Telemarketers and bill collectors....grrrr.....

One of the inventions even the most adamnant Luddite has to love (in my opinion) is caller ID. A person can actually know who's on the phone so the decision to answer or not is made easy.

Of course, a person could always ignore the ringing phone, but back in the day when there were no answering machines to pick up after the (choose number) ring, the jangle could last indefinitely; amazing, isn't it, that people wouldn't figure out that the phone was not going to be picked up no matter how long it rang?

But, even with the latest in phone advances, some things still absolutely make no sense to me.

An example is the phone call that came in just a little while ago. The caller ID stated: "UNKNOWN NAME, UNKNOWN NUMBER".

Being a curious sort of soul, I decided to pick it up and investigate the voice on the other end.

"Hello, is James there?"

Well, uh...no. You see, son Kirk's first name is James. So, when a call for James comes in, it's usually a bill collector trying to collect something from that disasterous marriage the kid was in, or from the years when he just plain had gotten himself into financial trouble because he was a dumb kid.

The thing is, that time with the ex taught the boy a lot about prompt bill paying, keeping his credit good, not living beyond his means, not to mention a healthy dose of starvation at times...I'm surprised he still likes macaroni and cheese, truth be told. And, he worked hard to pay off everything he owed. So, I'm very proud of the boy. Of course, now he has student loans again, but, hey...that's a whole other animal!

"No, James hasn't lived here for a good many years. This is his mother, may I help you?"

"Is this [single digits phone numbers spoken]?"

"Yes, but James isn't here and hasn't lived here for a good many years."

"Well, this is the number he gave to us to contact him."

"I'm very sorry, may I take a message and try to get it to him? What does this concern?"

"Are you his wife?"

(Kate's brain: No, you fucking moron, I've already told you I'm his mother. Don't you listen, or do I have to choose even smaller words?")

"No, I'm his mother."

"I can't provide any information to you, this is a private business matter."

(A HA! It IS a bill collector!)

"I will be glad to try to get a message to him, but it may take several days. Would you give me your name and your company and what this concerns and I'll pass the info to him when I see him next?"

[very snotty voice] "No, I am not allowed to disclose any information to anyone but James because it is a private matter."

"Well, sweetheart, as I've told you before, I'm his mother and he does not reside here any longer, nor has he for several years. If you are not willing to tell me who you are, and what company you're with, then you need to take this number out of your computer because I see no reason to pass a message from you to him under the circumstances."

[very snotty voice] "But James needs to call us at...."

"No, he doesn't. You called my phone, asked for someone who does not reside here, and you are rudely trying to insist that I be your messenger boy on a matter you will not give me information on. You are presumptuous and I want my phone number removed from your files on this matter."

And, I hung up.

Now, this call will come in again this evening. It's been coming in twice a day every other day, but whomever this is finally left a message a couple of days ago, so I had an idea of who the call was for.

Maybe tonight I'll be Kirk's wife...or I'll let Robert answer the phone and be Kirk.