A Walk Up Call

     FRIDAY, AUGUST 28TH

         A WAKE UP CALL

     I appreciated them when we
were on a tour, staying in a hotel
in a town we weren't used to and
realizing we had to be up, out, and
on the road by a certain hour.
     In those cases the wake up call
could save your day.
     As a news reporter, however,
the wake up call became something
to dread! I remember, for instance,
the early morning phone call that
sent me out on a day long assignment
to track down and tell the story of
mass murderer George Banks.
     Now that I'm "retired" and at
home more than away I don't look
forward to any wake up calls. More
often than not if they do come it's
because of some sort of family
emergency.
     That's why my heart skipped a
beat last Saturday when some pleasant
but now unremembered dream was
interrupted by the distinct ring of my
cell phone. I charge it overnight. But
it's turned on while charging.
     I grabbed it as quickly as possible
and said "Hello." Nothing. It took a
moment to realize the signal I heard
was not an actual call but, rather, a
message.
      More and more my grandkids
have, for some unknown reason,
favored a typed message over an
actual conversation. Could one of them
be stranded somewhere?
      No. The message was an alert from
my cell phone carrier. Someone there,
likely a computer, felt it necessary to
tell me I had used up nearly 75% of my
date.
      There are two problems with this
message. First, I share a plan with my
daughter and her husband and it was
my son-in-law's data that was near an
end.
      Secondly, the call that nearly sent
me into panic mode was received at
4:52AM! For those who have problems
with the big hand on the clock, that's
8 minutes before 5 in the morning!
       I do not recognize mornings that
begin before 8AM and, usually, that's
just the time I begin to stir.
       To be totally fair my carrier,
Verizon, did end its message with a
"Thank you message" for choosing its
plan. I would have replied. But I don't
use what might have been considered
the appropriate language either in
conversation or in print!
      I am now considering the option
of turning my phone off overnight.
Home they don't have my home number,
and that all your NEWS is good!