Find Me A Stage, I Have Something To Say — MED

Find Me A Stage, I Have Something to Say —MED
October 12, 2018

Why Are Illegal Scammers Calling?

I have shared in previous Find Me A Stage, I Have Something To Say — MED essays that I am unemployed. It is a difficult stage in my life that I am working through. In future essays I will explain but for now I am making the best of it as evidenced by my blogging. Each day I sit at my laptop and fire off an essay. The majority of the essays I post to this blog. Once in awhile I just don’t feel it. This week while attempting to compose, our landline rang literally every 5 minutes. Yes, we still have a landline because in rural NJ cell phones are not always reliable.

This now prehistoric communication instrument has become an annoyance. As the granddaughter of a phone installer, I struggle with canceling our landline; the last link to my grandfather’s profession that provided much comfort monetarily to our family. The damn thing just keeps ringing slicing into our peaceful existence. Sadly most calls are just robo calls attempting to sell a listing in a Google Business Directory. Oh the programmers are crafty but I am on to them. Columbia, Elizabeth, Blairstown and Jersey City, New Jersey are not calling us, Google is on the line!!!! Especially Columbia and Elizabeth, we know no one in these NJ towns. The phone rings nonstop from these destinations only to reveal that we are about to lose our listing if we do not confirm. What listing, we have never approved a listing nor do we want one. My spouse has waited patiently to request our number be put on a do not call list. You think diminishing to threats to file a complaint with the police due to harassment or a lawsuit would deter Mr. / Mrs. Google Robot. Not scary enough for this flip robot. I have tried acting shocked that they have reached a secure line and told them the authorities will be contacting them. Laughable, the phone rang minutes later from the same group.

Recently the caller ID started identifying spam callers. As if we could not figure this out as members of the human race. Still Google appearing morning, noon and night in the spam mix. Now we are receiving calls from Illegal spam callers. What? If someone is placing Illegal calls why the heck is my caller ID able to indentify this action? Secondly, if this is an illegal communication does the caller actually think someone is going to respond? Hello, “my name is John XXO and I want to invite you to donate to my fake charity”??? Honestly why is the caller ID doing double time indentifying illegal activity. Where are the authorities? If my home is my sanctuary than why are Google and their Illegal friends repeatedly permitted to interrupt?

Our newest plan of attack, notify all family and friends that our landline is going down and provide everyone with our cell phone numbers. You can just image how this conversation went with the senior members of our family. “What!!! You are not going to have a phone?” No, No, No… we will have a phone but it will just be our cell phones now. “I can’t hear on those things, how am I supposed to call you? Who will answer?” You can call the cell number and I will answer. “This is not going to work and you will not be able to call 911. I watched this on the news. Not a good way to live, you are walking a fine line.” It will work and I have not been able to call 911 from the landline for 25 years, they pass me to the wrong county. “What if 911 transfers me to your county, what will I do then?” They will not pass you to a county an hour away that has nothing to do with stopping my landline service. “Well every time you call on the landline I cannot hear you because there is too much static on the line.” I give up! Change is difficult to accept, sometimes to difficult.

Epic fail, the landline lives and our dinner music continues to be a ringing phone with Mr. / Mrs. Google Robot as a follow up. Google, we surrender!!!! We beg you to please stop calling, we are not interested in your directory although I am sure it is great!!!
Thank you for your time. Hope you smiled for a moment.

The words shared above are my express opinion upon watching the October 12, 2018 morning news shows and my life experiences. My words are meant to raise a level of awareness not malice.

Find Me A Stage, I Have Something To Say — MED

Find Me A Stage, I Have Something to Say —MED
October 10, 2018

Attic Unload

Nothing sparked my interest on the morning news broadcasts this morning. It may just be I am physically tired. I have spent the last two days on and off in our attic. We are fortunate to have a home with a very large attic. Some may say having a large attic is a curse. A dumping ground for everything and anything we have accumulated. Don’t throw it away put it in the attic in case we need, the kids may use it at some point, maybe we will have a garage sale … The stuff keeps multiplying.

Recently we have witnessed several friends of our go through their stuff with lighting speed throwing away more than they wanted too. Their homes went up for sale through the process of downsizing only to be sold in a day. The front yard for sale sign changed to sold in an instant but the cleanout marathon was just firing up. Panic is invoked and herculean strength exhibited as our friends were left to move out family treasures. We watched as long gone family member’s 100 year old furniture graced the curbside for a short time until scavengers scoped them up. The 40 year old kindergarten artwork that their children had bestowed on them shredded. Who has time for sentiment? Rapid Cleanout should be a trending hash tag for the over 50 set.

My husband and I have already started the downsizing conversation. I am unemployed at the moment so I figured I could get a jump on the cleanout starting with the attic. I have already gone through my little Picasso’s artwork, the shredded worked overtime. I have been digging into storage bins that have not been opened in years. Yesterday I found a wicker hamper with dingy, ugly lace curtains, what was I thinking? Who wants outdated dusty window curtains and a random shower curtain? Exactly what my kids would say if they were forced to cleanout our stuff. My daughter would roll her eyes and exclaim, “They are awful”! They were but I would never it admit it. I tripped over a box tightly packed to find inside 8 glasses from a set that we retired long ago. Into the donation pile they go. In a tender moment I discovered a needle point my grandmother had completed but not framed. Tears spilled. Tossed the outdated college and grad school books, doubt my kids would be interested in Re-Assurance or Intermediate accounting from 30 years ago.

High school mementoes all neatly packed away are calling my name but the voice is muffled by the bins upon bins of my daughter’s stuff, approximately 20. There are beanie babies, dolls and doll houses, Barbie’s sweet hot pink jeep, junk teenagers save and college stuff. On past occasions she has been reluctant to take her stuff. It is time. I am not going for mother of the year hear just an empty attic. My daughter is praying for a Rapid Cleanout or perhaps I should call it, Frustrated Parent Cleanout, in which we give up. Thus prompting her father to throw it all away without any emotional attachment, lighting speed to the curb. My thought, after providing free storage space for years, the least our daughter and her spouse can do it cart the unwanted treasures to the curb. Sweet justice will prevail; get a storage unit at top dollar or face the realization that it is time to clean up your stuff. Our son wisely took his stuff when he moved out, opting to rent a storage unit keeping control over his treasures. He has one box of childhood toys abandon under a corner cobweb. Hopefully it will squeeze into the storage unit. I will cut him some slack, it is just one box.

The front yard will display a for sale sign as I am dragging the last of the unwanted treasures to the curb. Minimalist movement here we come. No rapid cleanout for us. Honestly we can live without the old bed linens from the kid’s stay at sleep away camp. Again what the heck was I thinking!!! I need another garbage can.
Thank you for your time. Hope you smiled for a moment.

The words shared above are my express opinion upon watching the October 10, 2018 morning news shows. My words are meant to raise a level of awareness not malice.

Find Me A Stage, I Have Something To Say — MED

Find Me A Stage, I Have Something to Say —MED
October 8, 2018

Tooth Fairy Equity

It is a rainy dreary day in Northern New Jersey. Nothing really was striking in the news this morning until I viewed the first segment of the Megan Kelly Today Show. The panel was discussing a funny story about how much the Tooth Fairy leaves in their homes. A woman supposedly posed the question on social media. As many in my generation, I received a quarter, I think, it was so long ago.

My daughter received so much more by default. I was brand new as a parent to this ritual when I married my husband and became step mom to his two children. Of course my daughter lost a tooth a night my husband was unreachable as a firefighter. When she lost her tooth it was too late to call anyone including my mom to get a consensus. I was left to question my son who at that point no longer believed there was a Tooth Fairy. I asked him how much his mom would leave under the pillow for him. He responded, “Ten Dollars”. Wow, that seemed very high even considering an inflationary factor. I questioned him again asking him if he was telling the truth. I was impressed that my husband and his first wife had been so generous. So when my son finally went to bed I checked my wallet. I never planned for this so all I had was twenty dollar bills. It was 3 years since my son had had a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Inflationary affects? I decided to put the bill in an envelope wrote a quick note. Writing the note with my right hand to cover my backhanded lefty writing, the Tooth Fairy’s handwriting was very messy. Also drew a quick picture of the Tooth Fairy and the suspect tooth. What the heck, I would only get to do this for the first time once so why not write my own script!!!

My daughter rose the next morning quickly looking under her pillow. My son and I were in the kitchen, my husband still at work. From the bedroom we could hear her squealing. She was happy the Tooth Fairy left her $10. My son went to inspect. He corrected his sister, let her know the Tooth Fairy actually left $20 resulting in more happy squeals. He was not having it. Back in the kitchen I asked him why such anger? Well the truth was he really only ever received $1 per tooth. A $1 I could have provided with coins. My son learned his lesson quickly; it really did not pay to lie!!! My husband was surprised when he found out how much the Tooth Fairy left the prior evening. Hey you leave a step mom alone with no clue what the tradition is she makes her own traditions. My son still rolls his eyes when this story resurfaces and my daughter is all too happy to remember. It is fun to share a good laugh as a family. Let’s see what my daughter will do for her first child who is teething at the moment. My son chose not to be so generous to his own son. It is all good.
Thank you for your time. Hope your smiled for a moment.

The words shared above are my express opinion upon watching the October 8, 2018 morning news shows. My words are meant to raise a level of awareness not malice.