It was the end of a long day. Most of my coworkers had gone home and the office was mostly quiet, except for my phone. My phone was ringing off the hook. It would ring, I would answer, “Hi, this is John”, and whoever it was would hang up. This was happening over and over again, and I was getting more than a little testy. I was trying to get some extra work done and I was there much later than I usually am, so I was primed to lose my temper. It rang again and I answered, “Hello, is someone there!” This time there was no click. I could hear what sounded like an office in the background. A young child’s voice said, in a confused and worried tone, “hello, is my daddy there?” “Well” I replied, “that depends on who your daddy is.” “His name is Michael”, the young voice said.

“I’m afraid there is no one here with that name.”

“O.K.” – click.

I sat there in my seat stunned. I was so quick to loose my temper. I was so quick to judge the person on the other end, before I knew who it was. I still don’t know who it was, but I can imagine.

Maybe I’m making more of this than it was. Still, I keep coming back to it this evening. Do I have to say what the lesson was? Whether it be on the phone, walking in a store, or driving on the highway, I hope next time I’ll be more patient. I hope I’ll always appreciate that there is always another person on the other end, someone that I won’t know or understand.

I hope you’ll understand my need to share this with you. Regardless, thanks for “listening.”

I’ve been a busy beaver, and a tired one at that, but I’m not complaining. We’ve started a project at home: painting the living room. It turns out that one of Cheryl’s coworkers is a bad influence. Painting has always been something Cheryl wanted to do, but I’ve always been able to sidetrack her. Now, she spends all day with someone at work who has painted her house more times in the last two years than my parents have in twenty five. How can I compete with that? What can I say, I’m a product of my upbringing.

I would say that I love my computer, but that might be a little strong. I love my wife, my child, and my family. I don’t love my computer. I do have a really strong liking for my computer. Why? It’s different, and I like being different at times. People say that Windows is the standard, what most everyone else uses. It is what I have to use all day at work. It is what everyone talks about “around the water cooler.” Windows troubleshooting jargon flies like bats at dusk. Then I get to go home and sit with my computer at home. I have a Macintosh.