I read on an arrest report last week that a man had been arrested for making annoying phone calls. You cannot help but wonder what those calls were about.
I can understand threatening phone calls being a problem, maybe overzealous sales calls, political robo-calls or the survey calls that “will only take a few minutes of your time.” How about the join in on our town hall conference calls, should they be considered annoying? I think so. Then there are the relative wanting to borrow money, poor pitiful me, can’t get a word in edgewise calls, they all are definitely annoying.
The only un-annoying thing about the “can’t get a word in edgewise” call is that you can sit the phone down, get a drink, go to the bathroom or balance your checkbook, all the while not missing a beat.
But which calls do you report to the police – all of them?
If all annoying phone calls were reported, I think there would have to be a special task force – say half of the police department assigned to covering the complaints. Heck they would spend have their time just on annoying phone calls just to me, or is it just from me? If you could report an annoying column or article, I would be in jail already.
How about annoying neighbors? This is a true story. I’ve spoken to a woman on a number of occasions about a neighbor who has done his best to annoy her and her family. In fact, gone beyond being annoying, by making a special effort to be cruel and spiteful.
How do you deal with someone that is cruel and spiteful? Call the police? There is no county ordinance that covers nastiness. If they are being loud, would a noise ordinance help? Not if it is under a certain decibel and is turned off by 10 p.m., or if they are not caught. Law suits do not work especially if the party sues you back, knowing that you will have to spend thousands on legal fees in your effort. No solution.
I am sure you have had someone around you that continues to sing, whistle or hum a particular song all day long. I am sorry that it is stuck in your head, but it is annoying that you have transferred it to me. Now, something as irritating as that deserves jail time.
As this discommodious (this word cost me more than 50 cents) column comes to an end, I do want to tell you that some of this issue contains some really cute pictures, balanced by some serious information and some columnists that are consistently informative and sometime leaning one way or the other politically. I know, politics is annoying and you should call the cops right now.
