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I have often heard it said “patience is a virtue.” When I think of patience, a song from a children’s musical runs through my head. “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry” the song begins. It comes from a musical that was the basis for Vacation Bible School when my children were small.
I remember my sister-in-law taking an old farm machine and making a “music machine” with it as the center piece. My daughter and I revived the musical, “the Music Machine,” to use for our summer Sunday school program one summer when the grandchildren were young.
The songs all refer to the fruits of the spirit as mentioned in the book of Galatians. Patience is just one of them. The verses behind all of the songs do not go out of style. They are cute and with catchy tunes that children love to sing. They are common courtesies that are always appropriate – no matter what the age.
I thought of this song as I manned one of my volunteer posts. People have to sign in, then wait their turn to provide information to the person at the desk before they can report for a procedure.
People today are anything but patient. I see patients checking the list to see how many people are ahead of them. They used to write down that they had an appointment so that they would be seen sooner, but the ladies manning the desk got wise to that. Now only certain procedures qualify as appointments.
Many of the people who appear to be impatient are retired folks. What is there to be in such a hurry for? They do not have to report to a job. They need to leave enough time so as not to be in a hurry.
I also see a lot of impatience as I drive about. Cars dart into traffic when there really is not enough room. The first thing you know they are turning in somewhere. That very thing happened to me this morning. The car in question turned right in front of me causing me to slow down so as not to run into them. I know that if my car hits the back end of another one I am at fault no matter what.
I see impatience as I stand in line waiting to check out. Often, if someone only has an item or two I let them ahead of me. I remember the days of shopping with tired, cranky children. It was not fun to wait in line.
My patience was tested frequently while I was a classroom teacher. I learned to adjust and not let the little things bother me. People often told me I had a lot of patience and I guess that was true. I learned to anticipate my students’ needs. I learned to roll with the punches and choose my battles. That also applied to dealings with my own children.
Now, for the area where I have no patience. I absolutely hate those annoying phone calls that say I have won something or my name came up to receive some free product. What I want to know is where do these organizations and businesses get all of our phone numbers?
Many calls have to do with retirement issues. How do they know I am retired? Does Social Security sell our names and addresses? I remember when I just started to get Social Security. I got a barrage of information whether I wanted it or not. Everyone wanted to sell me something.
I feel like these phone solicitations are an invasion of my privacy no matter whom they are from. I do not need some charitable organization to call me to request a donation. If I want to make a donation I can find out how to contact them. I do not need calls from politicians either. If I intend to support someone I can find them as well.
Charities are no different. Once I went for treatment of cancer I began getting calls from all sorts of organizations that touted themselves as working in that field.
I am on the do-not call list, but it does not stop calls. I am most annoyed if I am busy and get one of those nuisance calls. Often I have washed and dried my hands only to find out it is a nuisance call. Do I have to subscribe to caller ID just to get rid of them? Do I have to let my answering machine take all my calls?
Folks, the answer seems quite simple. People would not continue making calls if they were not effective. You and I are the key to putting an end to nuisance calls. We could push for a law to prohibit all sales and donation calls, but that would probably take the next 10 years with the way our lawmakers work. After a law was passed, the telemarketing firms would only figure out a way to get around it anyway.
When you receive a nuisance call, either just hang up or let them jabber on and do not listen. Eventually the phone will say, “If you want to make a call, hang up and try again.”
The other day, I was waiting for a call about a sick relative so I answered each call. I heard from four telemarketing people before I received that call I was waiting for. It is getting to be more than an inconvenience. It is getting to be a safety issue. One of those nuisance calls may render your phone unusable in an emergency.
Thank you for listening. What can you do to stop those calls? Will you join me?
Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.