Phone Solicitors

4/21/2015

Those of you who know me well, and that would be oh maybe all of you, also know that my getting and up and down is not a fast process.  Actually, sometimes I think turtles move faster than I can and that's no compliment!

So once my chores are done - or at least the chores I've decided to do, I tend to find my recliner, cup of coffee and a book.  Since there is no money in retirement you might as well make the most of your free time and enjoy yourself.  

I can't tell you how many days I'm all comfy in my chair and the phone rings.  Okay, I'm like Pavlov's dog and feel that I must answer the phone.  I'm always afraid that I'm going to miss an important call, but can't actually think of why I'd even have an important call.  

Nine times out of ten, people are calling me to ask if I want to:

• replace the roof, gutters, windows and/or doors on my house (answer: no)
• make a pledge to (name your favorite charity) (answer again no) I'm not against donating money to charities, but right now charity begins at home
• offer to help me with the wireless in my house (answer - I don't have wireless in my home so go away)
• lawn service
• magazine offers
• credit card offers (answer: no)
• take a brief survey (answer:no)

About the only thing I haven't been offered is a cemetery plot!  And since I'm intending to be cremated the answer to that question would also be no.

I know that the person on the other end of the line is merely trying to earn a living, and I get that.  So I don't want to be rude and just hang up, but lately there have been so many calls, that I have learned, or am learning, to just hang up the phone.

When we lived in California, we received our town's local paper.  One time someone called from the LA Times (big paper) and asked if I wanted to subscribe.  My answer was that I was too weak, to pick the paper up from the driveway!  They never called again.

The day is young, so who knows how many times I'll get up to either hear a recording or an actual person trying to make a sale.  Who knows maybe if I say no to enough people, I'll go into some kind of "no" database and be removed from all cold callers.  Not likely to happen, but a gal can dream.

P