Jul 31, 2008
The caller very enthusiastically asked if I was Mister Landis. I don't think I've ever been mistaken for a man on the phone before? When he found out I was somebody entirely different, he launched into a spiel. I said if he was trying to solicit a contribution, I do not contribute to appeals over the phone. He said, "Oh, we only operate by mail." (Huh? He had just called me on the phone.)
He would not shut up. He would not let me sign off. He said he was going to "educate me." I was a bit frightened. I would not have answered, except that the caller ID said "The State of Ohio." But he said he was from the Police Athletic League. I find this very intimidating. When the police call you, you automatically wonder if you have a forgotten parking ticket, or if a loved one has been injured in an accident.
But was he a policeman? I wonder.
I used to give to a phone soliciting organization in Warren, Ohio, which claimed to benefit police, but they always sent somebody around to collect cash, and often tried to cajole me into giving more than the $15 I thought I could afford. Later somebody told me they were in fact connected to the police, but they were a recreational motorcycle club.
It was very hard to get rid of this guy.
It's not true, incidentally that repeatedly pressing 2 on your keypad will disconnect these calls and ensure that they won't call you again -- I tried it.