled with happy looking faces only. No bored or disgruntled seeming faces. A smile will get your picture taken. If you don’t want to be a part of the party shoot, just keep a straight face, or frown— if you must. If you like having your picture taken, or want to be included in the album, smile for the camera.
It’s as simple as that. This seems to fall into the what will they think of next category. We don’t know, but we do know that new ideas will continue to surprise us from time to time. I didn't catch the cost of either, but it will be easy to find out.
Monday, March 1, 2010
What Happened to February 2010
What happened to February? It seems to me it went by as fast as some of those skaters and skiers did in the recent Olympics. There were some major happenings on the national and world scene in the weather. Earthquakes, record snowfalls, wind, rain and mud slides. For the purposes of this blog, I won’t get into politics, either here or abroad, except to say that I abhor the extremes in words and actions and the public lies that seem to be so prevalent at present. Other than that I will confine this blog to my own personal world.
Nothing very unusual happened: snow, sleet, rain, slick streets within my small community. Altogether, we fared very well weather-wise in the midst of the February I’ll give you one good taste of winter before spring arrives onslaught. Here, it was a picnic compared to a lot of other places.
Yes, I’m still dealing with what is called “after shingles pain.” I also hit a low-energy period for some reason, not sure why. Otherwise things are much as usual. I did the things I usually do: read, write letters & blogs, crocheted pink and white hats for cancer patients and/or supporters; worked a bit on genealogy, other computer stuff; did housework - the usual cook, clean, laundry stuff [how can one person have so much laundry?]; tried to get in a bit of exercise now and then, so I won’t lose more ground than I need to; trips to the library and grocers when necessary, contact friends/relatives; check on Facebook, Twitter and keep up with email. [This is like trying to keep up with clutter & recyclable paper, it’s only temporary; it’s as futile as the gerbil going around on its wheel.] Sometimes I just quit everything and rest for awhile.
Right in the middle of February I got a year older. Oldest daughter came for a visit for my birthday and stayed a couple of days. We had a very pleasant visit and I had an enjoyable birthday. We met Russ, Jan and family and had a good dinner and enjoyed spending time together. Second daughter was too far away to be with us. We had to visit by phone. And we did miss you, Cara; as well as the other grandchildren whose working and family lives keep them elsewhere. I’m thankful to all for personal and phone visits, cards and gifts.
Daughter-in-law Jan’s eye problem was both a lowlight and a highlight: Low in the seriousness of the situation and the surgical procedures. And high in the favorable outcome, which seems to have been successful. Thank God for the outcome and for the prayers of family and friends.
Days in between have been spent doing some variation of the above.
Nothing very unusual happened: snow, sleet, rain, slick streets within my small community. Altogether, we fared very well weather-wise in the midst of the February I’ll give you one good taste of winter before spring arrives onslaught. Here, it was a picnic compared to a lot of other places.
Yes, I’m still dealing with what is called “after shingles pain.” I also hit a low-energy period for some reason, not sure why. Otherwise things are much as usual. I did the things I usually do: read, write letters & blogs, crocheted pink and white hats for cancer patients and/or supporters; worked a bit on genealogy, other computer stuff; did housework - the usual cook, clean, laundry stuff [how can one person have so much laundry?]; tried to get in a bit of exercise now and then, so I won’t lose more ground than I need to; trips to the library and grocers when necessary, contact friends/relatives; check on Facebook, Twitter and keep up with email. [This is like trying to keep up with clutter & recyclable paper, it’s only temporary; it’s as futile as the gerbil going around on its wheel.] Sometimes I just quit everything and rest for awhile.
Right in the middle of February I got a year older. Oldest daughter came for a visit for my birthday and stayed a couple of days. We had a very pleasant visit and I had an enjoyable birthday. We met Russ, Jan and family and had a good dinner and enjoyed spending time together. Second daughter was too far away to be with us. We had to visit by phone. And we did miss you, Cara; as well as the other grandchildren whose working and family lives keep them elsewhere. I’m thankful to all for personal and phone visits, cards and gifts.
Daughter-in-law Jan’s eye problem was both a lowlight and a highlight: Low in the seriousness of the situation and the surgical procedures. And high in the favorable outcome, which seems to have been successful. Thank God for the outcome and for the prayers of family and friends.
Days in between have been spent doing some variation of the above.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Get 'em Up - What's That
Each generation has its own fads and lingo pertinent to the time. Various phrases used over the years that I recall are: neat, cool, hip, groovy, far out, right on, etc.
One of the fads for the past few years has been baggy pants; pants so big at the waist that they fall down low on the hips, and expose several inches of ‘underwear’ or skin; at times so low, they seem in danger of falling to the ground.
Sometimes fads are started just to be different, sometimes to “shock the older crowd,” irritate their parents or adults in general, or merely attract attention. Whatever the purpose, though they may attract attention, my personal opinion is that it does not add to their physical attraction. I find it difficult to believe that having your pants in danger of falling down, bunching around your legs, while your so called “underwear” or bare skin is exposed can be comfortable. To whom does extreme sloppiness appeal? Not me, obviously, though I hadn’t given much thought to it, accepting it as a peculiarity of today’s youth, until I heard the news item about the movement to change this particular fad.
But ho: Apparently not only the elders think the look is ‘not in the groove.’ A young St Louisan has begun a movement to pull up those pants and has created a song about getting those pants off the ground to publicize the effort. Clothes that are extreme; either so loose as to bag and sag, or tight enough the wearer’s body looks squeezed – I ask: where is the benefit to the wearer, either in comfort or attractiveness?
I hope the young man's efforts succeed. This blog is dedicated to my now deceased husband, whose birthday is today. He was a neat man.
One of the fads for the past few years has been baggy pants; pants so big at the waist that they fall down low on the hips, and expose several inches of ‘underwear’ or skin; at times so low, they seem in danger of falling to the ground.
Sometimes fads are started just to be different, sometimes to “shock the older crowd,” irritate their parents or adults in general, or merely attract attention. Whatever the purpose, though they may attract attention, my personal opinion is that it does not add to their physical attraction. I find it difficult to believe that having your pants in danger of falling down, bunching around your legs, while your so called “underwear” or bare skin is exposed can be comfortable. To whom does extreme sloppiness appeal? Not me, obviously, though I hadn’t given much thought to it, accepting it as a peculiarity of today’s youth, until I heard the news item about the movement to change this particular fad.
But ho: Apparently not only the elders think the look is ‘not in the groove.’ A young St Louisan has begun a movement to pull up those pants and has created a song about getting those pants off the ground to publicize the effort. Clothes that are extreme; either so loose as to bag and sag, or tight enough the wearer’s body looks squeezed – I ask: where is the benefit to the wearer, either in comfort or attractiveness?
I hope the young man's efforts succeed. This blog is dedicated to my now deceased husband, whose birthday is today. He was a neat man.
Friday, February 5, 2010
February 2010 - Already!
A February Day: The weather is a mixed bag - rain and snow so far, but not bad right here. A granddaughter in Virginia/DC is expecting a weathered-in weekend. I just looked out and it is snowing rather briskly at the moment. Do I want to walk across the street to check on the mail, which is most likely only fodder for the blue bag? [recycles] Maybe yes, maybe no.
A little more than a week to Valentine's Day. Hope you have a good one. And a little bit more until I get older again. But, that's what we've all been doing since the day we were born. I just have a more advanced degree on it.
Have you forgotten about "Do One Nice Thing?" I've managed to do some small things since I heard about the idea, nothing major. Available energy and pocket book don't allow for major.
I advised a grandaughter that a weather day like this was a good "soup day" and later took my own advice. I made some cheesy/potato/bacon soup. It hit the spot very nicely. Going back to work on a couple of small projects. The bigger one just won't get done. I'll want to celebrate if/when it ever does.
You all have a good day.
A little more than a week to Valentine's Day. Hope you have a good one. And a little bit more until I get older again. But, that's what we've all been doing since the day we were born. I just have a more advanced degree on it.
Have you forgotten about "Do One Nice Thing?" I've managed to do some small things since I heard about the idea, nothing major. Available energy and pocket book don't allow for major.
I advised a grandaughter that a weather day like this was a good "soup day" and later took my own advice. I made some cheesy/potato/bacon soup. It hit the spot very nicely. Going back to work on a couple of small projects. The bigger one just won't get done. I'll want to celebrate if/when it ever does.
You all have a good day.
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