Oh, hello again...

This is the first post in what could be a long series of funny/awkward/ridiculous interactions I've experienced while answering the phone for a local newspaper.

A while back I received a call from one of our semi-regular callers, we'll call him "Rich". He calls pretty frequently to ask if certain things are in the paper that day, because heaven forbid he actually buy a paper and look for himself. His requests are usually about celebrities, and because we are a small midwest newspaper, my answer is usually no.

One day, "Rich" called looking for an article about a famous actor who had died of a heart attack. I glanced through the paper and found that it was actually included.

After explaining to him that he would have to talk to someone in a different department to order a copy of the paper I transferred him to said department.

"Rich" is a nice enough guy. From what I have gathered, he sounds to be somewhere in his 40's and lives with his father I believe. He is always polite and kind to me on the phone (which can be a relief from the angry calls I also receive) and tries to pass along tips of celebrities in case we would like to cover them. But sometimes I get the feeling he may not be all there.

So, after I transferred him to the correct department, I didn't expect to hear from him again until the next celebrity death he would call to report. Boy, was I wrong! Over the course of the next hour I spoke with "Rich" 5 times. The conversations went something like this:

1. He called back to let me know that the woman I had transferred him to had not answered and to ask if he should have left her a message. I told him yes, and transferred him back.

2. Then he called to let me know that he had left a message and to ask if she would call him back. I said yes and let him go.

3. About 15 minutes later he called to inform me that he had not yet spoken with the woman and that he was getting in the shower, in case she called back. I said that he would likely have a missed call or a voicemail if she did. He seemed hesitant, but agreed and hung up.

4. After his shower he called back to check if she had called him while he was in the shower. I informed him that she is in a different part of the building and I had no idea if she had tried to call or not and transferred him back to her.

5. Then he called back to set the record straight that he had gotten a hold of her and was able to order the paper that he was looking for. He thanked me for my help and was happily awaiting his paper.

After this whole fiasco I felt exhausted and as if I needed a nap.