I recently had a couple of calls from the local NPR station. I don't think of it by it's call numbers so when the woman with the New York accent called and said she was calling from 90.1 FM it didn't mean anything except an annoying radio station calling me. If she'd identified herself clearly as calling for the local NPR affiliate KERA I'd have gotten it. In the dynamics of repulsing unsolicited phone calls there are a few seconds in which to respond, to really make your point, so if I don't know who they are I just automatically tell them to take me off of their list and I hang up. It dawned on me later who it was.

They called back again last week, and by then I had renewed my membership (by mail) and this caller started telling me how great NPR is. I said "you're reading from a script--what is the point of this call?"

"I was just telling you about the radio station."

"I know about the radio station. Why are you calling?"

She wanted to know if I would renew, at which point I told her her information was old and I already had, so it ended.

Since I'm on both the national and the state "do not call" lists I should probably give a moment more to the caller to see if they really are legitimate. I don't get many calls anymore, but you may well note that everyone in creation out there all of a sudden wants your phone number. If they can show a "business relationship" with you they can legitimately call, or one of their "partners" or "affiliates" can. My brother out in California tells me that places are frantic to get phone numbers every time he calls somewhere or uses a credit card.

If I encounter an online form that will not go through without a phone number, the good ol' 817-555-1212 goes in and that's that.


Hey, Deckman, good to see you back online! I hope you're feeling better.

SRS