Ring, Ring ...
About a month ago, I accidentally misdialed my mother-in-law’s number. I was off by one digit. A couple of weeks later, we got a message on our answering machine from the person at that number asking if we had called and why. I ignored the message thinking, naively, the person would figure out it was a wrong number.
Yesterday morning at 7:15 AM while I was in the bathroom doing my morning ablutions, the phone rang. Marian was asleep, so the answering machine picked it up. I came out of the bathroom and picked up the phone while the caller was leaving his message. Later, I listened to the message that preceded our live conversation. Here is a paraphrase of that message (with my editorial comments in parentheses):
“I am (name withheld to protect all). Someone at your number called my number a month ago. I have left several messages (there was only one that I know of) and no one has called back. My phone shows that your name is (he says my name) and your number is (he says my number). I want to know why you called. If you don’t call me back, I will call (he names our phone company) and I will call the (names the county police department) to find out about you. I will keep calling you until you answer…. (at this point, I picked up the phone not having listened to the message he had left so far).
Me: Hi. May I help you?
Him: I have been trying to get you. I have left several messages for you. Why did you call my phone?
Me: (looking at caller ID and seeing his number) I must have dialed your number by mistake. It’s one number off from my mother-in-law’s.
Him: You say it’s close to a relative's? Well, why didn’t you return my earlier calls?
Me: I just assumed you would realize someone had dialed a wrong number.
Him: Well, I don’t. In these days of terrorists, you cannot take anything for granted. I call all the numbers on my caller ID where I do not know who the person is. And I keep calling until I get an answer.
Me: (pause…) I am very sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience.
Him: Well, as long as you are sorry.
Later in the day, I was calling our son and misdialed by one digit. I got the introduction to a person’s answering machine. I hung up. I assumed the person would realize that someone had misdialed. I guess I will never learn.
Yesterday morning at 7:15 AM while I was in the bathroom doing my morning ablutions, the phone rang. Marian was asleep, so the answering machine picked it up. I came out of the bathroom and picked up the phone while the caller was leaving his message. Later, I listened to the message that preceded our live conversation. Here is a paraphrase of that message (with my editorial comments in parentheses):
“I am (name withheld to protect all). Someone at your number called my number a month ago. I have left several messages (there was only one that I know of) and no one has called back. My phone shows that your name is (he says my name) and your number is (he says my number). I want to know why you called. If you don’t call me back, I will call (he names our phone company) and I will call the (names the county police department) to find out about you. I will keep calling you until you answer…. (at this point, I picked up the phone not having listened to the message he had left so far).
Me: Hi. May I help you?
Him: I have been trying to get you. I have left several messages for you. Why did you call my phone?
Me: (looking at caller ID and seeing his number) I must have dialed your number by mistake. It’s one number off from my mother-in-law’s.
Him: You say it’s close to a relative's? Well, why didn’t you return my earlier calls?
Me: I just assumed you would realize someone had dialed a wrong number.
Him: Well, I don’t. In these days of terrorists, you cannot take anything for granted. I call all the numbers on my caller ID where I do not know who the person is. And I keep calling until I get an answer.
Me: (pause…) I am very sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience.
Him: Well, as long as you are sorry.
Later in the day, I was calling our son and misdialed by one digit. I got the introduction to a person’s answering machine. I hung up. I assumed the person would realize that someone had misdialed. I guess I will never learn.
posted by Bud Hirsch at 3:55 PM
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