Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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If you want my money -
ask me politely.
Three weeks to go to election day, and the volume of phone calls and TV commercials has begun to increase to unbearable levels. I handle the TV problem by never watching local broadcast television in real time, giving me the option of fast forwarding over all the guff as I watch the recorded program.
Phone calls are a different matter. With caller ID, I can refrain from picking up the phone unless I want to speak to the caller, and that means, this time of year, letting almost every call go to the answering machine.
Earlier this summer, I began to receive calls in which both the name of the caller and the phone number appeared as "unavailable." No one ever left any sort of message on the machine. One evening, without thinking, I picked up the phone and found myself listening to a pitch from one of the two major political parties. I have sent in (very small) campaign contributions in the last few years. I never provided my phone number, although I do have a listed number, so a quick internet search of the white pages would find me.
I didn't continue the conversation I had inadvertently begun, but the "unavailable" calls continued. One night, in exasperation, I answered the call. A young man was on the line who began an urgent plea for my support, stressing that there were "only 56 days" until the election. I interrupted him to voice my irritation with the "unavailable" nature of the calls and the failure of the callers to leave even the briefest of messages. He in turn interrupted ME with "I don't know anything about that" and returned to his theme of "only 56 days." I hung up on him.
Mail solicitations continued, and I finally wrote a letter which I returned in their postage paid envelopes, explaining that I found the whole phone campaign very rude and had no plans to contribute again. I hinted that they might count on my vote.
I suppose I am becoming an old fuddy duddy. But the fact remains that they might still have a willing contributor, to the tune of about $5 now and then, had I listened to ONE message on my machine: "Hello, this is John Smith from the XXXXXXXXX party, calling to thank you for your prior support. Sorry I missed you, I will call you again soon." It comes down to courtesy, and I'll repeat my header - if you want my money, freely given, be polite when you request it.
Three weeks to go to election day, and the volume of phone calls and TV commercials has begun to increase to unbearable levels. I handle the TV problem by never watching local broadcast television in real time, giving me the option of fast forwarding over all the guff as I watch the recorded program.
Phone calls are a different matter. With caller ID, I can refrain from picking up the phone unless I want to speak to the caller, and that means, this time of year, letting almost every call go to the answering machine.
Earlier this summer, I began to receive calls in which both the name of the caller and the phone number appeared as "unavailable." No one ever left any sort of message on the machine. One evening, without thinking, I picked up the phone and found myself listening to a pitch from one of the two major political parties. I have sent in (very small) campaign contributions in the last few years. I never provided my phone number, although I do have a listed number, so a quick internet search of the white pages would find me.
I didn't continue the conversation I had inadvertently begun, but the "unavailable" calls continued. One night, in exasperation, I answered the call. A young man was on the line who began an urgent plea for my support, stressing that there were "only 56 days" until the election. I interrupted him to voice my irritation with the "unavailable" nature of the calls and the failure of the callers to leave even the briefest of messages. He in turn interrupted ME with "I don't know anything about that" and returned to his theme of "only 56 days." I hung up on him.
Mail solicitations continued, and I finally wrote a letter which I returned in their postage paid envelopes, explaining that I found the whole phone campaign very rude and had no plans to contribute again. I hinted that they might count on my vote.
I suppose I am becoming an old fuddy duddy. But the fact remains that they might still have a willing contributor, to the tune of about $5 now and then, had I listened to ONE message on my machine: "Hello, this is John Smith from the XXXXXXXXX party, calling to thank you for your prior support. Sorry I missed you, I will call you again soon." It comes down to courtesy, and I'll repeat my header - if you want my money, freely given, be polite when you request it.
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