WHEN YOU’RE GOOD!

As I was drifting off to No Man’s Land (a nap), the phone suddenly came to life, shattering my calm and my happiness. It was only 2:45 pm so the day wasn’t a total lost yet: there was still time to catch up.

Reaching for the phone, I wondered who it could be on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of a heat wave. Could it be Publisher’s Clearing House, telling me I won $10 Million, #2 Son calling from the Netherland’s telling me he had eloped, or maybe it was someone inviting me to dinner.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Del Bloggolo?”

“Yes”

“Hi, this is Serena Richardson from Seamless Seal, we did your driveway last year.”

“Yes?”

“We were wondering if you’d like to have it done again?”

“Oh!, Naw… you guys did such a great job, I don’t need it.”

“?!!! Oh!?”

Next thing you know, my barber will call after giving me a haircut, to ask me if I want another one!

I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls from charities lately, and frankly, I hate to say “NO” like I do with solicitors, the guilt takes over.  So I devised a new way to deal with it. I mean how much can you give, before they are all at your doorstep or on your phone?

“Hello, Mr. Del Bloggolo?”

“Yes?”

“Hi, my name is Kathy, and I’m with Wives Against Flatulence, and we are collecting donations to send a wife to the country, would you be willing to help out?”

“OK, I’ll help out if you are willing to give to the AHRC Suffolk Chapter to help children and adults with developmental disabilities.”

“Oh! Well… er… I can’t do that over the phone.”

“Neither can I.”