Well, we just had our primary this past Tuesday. 21 candidates are going to be whittled down to 2. Our next mayor is going to be a woman, the first since 1926...Two women are advancing are advancing to the November election and as of now that second slot has yet to be decided...and another lady didn’t quite make it.
Anyway, the landline will have a chance to cool off a bit. No political robocalls will be coming in for 6 weeks. Phone banks will close shop as the losing candidates become entries in the history books as also-runs. I don’t mind political calls, because I’ve made a lot of them myself. I don’t even mind if I get caught by an organization that I’ve given to in the past, I only have to do is say no if I choose.
But the end of primary season won’t stop the other unwanted calls, either by machines or by humans. My wife stopped answering the phone years ago. And I have stopped answering outside of my normal 9 am to 5 pm business hours…and unless there is something I need to stay on top of, I only answer if it’s convenient for me. If it’s important, leave a message.
- I get the “Microsoft Technician” calling to inform me that there “is something wrong with your computer”. Click.
- Or, “Hi, this is Diane from credit card services”. Click.
- “This is the IRS and we’re filing criminal charges against you…” Click.
- “This is the Sheriff/Firefighter/Police Association”. Click/Click/Click.
- “This is the Toys for Children With Cancer Foundation. (Give to us and the kids get 5%, and we get 95%”). Click.
- One interactive robocall got me once: A pensive voice asks if it is me (using my first name). The voice sounds like it’s coming from someone’s grandma. I said “yes” then I heard “Why you’re harder to get a hold of than the last pickle in the pickle jar!…”. I’m onto that now. Click.
But I must confess that I nearly was duped this spring.
I answered the phone. A man stated that he was with the US Marshals Service, officer Blahblah Blah. He sounded completely professional, an African American with that military/law enforcement manner of speaking. Totally believable, and he had my attention.
He told me that I had not shown for a summons for jury duty. I, of course did not receive one, and I told him that. He said that it was probably lost in the mail, not to worry. However...I needed to report immediately to Judge So Andso. I said I’ll look into it and make plans to rectify the situation. I was starting to get nervous.
But that wasn’t good enough; I was to head downtown to the US District Court that moment. He was going to allow me a few minutes to get my stuff together, and in the meantime, I and was to give him my cell number. I was to be in constant contact with him all the way downtown. “Okay, okay…wait! This is getting a little crazy, I’m not doing this”. Click. I hung up.
I was still a bit upset, so I called the court, and talked to the person in charge of jury service. Sure enough, it is a scam. I would have been directed to a store to purchase a cash card and then read the numbers to the “officer” to pay the supposed fine.
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This episode has started to make me wonder: Do we really need a landline? Most of our personal contacts know to use our cell numbers. However our loyalty cards are linked to our traditional phone. And there are people out there that don’t have our cell phone numbers. If we switch solely to the cell phones, will that number become polluted as well? These are things to think about.
.
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How about you, have you cut the cord and discarded your landline? Did you even have a landline to begin with?
RSVPS
1. randallt
2. Joieau
3. Gordon20024
4. Otteray Scribe
5. Burns Lass
6. Lamont Cranston
7. Christian Cano of conoforcongress
8. Anthony, Political director for canoforcongress
9. Gary Norton
10. Connie Norton
11. SteelerGrrl
12. SteelerGuy
13. eeff
14. Munchkn
MAYBEES :
eeff
Zen Trainer
Tex Dem
VeloVixen
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VIRGINIA KOSSACKS!