Pickles by Brian Crane for August 26, 2019

I received a phone call in the middle of the night. The lady asked “is Jason there?” I said “no you must have the wrong number.” Her reply “well it had better be!” Oh Jason are you in trouble!

Tweedle!!!

Every time my father and I receive unknown callers, we answer by giving out our names (Dad with his own name and I with mine). That’s bound to make the caller think they’ve dialed the wrong number… unless they’re really looking for us.

How would that caller know if she’d ever lied to them before?

Good answer, Opal! Keep them guessing!

When a caller says “sorry” (for dialing a wrong number) I respond with “that’s ok, I had to answer the phone anyway.”

We used to have the same number as the local J.C. Penneys except two numbers were switched — xxx-yzxxx instead of xxx-zyxxx. We would get three or four wrong numbers a week.

What was funny is that some of the callers would actually argue with us about whether or not they had called a wrong number. :)

why we have a phone with caller ID, that way we just endure the ringing when we ignore the phone call!

What would Earl do ?

Thankful for phone number ID. If I don’t recognize it, I don’t answer. A real call, leave a message.

For the past year or so, I’ve been getting robo calls saying my Microsoft license is expiring or something and my computer will stop working by the end of the day. Just so y’all know…nothing ever happened.

Anybody else here getting bogus calls from your own number? The calls from our own number purport to be from Microsoft, and warn us that our computer security has been breached. . .

Who’s phone goes “Tweedle” anyway?

I don’t even answer the phone…I wait for message….

Phne # i.d is good but those robo calls drive me crazy-not answering just makes them call more often.

Kindof nice getting a call from a real person?

Well then, I wonder if you could help me. I represent…. (a common scam here)

Many, many years ago – pre-Caller ID – I answered a call from a woman who claimed “Me and your husband are having an affair. Are you going to give him to me, or do I have to fight you?”

First off, Hubby would never hang around with anybody who said “Me and you husband”, so I just heaved a mighty sigh and told her she could have him. “I’ll have him and his suitcase out by the mailbox in two hours. But you have to take one of the kids, too.”

There are households where that sort of sicko could cause some real trouble. Fortunately, this isn’t one of them.

Back in the days of land-line phones, prior to caller ID and cell phones, I had a phone number that was one digit different than a local pizza parlor that was just down and across the street and visible from my apartment window. I got countless phone calls and callers got really irritated, often abusive with me when I informed them I was not the pizza place. I tried to get assistance from Ma Bell, I tried to cooperate with the pizza place, all to no avail. Then it occurred to me. I started taking orders, told the callers it would be ready for pickup in about thirty minutes, and then sat on my sofa by the window and watched the fun. In less than two weeks, the pizza place had a new phone number.

If I don’t recognize the name or number of the caller, I don’t answer my phones – hell, I don’t answer it most of the time, anyway!

I let most calls go to voice-mail first – before responding. I will, usually, call the person who left a message back immediately (if possible) – the same with those who text me.

Unlike my wife, I am not addicted to social media and don’t use WhatsApp and rarely Messenger or FaceBook.

I value my privacy and don’t care to share with my “friends” my latest meal or cute pictures of cats or my really personal life.

Sadly, we just do not answer the phone AT ALL anymore, unless the person is in my address book and my phone tells me who it is. If it truly is important, they will leave a message which I will check promptly and return the call if necessary. More often than not, there is no message. Also, since moving to Florida, I get a kick out of caller-I.D. numbers….my cell phone has a New York exchange, so the spammers want me to think it’s local (to NY) and their numbers always reflect areas around where I used to live. All bogus, of course.

That’s just like you, Shelby!

I’d simply go to my PC Phonetray app and block her from any future calls.

Great comeback! I woulda had a few other words with it tho, sailor that I am.

I like it. Not as good as the Cheech & Chong bit-Dave’s not here. But good

One more. When I lived in Virginia my car wasn’t air conditioned. I would arrive home from work very hot, sweaty and cranky. For months, every day, almost as soon as I walked in the door the phone would ring (pre caller I’d) “is Edwin dere?” “no you have the wrong number.” Finally one day, “is Edwin dere?” I said “no! Edwin is dead!” She never called again!

“If this IS Shelby, then YES, many times.”