Grumpy

I'm not a rude person, in general. I'm very patient in grocery stores and traffic jams. I'll put up with inefficient servers and cashiers. I'll ignore most of the stupid things that people say to me and chalk it up to cluelessness...like when a family member said having breast cancer would get me a free boob job.

They weren't trying to be offensive and insensitive. They thought they were pointing out what seemed like an awesome benefit to them.

Everyday incidents like that, I seem capable of releasing. However, I wonder if I really just store up my frustration to keep ready for my true enemies: telemarketers and door-to-door salespeople.

This past week two people came to the door trying to sell us the local paper. I told them we already had a subscription to the paper. They proceeded to try and convince me we needed another local paper, so we could have two different perspectives. I told them I wasn't interested, thank you. They continued to try and persuade me, at which point I simply closed and locked the door in their faces.

The Rationalist was shocked. He'd never seen me do something like that.

"Mom! That was so rude! They were trying to talk to you and you just closed the door in their faces!"

"Yep...I did."

I'm such an unrepentant sinner.

My stance is that if I have been nice enough to politely listen to a person's opening spiel and inform them that I am not interested in their magazines, cleaning solutions, or meat products....and they refuse to accept my verbal decline of their services....then I am under no further obligation to be "nice."

They are coming onto my property, interrupting my day...usually while I have something on the stove, or have visitors...and being generally obnoxious and pushy. They are ripe targets for my wrath.

Telemarketers also fall victim to my discourteous replies, especially if they have called us more than once. Discover has called me 4 times to get me to enroll in an extra program. I declined nicely the first 2 times. The most recent time, frustrated by their repeated attempts to enlist me in something I have blatantly refused, I was not pleasant.

Today, as I was leaving the store, I answered my cell phone only to have someone ask for my dead father. I mentally tried to figure out who would have associated our cell number with my father and drew a blank.

"May I ask who is calling?" I said.

"Yes...it's Wachovia. We are calling our business customers and asking them to take part in a survey about customer service, and to see if we can interest them in any of our other services."

I was perturbed and annoyed. My father's account was closed and a new account was created...an estate account which is clearly labeled Estate of Daniel M. It was through this account that Wachovia had obtained my cell phone number. It should have been clear to anyone looking at the account that my father was dead and that I was the personal representative of the account.

"My father has been dead since October. He won't be able to help you out. You would notice that if you actually looked at the account."

I hung up.

I should have been nicer, I know. I was just too annoyed by the idea that a banking professional would have no clue about something so basic as the fact that estate accounts don't exist for living people.

I felt guilty a little while later.

I asked myself if 70 times 7 should be extended to telemarketers and salespeople.