AM I BEING SUED??

April 22, 2016

The phone rings.  That ominous pause. An authoritatitve woman's recorded voice, "We have been trying to reach you. You are being sued by the IRS!"  Hmmm..  Why would the IRS sue me? Why would a robot call to tell me?  What is the "IRS?"  Of course, what it is is the Irate Republican Silliness.  Or, the Irrational RetroSkanks?  Daily..  not almost daily.. DAILY, the phone rings and there may be a recording wanting to fix my credit or this dumb IRS thing or ominously... no one on the line.  You can always tell when a computer is calling you and there MAY be a person in another land sitting in a boiler room because of the pause and then the voice: the poor schmuck whose 'job' it is to wheedle or bully you into buying whatever they are selling.  I've seen this sort of thing actually work and it is insidious and should be illegal! (An elderly neighbor was sold an unnecessary driveway!) 

These creeps know that anyone who answers the phone in the middle of the day is likely to be a senior citizen. They also know that seniors are likely to be vulnerable to suggestion and probably lonely.  Taking advantage of folks this way is a crime, plain and simple.  It should be a crime, too:  calling from a 'non-working number.' Often I've tried to call the number that one of these annoying calls has come from and a recording announces that the number has been disconnected or is not working.

The point:  Predators are more and more easily equipped to take advantage of folks.  They are liars.  They should be stopped.  Even knowing that they have no power unless I fall for their nonsense, (Oooops.. There's the phone for the third time..) my heart rate increases just a bit and I just wish that I could frighten that predator in some way to make them find a job wrangling burgers and fries, where, at least, they are being truly productive.

There was a live person on the line this time. I invented a 'foreign language' and the confusion in the woman's voice was fun.  "Is this a business?"  I responded ..trying to remember the language I'd just invented.. something like, "nish gat a bolly.."  Which probably means "Nish has a boil.." in Geeflunkistan. 

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I went to see THE FANTASTICKS last night at the Crown City Theatre in NoHo.  It is not a great production and it cost me twenty bucks to NOT review it.  An old friend is in the show and pretty much steals it. The opening night audience of about thirty was very eclectic.  There was a nice reception after the show. Unintentionally, I destroyed the little bowl of Cheez-Its!   

Marginal talent and too much effort can make even a sweet little show like this  just amble along.  Had I reviewed the show, I'd have complimented the production on keeping the 'Rape Song' ... "It Depends on What You Pay!" in the original version.  There's a page in the program devoted to the origins of the word, "rape," in the program which goes back to 'abduction' which is what the parents are hiring El Gallo to perform.  

Tonight I'll head to LA City College to see Louie Piday's college students tackle A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Louie is a wonderful director and a fine teacher.   

Friday. April 22, 2016 

(A day... or two... after Carolyn Sue's birthday and Happy Bday Michael Rugg)

michaelsheehan