Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Those are the funniest 2 articles I've read in a lot time. Ah, sweet revenge... :-) Thanks for the links, Marion. The numbers of all telemarketing agencies should be made public so that the ordinary public can pester them to death for a change.

My phone number? You gotta be kidding, Marion! I don't give my phone number out recklessly like that. Besides, I don't answer the stupid thing most of the time anyway, so you'd probably just get the Bell answering service instead of me.

I started the only-say-"hello"-once routine after hearing other people going, "Hello? Hello? Hello? Is anybody there? Hello?" on and on and on for a minute or more...I can't believe how people let these things hook them and control them like that. Why entertain a crank caller by doing the most obvious thing possible?

Once I said "hello"...and heard nothing. I waited silently for maybe 15 seconds. Then I said: "Whats the matter? Cat got your tongue?" They hung up immediately! :-)

I think sometimes it's someone who has dialed a wrong number, and they're so paralyzed at the unexpected sound of a stranger's voice that they freeze up and don't know what to do...whatever it is, I mess with their minds if I'm in the mood.

Sometimes I start singing a song too, something inane like "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" or "Havin' My Baby". They invariably hang up within a few bars.

Not enough people out there with a good imagination if you ask me. You gotta break the pattern periodically to keep things fresh.

- LH