Phone Machine Mania

* You know how you get used to little things until they no longer register at the conscious level? For years now I’ve been hearing automated phone machines tell me, “This call may be recorded for--throw in your favorite bromide--reasons,” and the true import of that didn’t quite sink in, until recently.

Three different times I got that recording from businesses I was calling, and each time, as soon as I got a real, live, breathing human being on the line, I said, “This call may be recorded for purposes of accuracy. What was your name again, please?” They hung up on me every time.

DAVE WILLIS

Bellflower