Intro

It's time for a reality check ...

Maybe we’ve reached the point of diminishing astonishment.

But I suspect that much of what we’re hammered with every day really doesn’t make much of an impact on most of us anymore. We’ve heard the same stories too often. We’ve been exposed to the same issues for so long without any meaningful resolution. We recognize that reality is rapidly becoming malleable, primarily in the hands of whoever has the biggest microphone. How else can we explain a society where myth asserts itself as reality, based entirely how many hits it gets online?

We know that many of the “issues” as defined are pure crapola, hyped by politicians on both sides pandering to “the will of the people,” which is still more crapola. Inevitably, it’s not the will of all the people they reflect, but the will of relatively small groups of people with disproportionate political influence.

Nobody wants to face up to the realities of the issues. Nobody wants to say what’s right or wrong – even when it’s obvious and there are numbers to back it up. Most of us are afraid to bring up the realities for fear of being accused of being insensitive or downright mean.

So we say nothing. Until now.

It’s time for a reality check on the fundamentals – much of which is common knowledge to many of us, already. But it might be comforting to know you are not alone …

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Heather from account services …

Heather calls me on my cell phone a lot to tell me about special credit card rates now available to me.  Sadly, I’ve never taken her up on the offer. 

Before Heather, Rachel from account services used to call.  She also had special offers for me.  Again, I never took any of these.

Maybe that’s why Rachel stopped calling.  Maybe she was fired.  She seemed too young to retire.  Maybe Heather killed her and took her place.  Could have been one of those seed-pod things like Invaders from Mars. One day she’s Rachel; the next she’s Heather. The cheerful voice is almost identical but … I don’t know. Maybe Rachel and Heather are related?   

I hope Rachel is okay. She used to call me at least once every few weeks. Then nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, Heather seems nice and all, but it’s not the same. Rachel from account services and I had sort of a bond that stretched over years.  Rachel didn’t stand on formalities – she’d call me during the day, during dinner, while I was in a business meeting, while I was driving, on the weekend, even while I was at a funeral. 

Rachel from account services was just like that, impulsive. Part of her charm.   

I don’t know how Rachel got my cell phone number, but somehow Heather now has it. 

So do a lot of other people, apparently.

Lately I’ve been getting several voicemails at work and also on my cell from somebody who says he’s just following up on my interest in enrolling in ObamaCare. He always makes it sound like he just missed me, which is weird because my phone doesn’t even ring when he calls.  Even stranger is that I don’t remember ever expressing an interest in enrolling in ObamaCare.

He sounds nice, though.  Still, I haven’t gotten around to returning his call. 

Then there are the calls I get telling me how I’ve won a free cruise for two, or a trip to Disney World.  Sometimes it’s a woman, sometimes a man. They seem pretty excited.  I don’t have the heart to tell them I’ve already booked all the cruises we’ll take this year, plus we don’t have kids – now that we’re in our 60s Disney World doesn’t seem that appealing. 

Even if I might be interested, I’m kind of turned off because they never tell me their names. That’s odd. That’s no way to build a solid relationship. 

At least Heather from account services always introduces herself.  Even the emails I get from former soldiers who fought in Iraq, widows of Nigerian politicians, or lawyers for estates left to me by people I never knew, always, always introduce themselves. 

If someone isn’t willing to tell you their name, I tend to be suspicious.

Could just be me, but that’s how I feel. 

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