Unexpected Conversations

Well, I've done two dumb things within one 24-hour period.

Dumb Thing #1: I went to Martin's office yesterday to do my taxes. I stuck my cell phone in my pocket as I headed out the door because I figured Sharon would be calling to see where I was at. Martin was at his other computer working on something, and I went about my business. All of a sudden, I became aware of some teeny-tiny voices.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Martin.

"Hear what?" he replied.

"Voices," I said.

He didn't hear anything. I took his handheld Dell Axiom out of its holder and examined it curiously. Martin came over and looked around too. We scanned the room, but found no voice-spewing devices

"I know I didn't imagine that," I said, resuming my taxes.

Mere seconds later, the cell phone in my pocket began to ring. It was a number I didn't recognize. I answered and was startled to hear, "This is 911. Do you have an emergency?" The pieces came crashing together then, and I spent the next thirty seconds explaining and apologizing for "the phone in my pocket."

"We'd like to remind you to keep your phone locked if you're going to have it in your pocket," was the stern reply.

As if I needed reminding. Martin was laughing his head off.

Dumb Thing #2 : Mom called me tonight and told me she had misplaced the number for Mrs. B., a lady whom Sharon had worked for in years prior and who had left a message about Mom babysitting for her grandchild on our answering machine last week. Sharon had been after Mom to call her back, and Mom kept forgetting. So tonight, Mom wanted me to look the number up for her on caller ID. So I hung up and looked it up. Sure enough. There it was.

So I called Mom back and was absolutely astonished to hear Mrs. B. herself answer the phone.

Instead of dialing the number that is home (and has been ever since I can remember), I had dialed this strange number. Mrs. B. also just happens to have been my COMM161 (speech) professor. So after several seconds of stuttering around trying to explain why I was calling her and promising that I would have Mom call her right back, she said that actually the babysitting crisis was over, and they had found someone else already. So we chatted for the next twenty minutes.

I finally called Mom back and told her she didn't have to call Mrs. B. after all.

Then it was Mother laughing her head off.